Keep an eye on this one

[Jungho Kim]

On to another topic... What is the water temp in Cozumel right now? Do I need a wetsuit or rash guard and surf shorts enough? Note, I was there in Dec/Jan for 2 weeks and I wore a full 3mm suit... I was still comfortable at the end of the trip after 20 dives, 4 of them in the cenotes...

 

[Christi]

82 - 84

 

[Jungho Kim]

82 - 84

Oh that's toasty... I will leave the 3mm at home!

 

[DandyDon]

Oh that's toasty... I will leave the 3mm at home!

You'll need it in the Cenotes.

Edit: Ernie has landed...

From http://classic.wunderground.com/tropical/at201205.public.html

At 1000 PM CDT...0300 UTC...data from the Belize radar indicate Hurricane Ernesto made landfall along the southern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula near mahahual Mexico as a category 1 hurricane.
Summary of 1000 PM CDT...0300 UTC...information ----------------------------------------------- location...18.7n 87.7w about 0 mi...0 km E of mahahual Mexico about 40 mi...65 km ENE of Chetumal Mexico maximum sustained winds...85 mph...140 km/h present movement...W or 270 degrees at 15 mph...24 km/h minimum central pressure...980 mb...28.94 inches
$$ forecaster Stewart/cangialosi

W-Underground currently shows Cozumel "Calm" and Chetumal with 23 to 40 mph winds.

News story from New Orleans has more info: http://www.nola.com/hurricane/index.ssf/2012/08/hurricane_ernesto_approaches_m.html

Reuters story claims Chetemal streets flooded?
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/08/us-storm-ernesto-idUSBRE8730B820120808

 

[Christi]

Yep - it was even more of a non-event than I expected - and I was expecting a non-event! My street even has dry spots because it hasn't rained in a couple of hours! It was a normal night at home watching TV, browsing the internet, facebooking and answering e-mails - haha! It's not going to get any worse, so I'm going to sleep! I even bet the boats are out on schedule or at least close to it tomorrow!

Good night and thanks for all of the concern and well wishes - just another example that I hope people will remember ...don't go into panic mode when we are not getting a direct hit and it's barely a cat 1 storm! When we are this far away from the center, it really is nothing! It looks much worse to all of you watching the satellite images than it is to those of us actually living it.

You'll know when we are scared, trust me Emily and Wilma - THOSE were scary storms!

 

[DandyDon]

Oh, it could have been a Coz storm, but barely Cat-1 if he had turned that way. After surviving Emily/Cat-4 and Wilma/Cat-5 both in 3 months, I guess a Cat-1 doesn't impress the island veterans so much.

Glad he went for less populated shores. Hope the harm down there wasn't too bad...

 

[Sue Sue]

Fell asleep last night watching a movie via the wonderful wi fi connection here at Villa Escondida just Southeast of the Main Plaza in Cozumel. The winds were Lightly Gusting then, with some intermittent light rains. The stars were even peeking through the moving clouds. After sleeping directly through the night I report that as of this AM, we are having here even lighter gusts of wind & tiny rain showers. In fact, a dead 2 foot piece of Palm tree frong as well as two swimming pool tubies which were left out on the poolside patio are still in the same places as they were last night. No Worries folks on this storm. I will however say Thanks for prayers so graciously answered. So, for today, a scheduled sit out day, my DH Michael and I will relax, walk around town a bit and seek a place for lunch. We also could put together a sweet buffet with what we have on hand and just enjoy sitting under the poolside Palapa. Tomorrow is another day and diving will be where it's at !!!!

 

[cvchief]

Well now that the hysteria of Ernie is done, let's start freaking out over the next one,!! Looks like Florence dropped the ball, but how about that other one NOAA has mapped!!!

Oh and here is a nice story about Ernie coming ashore: No freaking out. I love the one girl saying: "This is normal. It is not the first time that a hurricane has come through here,"

 

[azscubadude]

Tomorrow is another day and diving will be where it's at !!!!

Definitely dodged a bullet on this one. To close for comfort even if it was only a Category-1 storm.

Now if Scuba Club would get their web cam working my morning coffee would be much more enjoyable..

 

[Christi]

There was no bullet to dodge! Even a direct hit from this one would not have been a big deal - it was a small, compact, fast moving storm. And I swear we've had worse thunderstorms - those just don't have names, so people don't freak out about them. Reports from the mainland where storm made landfall are not even bad! Power out for a couple of hours, a few hours of heavy rain and wind - but no big deal!

Anyone that cancelled their trip should have taken the advice of those of us who live these things and are seasoned storm vets. I can't emphasize enough what a non-event it was.

I left my windows open all night - and my blinds were not even moving - which speaks volumes. During a norte, they are crashing and banging against the window frames. Also no rain came in - because it BARELY rained all night! The worst part for us was the squall that came through at 4ish yesterday. It came and went during the course of my lunch! It was a heavy rain with a few gusts - THAT was Ernie for us!