Florida Airports Getting Back to Normal after Isaac
NEW YORK (AP) - South Florida airports were returning to normal operations Monday morning but airlines are already warning of cancellations in and around New Orleans as Tropical Storm Isaac nears. Airlines cancelled more than 230 flights on Monday, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware. The vast majority of cancellations stemmed from the storm, which is expected to grow to a Category 1 hurricane and hit land late Tuesday night. American Airlines, part of AMR Corp., runs a major hub at Miami International Airport and was affected the most. The airline had 148 cancellations in Florida Monday morning but expected to operate normally by late morning, according to spokesman Ed Martelle. Airlines typically move planes out of a storm's path to protect them and ensure a faster return to service. Airlines cancelled 857 flights on Sunday - including 489 from American, according to FlightAware. Other Florida airports, including Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Key West, and Marathon were responsible for the majority of other cancellations. Key West International Airport, which originally expected to remain closed until Tuesday, will now reopen at noon Monday, according to airport director Peter Horton. Airlines are now closely watching the storm and warning of possible cancellations along the Florida panhandle and in New Orleans. Southwest Airlines, which cancelled 35 Florida flights today between its Southwest and AirTran brands, is monitoring airports in Panama City, Pensacola and New Orleans. The airline will make a decision about New Orleans flights late on Monday, according to spokeswoman Ashley Dillon. Those airports are tiny compared to Miami, which is a major gateway to Latin America and the Caribbean. Any cancellations there would be in addition to the nearly 1,000 flights scrapped so far because of the storm. All airlines will waive change fees for passengers wishing to move their flight into or out of an affected city to another date. They are also offering refunds to passengers whose flights have been cancelled. The specific policies can be found on each airline's website. ___
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Haiti's Death Toll Climbs from Isaac
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - A government official says that Haiti's death toll from Tropical Storm Isaac has jumped to 19. Marie Alta Jean-Baptiste of the country's Civil Protection Office gave few details on how each person died in the storm that drenched Haiti over the weekend. That puts the total regional death toll from Tropical Storm Isaac at 21. Two people died in the neighboring Dominican Republic after they were swept away in a river. Some of the Haitians died because their homes fell on top of them. Haiti is prone to flooding and mudslides because much of the country is heavily deforested and rainwater rushes down barren mountainsides. Jean-Baptiste gave the new figures in an interview on a private radio station.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Ex-Tropical Storm Chris weakens, advisories stop
MIAMI (AP) - A day after spending mere hours as a hurricane, the former Tropical Storm Chris was weakening in the north Atlantic and not headed for any land.

The storm's maximum sustained winds Friday have decreased to near 45 mph (75 kph). The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami says the tropical storm has become a post-tropical system and it will no longer issue advisories.

Chris is centered about 335 miles (535 kilometers) east-southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland, and is moving west-northwest at 16 mph (26 kph).
    
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

DHS Secretary urges plan for hurricane season

MIAMI (AP) - U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano wants to make sure Americans are prepared for the
start of the Atlantic hurricane season.

The season begins Friday and Napolitano will join Federal Emergency Management Agency head Craig Fugate, as well as Florida
Gov. Rick Scott to urge those likely to be affected by storms to prepare beforehand.

Officials will begin their public service campaign Friday at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

While not officially beginning until Friday, the season has already seen two named storms. Tropical Storm Alberto formed off
the coast of South Carolina on May 19 and dissipated a few days later. And on Memorial Day, Tropical Storm Beryl came ashore near
Jacksonville, Fla., dumping 10 inches of rain in some areas of north Florida.
     
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Alabama wants earlier storm evacuations

GULF SHORES, Ala. (AP) - Unable to open new public shelters on
the coast in time for hurricane season, state leaders are prodding
Alabama's coastal counties to make evacuation decisions earlier
than in past years so residents will have more time to seek higher
ground if a major storm threatens the Gulf of Mexico.
      Gov. Robert Bentley has advocated opening additional shelters
along the coast to reduce the number of people who need to flee
ahead of hurricanes, but budgets are tight. Federal officials
approved less than 20 percent of the $2 million grant that two
cities requested for public shelters in Baldwin County, Alabama's
leading tourist area, officials say.
      So with hurricane season starting Friday, officials tell The
Associated Press that state leaders as recently as this week have
encouraged local officials to make decisions to evacuate as far as
two days ahead of a hurricane threat. That's different from the 24
to 36-hour window sought in past years.
      Mitchell Sims, emergency management director in Baldwin County,
said quicker decisions are good, but they aren't always possible.
      "There are so many factors in there. Every storm is different.
What are the impacts going to be after people leave?" he said.
      Bentley publicly discussed the idea of scaling back coastal
evacuations after the deadly tornado outbreak of April 27, 2011.
With millions of federal dollars flowing into the state for
shelters, some of the money should be used on the coast to lessen
the need for mass evacuations like the ones that occurred during
Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and Katrina in 2005, he said.
      "It's a new way of thinking," Bentley said at the time.
      Sims said the towns of Robertsdale and Spanish Fort sought $2
million total for hardened shelters that could be used during
twisters or hurricanes - which typically generate tornadoes - but
the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved only $339,000 for
the work. With the cities having to provide matching funds to fill
the funding gaps, he said it was unclear whether either project
could go forward.
      Bentley spokesman Jeremy King said the governor still supports
the idea of building additional shelters on the coast, as do
others.
      "But there may be an issue with how much money is available in
comparison with how much need exists in the counties," he said.
      With a population of 185,000 and most of the state's beach
resorts, Baldwin County already has 12 total shelters, including
four for the general public. Opening any or all of them even a day
earlier than in the past would cost the county additional money for
food, security, utilities and other needs, Sims said.
      "If we need to do that for the safety of our people, we'll do
it," he said.
      The state said public shelters can accommodate as many as 45,000
people in Alabama, but many families stay in hotels or motels when
forced to leave home so shelters rarely fill up.
      The director of the Alabama Emergency Management Agency, Art
Faulkner, said improved forecasting makes it possible to make
evacuation decisions sooner than in the past. Only the governor can
order a mandatory evacuation, and such decisions are made in
consultation with local officials.
      "A lot of it is storm driven; the factors of the storm, the
category," he said. "Hopefully we can better make decisions in
those early hours that would not put our citizens in the position
of having to evacuate when tropical-force winds are hitting the
coat."
      Enjoying a sunny May day on the beach at Gulf Shores, Andrew
Hunt dreaded the thought of a hurricane as he played in the surf on
a wake board.
      "That's the last thing we need," said Hunt, 24, of Pensacola,
Fla.
      .

