Posted on 08/28/2006 7:27:21 AM PDT by NautiNurse
Florida Governor Jeb Bush ordered a state of emergency in advance of Ernesto's anticipated Florida landfall as a hurricane. During his press briefing, Governor Bush emphasized the need to, "Have your family plan in place. Be prepared to be on your own for 72 hours. I know it sounds like a broken record." Jeb then repeated his message in Spanish.
All of the South Florida peninsula and Keys are under a hurricane watch, and portions of the watch areas may be upgraded to hurricane warnings later today.
NASA is moving Space Shuttle Atlantis from the launch pad back to its protective hangar, with the launch postponed until at least Sept. 7-8.
Hurricane Ernesto was downgraded to Tropical Storm status after battering Haiti and the Dominican Republic all day Sunday. The death toll in Haiti from Ernesto currently stands at 1 person; storm reports from Hispaniola are scarce this morning.
Ernesto has approached the eastern portion of Cuba, where the government issued a hurricane warning for six provinces, tourists were evacuated, and baseball games were played earlier Sunday than originally scheduled.
Public Advisories Updated every three hours.
Tropical Storm Discussion Updated every six hours
Ernesto Storm Track Archive Nice animated progression of 3 & 5 day forecast tracks
Buoy Data Florida & Eastern GOM
Satellite Images
Additional Resources:
Central Florida Hurricane Center
Hurricane City
| Category | Wind Speed | Barometric Pressure | Storm Surge | Damage Potential |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical Depression |
< 39 mph < 34 kts |
Minimal | ||
| Tropical Storm |
39 - 73 mph 34 - 63 kts |
Minimal | ||
| Hurricane 1 (Weak) |
74 - 95 mph 64 - 82 kts |
28.94" or more 980.02 mb or more |
4.0' - 5.0' 1.2 m - 1.5 m |
Minimal damage to vegetation |
| Hurricane 2 (Moderate) |
96 - 110 mph 83 - 95 kts |
28.50" - 28.93" 965.12 mb - 979.68 mb |
6.0' - 8.0' 1.8 m - 2.4 m |
Moderate damage to houses |
| Hurricane 3 (Strong) |
111 - 130 mph 96 - 112 kts |
27.91" - 28.49" 945.14 mb - 964.78 mb |
9.0' - 12.0' 2.7 m - 3.7 m |
Extensive damage to small buildings |
| Hurricane 4 (Very strong) |
131 - 155 mph 113 - 135 kts |
27.17" - 27.90" 920.08 mb - 944.80 mb |
13.0' - 18.0' 3.9 m - 5.5 m |
Extreme structural damage |
| Hurricane 5 (Devastating) |
Greater than 155 mph Greater than 135 kts |
Less than 27.17" Less than 920.08 mb |
Greater than 18.0' Greater than 5.5m |
Catastrophic building failures possible |
Tropical Storm Ernesto I
Hurricane Ernesto
Katrina started in the Bahamas, came into Miami, then hooked south and scared the crap out of us in the middle of the night, before making a u-turn and going on to destroy the Gulf Coast. No one in our neighborhood had their shutters closed for it (we weren't even in the cone for it), including our ultra cautious neighbors, who shutter for EVERYTHING. Even with that storm we had power back in hours. The Florida Keys Electric Co-Op rules.
I tend to think that we are going to get some ugly weather but not a direct hit. We are going to make a decision later tonight on whether or not to evacuate (me and little one, anyway), but the opinion right now is it's probably safer here in our concrete bunker than in other parts of the state.
...It hovered off our coast long enough to dump a lot of rain, down power lines, spawn some tornadoes and scare my family...(who did not evacuate)....
If it had moved onto land, who knows what damage...
..but it just sat there for hours, churning up the waves and wind.
The weathermen in New England say that a ridge of high pressure is building...which will have the effect of keeping Ernesto stalled just off the SC/NC coast. It might only be a Cat 1 storm by then, but if it hangs around for a couple of days it could be brutal for those folks.
:)
I worry when THEY talk about "stalling", AUDREY 'stalled'.
Hasn't it been wonderful today??
Perfect kind of steady rain....my yard is still thirsty though.
I just heard Joe Bastardi say that North Carolina could get the bulk of Ernesto..in the way of flooding...YIKES.
Sure is different than Thurs, it was Houston...Fri, it was New Orleans...
BTW....Sheppy is WAY too maudlin on his coverage of New Orleans...sigh
Wow, we've accumulated quite a few posts. NVA was out running his 72 hour plan but soon realized the early adopters were into 36 hour mode. Brevard county (East Coast, think Space Center) gas stations are doing a brisk business with several cars queued for the pumps but the prices are holding steady (for now). WalMart is doing their usual logistical magic, bringing out pallet after pallet of water, etc. Not many Winn Dixie shoppers out yet. I guess the early adopters are also bargain hunters. Still, traffic is picking up and enough people remember past years to take this seriously.
Agreed! My understanding is that even without Ernesto's influences the weather was to be rather nasty there leading into the weekend.
I remember Agnes up here in Pa., that was enough stalling for me..!
-t
He is ... I shoulda gone up to the tv screen to see if his mascara was running .. (I'm baaad ;)
Yeppers,,could go up the coast,stall?(bad) or ?
Front/center as you walk in the door, they have a HUGE hurricane island with giant peanut butter, canned tuna, drinking cups, etc.
LOL, I'm fairly prepared...(if there really is a hurricane)...but they shocked me with all this stuff, I ended up buying it...(even though I have a pantry stocked with this kind of thing!)
C'mon, I remember David.....do you think we will end up with something like that?....or worse..?....or not at all?.....Anyone?
Have y'all been here-(Florida)- long enough to remember category 1 Hurricane David, stalling off the Space Coast back in 1979?
I am Very green at the sat.,doppler stuff,But the Flow is
hooking around from the north,pushing the storm from the east,,Sooo ??,,Shear part ? Push it west ? Stalled By High?
I was in Gainesville in 1979. I remember it vaguely. Not nearly the "we're going to die" hype that storms get now.
But scary enough if you were sitting on the same coast with David perched just off shore.
'86 for me.
The current forecast is for a Cat 1, max. David was a Cat 2 when it went along the Florida coast.
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