Tropical storm Elsa pounds East Coast after killing 1 in Florida

SAVANNAH, Ga. (NewsNation Now) — Tropical Storm Elsa carved a destructive and soaking path up the East Coast after killing at least one person in Florida and spinning up a tornado at a Georgia Navy base that flipped recreational vehicles upside-down and blew one of them into a lake.

Elsa’s winds strengthened slightly Thursday morning to 45 mph, and it was dropping torrential rains as it made its way through North Carolina late Thursday morning, the National Hurricane Center said in its latest update. Elsa was expected to pass near the eastern mid-Atlantic states by Thursday night and move near or over the northeastern United States on Friday.

Some re-strengthening was possible Thursday night and Friday while the system moves close to the northeastern United States.

A tropical storm warning was in effect north of Great Egg Inlet, New Jersey to Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and for the coast of Long Island from East Rockaway Inlet to the eastern tip along the south shore and from Port Jefferson Harbor eastward on the north shore. A warning was also in effect from New Haven, Connecticut to Merrimack River, Massachusetts including Cape Cod, Block Island, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket.

There was a chance Long Island in New York would see sustained tropical storm-force winds late Thursday night and into Friday morning, the National Weather Service in New York warned.

Elsa seemed to spare Florida from significant damage, though it still threatened flooding downpours and caused several tornado warnings. The coasts of Georgia and South Carolina were under a tropical storm warning. Forecasters predicted Elsa would remain a tropical storm into Friday, and issued a tropical storm watch from North Carolina to Massachusetts.

Authorities in Jacksonville, Florida, said one person was killed Wednesday when a tree fell and struck two cars. The National Weather Service reported 50 mph wind gusts in the city. The tree fell during heavy rains and no one else was injured, according to Capt. Eric Prosswimmer of the Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department.

In nearby Camden County, Georgia, a possible tornado struck a park for recreational vehicles at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base. About 10 people were injured and taken to hospitals by ambulance, said base spokesman Scott Bassett. The extent of their injuries was not immediately clear. He said some buildings on the base appeared to have been damaged as well.

An EF-2 tornado flipped over multiple RVs, blowing one of the overturned vehicles about 200 feet into a lake, the National Weather Service said in a preliminary report early Thursday after its employees surveyed the damage. Debris from the RVs was strewn throughout the park, the agency said.

Sergio Rodriguez, who lives near the RV park, said he raced to the scene fearing friends staying at the park might be hurt. The area was under a tornado warning Wednesday evening.

“There were just RVs flipped over on their sides, pickup trucks flipped over, a couple of trailers had been shifted and a couple of trailers were in the water” of a pond on the site, Rodriguez said in a phone interview.

Cellphone video he filmed at the scene showed trees bent low among scattered debris. He said ambulances arrived and began treating dazed people trying to understand what had happened.

“A bunch of folks had lacerations and were just banged around,” Rodriguez said. “A majority of folks were in their trailers when it happened.”

The hurricane center said there was a risk of flooding in South Carolina, which was predicted to get 3 to 5 inches (8 to 13 centimeters) of rainfall.

More than 7 inches of rain was recorded at a weather station near Gainesville, Florida, the weather service reported. More than 5 inches of rain had fallen by early Thursday at Sapelo Island off the Georgia coast; and at a weather station along the Savannah River in Jasper County, South Carolina.

Scattered power outages were being reported along Elsa’s path Wednesday evening, with about 35,000 homes and businesses on either side of the Georgia-Florida state line without electricity, according to the website poweroutages.us.

The storm complicated the search for potential survivors and victims in the collapse of a Miami-area condominium on June 24. Regardless, crews continued the search in the rubble of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida, on the state’s southeast coast.

The storm also temporarily halted demolition Wednesday on the remainder of an overturned cargo ship off the coast of Georgia. The South Korean freighter Golden Ray capsized in September 2019 off St. Simons Island, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) south of Savannah. Crews have removed more than half the ship since November.

Elsa is the earliest fifth-named storm on record, said Brian McNoldy, a hurricane researcher at the University of Miami.

The Associated Press and NewsNation affiliates from around the country contributed to this report.

