posted
*sends out Ivan will miss Florida vibes* Ivan will not hit Florida, Ivan will not hit Florida.
Posts: 4569 | Registered: Dec 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Is it me or does every single hurricane hit Cuba? I bet the next hurricane is going to miss Cuba, then stop and turn around saying "Wait! I forgot Cuba!" I'm really starting to feel bad for those people.
Posts: 853 | Registered: Feb 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
Great, if the damn storm follows its current path, one week from now its going to go around the peninsula and strike the panhandle at its closest point to Tallahasse and with its time in the gulf it should be plenty powerful when it hits me. I hate this season.
Posts: 3446 | Registered: Jul 2002
| IP: Logged |
quote:Elsewhere, Ivan pulverized concrete homes into piles of rubble and tore away hundreds of the island's landmark red zinc roofs.
The storm strengthened even as it hit Grenada, becoming a Category 4, and got even stronger Wednesday, packing sustained winds of 140 mph with higher gusts as it headed across the Caribbean Sea and passed north of the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao.
posted
It's expected to go into the gulf - it may or may not hit Florida, too early to tell. If it does go into the gulf, it could veer west and hit Missisippi or Alabam Gulf coast or LA or Texas. That would give the Floridians a break, but not be so good for the other folks.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
Oh, dear. This isn't looking good at all. 160 mph sustained max winds. Though it's still about 4 days away, and a lot can happen in that time. Jamaica looks like it's in for a beating though.
posted
Category 5, and very dangerous - after Jamaica, there is great uncertainty where it will go but is expected to continue moving N-NW.
All you coastal folks, better be checking your supplies and reviewing your evacuation routes. If it stays this strong, no one wants to be home when it makes landfall.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
My wife has wanted us to move to FL for several years now, but this string of hurricanes has finally changed her mind.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
It's way too soon to assume certain cities or even states will be affected - the NWS readily admits five day hurricane forecasts are highly unreliable.
(not that I'm being critical of you posting the five day estimate - I am a storm junkie and love following big storms - I just don't love what happens when they hit )
I hope I don't offend my Floridian friends when I say that hurricanes bring back some nice memories for me - my grandfather used to have one of the old magnetic tracking boards, and he'd get the latest latitude and longitude numbers on the storm's position and plot it. He taught me navigational skills that way.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'm aware of the unreliability, Belle. It's still very depressing that they're even plotting it this way.
As far as the magnetic tracking board, I've never heard of that. Can you find a link that shows one and how it operates?
Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
Yeah, four days ago, they had this storm pegged to begin turning northwest, up toward Puerto Rico and the Bahamas. Instead, it's kept up it's churn to the west, ever steadily. Every update, the forecasters insist it will begin turning to the north. I'm sure it will, but when? That makes the difference.
The forecast discussion indicates this storm will most likely peak in intensity soon, then decrease a little. Hurricanes fluctuate in their intensity due to many factors.
Posts: 1813 | Registered: Apr 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
Oh it was nothing big. Just a magnetic surface with a map of the tropics and the southeastern US, and the longitude and latitude lines. There were a bunch of little hurricane-swirl shaped magnets.
You put a magnet for every position, and you could follow the hurricane's track.
Just a neat way for a grandfather to teach his grandkids about navigation.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
It's not a possibility, Ela. They are evacuating the keys and Monroe county right now.
Belle, this sounds stupid, but I had this mental picture of, like, some kind of ouija board that actually pointed at the hurricane miles away by some kind of super secret magnetic technology your family has kept hidden for thousands of years.
Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
Hey, Ela. Did I ever tell you that when I was young, my family used to have a cat named Sam? Then we got a cockatiel and named it Ella? So, we could tell people we'd made pets of Sam 'n' Ella?
posted
If it goes west-northwest it could also hit Mississippi Gulf Coast where my mother-in-law lives. That would not be cool.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
Storm Saxon, that sounds really cool. Makes me think of a possible story line, involving families that possess super technology that they only pass down to their descendants...making everyone else dependent on them.
Can you give us the gist of the Miami Herald article? It requires registration.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
How flexible are most employers in FL about people taking off due to hurricanes? If I lived where Ela does, I think I'd probably be inclined to take off and drive north at the drop of a hat, and to try to do it early enough to avoid all of the evacuation gridlock.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
hmm was looking around at the noaa website and Frances is now officially a "tropical depression" We might actually get a little rain from it here, but not much.
