FUELSNews Storm Alert: Tropical Storm Matthew – GREEN ALERT

Gainesville, GA – September 29, 2016 – Analysis by Evan Smiles – Previously identified as Invest 97L, the tropical wave the hurricane center has been watching for days now has finally developed into a named storm, Tropical Storm Matthew. This storm is currently located in an area of the Caribbean that has extremely warm waters and is expected to develop into a Cat 1 hurricane by late tonight or early tomorrow, and strengthen to a Cat 2 hurricane before it crosses over Cuba. There is still much uncertainty with this storm. Some paths keep this storm out to sea and not affecting the continental U.S. except for some high waves and rip tides, while other paths have this storm making landfall anywhere from Florida up to New England. Mansfield’s Supply and Logistics teams will continue to monitor the path of this storm and update the hurricane status to “Orange” if needed.

Mansfield Energy Corp has a three-level system for monitoring natural disasters, including hurricanes, tornadoes, snow storms, earthquakes, floods, etc. These events can significantly limit or curtail fuel delivery in a broad geographic area, requiring a quick and effective response. Mansfield’s three levels of alerts are:

Green Alert – used for events that are forecast to potentially affect fuel supply. For instance, Green Alert would be used for storms beginning to form, before their trajectory or strength are fully understood. This status is considered a warning status, as the event is not guaranteed to affect supply.

Orange Alert – used for events that are expected to affect fuel supply, up until the beginning of the event. A known hurricane that has not yet made landfall would be considered Orange Alert. This status is considered a watch status, during which Mansfield makes sure contracted customers have ample supply to avoid an outage when supply becomes low.

Red Alert – reserved for events that are currently affecting fuel supply. A hurricane that has made landfall, or a flood that has affected supply infrastructure, would warrant a Red Alert. This status is the highest alert, during which Mansfield’s team works around the clock to procure sufficient fuel for our contracted customers.