Residents Encouraged to Monitor Tropical Storm Nestor

Escambia County is encouraging residents and visitors to closely monitor official weather sources for information regarding Tropical Storm Nestor. The National Weather Service of Mobile is forecasting local impacts to include:

• High rip current risk through Sunday morning
• High surf of 8-12 feet
• Minor coastal flooding Friday evening through Sunday morning during high tide
• Isolated flash flooding Friday night through Sunday
• Tropical storm force wind gusts beginning Friday evening

Pensacola Beach is flying red flags, with red flags anticipated through Saturday. 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 be secured by Friday before dark.
• 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