(oh wait probably none at all) They meant the eastern "Great Lakes region"
quote:Hey, Ela. Did I ever tell you that when I was young, my family used to have a cat named Sam? Then we got a cockatiel and named it Ella? So, we could tell people we'd made pets of Sam 'n' Ella?
Ouch.
No, Storm, you never told me that. Posts: 5771 | Registered: Nov 2000
| IP: Logged |
quote:How flexible are most employers in FL about people taking off due to hurricanes? If I lived where Ela does, I think I'd probably be inclined to take off and drive north at the drop of a hat, and to try to do it early enough to avoid all of the evacuation gridlock.
Noemen, that is really impractical and inadvisable, as hurricanes can change direction and you could end up stuck on the road in hurricane force winds. Plus, it would make evacuation for those who really need to leave difficult to impossible.
Keep in mind that Florida is a very long state, full day's drive just to get out from down here. No employer would give that much time off, for as many storms as come each season, each watched carefully by the local populace, and most not hitting here, at least in recent years.
[ September 09, 2004, 02:47 PM: Message edited by: Ela ]
Posts: 5771 | Registered: Nov 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
That's what I thought Ela. I think I'm glad I don't live down there. I'd much rather deal with avoiding the occasional tornado than avoiding hurricanes every year.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
| IP: Logged |
quote:Hey, Ela. Did I ever tell you that when I was young, my family used to have a cat named Sam? Then we got a cockatiel and named it Ella? So, we could tell people we'd made pets of Sam 'n' Ella?
lol--I have two students who are best friends named Sam and Emma, and they refer to themselves as salmonella!
Noemon,
My employers (the school district) gave teachers and students (note: not maintenance staff) Friday off when Frances came. Now Ivan stalled, but if you recall, hurricane force winds were supposed to start hitting Central Florida at 10 am Friday. So when were people supposed to board up their houses?! I went to Tampa Wednesday night to buy plywood, and took a personal day Thursday to put it up. I do resent having had to use a personal day to protect my house.
It seems to me that both before and after this storm, they did not give thought to the needs of their employees, but only the condition of the schools themselves.
I did evacuate. I left Thursday night. (I got up at 6 am Thursday and worked until 7:30 or 8 pm, and then drove until 3 or 4 the next afternoon.) I ignored the requests that those not in mandatory evacuation zones stay home. I understand their logistical reasons, but I find the request inappropriate, since they are advising a dangerous course of action. And yes, evacuating is also dangerous. So warn people about the risks either way, and let people decide for themselves.
I didn't contribute to the traffic or people who needed to evacuate, because I have lived in Florida all my life and know the backroads like the palm of my hand. I stayed off of I-95, I-75, and the Turnpike, and took back roads instead. It was the first time I have ever fled a storm--I didn't even consider leaving for Charley--but I couldn't deal with the stress of back to back storms wth inadequate insurance, after having been in a house as it was demolished by Andrew. For five years or so after Andrew, I had occasional flashbacks. Eventually, they went away, but the last month or so has brought them back, and I'm just not up to dealing with it again any more than I absolutely have to. (It's not simply the threat of hurricanes. In Miami, Cor and I had to board up for several hurricanes and hunker down. It's this repeated pounding of the specific part of Florida in which I live that has me filled with this irrational sense that it's somehow personal.) So yeah, if Ivan approaches closely, we will get out again.
posted
Just for the record, many businesses here gave their employees off to give them time to prepare for Hurricane Frances (I know that's what you meant, Icky, you accidentally typed "Ivan")- at that time tropical storm force winds were expected by Friday during the day. Dade and Broward County schools were closed Thursday and Friday.
Personally, I don't evacuate unless a hurricane warning is in effect (at which point, I am in a mandatory evacuation zone, even for a category 1).
I have to agree with Joe that Andrew is the worst hurricane I have ever experienced - I have no desire to go through something like that again.
[ September 09, 2004, 03:37 PM: Message edited by: Ela ]
Posts: 5771 | Registered: Nov 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
We were given Friday off for Frances and Friday afternoon off for Charley. If people needed to leave before hand to get supplies, board up their house or leave, they could do so, but they had to use vacation time.
Or do like me and bring the work home with you. Posts: 4625 | Registered: Jul 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
This latest satellite image has me more convinced than ever that some cosmic force is gunning specifically for me. Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
Another good StormTrack site. I think you have to click amongst the links -- Tracking, 5DayForecast, etc, ComputerModels -- to get a refresh for the latest map.
Posts: 8501 | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[No No]](graemlins/nono.gif)
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[Angst]](graemlins/angst.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Evil]](graemlins/evil.gif)
