Posted on 09/01/2004 3:15:34 AM PDT by Patton@Bastogne
.
Free Republic Community:
Welcome to Wednesday's Hurricane Frances news-twist !
It looks like a Melbourne Landfall after all, once again (to Section9's worst fears) churning it's way North along the Coast Highway ...
Excellent Hurricane Frances Websites:
HURRICANE ALLEY
U.S. Weather Observers
Patton@Bastogne
Free Republic Member since 1998.
General George S. Patton Jr. Website
.
Palm Beach County has also pulled the trigger... trying not to have 2000 people drown by the lake again...
The County Commission has declared a state of emergency in Palm Beach County in preparation for the approach of Hurricane Frances.
In a news conference held in the County’s Emergency Operations Center today at 2:00 p.m. the following decisions were announced to be effective tomorrow, Thursday, September 2:
• County schools will close three hours early.
• Emergency shelters will open at 2:00 p.m.
• Special Care Unit at the Fairgrounds will open at 10:00 a.m.
• Headstart classes will be available all day.
• County Government offices will close at noon.
• Port of Palm Beach will close at noon.
• Palm Tran buses will operate all day.
• Palm Beach International Airport will operate; travelers are advised to call airlines for flight specific information.
• Evacuations will commence on a voluntary basis until Friday.
• Evacuations on Friday will be mandatory for residents in mobile homes, the barrier islands and those areas prone to flooding.
• Residents inside the dike at Lake Okeechobee are advised to evacuate.
• Boat owners are advised to move crafts to safe harbor prior to bridge lockdown expected Friday early morning.
The National Hurricane Center is expected to announce a Hurricane Watch condition for Palm Beach County in effect for this evening. A Hurricane Warning is expected to go in effect starting Friday morning.
Further advisories will be released as necessary. Residents are advised to stay tuned to local broadcast stations for further emergency information.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL: Public Affairs 561 355-2754
That is the worse thing about a hurricane. It keeps everyones nerves on edge! I watched as Floyd was tracking to Florida and got right up to it and headed to N.Carolina,I have never seen as much rain as Floyd left here!Stay safe and will pray for the safety of all in the path of Frances.
Thanks! I'm praying it misses everyone, as unlikely as that is!
The Bush Administrations (both W and Jeb) should have anticipated this and not rushed into this weekend without a sure-fire plan to win the peace!
Damn those fascists.....
Prayers for safety!
Sending prayers for the safety of Florida FReepers.
Great picture....she is a monster...pray for a NE turn...hitting no US land mass.
Florida Shelter Status by County
Hurricane Shelter Maps for the west coast:
Hillsborough
Pinellas
Pasco
Polk
Sarasota
Manatee
Hernando
Citrus
Because it is looking up your address.
From a weather board:
Hundreds of thousands ordered to evacuate Palm Beach Co.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla (AP) -- Palm Beach County officials have ordered the evacuation of 300,000 coastal residents effective Thursday afternoon as powerful Hurricane Frances crept closer to Florida just weeks after Hurricane Charley's rampage.
It would be the worst double hurricane strike on one state in at least a century.
Generators were hefted off store shelves, along with water, canned goods and other emergency supplies as forecasters warned the core of the Category 4 storm with 140 mph wind was due near Florida late Friday or early Saturday. Charley left billions of dollars in damage and 27 people dead after it swept across the peninsula Aug. 13.
The Kennedy Space Center planned to close Thursday and Friday to allow workers time to board up their homes and evacuate if necessary, said NASA spokesman George Diller. Helicopters and planes left Patrick Air Force Base.
In Stuart about 100 miles north of Miami, Martin County planned to urge up to 7,500 residents to evacuate low-lying areas starting at noon Thursday. Brevard County told at least 50,000 residents they should start evacuating mobile homes and low-lying areas Thursday afternoon.
"I can't emphasize enough how powerful this is. If there's something out there that's going to weaken it, we haven't seen it," National Hurricane Center director Max Mayfield said.
Craig Fugate, director of the state Division of Emergency Management, said steps were being taken for to prepare for large-scale evacuations, including possibly reversing lanes of some highways to accommodate fleeing coastal residents.
Frances was nearing the Bahamas with steady strength, but it was expected to fluctuate in intensity and could become a Category 5 storm with top sustained winds of 156 mph or higher, forecasters said. The storm could hit anywhere from South Florida to South Carolina as early as late Friday.
Hurricane-force winds extended up to about 80 miles from Frances' center, making it about twice the width of Charley and increasing the possibility for damage, forecasters said.
(snip)
With the memories of destruction so fresh, many people didn't need an official heads-up to begin preparing. About two dozen people lined up Wednesday morning at a Home Depot store west of Miami, waiting to pay for items such as generators, tarps, flashlights and batteries.
A Home Depot to the south in Florida City, ground zero during Hurricane Andrew 12 years ago, more than doubled its daily sales, ran out of generators and plywood and pushed $50,000 worth of lumber out the doors Tuesday, said Lisa Ftiffler, assistant store manager.
(snip)
At 2 p.m., Frances was centered about 60 miles east-northeast of Grand Turk Island southeast of the Bahamas and 700 miles east-southeast of Palm Beach. It was moving west-northwest at around 15 mph.
With landfall possible on the Atlantic Coast from one end of the state to the other, wary officials watched the clock and forecasts as they grew more refined. Some schools in coastal districts already decided to close Thursday and Friday.
Miami-Dade County, home to about 2.3 million people, would need 24 to 36 hours to evacuate people in low-lying areas, emergency management spokesman Louie Fernandez said. The county's decision on evacuations would need to be made over the next day or so.
State officials worried about finding hotel rooms and shelters for people who may need to evacuate. Many hotel rooms in the southern half of the state are occupied by people left homeless by Charley and out-of-state emergency workers. Some schools and community centers are still being used as shelters.
(snip)
At first glance I thought you said: "Because it is looking up your dress."
Are there hot Latin chix in Key Largo? Because that is whom I plan to stay with in Miami...if I go there.
Does she have a friend? I am in Boca Raton and might need to get out of here also.
Isn't J.Lo expecting you? She talks about you all the time...
Oh gee thanks, PJ. *wink*
Is it just me or has this thing gotten alot bigger in the last 8hrs???
Another quote from a weather board:
Not to hype...because I'm usually the last person to do this...but the probability of a SFL landfall has increased this afternoon based on two critical pieces of information.
1. The most recent 12 hour motion is 14 knots. On the 6Z hurricane center track...the hurricane should be slowing down now to 12 knots.
2. The most recent 12 hour direction of motion is 285. The hurricane center was expecting 295 by now.
The higher forward speed and direction of motion...should they continue...have very immediate implications. The UKMET and NOGAPS and other models are latching on this solution and have the storm moving faster in the next 48 to 60 hours. This means the hurricane could be on the SFL coast as soon as Friday morning.
No question given this information that the NHC will hurricane watches for the coast at 5PM.
St. Petersburg, I plan to rent a plane after Frances passes and survey the damage in Daytona Beach before we return.
Monroe County under no evacuation orders as of yet. Cautiously optimistic about our chances, since they evacuate the Keys early if they even suspect a possibility of trouble. Have lots of friends along the coast and hope for the best for everyone.
LBelle
What weather board?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.