Still well south:
That donut around the eye formed over the last four hours. Started wrapping around and then got wider and then became symmetrical. Sign of a major hurricane.
Posted on 08/12/2004 10:14:32 AM PDT by PinnedAndRecessed
APALACHICOLA, Fla. — A disorganized Tropical Storm Bonnie (search) came ashore near the central Florida Panhandle on Thursday afternoon, bringing with it lighter-than-expected wind and rain.
By noontime Apalachicola looked as if nothing happened. The sun was shining, the surf was calming with the Bonnie having bypassed the area, heading east.
Meanwhile, some 380,000 Tampa Bay area residents have been asked to evacuate from coastal or low-lying areas because of Bonnie's stronger brother, Hurricane Charley (search). It was the largest such evacuation in the history of Pinellas County, which includes St. Petersburg.
As a strengthening Charley neared southern Florida with 90 mph winds, Bonnie's disorganized center came ahore with winds near 50 mph. Bonnie was expected to bring the possibility of heavy rains and flooding to already-soaked areas of the Panhandle, which was under a tropical storm warning.
The bridge across Apalachicola Bay to the barrier island of St. George remained open. The island was mostly deserted of tourists, though some businesses and restaurants remained open. Owners of many oceanfront homes and businesses decided not to board up windows as the storm approached.
The prospect of the back-to-back storms — the first since 1906 — led Gov. Jeb Bush to declare a state of emergency for all of Florida. Schools and government offices also were closed, and Bush activated the Florida National Guard. The Federal Emergency Management Agency's (search) regional operations center in Atlanta was also put into operation Thursday morning.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Charley's now looking like a Cat 3 on the satellite photos - a tightly-defined eye with very dense overcast all around it - it really has cranked up over the last four hours or so.
They just ran a documentary on the 1900 Galveston storm the other day. Chief weather forcaster refused to fly the Hurricane flag until it was far to late and nobody could get out. 8 to 12 thousand died and it was a hugh problem trying to get rid of all those bodies. Chief weather forcaster survived though...
Sorry, I'm sitting in Connecticut and typed up a very fast report with some graphics...
I realize it is going to hit the Gulf Coast, I mentioned it further down... a mistake, please forgive. ;)
I had not realized Alex became cat 3, I stopped watching it once it moved past the outer banks of NC.
I'd be evacuating to Sloppy Joes.
Has it passed Cuba yet?
You're forgiven. Alex really cranked up after it left the Outer Banks, and went the furthest north of any Cat 3 hurricane.
Still well south:
That donut around the eye formed over the last four hours. Started wrapping around and then got wider and then became symmetrical. Sign of a major hurricane.
I just checked the archives, it looked pretty impressive after heading out to sea. I will have to pay more attention next time (once they become fish storms, I usually stop watching). ;)
Outflow on Charley looks very nice now, I agree that he is probably closing in on Cat 3 at this point. It will be interesting to see how much he interracts with Cuba.
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/breadcrumb.cgi?call=nhcr&geo=http://weather.net-waves.com/gulfsat.geo&start=12
let's hope it twitches west! :-)
AN EYEWITNESS REPORT HERE: I am located in New Port Richey( North Tampa Bay), about 3 miles inland from the Gulf.
I just returned from buying supplies, and all the store shelves are almost bare. No bread to be had!
WE are supposed to get 110mph winds, so I hope my home can handle it. All roads are JAMMED. I-275 in Tampa, I-75 are to capacity.
I am staying put, so I will post updates to this thread if anyone is interested.
It took a little southward jog to avoid Jamaica, and now it looks like it will cross Cuba at its narrowest point. Might knock 20-30 mph off its winds, which it could regenerate within half a day.
I'd be interested. We have family living in North Port. Talked on the phone with them earlier today and they went to Wal Mart and said it was chaos.
LOL.
Can you tell me a time of day / time of year that I-4 ISN'T clogged?
Yup, any weakening over Cuba would be easy to regenerate. That area of (bath)water is one of the best for quick explosions in strength. I still can't believe a hurricane is going to take this track (into the west coast of FL) in August... The East Coast Trough is reminiscent of an Autumn setup.
An interesting analog (though this track will likely be to the right of the 1896 storm):
Nahhh. My brother lives in Largo, outside of Clearwater. He got a room at the sleep in for $55.00./night. Normal rate ..
Having grown up in the floodlplains around St. Louis, I can tell you Florida is rather refreshing and cool...
http://www.970wfla.com/jacor-common/streaming_disclaimer.html
(Currently: Live Audio News in Regards to Evacs/Etc.)
More streaming weather-related info:
http://www.irlp.net/
http://www.voipwx.net/ - Skywarn / Hurricane Spotter Network
Tampa Area News Stations:
http://www.wtsp.com - Live stream local news
http://www.wfts.com
http://www.wftx.com
http://www.baynews9.com - Live streaming radar
http://www.sptimes.com
http://www.naplesnews.com
http://www.news-press.com
http://www.herald-tribune.com
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