Florida
Alaskan bears found more than 3,600 miles away from home in Florida
The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office said two Kodiak bear cubs were found wandering a rural roadway in the western Panhandle in December.
OKALOOSA COUNTY, Fla. – Two Kodiak bear cubs native to southern Alaska were found wandering on a rural Florida roadway, and the incident was captured on an Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office deputy’s body camera.
A local resident alerted authorities to the sighting on Dec. 5 and said it was a sight he had never seen before.
Their size and color were two indications that they weren’t dealing with a species native to Florida, but there remained many questions as to where the duo came from.
The pair appeared healthy and even tried to climb into a responding patrol car.
A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission investigation confirmed the resident’s initial theory – the bears weren’t from Florida; they were actually Kodiak cubs from southern Alaska.
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The bears were taken to a secure facility, and information regarding the occasion was kept tight-lipped to protect the sanctity of the investigation.
It wasn’t until the last day of January that the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office revealed the circumstances that led to the bears traveling more than 3,600 miles.
A man spotted two bears in a rural region of the Florida Panhandle in December.
(Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office / FOX Weather)
According to investigators, it was determined that the bears escaped a nearby enclosure and that they were being housed by a local resident.
The FWC said that the resident now faces a list of violations but did not release the suspect’s identity.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game told the sheriff’s office that there are only about 3,500 Kodiak bears in existence and are subspecies of the more well-known brown and grizzly bears.
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It remains unclear how someone was able to get the bears to Florida or when they’ll be transported back to The Last Frontier.
According to the state’s fish and game department, there are only about 3,500 Kodiak bears in existence, and they can stand over ten feet tall when on their hind legs.
There have been no additional reports of Kodiak bears wandering through Florida’s wilderness.
A Kodiak brown bear crosses the Ayakulik River, Alaska.
(Photo By DENNIS ANDERSON/Star Tribune via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Gulf system to bring downpours to Florida
FOX 13 Meteorologist Jim Weber is continuing to watch an area in the Gulf that is expected to bring much-needed rain to Florida this weekend. He said the system will likely drift to the north and northwest and will linger before heading to the northeast. He said to get a tropical depression, or a tropical storm there needs to be winds and a closed low and he is not seeing that in the models yet. Weber is also tracking a system off the coast of Africa that has a 10% chance of developing over the next week. He says it will likely enter a hostile environment and dissipate.
TAMPA, Fla. – Forecasters are tracking a broad disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast that could bring much-needed rain to parched communities this weekend.
Gulf tropical development potential
What we know:
Models continue to indicate there is a potential for an area of low pressure to form over the northeast Gulf off the west coast of Florida over the weekend.
The National Hurricane Center says an area in the Gulf has a 30% chance of tropical development over the next seven days.
Models a shifting away from the forecast of the system moving over the state and off the coast of the Carolinas. Models are now indicating a more likely scenario that it lingers in the Gulf over the weekend and may drift more to the northwest near the Florida Panhandle or Louisiana coast. Early next week conditions look like they will become less conducive and may prohibit much development. Regardless of whether it organizes, the system will bring tropical downpours and increased moisture across Florida and parts of the Southeast.
FOX 13 Meteorologist Jim Weber states we are close to 7.50″ below average on our rainfall in Tampa for the year. A weak area of low pressure or tropical system can be beneficial in helping to make up for the rainfall deficit we have been experiencing. Drought conditions continue over much of the state of Florida. If this system ends up drifting more westward, it would limit the total amount of rainfall and the highest totals would be along the immediate west coast.
Atlantic tropical development potential
A tropical wave southeast of the Cabo Verde Islands remains disorganized.
It is moving west-northwest and, according to the NHC, there is a chance for slow development over the next day or two. By the weekend it is expected to move into less conducive conditions and Saharan dust will begin to affect this wave, limiting its moisture. The time for this system to develop is very limited and will not develop after the weekend.
The NHC is giving it a 10% chance of developing.
Weather factors and storm names
What we don’t know:
Officials cannot yet confirm if the disturbance will overcome environmental hurdles like land interaction, wind shear and dry air. Computer models remain uncertain on how much this system will develop over the waters of the Gulf. If it stays over the warm waters of the Gulf longer, it may give it additional time to organize. Interactions with land and wind shear will likely pose obstacles in further development.
To become a tropical system, it must develop a defined circulation with organized thunderstorms. If it reaches maximum sustained winds of 39 mph, it will become a tropical storm and be named Bertha.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13Meteorologist Jim Weber, the National Hurricane Center tropical weather outlooks, as well as forecast computer models.
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VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – If you felt shaking along Florida’s east coast on Thursday, you’re not alone. But it wasn’t an earthquake.
A strong “experimental explosion” was reported in the waters off Central Florida on Thursday afternoon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The USGS website indicates that the explosion happened around 3:04 p.m., roughly 91 miles east-northeast of Ponce Inlet.
Per the agency, the event registered a preliminary magnitude of 3.9. However, few other details about what may have caused the explosion have been provided at this time.
“The recorded ground motions from this event are more typical of an explosion than a naturally occurring earthquake,” the USGS website reads. “The Navy has conducted Full Ship Shock Trials in this region in the past.”
[A LOOK BACK: U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford performs shock trials on an aircraft carrier in 2021]
News 6 has reached out to Navy officials for more information and is awaiting additional details.
Anyone who felt the impact of the explosion is urged to report their experience here.
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