     
      (Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)
     

Remnants of Beryl head back toward Atlantic
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - The remnants of Tropical Storm Beryl headed toward the Atlantic on Wednesday, skimming the coast of the Carolinas and prompting flood watches in eastern North Carolina. Beryl was expected to regain tropical storm strength at sea late in the day.

Heavy rains from the storm caused some scattered street and lowland flooding near Wilmington, N.C., as the system approached. Loris., S.C., near the border of the two Carolinas, received more than 3 inches of rain and radar showed heavy rains along the Interstate 95 corridor in the two states.

The tropical depression gained some strength overnight and winds increased to near 35 mph (55 kph). The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Beryl could regain tropical storm strength off the coast late Wednesday, but tropical storm-force winds were expected to stay offshore so no coastal warnings had been posted.

Reid Hawkins, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wilmington, said the storm had picked up speed and was expected to drop between 1 and 3 inches of rain in eastern North Carolina.

Earlier forecasts had called for upward to 8 inches in areas. He said Wilmington had received about 2.5 inches of rain by late Wednesday morning.

At 5 a.m. Wednesday, the depression was centered about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north-northeast of Charleston, S.C., and was moving east-northeast near 14 mph (22 kph). The center was approaching the Wilmington area late Wednesday morning and skies brightened in Charleston.

Forecasters said the depression was expected to skim along the coast of the Carolinas before moving back over the Atlantic.

Hawkins said rain, not wind, was the concern with the system and the rain would be welcome. He said Wilmington has received only about 75 percent of its normal rainfall this year.

Beryl came ashore near Jacksonville, Fla., on Memorial Day as a tropical storm dumping 10 inches of rain in some areas of north Florida.

It struck Cumberland Island National Seashore off the Georgia coast and the island, part of the National Park Service, will remain closed to visitors until the weekend to give rangers time to clean up after the storm.

Fred Boyles, the island's superintendent, said Wednesday that downed trees and other debris still need to be cleared before Cumberland re-opens

Saturday. Rangers evacuated the federally protected wilderness area reachable only by boat last Sunday, well ahead of the tropical storm's landfall.

The island off Georgia's southeast corner gets about 43,500 visitors each year.

Beryl is the second named tropical system of the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane season that doesn't officially begin until Friday.
     
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Slow, wet Beryl dumps rain on US Southeast coast
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - Residents along the Southeast coast were arned of possible flooding Tuesday from former Tropical Storm Beryl that left up to 10 inches of rain in northern Florida and was moving northeastward before heading back toward the coast and into the Atlantic.

Beryl sloshed ashore near Jacksonville, Fla., on Memorial Day and was a tropical depression Tuesday with maximum sustained winds of 30 mph (45 kph). It was centered about 115 miles (185 kilometers) west-southwest of Savannah and was moving northeast near 5 mph (7 kph).

The National Hurricane Center said that, on that track, the storm was expected to skim along the South Carolina coast early Wednesday before moving back over the Atlantic and strengthening again into a tropical storm with sustained winds of more than 39 mph.

Beryl is the second named tropical system of the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane season that doesn't officially begin until Friday.

Skies were hazy and the sun occasionally peaked through at midday Tuesday in Charleston, although storm bands pulled in by the system were approaching from the Atlantic.

Flood watches were in effect in northern Florida and the upper South Carolina coast while flash flood watches were posted from the Savannah area north to the mid-South Carolina coast.

Zarron Allen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Jacksonville, said Beryl dumped 10 inches of rain in Sewanee County, Florida, while nearby areas wound up with 3 to 6 inches.

Forecasters said up to 4 inches could fall on parts of South Carolina, although dry air that was beginning to wrap into the circulation over Georgia could lower that amount.

Rain would be welcome along the South Carolina coast after what has been a warm winter and dry spring. Rainfall in the Charleston area is about 4 inches below normal for the year.

Meteorologist Brett Cimbora of the National Weather Service in Charleston said rain would be sporadic at first as bands of showers spin up off the ocean, then become steadier. "The storm is moving pretty slow and it's bringing in rain off the water," he said.

Cimbora said the threat of flash flooding along the coast is greater because it has been dry and the biggest possibility is late Tuesday. Dry soil is more compacted and sudden heavy rains wash off quickly instead of seeping into the ground, he said.

Reports from the National Weather Service indicated that damage from the system seemed confined downed trees and limbs. Rip currents were reported at the Isle of Palms northeast of Charleston.

The forecast from the National Hurricane Center calls for Beryl to regain tropical storm strength off the North Carolina coast by late Wednesday. But even so, tropical storm force winds were expected to stay offshore so no coastal warnings had been posted.

Cimbora said heavy winds were not expected in the Charleston area as the storm again approached the coast from land. But he said that some of the stronger storms within rain bands could have heavy winds.
     
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)