Low Pressure Area Could Become Tropical Storm Debby

From the National Hurricane Center:

FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC...CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO...

1. THE CENTER OF CIRCULATION OF THE BROAD AREA OF LOW PRESSURE OVER THE
GULF OF MEXICO APPEARS TO BE BECOMING BETTER DEFINED ABOUT 275
MILES SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF THE MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.  IN
ADDITION...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BEEN INCREASING OVER THE
EASTERN GULF OF MEXICO...AND A NOAA BUOY LOCATED ABOUT 130 MILES
EAST-NORTHEAST OF THE CENTER HAS PRODUCED TROPICAL-STORM-FORCE
WINDS WITHIN THE PAST COUPLE OF HOURS.  A TROPICAL DEPRESSION...OR
MORE LIKELY A TROPICAL STORM...COULD FORM LATER TODAY OR TONIGHT IF
THE DEVELOPMENT TREND CONTINUES.  THIS SYSTEM HAS A HIGH CHANCE...
90 PERCENT...OF BECOMING A TROPICAL CYCLONE AS IT MOVES SLOWLY
NORTHWARD DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS.  

TROPICAL STORM WATCHES OR WARNINGS COULD BE REQUIRED FOR A PORTION
OF THE NORTHERN GULF COAST OVER THE WEEKEND...AND INTERESTS IN THIS
AREA SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF THIS LOW.  HEAVY
RAINS AND LOCALIZED FLOODING ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE YUCATAN
PENINSULA...WESTERN CUBA...AND MUCH OF FLORIDA OVER THE NEXT DAY OR
SO.  AN AIR FORCE RESERVE RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT IS SCHEDULED TO
INVESTIGATE THE SYSTEM THIS AFTERNOON.

ELSEWHERE...TROPICAL CYCLONE FORMATION IS NOT EXPECTED DURING THE
NEXT 48 HOURS.

Beryl Now a Tropical Storm

Tropical Storm Beryl is still well offshore, but officials in Georgia and Florida were already bracing for drenching rains and driving winds. Campers at Cumberland Island, which is reachable only by boat, were told to leave by 4:45 p.m. The island has a number of undeveloped beaches and forests popular with campers.

Down the coast a bit in Jacksonville, Fla., Sunday's jazz festival and Memorial Day ceremony were canceled. Workers are also out clearing tree limbs and debris that could be tossed about by the storm's winds, which had reached 65 mph.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Sunday that Beryl had gotten slightly stronger, with maximum sustained winds now at 65 mph. Beryl was centered about 110 miles east of Jacksonville, Florida, and about 120 miles southeast of Brunswick, Georgia.

Beryl is projected to make landfall late Sunday or early Monday.

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Cellphone Lost, then Held for Ransom at Zombiecon

A story just in time for Halloween.

A 28-year-old Cape Coral, Florida man was arrested Monday night after finding a man's lost cell phone and holding it ransom for $300, police said.

The victim, Michael Pfister, told Lee County Sheriff's Office deputies that he lost his cell phone Friday night at the Zombicon event in downtown Fort Myers.

On Saturday afternoon, Pfister's girlfriend received several text messages from the missing phone.

The suspect with the phone, later identified as Joel Ervin, demanded $200 for the return of the phone.
The suspect also stated that if police were called, the phone would be destroyed.

Pfister arranged to meet the suspect and make the transaction. When the two met, Ervin demanded $300 for the exchange.

Pfister was able to relay the vehicle information and description of Ervin to deputies shortly after the transaction was made.

Ervin was located a short time later and stopped by the deputies.

The money, along with the cell phone were returned to Pfister.

Ervin has been charged with dealing in stolen property, and grand theft over $300 and under $5,000.

Tropical Storm Irene Could Become Hurricane

 

Tropical Storm Irene, the ninth named storm of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, formed on Saturday east of the Caribbean's Leeward Islands and was heading westward, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

At 7 p.m, the storm was packing winds near 50 miles per hour and was about 190 miles east of Dominica, the Miami-based hurricane center said.

Irene's forecast track would pass near or over Puerto Rico and mountainous Hispaniola, the island shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and the storm could be over the Florida Keys by late next week, forecasters say. It could develop into the first hurricane of the 2011 Atlantic season.

Depending on its eventual path, Irene could pose a threat to the United States or U.S. oil and gas installations in the Gulf of Mexico.