Hurricane Wilma Live Thread, Part IV

NHC - NOAA ^ | 24 October 2005 | NHC - NOAA

[NautiNurse]

Category Three Major Hurricane Wilma is barreling toward the Southwest Florida coastline. The storm is packing wind speeds of 125mph, moving NW at 20mph, with an enormous eye 65 miles in diameter. Landfall is anticipated shortly in Collier County between 6:00 and 7:00AM ET.

Storm surge flooding of 9 feet to 17 feet is possible along the coast near and to the south of where Wilma makes landfall. Storm surge of 5 to 8 feet is predicted for the Keys. The storm has spawned tornados throughout the Florida peninsula since yesterday evening.

The following links are self-updating:

Public Advisory Currently published every 3 hours 0500, 0800, 1100 etc. ET
NHC Discussion Published every six hours 0500, 1100, 1700, 2300 ET
Three Day Forecast Track
Five Day Forecast Track

Wilma Forecast Track Archive
Forecast Models
Buoy Data SE Florida
Current Weather Warnings and Watches for Florida
Florida Department of Emergency Management

Images:

Storm Floater IR Loop
Visible Storm Floater Still (only visible during daylight hours)
Color Enhanced Atlantic Loop
Florida Radar/Sat Loop Caution: Broadband users only
Extra Large Miami Radar Broadband only
Extra Large Key West Radar Broadband only
Miami Long Range Radar Loop
Key West Long Range Radar Loop
Miami Radar Still Image w/watches warnings
Melbourne Radar Still Image w/watches warnings
Key West Radar Still Image w/watches warnings
Tampa Bay Radar Still image w/watches warnings

Streaming Video:

WBBH-TV/WZVN-TV Ft. Myers (WMP): http://waterbc.wm.llnwd.net/waterbc_netvideo
WESH-TV/DT Orlando/Daytona Beach (RP): http://mfile.akamai.com/7883/live/reflector:24028.ram
WFTV-TV/DT Orlando (RP): http://mfile.akamai.com/7883/live/reflector:20361.ram
WKMG-TV/DT Orlando (RP): http://mfile.akamai.com/7883/live/reflector:23942.ram
WPBF-TV/DT West Palm Beach (RP): http://mfile.akamai.com/7883/live/reflector:24035.ram
WSVN-TV/DT Miami (WMP): http://216.242.118.140/windowsmedia/asx/wsvn_broadband.asx
WTVJ-TV/DT Miami: http://nbc6.feedroom.com/iframeset.jsp?ord=381015
WPLG-TV/DT Miami (RP): http://mfile.akamai.com/8660/live/reflector:23941.ram
WFOR-TV/DT Miami (WMP): http://wfor.dayport.com/viewer/content/special.php?Art_ID=612&Format_ID=2&BitRate_ID=8&Contract_ID=2&Obj_ID={obj_id}
WTSP-TV/DT St. Petersburg/Tampa (WMP): mms://wmbcast.gannett.speedera.net/wmbcast.gannett/wmbcast_gannett_sep252004_1915_64623
Hurricane City (Real Player) - http://hurricanecity.com/live.ram
ABCNews Now (Real Player) - http://reallive.stream.aol.com/ramgen/redundant/abc/now_hi.rm

Additional Resources:

Pet Friendly Florida Shelter Info
Central Florida Hurricane Center
Hurricane City
CrownWeather.com

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

Previous Threads:
Hurricane Wilma Live Thread, Part III
Hurricane Wilma Part II
Hurricane Wilma Live Thread
Tropical Storm Wilma
Tropical Depression #24

[flattorney]

###Update###

Key Biscayne and Miami-Dade County Florida - Significant Damage
Highest Officially Recorded Wilma Ground Wind Speed: Key Biscayne - 123 mph. A record I could have done without.
Downtown Miami Before Hurricane Wilma



