Tropical Storm Bonnie Skirts Florida Keys Without Damage

The center of Tropical Storm Bonnie skirted north of the Florida Keys on Friday, without leaving any appreciable impacts. The National Hurricane Center discontinued tropical storm warnings for the southeast cost of Florida and the Florida Keys at 2 p.m. Friday. Monroe County Emergency Management Director Irene Toner said she has no word of any significant impacts caused by the storm. All utilities and other infrastructure services are operating as normal.

There were no sustained tropical storm force winds (at least 39 mph) in the Keys, according to Key West National Weather Service Office Senior Meteorologist Bill South. Rainfall was light. The Port of Key West was closed for about 12 hours and reopened at noon. Two cruise ships that were scheduled to visit Key West Friday have been rescheduled for Sunday. Florida Keys Marathon Airport and Key West International Airport continue normal operations, although some flight cancellations were reported for Friday only, according to Monroe County Airports' director Peter Horton.

All Florida Keys State Parks have opened for day use. Dry Tortugas National Park, including Fort Jefferson, reopened Saturday morning. There were no resident or visitor evacuations issued due to the storm. All events for Key West's Hemingway Days festival remain scheduled through Sunday. The storm should also not have any impact on the upcoming lobster mini-season, according to Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesperson Bobby Dube. The special season for recreational Florida lobster divers is to begin at midnight on Wednesday and concludes to Thursday at midnight. For more information, visit www.fla-keys.com.

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