Elsa downgraded to tropical storm, expected to hit Florida within days

Elsa has been downgraded to a tropical storm just days before it is expected to hit Florida. 

The National Hurricane Center announced Saturday morning that the first hurricane of the Atlantic season has weakened to a tropical storm as it travels quickly through the Caribbean.

Here are the 11 AM EDT Key Messages for Tropical Storm Elsa. Tropical Storm Warnings and Watches issued for portions of Cuba. More info: https://t.co/tW4KeFW0gB pic.twitter.com/b7d7PcDK7x

— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) July 3, 2021

Elsa’s near-hurricane conditions are keeping Haiti and the Dominican Republic under a hurricane warning on Saturday, while heavy rain and flash flooding will affect other parts of the Caribbean on Sunday.

The weather agency said the tropical storm should hit southern Florida on Monday and could work its way up the state by Wednesday.

“There is an increasing risk of tropical storm conditions, storm surge, and rainfall impacts beginning Monday in the Florida Keys and the southern Florida Peninsula,” the National Hurricane Center said.

“The risk will spread northward along the Florida Peninsula through Wednesday and reach the coasts of Georgia and the Carolinas Wednesday and Thursday,” it added.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has already declared a state of emergency for parts of Florida ahead of the tropical storm’s impact, News4Jax reported.

The tropical storm has the potential to further impede search and rescue operations from the Surfside, Fla., condo building collapse, which killed at least 22 people and left dozens missing.