Fallen trees block Front Street on Wednesday, July 7, 2021 in Valrico. Tropical Storm Elsa continued to track north after dropping heavy rain in the Tampa Bay area. (Luis Santana/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
A jogger makes his way along Bayshore Blvd., in Tampa, Fla. as a wave breaks over a seawall, during the aftermath of Tropical Storm Elsa Wednesday, July 7, 2021. The Tampa Bay area was spared major damage as Elsa stayed off shore as it passed by. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
A couple of signs hang loose on their post after Hurricane Elsa moved over the Tampa Bay Area, Wednesday, July 7, 2021 in Pinellas Park, Fla. The Tampa Bay area was spared major damage as Elsa stayed off shore as it passed by. (Martha Asencio-Rhine/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
A cyclist makes his way long Bay Pines Boulevard the morning after Hurricane Elsa moved over the Tampa Bay Area, Wednesday, July 7, 2021 in St. Petersburg, Fla. (Martha Asencio-Rhine/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Michael Ciarleglio with the city of Pinellas Park, cleans up a few tree branches while working the morning after Hurricane Elsa moved over the Tampa Bay Area, Wednesday, July 7, 2021 in Pinellas Park, Fla. The Tampa Bay area was spared major damage as Elsa stayed off shore as it passed by. (Martha Asencio-Rhine/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Palm leaves lay on the ground following heavy rain and wind from Tropical Storm Elsa, Wednesday, July 7, 2021 in Westchase, Fla. The Tampa Bay area was spared major damage as Elsa stayed off shore as it passed by. (Arielle Bader/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Beach walkers walk along the sand on Pass-a-Grille the morning after Tropical Storm Elsa moved over the Tampa Bay Area, Wednesday, July 7, 2021 in St. Pete Beach, Fla. (Martha Asencio-Rhine/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
A man treads water and awaits rescue crews approximately 32 miles southeast of Key West, Fla., on Tuesday, July 6, 2021. The U.S. Coast Guard and a good Samaritan rescued 13 people after their boat capsized off of Key West as Tropical Storm Elsa approached. (U.S. Coast Guard via AP)
The Coast Guard Cutter Thetis’ crewmembers deploy the cutter’s small boat to rescue people in the water approximately 32 miles southeast of Key West, Fla., on Tuesday, July 6, 2021. The U.S. Coast Guard and a good Samaritan rescued 13 people after their boat capsized off of Key West as Tropical Storm Elsa approached. (U.S. Coast Guard via AP)
Crew members aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Thetis provide medical attention people rescued from the water approximately 32 miles southeast of Key West, Fla., on Tuesday, July 6, 2021. The U.S. Coast Guard and a good Samaritan rescued 13 people after their boat capsized off of Key West as Tropical Storm Elsa approached. (U.S. Coast Guard via AP)
Luis Ernesto catches a small wave while surfing along Pass-a-Grille Beach, Wednesday, July 7, 2021 in St. Pete Beach, Fla., the morning after Tropical Storm Elsa moved over the Tampa Bay Area. (Martha Asencio-Rhine/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 07: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks to members of the press prior to a Marine One departure from the South Lawn of the White House July 7, 2021 in Washington, DC. President Biden is traveling to Crystal Lake, Illinois, to push for his “Build Back Better” agenda. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
FILE – In this May 13, 2021, file photo, Heather Haworth, left, holds the hand of her 12-year-old son Jeremy as he receives the first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine from medical assistant Gloria Urgell at Providence Edwards Lifesciences vaccination site in Santa Ana, Calif. The global death toll from COVID-19 has eclipsed 4 million as the crisis increasingly becomes a race between the vaccine and the highly contagious delta variant. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
CEDAR KEY, FL – JULY 07: Tropical Storm Elsa makes landfall on July 7, 2021 in Cedar Key, Florida. Storm warnings remain in effect for parts of Florida’s west coast as Elsa made landfall on Wednesday morning. After hitting Cuba on Monday, causing flooding and mudslides, Elsa is expected to bring strong winds and rain as it heads north in the coming days. (Photo by Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images)