Gulf Coast Braces for Tropical Storm Barry

Residents of the Florida Panhandle and southern Alabama braced for drenching rainfall and the possibility of flooding Sunday as Tropical Storm Barry headed for land, slowly gaining strength as it plowed across the Gulf of Mexico.

The storm had a slight chance of turning into a hurricane before making landfall sometime during the night, and a hurricane warning remained in effect for Pensacola eastward to the Ochlockonee River in Florida, the National Hurricane Center said.

The storm’s peak sustained wind speed increased during the day to nearly 70 mph. A tropical storm is redesignated a hurricane when its sustained winds reach 74 mph.

The center of the storm was headed toward the area of Panama City and Pensacola in the Panhandle, National Hurricane Center meteorologist Krissy Williams said.

Air Force officials said nearly 40 C-130 cargo aircraft and about 300 personnel from Hurlburt Field Air Force Base near Fort Walton Beach were sent Sunday to Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas to get them out of the storm’s expected path.

Meteorologists expected 8 to 10 inches of rain across the Panhandle and said isolated tornadoes were possible. Barry already had dumped more than a foot of rain on parts of South Florida when it crossed the state last week on its way to the Gulf of Mexico.

A flood watch was in effect through today for southeast Alabama, and southwest and south-central Georgia.

Along Florida’s Panhandle, some residents enjoyed the rough seas along the coast’s beaches while others prepared for flooding.

“I’m not that worried. You live out here and you know it’s going to happen,” said Stephanie Taylor, 36, who walked with her boyfriend near the shore. Red flags waved along the beach to warn against swimming.

At Fort Walton Beach, a solid gray blanket of clouds covered the sky and white surf pounded the beaches. Only a handful of people walked along the beach while a group of surfers took advantage of the strong waves.

“Just came to check out the waves. They look pretty good,” said Don Ory, a marina owner. “I wish I was out there . . . just riding them on a boogie board or a Jet Ski would be nice.”

“Even if the storm does not reach hurricane status, the heavy rains that come with a tropical storm are something to be wary of,” said Orange Beach, Ala., Fire Chief Mickey Robinson. “Our ground is already pretty saturated from the rain we had this week, so we’ll have to watch all the low areas for flooding.”

Beach-goers on the Alabama coast were warned to stay out of the water because of the churning surf and rip tides. Aided by a northeasterly wind and a full moon, Barry had churned up 6- and 8-foot waves along the state’s shoreline.

Sunday night, the storm was centered about 35 miles west-southwest of Panama City and about 45 miles southeast of Fort Walton Beach. “This general motion is expected to continue through [Sunday night] and early [today]. On this track the center will cross the coast of the Florida Panhandle within six hours,” the hurricane center said at 11 p.m. EDT.

“We’re feeling a lot less stressful,” said Sharon Cowan, whose husband is pastor of First Baptist Church of Grand Isle, La., on a barrier island that had been in the storm’s path. “We also feel a lot of concern for the people in the path of the storm.”