ZCZC MIATCPAT5 ALL TTAA00 KNHC DDHHMM BULLETIN HURRICANE EARL INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY NUMBER 10A NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 7 PM CDT WED SEP 02 1998 ...DAMAGING WINDS SPREADING ACROSS FLORIDA PANHANDLE COAST... HURRICANE WARNINGS ARE IN EFFECT FROM PASCAGOULA MISSISSIPPI TO THE SUWANNEE RIVER FLORIDA. TROPICAL STORM WARNINGS ARE IN EFFECT FROM SOUTH OF THE SUWANNEE RIVER TO THE ANCLOTE KEYS FLORIDA. A TROPICAL STORM WARNING AND A HURRICANE WATCH ARE IN EFFECT FROM WEST OF PASCAGOULA TO GRAND ISLE LOUISIANA INCLUDING THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS. AT 7 PM CDT...0000Z...THE BROAD CENTER OF HURRICANE EARL WAS LOCATED BY AN AIR FORCE HURRICANE HUNTER PLANE NEAR LATITUDE 29.4 NORTH... LONGITUDE 86.8 WEST OR ABOUT 70 MILES SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF DESTIN FLORIDA. EARL IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST NEAR 10 MPH AND ON THIS TRACK THE CENTER WILL REACH THE COAST WITHIN THE WARNING AREA EARLY THURSDAY. HOWEVER...HURRICANE CONDITIONS EXTEND OUT WELL AHEAD OF THE CENTER AND ARE EXPECTED TO REACH THE COAST SHORTLY. DOPPLER RADAR SHOWS HURRICANE FORCE WINDS APPROACHING PORTIONS OF THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE COASTLINE AT THIS TIME. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE ESTIMATED TO BE NEAR 100 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS IN A SMALL AREA WITHIN STRONG RAINBANDS TO THE EAST OF THE CENTER. LITTLE SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN STRENGTH IS LIKELY BEFORE THE CENTER REACHES THE COAST. HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 90 MILES TO THE EAST OF THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 175 MILES TO THE EAST OF THE CENTER. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE REPORTED BY A RECONNAISSANCE PLANE WAS 987 MB...29.15 INCHES. RAINFALL TOTALS OF 5 TO 10 INCHES WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS ARE LIKELY ALONG THE PATH OF THE HURRICANE. STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 8 TO 11 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS ACCOMPANIED BY LARGE BATTERING WAVES ARE POSSIBLE NEAR AND TO THE EAST OF WHERE THE CENTER CROSSES THE COAST. ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE OVER PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND NORTHERN FLORIDA AND THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE TONIGHT. REPEATING THE 7 PM CDT POSITION...29.4 N... 86.8 W. MOVEMENT TOWARD...NORTHEAST 10 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...100 MPH. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE... 987 MB. THE NEXT ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER AT 10 PM CDT. PASCH NNNN