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CNN Live At Daybreak

Tropical Storm Barry Heads to Deep South

Aired August 06, 2001 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN ANCHOR: We have been tracking this tropical storm right through the night. After making landfall about five-and-a-half hours ago near Destin, Florida, Barry is now heading into the deep South. And our Ed Lavandera is just west of the eye in Fort Walton Beach. On Barry's other edge, CNN's Mark Potter is in Panama City Beach.

But let's start in Fort Walton Beach and Ed -- Ed, go ahead.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning.

This city seems to have handled the storm quite well, at least so far this morning. The surf is still up high. The wind is still pretty strong as well. It's just a good steady wind.

But we made several passes along the beaches this morning. Power seems to be intact. And a lot of the stores and convenience stores already starting to open up. As the day gets started here, you can see that power along the beach and along the beachfront properties also is -- everything is functioning -- just seems to be functioning pretty well.

And folks here are getting ready for their -- just starting the next day. And of course, as we have mentioned, the consistent rain will also be a concern. But as they have mentioned here all along, it's just something they will just monitor at a moment's notice.

I am Ed Lavandera in Fort Walton Beach -- back to you.

MCEDWARDS: All right. Ed, thanks very much. Rain the big concern there -- Vince.

VINCE CELLINI, CNN ANCHOR: And with us now, we want to bring in Max Mayfield, the director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida.

Good morning, Max.

MAX MAYFIELD, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Good morning, Vince. How are you?

CELLINI: Good. Thank you.

Now, where is exactly is this storm right now? And we would like for you to clear up something for us -- its status. Was it ever a hurricane? We had heard that overnight for a few minutes, it could have been classified as such.

MAYFIELD: We really don't think so. Right up to the time of landfall, which was near Santa Rosa Beach there just east of Destin, we had an Air Force plane report of about 80 miles per hour in a very limited area at a flat level. Now, that wind looks like it did not get translated down to the surface. But we really don't have so many observing stations there between Panama City and Pensacola there.

So we think it came in as a strong tropical storm. The winds are decreasing very rapidly. The center is already up into Southern Alabama.

CELLINI: Max, this pointed to being a hurricane. In fact, all signs pointed it to being as such as early as Sunday morning. Why wasn't it a full-blown hurricane?

MAYFIELD: Vince, we have been watching this thing for days out there in the Gulf of Mexico as a very minimal tropical storm. And then very early yesterday morning, we got some aircraft reports that suggested the pressure had dropped very, very significantly. It did strengthen there for about a six-hour period. And that sometimes is a hurricane warning. For some reason, we're not really sure of yet, it looks like it (UNINTELLIGIBLE) some dryer air, but it leveled off. And that was good news.

So it did come in as a storm -- tropical storm about midway between Panama City and Pensacola. So I wouldn't expect, you know, any real significant damage. Although I would see some beach erosion there, I think, and to the near and to the east of landfall.

Now, Ed is over on the weak side over there in Fort Walton Beach. I am interested to see what Mark encountered there closer to Panama City.

CELLINI: Well, Max, how long will Barry be a tropical storm? Is that tough to say? When will it be downgraded?

MAYFIELD: I think it will be downgraded very quickly this morning. We still have some rain bands coming up into the Apalachicola -- Apalachicola Bay area there. The strongest winds are probably in that bay end, and also just to the east, to the center, as it moves through Alabama. But the winds will be decreasing over land. The emphasis is just back to the rainfall now.

CELLINI: Max, is it fair to warn people who think they might be out of the woods that they are not out of danger yet? I mean, is there that false sense of security at times?

MAYFIELD: Well, the winds are going to die down. The water levels will die down on the coastlines, so we're really focused on the rainfall. We have backed off a little of that, because they are moving about nine miles per hour now. And it's been relatively dry there. So I don't think we're going to have a problem today. We are saying six to eight inches of rain with some isolated higher mass today. But if it slows down in the next day or two, well, then we're going to have to watch it even more closely.

CELLINI: All right. Thank you, Max Mayfield from the National Hurricane Center. We'll be checking in with you throughout the morning.

MAYFIELD: You are welcome.

MCEDWARDS: And you just heard Max saying that he is interested to see what has happened in Panama City Beach -- whether there is any beach erosion there.

We've got Mark Potter there. We're going to go to him in just a moment.

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