10.24.05-7:30pm: Downtown Miami Without Power After Wilma


10.25.05 - Florida Power & Light states almost 3 million customers remained without power in what the utility described as the worst outage in its history. 98% of Miami-Dade County's 2.3 million people are without power. Not even Hurricane Andrew achieved that feat in 1992. FPL stated it may take up to four weeks to restore power to everyone because of serious damage to its infrastructure. All public services infrastructure is down on Key Biscayne island. No power, water, sewer, or phones. West side of island (where I live) hit much harder than East side. Miami International Airport closed due to damage-power loss. However, one runway is open for emergency relief flights. The major airports at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood and Palm Beach are also closed due to damage-power loss. Officials estimate 2-3 days before MIA reopened, limited commercial traffic sooner. I'm in Houston. Hopefully be able to go home this weekend and assess the damage. Still waiting for a local ground report on law office building (Miami) and my residence (Key Biscayne). No biggie, I don't sweat stuff like this - just deal with it and move on. 30% chance of scattered rain moving into Miami-Dade, Thur - Tues. Further info posted here: http://www.freerepublic.com/~flattorney

[moog]

, but it looks pretty bad all the way north to Jupiter.



That should be a record breaker.

We've got to be careful of that Great Big Red Spot. It will make Katrina seem like Teddy Kennedy's hot air

[Dane]

Fox and other networks showing incredibly long lines for ice, gas, etc.etc.

Looks like another lightless night all the way from Palm Beach down to Key West.

[patriciaruth]

Just talked with the taxi driver.

They had a huge line outside Home Depot and were only letting in 20 at a time.

He told them the order was already paid for and all he had to do was pick it up, and the guy outside told him he still had to go to the back of the line and wait.

And they were going to close at 5pm and the line wouldn't have gotten to the door by then, so he is going back in the morning to try to get the stuff.

I asked him to have my aunt get out her insurance policy before he called me when he gets there.

I should have sent more cash for taxi fares.

[patriciaruth]

So all reports are that she is alive and well, just dislocated?

[cll]

Until we talk to her we can't be sure but her mom, who I am doing the sleuthing for, feels that she should be okay since she's very resourceful. If FLL or MIA open tomorrow we might jump on a plane if we still don't hear from her.

[vigilante2]

no I'm not in Florida I believe it was VeniVidiVici who lives in Orlando

[flattorney]

Hurricane Wilma: Official Reported Winds (MPH)
10.25.05-19:00
Posted for FLA by TAB

### Southeast SFP ###
Key Biscayne - 123
Hollywood - 116
South Miami - 115
Miramar - 105
Weston - 104
West Miami-Dade (NHC) - 104
Lake Okeechobee - 102
Deerfield Beach - 102
Palm Beach - 101
Fort Lauderdale - 95

Others Unofficial Reports:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pompano Beach - 118
Hallandale Beach - 113.
Dania Beach - 108
Fort Lauderdale Courthouse - 105
Davie (Miami Dolphins Training Camp) - 100

### Southwest – SFP ####
Florida Keys:
NHC - 125
Cudjoe Key - 120
Sombrero Key - 101
Long Key – 74

Collier Emergency Operations Center - 125
Naples Airport - 121
Fort Myers Beach - 100
Everglades City - 97
Bellasera Hotel, Naples - 86
Cape Coral Elementary - 80
Bonita Springs - 80
Southwest Florida International Airport - 75
WINK-TV, Fort Myers - 71
Page Field in Fort Myers - 68
Port Charlotte - 61
Arcadia - 59

[varina davis]

LOL -- we may need a new thread soon.

[Vermonter]

Ping to some data of interest, when you return

[ExSES]

As for the legend, not sure which legend you are referring to. I heard someone on these boards mention the Indian burial grounds, but the high hill on the south end of the island is not a burial ground at all, as far as I know. It is touted locally as a shell mound, and it is 50-60 feet high. I understand the Calusa Indians were fishermen and would not contaminate the sea with their refuse.

Florida is covered with "Shell Mounds" (indian garbage dumps, not "Burial Mounds"). Shellfish was a staple food of indians living near waterways. You can find them everywhere (except where early settlers excavated them for roadbed and foundation materials!)...

[ExSES]

except where early settlers excavated them for roadbed and foundation materials!)

My bad! Later "settlers" did far more shell mound destruction until the state started protecting the ones that they identified/ Obviously this is the case since bulldozers and draglines move shell far more efficiently!

