Elsa downgraded to tropical storm

Elsa downgraded to tropical storm

Elsa weakened to a tropical storm early on Wednesday and is expected to hit the north Florida Gulf coast later in the morning, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Bryan Wood reports.

Tropical Storm Elsa weakened to a tropical storm early on Wednesday, just hours before it was expected to hit Florida’s northern Gulf Coast.

It had downgraded from a Category 1 hurricane.

That’s according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, which added tornadoes were possible across Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

Strong winds and rain already flooded the streets of Key West Tuesday morning, a sign of what’s to come.

An NHC advisory said the center of Elsa was moving north, with max sustained winds of 75 miles per hour.

The storm is expected to make landfall around the Tampa Bay area late Wednesday morning, according to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

After, Elsa is forecast to move across the southeast through Thursday, dropping upwards of 4 inches of rain.

It also threatens to impede the search and rescue effort at the condominium collapse site in Surfside, just outside of Miami.

Crews have sifted through rubble for nearly two weeks in hopes of finding survivors.

As of Tuesday, 36 people were confirmed dead and over 100 were still missing, according to the Miami-Dade mayor.