Hurricane Francis : New Discussion Thread : 2004-08-31

N/A | 2004-08-31 | Patton@Bastogne

[Patton@Bastogne]

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Free Republic Community:


The original Hurricane Frances thread had gotten pretty large.

I figured that tonight would be a good time to create a new one, especially since the "main event" is expected to be in the Friday timeframe.



Excellent Internet Links:

Visit the HURRICANE ALLEY website

Visit the U.S. NAVAL WEATHER TRACKING CENTER website






Here's a question for DogGone, FlaGuy and Section9 and other Florida East Coast residents:

My four (4) teenaged kids live in Melbourne with my ex-wife. I live and work in the Tampa St-Pete area.

Anyone familar with Melbourne Hurricane Evacuation Routes knows that I-95 (North/South) quickly becomes a very long parking lot.

Worse yet, the ONLY direct Highway West is the Two-Lane 192 which is a mangled under-construction mess, all the way from Melbourne to St. Cloud.

Therefore, I'm planning to request that my ex-wife evaculate with three (3) kids (via I-95 and then I-4) first thing Thursday morning.

Meanwhile, I'll be driving from Tampa to Melbourne, via Hwy-192, to ride the storm out at the kids' house, staying with my oldest son (16 years old).

Personally, I think Hurricane Frances comes ashore just north of Vero Beach, and literally rides Hwy-1 all the way to Jacksonville, destroying Patrick Air Force Base, Satellite Beach, NASA, and East Orlando in the process.

Your thoughts and comments are appreciated.




Patton@Bastogne
Free Republic Member since 1998.



General George S. Patton Jr. Website

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[JellyJam]

Admin moderator: You may want to change the subject line to "Frances."

[Andyman]

Over the last two days, the expected track has slowly moved north. I expect it to continue that way, ending up making land somewhere between Charleston and Savannah.

[xzins]

do you have a link to the earlier thread? thanks

[billorites]

We're Doomed!

[Robe]

My son is at The Citadel in Charleston, they have begun the first stages of a possible student evacuation.
He said they would be placing their rifles in the armory tomorrow and will prob. evac on Friday.
So it looks like we'll have 4-5 cadets spending the weekend up here in the upstate.
FYI:The Citadel has a elevation of about 5-6 ft ASL

[Patton@Bastogne]

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Xzins


Original Free Republic Thread



Patton@Bastogne
Free Republic Member since 1998.



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[ken5050]

The eye looks perfectly formed...scary..what woud; be interesting, IMHO, would be to copare Andrew's eye..overlay them as to size, tightness of formation..etc.Andrew was a small compact storm..this is a big'un..

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Tell them to take highway 50 Orlando then I4 to Tampa.

[NonValueAdded]

You are just full of joy for us in greater Melbourne, aren't you? Another route would be south to route 60 then west. I wouldn't go up I-95 all the way to I-4 but rather go to the bee line (rte 528) and west to I-4 in Orlando. Even better, 528 to Greenway to I-4.

[Patton@Bastogne]

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Billorites


We're doomed !


Hey now, wait just a @&*$#@ minute, that's NOT the Fuscia Tunic and Belgium-Chocolate Blazer that I wore while attending the 2004 Democratic "Kool-Aide" Convention !!!!


Patton@Bastogne
Free Republic Member since 1998.


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[kingattax]

PING

[NonValueAdded]

PS Stores over here are already stripped of most essentials. there isn't a tapcon to be found for example. So if you plan to secure the homestead when you come over (staying a bad idea, BTW), bring what you need 'cause you won't find it here.

[not-alone]

Very bad idea , if this comes in 4 0r 5 risking your own life is one thing but your 16 year old son ? If you are worried about protecting property , forget about that idea. Being with your family somewhere safe is the most important. My roof in a four went 250 yards and landed in one piece, it was constructed with hurricane clips etc. My neighbors house, a large $400,000 totally vanished everything like it was never there. This is a very dangerous storm. Secure everything and pray.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

I dont want to gripe and moan - but man, there must be a dozen "Francis" threads. Can we make one huge one and stick it at the top of breaking news until the storm passes?

[lightman]

National Weather Service State College PA "forecast discussion" is mentioning a Savannah landfall followed by inland track through central Appalachians, to mid Ohio by Tuesday.

I've been watching the every six hour updates on http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ for days, and for the past 36 hours each new forecast path map has shifted the center of the projected track slightly northward. A day ago it looked to be headed for Fort Myers, now Daytona or further north. My personal hunch is for SC and then more of an Isabel track. Hope I'm wrong.

[Strategerist]

Over the last two days, the expected track has slowly moved north.

The NHC track moved south today, and you can expect it to move even further south at the 11PM advisory...

[xzins]

Thanks to both of you. My daughter's in Stuart and it looks like that's still a possible landing site. Do you agree with that?

[RedBloodedAmerican]

The comparison would be, I think, is how far out from the eye the wind forces reach in KTS. Andrew was not as big size-wise but packed a punch. This one is hugh and series but don't know if the winds are like Andrew.

But heck, anything over 90mph is no fun at all. Once it gets up there and higher, it just doesnt matter whether its a CAT1 or a CAT Viking.

[JellyJam]

(AP UPDATE)

At 8 p.m. EDT, Frances was centered about 150 miles north of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and moving west near 15 mph, the National Hurricane Center in Miami reported. Frances was forecast to plow through the Bahamas Thursday or Friday before hitting the U.S. mainland, but large prediction errors mean that millions of coastal residents should be on guard, hurricane center director Max Mayfield said.

“A hurricane is not just a point. It’s a large circulation, especially in the case of Frances,” he said. “It’s going to affect a very, very large area wherever it makes landfall. Everybody from Florida up to the Carolinas needs to be very, very vigilant at this time.”

Plywood, gas cans, chain saws, tarps and other hurricane-preparation items were “flying off the shelves” in Home Depot Inc. stores along the southeastern U.S. coast, company spokesman Don Harrison said. The company trucked in more supplies, but generators were scarce.