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 ...
90 miles of water water to build.....
Live web cams from Key west.
http://webcam.keywest.com/msindex.htm
I've been wishing for "Bonnie and Clyde" naming all day - Those are the names of 2 of my 4 dogs! ;-D
Winds have backed down to 10-15 mph right now. Charley is wobbling left to right and gaining momentum. I'll be in the northeast quadrant of the storm as it comes across the Florida Straits. Predicting 50-70 mph winds beginning around 11 pm tonight and then worsening as dawn approaches. Let's hope it stays well westt of Key West.
46 days after Andrew in '92, you wimp!....LOL.....man, did that suck big time.
One of my most lasting memories was that they were using the Goodyear blimp to broadcast messages...that thing looked huge against a pitch-black sky in the evenings.
After Andrew, we moved to KW, where my dad's business is. He is still down there...was just shutting the office and getting ready to go home and get drunk. Lives right on Smathers....s'pose that the beach will be on his doorstep tomorrow AM.
Take care!
P.S.: Man, am I dying for a Mangrove Mama's conch fritter right about now!
5pm advisory is out - they still have Charley at 105 mph - but the tracking map shows Charley as a Cat 3 just SSW of Tampa in 24 hours.
That is very hugh. And quite series.
Really, Charley looks nasty. I hope people are taking sensible precautions down there.
Big time thunder and lightning and rain here right now; coming at you.
The names are planned out many years in advance and are on a rotating schedule. Storms that cause great damage get retired but all other names get re-used within the cycle. I'm not sure if there has been a Clyde, but it may come up some day. ;)
God bless and stay safe. Yes I would like updates as I have family in Tampa.
If the NHC track verifies, this will be very bad for the Tampa Area. The storm surge alone is going to cause some major problems. I guess the unprecedented evacuation is a good idea. The storm looks very nice right now, have they had recon in recently?
Ahh, mangrove mama's closed for the night and tomorrow as well as all the rest of the local businesses. Local banks closed at 2 pm today and will be closed tomorrow. LOL, I paid employees (construction business) today at noon and said fare thee well. They want to work tomorrow!! I said se how it looks when you get up, I don't think so!!
Keep you posted as things deteriorate.
PSthe new best restaurant here is the Square Grouper, 2 miles up the road from mangrove mamas.
Excellent and very reasonable.
I know the names are pre-planned, long in advance. It's just been a humorous thought of my two pups and their hurricane-force destruction of shoes/paper/lap desks anywhere in my house! I'm here in Savannah, GA, awaiting the dregs of Bonnie, with Charlie sneaking up from the south right behind her.
There's a long history of strong canes suddenly weakening before landfall (Lili), or somehow finding unpopulated areas to hit (Bret).
However, this has the potential to be the costliest natural disaster in US history, and costlier in damage than 9/11. Tampa area is absurdly vulnerable to surge; In a Cat 4, St. Petersburg becomes an island (And McDill AFB, CENTCOM headquarters, is COMPLETELY submerged.)
Potentially of vast political import too; could lose Bush Florida, and the election, if the damage is bad enough, and there are enough dumb swing voters that suffered destruction that could be swayed by an effective Democrat campaign to promote the idea that if mean ol' Jeb and W weren't in power their lives would have been made instantly perfect by the Government the day after the storm.
I'll have to check it out next time I'm down that way. Only made it to Sanibel this year (which, if Charley takes a jog east, might have been a forutnately timed visit).
Devane, if you get this:
How are things looking south of Tampa - Brandon, Riverview, Apollo Beach?
Is most of the evac traffic headed north or just inland?
BULLETIN
HURRICANE CHARLEY ADVISORY NUMBER 14
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
5 PM EDT THU AUG 12 2004
...CHARLEY STRENGTHENING AS IT MOVES TOWARD WESTERN CUBA...
AT 5 PM EDT...2100Z...THE HURRICANE WARNING HAS BEEN EXTENDED
NORTHWARD ALONG THE FLORIDA WEST COAST TO BAYPORT. A HURRICANE
WARNING IS NOW IN EFFECT FOR THE FLORIDA KEYS FROM THE DRY TORTUGAS
TO THE SEVEN MILE BRIDGE...AND FOR THE FLORIDA WEST COAST FROM EAST
CAPE SABLE NORTHWARD TO BAYPORT. THE WARNING WILL LIKELY BE
EXTENDED NORTHWARD LATER TONIGHT. A HURRICANE WARNING MEANS THAT
HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED WITHIN THE WARNING AREA DURING
THE NEXT 24 HOURS. PREPARATIONS SHOULD BE RUSHED TO COMPLETION.