[TYVets]

On Monday, buses began ferrying hundreds of tourists out of Cancun to Merida, about 170 miles to the west, where they may be able to wrangle homebound flights.

Good news that at least some of the buses from New Orleans have been dried out and are usable.

[piperpilot]

Marak, what part of the island do you live in? My parents live off of San Marcos and they are still without power. They had only vegetation damage and lost their mailbox, but other homes in the neighborhood didn't fare so well. I heard also that both the Marriott and the Radisson suffered significant damage.

[You Dirty Rats]

October 25, 2005
FPL nears end of first full day of restoration after Hurricane Wilma; restores power to more than 400,000 customers, announces system-wide estimated restoration times

View recent outage numbers

As the first full day of restoration draws to a close, FPL has restored electric service to more than 400,000 of the approximately 3.2 million customers left without power by Hurricane Wilma, which cut a 180-mile swath of major hurricane force winds across south Florida yesterday.

The company also continued assessing the extensive damage to its electrical system and will continue that assessment for several days. Based on its initial assessment, FPL officials announced the following system-wide estimated times when customers should expect to get their power back on:

FPL expects to complete power restoration to virtually all customers in the west coast areas of Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte and DeSoto counties, as well as North Brevard county on the east coast by the end of Wednesday.
In all other areas, FPL expects to complete power restoration to the majority of customers within two weeks -- November 8. Some 95 percent of FPL customers in these areas should have power restored within three weeks or by November 15.
At a news conference this afternoon, FPL President Armando Olivera said that every effort will be made to improve on these schedules and updates of restoration progress will be provided. About 60 percent of FPL's 35-county service territory was affected by the Category 3 hurricane, covering nearly 22,000 square miles.

"While our power plants are in relatively good shape, the most severe damage has been to poles, wires and substations," he said. "Our priority today is fixing damage to large, high voltage transmission lines and substations -- important links to the critical infrastructure in our communities."

He added that preliminary assessments indicate that the worst damage to FPL's electric system occurred in Broward and southeastern Palm Beach counties, and, as a result, repairs in these areas may take the longest time to complete.

FPL currently has a restoration team of 6,000 workers in the field and additional personnel will continue to arrive from out of Florida through next week.

“Hurricane Wilma has been an extraordinary event for our customers in an already record setting hurricane season,” said Olivera. “As with other restoration efforts we have completed during this hurricane season, we will work with our communities to restore power to the customers we serve.”

[dirtboy]

That's a stunning comparison.

[You Dirty Rats]

October 25, 2005
Outage numbers by county
As of 8 pm
Affected Counties Out Restored Affected
Brevard 5,200 74,300 79,500
Broward 856,300 6,500 862,800
Charlotte 600 7,900 8,500
Collier 108,700 60,900 169,600
DeSoto - 4,900 4,900
Flagler - 200 200
Glades 2,500 900 3,400
Hendry 5,400 3,100 8,500
Highlands 400 - 400
Indian River 38,900 2,700 41,600
Lee 122,700 72,200 194,900
Manatee 800 13,800 14,600
Martin 73,100 11,500 84,600
Miami-Dade 870,400 86,100 956,500
Okeechobee 14,600 1,300 15,900
Palm Beach 638,500 25,000 663,500
Putnam - 100 100
Sarasota 700 17,900 18,600
Seminole - 1,100 1,100
St. Lucie 89,900 13,000 102,900
Volusia - 9,300 9,300
TOTAL 2,828,700 412,700 3,241,400

[patriciaruth]

I've had precious little sleep in the last two nights. So, VeniVidi, you are the one in Orlando who might be able to get down to Hialeah to nail the tarp on my aunt's roof?

I'm going to FReep you some additional information of a lead I'll try to follow tomorrow to get someone local to do the tarping.

[NautiNurse]

Both the Miami and Ft. Lauderdale airports are now open. You could surprise her with a visit.

[patriciaruth]

I don't know where I would stay. She won't let anyone in the house ever now since she can't keep up with it anymore in her old age.

But I would figure something out for how to go if I can't arrange for the tarp to be nailed on her roof there from out here in California.

Thanks for the news about the airport. It opens the option now if all else fails.