Nestor becomes a post-tropical cyclone facing northwest Florida

Tropical Storm Nestor became a post-tropical cyclone on the northwestern coast of Florida on Saturday, a state where strong winds and tornadoes have caused damage but no fatalities or injuries.

According to the bulletin of the 11.00 local time (15.00 GMT) of the National Hurricane Center (NHC) of the US, the system is about 70 miles (115 km) south-west of Panama City, in the so-called Panhandle of Florida, where the post-tropical cyclone will land on Saturday afternoon.

Even so, meteorologists warn that there will still be strong winds and rising sea levels due to the cyclonic storm surge that the now post-tropical cyclone brings, as well as keeping alert for possible tornadoes in northern and central Florida.

The National Meteorological Service confirmed that in the Polk County, in the center of the state, a strong tornado was registered this morning which, as the local Telemundo 49 channel tells us, caused damage to the roof of a local school and some houses the city of Lakeland, with no reported injuries or fatalities.

On an interstate highway, the tornado turned a trailer that fell on a van in which a family from Illinois was traveling and was visiting the area, reports the Tampa Bay Times. The incident did not cause injuries.

In Pinellas County, in Tampa Bay, which is under tornado alert until this afternoon, strong winds have caused damage to a number of mobile homes, without causing injuries, the local Sheriff's Office reported.

In Tampa Bay, west Florida, several events scheduled for this weekend, especially those that were to be outdoors, must have been canceled or postponed as a result of Nestor.

The electric company Duke Energy reported about 1,000 houses and real estate in this county without energy supply because of the strong winds produced by natural formation, which approaches land with maximum sustained winds of 50 miles per hour (85 km / h ).

The cyclone system, which acquired tropical storm conditions on Friday, travels northeast at about 9 miles per hour (15 km / h).

The other coastal states of the Gulf of Mexico, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, are waiting for the development of this cyclonic system, which according to the NHC will weaken once it hits the ground.

Between today afternoon and Sunday, Nestor will travel overland through parts of the southeastern United States, and then return to the high seas off the coast of North Carolina and is expected to travel to the western Atlantic.

NHC meteorologists warn of the strong winds that will be recorded throughout the Atlantic coast of the southeastern US today, as well as a sea level rise of up to 4 feet (120 centimeters) in western parts of Florida.

Likewise, rains are expected with accumulation of up to four inches (10 centimeters) and in some places up to eight (20 centimeters).

Georgia and the Carolinas are in the trajectory pattern of the now post-tropical cyclone Nestor, which could produce tornadoes in those states.