Residents Encouraged to Monitor Potential Severe Weather Through Sunday

Escambia County is encouraging residents to closely monitor the weather forecast beginning Thursday, July 11 through Sunday, July 14. The National Weather Service of Mobile is forecasting local impacts from Tropical Storm Barry to include heavy rainfall, high risk of rip currents, high surf and potentially isolated tornadoes. 

A flash flood watch is in effect Thursday afternoon through Sunday afternoon for Escambia County. Numerous to widespread showers and thunderstorms are expected across the region, with the National Weather Service predicting up to 4-6 inches of rainfall through Sunday.

A high surf advisory and high rip current risk also remain in effect through Saturday night. Pensacola Beach is flying a red flag, with red flags anticipated through Sunday evening. While red flags are in place, all beach goers will only be allowed access to the sand and shore, and will not be allowed to swim or wade in the Gulf of Mexico. More information on the flag system is available online here. 

Follow these tips to stay safe during severe weather:

• Pay extra attention to local weather reports until the storm has moved through the area. Be sure to keep your weather radio on and your cell phone charged to ensure you can receive weather alerts. 
• With the possibility of high winds, it is recommended that any lightweight outside furniture or equipment be secured before dark Thursday evening.
• Organizations with planned outside activities during this Enhanced Risk period need to be weather aware and take the appropriate actions.
• In the event of a Tornado Warning, move to an interior room on the lowest floor of your home or building. Stay away from windows.
• Turn around, don't drown: In the event of a roadway covered by water, do not attempt to drive over the flooded road. Water depth may be misleading, and you could end up stranded or trapped.

For the latest information on severe weather impacting Escambia County, residents are encouraged to sign up for emergency alerts on myescambia.com, like Escambia County Emergency Management on Facebook and follow @BeReadyEscambia on Twitter.

Stay informed with these additional local resources:

• Escambia County real-time road closures map: View Escambia County road closures map online here.
• City of Pensacola real-time road closures map: View City of Pensacola road closures map online here.
• National Weather Service Mobile/Pensacola: weather.gov/mob or facebook.com/nwsmobile
• Pensacola 311 (non-emergencies only): Citizens have three easy ways to contact 311: Simply dialing 311, visiting cityofpensacola.com/311, or by downloading our Pensacola 311 mobile app, available for iPhone/iPad, Android, and Blackberry.
• City notifications: cityofpensacola.com/List.aspx