Elsa strengthens into Atlantic season's first hurricane, could impact condo collapse search efforts in Florida

Elsa strengthened into the first hurricane of the Atlantic season on Friday as it blew off roofs, snapped trees and destroyed crops in the eastern Caribbean, where officials closed schools, businesses and airports. It appeared headed eventually in the general direction of Florida, where officials warned it could impact search and rescue efforts at the site of the collapsed condo building in Surfside. 

Elsa is the earliest fifth-named storm on record, beating out last year's Eduardo which formed on July 6, according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach. He also noted that it's the farthest east that a hurricane has formed this early in the tropical Atlantic since 1933. The 1991-2020 average date for the first Atlantic hurricane formation is mid-August.

The Category 1 storm is the first hurricane to hit Barbados in more than 60 years, unleashing heavy rains and winds on the island and then on St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which are struggling to recover from recent massive volcanic eruptions.

Elsa was centered about 475 miles east-southeast of Isla Beata in the Dominican Republic and was moving west-northwest at 30 mph. It had maximum sustained winds of 85 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

"That level of sustained wind can blow down a lot of buildings and cause a lot of damage," said St. Vincent Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves. "I am pleading with you. Let us not take this hurricane lightly. This is not the time to play the fool."

The storm could complicate search and rescue efforts at the site of the collapsed condo building in Surfside, Florida.  Officials said they will continue to closely monitor the storm forecast, saying winds could hit the site as soon as Sunday afternoon.

"It is possible that this area could see tropical-storm force winds," said Governor Ron DeSantis, saying that the site would be treated with a "special emphasis" to protect equipment at the site, and the building itself could be further damaged by the storm.

The long-term forecast track showed it heading toward Florida as a tropical storm by Tuesday morning, but some models would carry it into the Gulf or up the Atlantic Coast.

Authorities in Barbados said they received calls about families trapped in their homes, collapsed houses and power and water outages, but no reports of serious injuries or deaths. Wilfred Abrahams, minister of home affairs, information and public affairs, urged people to open their homes to those in need.

"We are getting a lot of reports of damage," he said.

Meanwhile, officials in St. Lucia said that 90% of power customers were without electricity at the height of the storm. Landslides, flooding and damaged homes also were reported.

A hurricane warning was in effect for Jamaica and from the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince to Punta Palenque in the Dominican Republic. A hurricane watch was issued for the Cuban provinces of Camaguey, Granma, Guantanamo, Holguin, Las Tunas, and Santiago de Cuba.

The forecast track showed the fast-moving storm rolling toward Hispaniola, the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic, as a hurricane before reaching Cuba and weakening back to tropical storm force.

Authorities opened dozens of shelters in St. Vincent and urged people to evacuate if they lived near a valley, given the threat of flash flooding, mudslides and lahars, especially in the northern part of the island where La Soufrière volcano is located.

"Do not wait until it's too late to go to a shelter," Gonsalves said.

He said 94 shelters are open, a smaller number than in previous years because some 2,000 people remain in other shelters following massive volcanic eruptions that began in early April.

The storm was forecast to bring 4 to 8 inches of rain with maximum totals of 15 inches on Friday across the Windward and southern Leeward Islands. The rain could unleash isolated flash flooding and mudslides.