THE HURRICANE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE FLORIDA WEST COAST
FROM NORTH OF BAYPORT NORTHWARD TO THE SUWANNEE RIVER. A HURRICANE
WATCH MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH
AREA...GENERALLY WITHIN 36 HOURS.
A TROPICAL STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE FLORIDA KEYS FROM
THE SEVEN MILE BRIDGE TO OCEAN REEF...AND ALONG THE SOUTH FLORIDA
MAINLAND FROM OCEAN REEF TO EAST CAPE SABLE...INCLUDING ALL OF
FLORIDA BAY. AT 5 PM EDT...A TROPICAL STORM WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED
FOR PORTIONS OF THE FLORIDA AND GEORGIA COASTS FROM JUPITER INLET
NORTHWARD TO ALTAMAHA SOUND...INCLUDING LAKE OKEECHOBEE.
A HURRICANE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE FOLLOWING PROVINCES OF
WESTERN CUBA...PINAR DEL RIO...LA HABANA...CIUDAD DE LA HABANA...
MATANZAS...AND THE ISLE OF YOUTH. AT 5 PM...THE GOVERNMENT OF THE
CAYMAN ISLANDS HAS DISCONTINUED ALL WARNINGS.
AT 5 PM EDT...2100Z...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE CHARLEY WAS LOCATED
NEAR LATITUDE 21.2 NORTH...LONGITUDE 81.9 WEST OR ABOUT 140
MILES... 230 KM...SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF HAVANA CUBA.
CHARLEY IS NOW MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHWEST NEAR 18 MPH
...30 KM/HR. A GRADUAL TURN TOWARD THE NORTH IS EXPECTED DURING
THE NEXT 24 HOURS. ON THE FORECAST TRACK...CHARLEY IS EXPECTED TO
PASS NEAR THE ISLE OF YOUTH TONIGHT AND NEAR HAVANA CUBA FRIDAY
MORNING. WEATHER CONDITIONS SHOULD BEGIN TO DETERIORATE OVER
WESTERN CUBA DURING THE NEXT FEW HOURS.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 105 MPH...165 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS. THIS MAKES CHARLEY A CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE ON THE
SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE SCALE. ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING IS
FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS AND CHARLEY COULD BECOME A MAJOR
HURRICANE LATER TONIGHT OR FRIDAY.
HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 30 MILES... 45 KM...
FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP
TO 125 MILES...205 KM.
THE ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 980 MB...28.94 INCHES.
STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 10 TO 14 FEET CAN BE EXPECTED ALONG THE
SOUTH COAST OF CUBA NEAR AND EAST OF WHERE THE CENTER MAKES
LANDFALL. IN ADDITION...STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 2 TO 4 FEET...ALONG
WITH LARGE AND DANGEROUS BATTERING WAVES...CAN BE EXPECTED IN THE
FLORIDA KEYS. STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 10 TO 13 FEET IS ALSO
POSSIBLE NEAR AND SOUTH OF THE WHERE THE CENTER CROSSES THE FLORIDA
WEST COAST.
RAINFALL TOTALS OF 4 TO 8 INCHES ARE LIKELY IN ASSOCIATION WITH
CHARLEY. THESE RAINS COULD CAUSE LIFE-THREATENING FLASH FLOODS.
REPEATING THE 5 PM EDT POSITION...21.2 N... 81.9 W. MOVEMENT
TOWARD...NORTH-NORTHWEST NEAR 18 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED
WINDS...105 MPH. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE... 980 MB.
FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...PLEASE MONITOR
PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL WEATHER OFFICE.
AN INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL
HURRICANE CENTER AT 8 PM EDT FOLLOWED BY THE NEXT
COMPLETE ADVISORY AT 11 PM EDT.
FORECASTER STEWART
$$
Good idea...they aren't even out of Tampa yet, and they said the interstate is completely blocked up. I think they were planning on taking something south of I4...not sure what, I'll have to call them and suggest them take one of the roads to 50. I live right off of 50.
That said, the trough sitting in the Gulf and cutting through Florida is a darn good indicator that the storm will hit the region. I guess the question is, how strong and exactly where.
You are right about damage/expense, this could be a very big disaster if current thoughts verify.
Most of those places will be wiped out by a Cat 3/4 storm. The whole Tampa Bay area looks like that.
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