Posted on 08/02/2024 2:11:33 PM PDT by NautiNurse
Tropical Storm watches and warnings have been issued from the Florida Keys up the Florida Gulf Coast to Suwanee. The system is crossing Central Cuba, moving at 16mph. The disturbance is expected to develop into a tropical depression on Saturday as it moves across the Straits of Florida, followed by intensification into a tropical storm by Saturday night. Governor DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 54 counties, most along the Gulf Coast and in northern Florida, to move assets in preparation for the storm.
August 13 marks 20 years since Hurricane Charley made landfall near Punta Gorda FL.
The rapid strengthening of Charley in the eastern Gulf of Mexico caught many by surprise. Around five hours before its Florida landfall, Charley was a strong Category 2 hurricane predicted to strengthen its strongest winds to 115 mph upon its landfall in the Tampa–Saint Petersburg area. About two hours before landfall, the National Hurricane Center issued a special advisory, notifying the public that Charley had become a 145 mph Category 4 hurricane, with a predicted landfall location in the Port Charlotte area. As a result of this change in forecast, numerous people in the Charlotte County area were unprepared for the hurricane, although the new track prediction was well within the previous forecast's margin of error. National Hurricane Center forecasting intern Robbie Berg publicly blamed the media for misleading residents into believing that a Tampa landfall was inevitable.
Mash the graphics below to enlarge. All links and images are self-updating.
Tropical Tidbits by Levi Cowan
Local News:
FOX4 News Southwest Florida
WWSB Sarasota/Bradenton
WFLA Tampa Bay
WESH2 Orlando
This is going to be a mess forecasting wise
Both the GFS and euro slowly zig zag it up the east coast with stalls over the next 7 days
In any event huge rainfall over a large area from From Florida to southern New England
Outside Orlando there’s a small area where I live (maybe a square mile or less) that hasn’t gotten rain for nearly 2 weeks until last night. Finally! It poured. So odd, I watch the radar each afternoon, oh boy here it comes, then the clouds split and go around us. It’s nuts. We were crispy dry while friends a couple miles north or east got soaked.
Poured here this morning then sunny, cloudy, breezy unsettled. Silly storm hasn’t got it’s act together. It looks to be a lot further west before eastward turn than earlier.
S’ok..got a good book, 4 days off and chocolate!
Best wishes for my fellow Floridians.
Thanks Nauti! Looks like it’ll stay west of us here in Central Florida. Looks to be a pretty good rain event, though.
Oddly enough, we are in a “special” microclimate area which frequently gets less rain than ten blocks east. We’ve watched tropical storms dissipate or split apart to the west. We call it The Vortex. Some locals say it is due to the Indian burial mounds nearby.
Northeast bands about to hit us in a couple of hours. Future radar looks like about 7 or 8 bands in the after that. Brunt of the storm should show up to off. Stay safe.
500 PM EDT Update
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About 70 MI NW of Havana Cuba
About 100 MI WSW of Key West FL
Max Sustained Winds...40 MPH
Movement...NW at 15 MPH
Minimum Pressure...1007 MB
Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 140 miles from the center.
On/Off Hurricane List Mash Here--> 
This is a large system with tropical storm force winds extending 140 miles from the center.
Debby is looking formidable on visible satellite.
*Waaah-Waaaaaaah*
I recall Ivan looping around for a second visit to Florida in 2004. What storm visited GITMO three times?
That blowed up like real quick.
Yep. Can’t recall the last time I posted a thread prior to a named storm. This one definitely had that ominous look about it.
I’m battened down NN. Come on Debby. Praying for my bananas and papayas.
We missed the TS warning by 30 miles.
Oh! You reminded me I should have plucked some avocados. Thanks.
Key West radar seems to be struggling in the past hour.
wow impressive and a lot closer than i thought.
That squall around 1300 caught me by surprise.
Looks like you are getting the long version of a strong squall line.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/key-west/33040/weather-radar/332323
try accuweather,
gotta go cook dinner.
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