Charlotte County declares local state of emergency ahead of Elsa

CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. – Charlotte County leaders declared a local state of emergency ahead of Tropical Storm Elsa.

County leaders passed the declaration unanimously. They will not be issuing orders on storm shelters yet, however, there are two shelters on standby if they need to open.

Elsa, a strong tropical storm, was nearing landfall in Cuba as of the 8 a.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center.

Conditions are expected to begin deteriorating in Southwest Florida by Monday evening.

Coastal Charlotte, Lee and Collier counties are under a tropical storm warning. Inland Lee and Charlotte counties are under a tropical storm watch.

The next briefing from county leaders will be at 1:30 p.m. Monday.

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