Tropical Storm Elsa, back over water, takes aim at Florida

Tropical Storm Elsa, back over water but still producing heavy rains over Cuba, was expected to move near the lower Florida Keys and the Dry Tortugas on Tuesday, according to the National Hurricane Center

HAVANA -- Tropical Storm Elsa, back over water but still producing heavy rains over Cuba, was expected to move near the lower Florida Keys and the Dry Tortugas on Tuesday, according to the National Hurricane Center. Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday expanded an existing state of emergency to cover a dozen counties that span an area of Florida where Elsa is expected to make a swift passage on Wednesday. Elsa made landfall in Cuba on Monday afternoon near Cienega de Zapata, a natural park with few inhabitants. It headed northwestward across the island, passing Havana just to the east. Elsa's maximum sustained winds strengthened to 60 mph (95 kph) late Monday. Its core was about 20 miles (35 kilometers) north-northeast of Havana and 80 miles (130 kilometers) south-southwest of Key West, Florida. It was moving to the north-northwest at 12 mph (19 kph).