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 ...
Yeah, prepare for chaos when several bombs go off around America simultaneously...
Exactly. The media used to push that hard. Now, if it hasn't been bought off the shelf it evidently isn't good enough...
your story fully justified my earlier post.
My family drove through Biloxi 3 years after Camille. Beach on one side, then the road, then a slight elevation across the road with staircase after staircase leading to empty swimming pools sitting on vacant lots where the motels used to be.
Went to their website and it seems they have 5,000 romms mostly on I-Drive. 5,000 is not the number availiable though. Rooms already reserved weeks in advance have to be counted also, so the number is probably less than 5,000.
we still do that, for toilet flushing, etc. But bottled water is better for things like mixing baby formula and drinking if you can get it.
BULLETIN
HURRICANE CHARLEY INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY NUMBER 13A
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
2 PM EDT THU AUG 12 2004
...CHARLEY RAPIDLY STRENGTHENS INTO A CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE AS IT
MOVES TOWARD WESTERN CUBA...
A HURRICANE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE FLORIDA KEYS FROM THE
DRY TORTUGAS TO THE SEVEN MILE BRIDGE...AND FOR THE SOUTHWEST
FLORIDA COAST FROM EAST CAPE SABLE TO BONITA BEACH. THE WARNING
WILL LIKELY BE EXTENDED NORTHWARD LATER TODAY OR TONIGHT. A
HURRICANE WARNING MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED
WITHIN THE WARNING AREA WITHIN THE NEXT 24 HOURS. PREPARATIONS TO
PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY SHOULD BE RUSHED TO COMPLETION.
A HURRICANE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NORTH OF BONITA BEACH 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. A TROPICAL STORM WATCH MAY BE REQUIRED FOR PORTIONS OF
THE FLORIDA EAST COAST LATER TODAY.
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.
A HURRICANE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE CAYMAN ISLANDS.
HOWEVER...THE WARNING WILL LIKELY BE DISCONTINUED LATER TODAY.
AT 2 PM EDT...1800Z...INFORMATION FROM RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT
AND RADARS FROM CUBA INDICATE THE CENTER OF HURRICANE CHARLEY WAS
LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 20.4 NORTH... LONGITUDE 81.5 WEST OR ABOUT
190 MILES... 305 KM...SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF HAVANA CUBA.
CHARLEY IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHWEST NEAR 17 MPH...28 KM/HR. A
TURN TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHWEST IS EXPECTED LATER TODAY OR TONIGHT.
ON THE FORECAST TRACK...CHARLEY IS EXPECTED TO PASS OVER OR JUST
EAST OF THE ISLE OF YOUTH TONIGHT.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS RECENTLY REPORTED BY AN AIR FORCE RESERVE
RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT ARE NEAR 105 MPH...165 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS. THIS MAKES CHARLEY A CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE ON THE
SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE SCALE. SOME STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST
DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS...AND CHARLEY COULD BECOME A CATEGORY
THREE OR MAJOR HURRICANE BEFORE IT MAKES LANDFALL ALONG THE SOUTH
COAST OF CUBA.
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 MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE RECENTLY REPORTED BY RECONNAISSANCE
AIRCRAFT WAS 980 MB...28.94 INCHES.
ABOVE NORMAL TIDES...ACCOMPANIED BY LARGE AND DANGEROUS BATTERING
WAVES...ARE EXPECTED IN THE CAYMAN ISLANDS LATER TODAY. STORM SURGE
FLOODING OF 2 TO 4 FEET CAN BE EXPECTED IN THE FLORIDA KEYS. STORM
SURGE FLOODING OF 6 TO 10 FEET ARE POSSIBLE ALONG THE SOUTHWEST
FLORIDA COAST.
RAINFALL TOTALS OF 4 TO 8 INCHES ARE LIKELY IN ASSOCIATION WITH
CHARLEY. THESE RAINS COULD CAUSE LIFE-THREATENING FLASH FLOODS
AND MUD SLIDES.
REPEATING THE 2 PM EDT POSITION...20.4 N... 81.5 W. MOVEMENT
TOWARD...NORTHWEST NEAR 17 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.
THE NEXT ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER
AT 5 PM EDT.
FORECASTER STEWART
$$
Good luck.
Charley is now a strong Cat 2, up to 105mph sustained as of 2pm August 12th.
JMO, but wouldn't it be better if she went to your place in Brevard?
Any decision you make, stay safe.
ROFL ping!!!!!
One of the interesting quirks about hurricanes is that their names change immediately if they cross Central America. When an Atlantic storm becomes a Pacific storm (or vice versa), they become part of a different series of names for that season.
We filled up water jugs for drinking water. The bath tubs were filled so we could have water to put into the toilet tanks for flushing.
If anyone is going to be in this thing, today's the day to charge your cell phones while you still have power. And get your cars gassed up while the service station pumps are still working.
I've been through direct hits before and it's no picnic. One in our group is a doctor, so that'll help -- God, I hope this is OK. At 6 they're going to close the bridges, so it's St. Pete for the storm.
We here in Tampa are battening down the hatches! Many folks are being evacuated, but I should be safe where I am. No work tomorrow out here.
I worked there during the Andrew days. The sattelite hotels, then on Property.
That's exactly what happened. We kipped out at the hotel to supplement the day staff. Rack rates for every room. For people who were blown out of their homes, we cut them to $18 a night for the duration of their stay - one poor family was there for 30 days until AllState paid them off.
I will be in Plant City tonight...what is your gut feeling?
I think good answers have been supplied to you. It's best to be safe than sorry. A lot of bridges will be closed when winds exceed 40mph (I think this is the wind limit for driving over them in my area). They won't make anyone leave their home but once you've ridden one of these storms out, you'll definitely think about it once they issue evacuation orders.
its kind of funny that despite castros objections cuba will in all likelihood save south florida from a major hurricane!!
the land interaction should limit the current strenghtening trend and instead of a mid-cat 3 storm, im looking for a mid-strong cat 2 into florida....due to cuba....as well as some less favorable upper level winds near the time of landfall.
Thanks for the concern...I am doing this by choice actually. I storm chase all of the time and this just happens to be entering an area where I have a lot of friends and her being alone is not a good option.
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