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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Florida relieved by weak Ernesto


NASA sends Atlantis back to the launch pad Tuesday after forecasts for Tropical Storm Ernesto had improved. 
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Laura Wides-munoz Associated Press

MIAMI – Tropical Storm Ernesto sloshed rather than slammed ashore – surprising forecasters by failing to strengthen Tuesday as it approached Florida and providing relief to hurricane-weary residents.

Briefly a hurricane Sunday, Ernesto lost much of its punch crossing mountainous eastern Cuba. The storm crossed the Florida Straits with top sustained winds of 45 mph before making landfall as a weak tropical storm at 11:30 p.m. EDT on Plantation Key, about 60 miles southwest of Miami, forecasters said.

“Fortunately it didn’t get too big,” said David Rudduck of the American Red Cross. “It was the little train that couldn’t.”

That was good news for Florida, the victim of seven hurricanes since 2004.

“Frankly, I am surprised it has not strengthened,” said Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center. “But for all those thousands and thousands of people with blue-tarped roofs, that’s good news. … As a homeowner, I’m very happy. As a forecaster, I’m not very happy.”

As the threat of damaging winds abated, rain became the biggest concern, and police distributed thousands of sandbags in the low-lying Miami suburb of Sweetwater. Five to 10 inches of rain was possible, forecasters said.

Ernesto was forecast to move up the middle of the state and exit on the northeast coast by early Thursday, moving into the Atlantic and potentially gaining hurricane strength before hitting Georgia or the Carolinas.

NASA scrubbed Tuesday’s launch of Atlantis. The space agency began moving the shuttle back to its hangar to protect it from the storm, then reversed course later in the day when forecasters predicted that winds would not be as severe as initially feared.

“It is always difficult to forecast intensity,” Mayfield said. “We’ve been very honest with people about that.”

Tropical storm watches or warnings remained in effect for much of coastal Florida. A hurricane watch was posted for the coasts of Georgia and the Carolinas.