Hurricane Ivan is next...

[Damselfish]

Found this today in the Sun Sentinel website
"Of all the recorded hurricanes to hit the U.S. since 1851, 36 percent have made landfall in Florida. A look at the paths of the major hurricanes (category 3 and higher) that have passed through the state. The most affected counties are in the shaded area.
(Staff graphic/Karsten Ivey, Belinda Long)
Sep. 10, 2004
Copyright © 2004, South Florida Sun-Sentinel"

The map itself is interesting, but I heard that same "36% hit Florida statistic" someplace else recently, and thought "what a useless and meaningless statistic." 36 percent hit Florida - well, Florida has a long coastline, so you'd expect a lot, but so what? Hits per length of coastline or lots of other values they could calculate might be a little more meaningful. Sigh, statistics...

 

[H2Andy]

the five-day chart shows Ivan
heading for Mobile, making landfall early tomorrow.

Ivan is fluctuating in strength, but it is still a Cat 4,
though it may make landfall as a Cat 3.

however:

IVAN IS A LARGE HURRICANE...WITH HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTENDING
OUTWARD UP TO 105 MILES FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE
WINDS EXTENDING OUTWARD UP TO 290 MILES.

National Hurricane Center

 

[fun2chase]

We drove through the night and evacuated ahead of the traffic. Now situated in Atlanta waiting for the word we can return and see what our homes have survived.

Will let you know when I get online what we find!

Luckily for me and my 2 boys we have relatives in Atlanta to make things better.

Looking forward to the Halloween Megadive when there are no storms!

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

We're getting rain bands now, winds are getting more and more gusty. News crews at the beach are leaving - Daphin Island, AL is already flooding over. Water is crashing over the seawalls at the main beach in Gulf Shores and at Perdido Pass, however, the surge isn't over the walls just yet - just waves. The pier at the Gulf State Park is getting hammered nicely by waves almost as high - pier is 20'+ high and they're getting atleast 15'+ waves. There is a tornado located in our county, but the news channel and doppler radars show it passing south of my current location. We're keeping an eye on the news just in case we need to take immediate cover in a more fortified part of the house.

Apparently Grande Isle, LA are getting 25+' waves, at the moment the storm is closer to them, but it will be heading away and towards us.

The majority of the shelters are filled, but some new ones opened so that should help with the overflow.

More to come later.


Ditto about the Megadive party, looks to be a great time

 

[KBeck]

Guys, I have to say; we're getting leftover winds all the way over on the east coast, and it's almost blowing me off my feet!!! We're this far away, and news says they're in the 30 mph range....Colin, you guys may still be best off being on this side, after all.
Once again, best wishes to everybody for safe times through the storm.

 

[wstein]

A little humor to lighten the mood here during this difficult times.

Top Ten Reasons Hurricane Season is Like Christmas

10. Decorating the house (boarding up windows)


9. Dragging out boxes that haven't been used since
last season (camping gear, flashlights)


8. Last minute shopping in crowded stores


7. Regular TV shows pre-empted for "specials"


6. Family coming to stay with you


5. Family and friends from out-of-state calling


4. Buying food you don't normally buy... and in large quantities


3. Days off from work


2. Candles

And the number one reason Hurricane Season is like Christmas...

At some point you know you're going to have a tree in your house!

 

[H2Andy]

hehehe... awesome!

 

[simbrooks]

We're keeping an eye on the news just in case we need to take immediate cover in a more fortified part of the house.

I would find that happy place fairly soon and particularly for the overnight hours! Keep safe.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Definately I plan on spending my night crashing out in the hallway with my parents and grandmother - LOL.

We're getting Tropical Storm speed winds and the rain is coming down alot more steady now. 40-50mph sustained winds being recorded around the county and neighboring counties. Hell, even Destin is getting some 40mph winds. Some of the outer bands have gone through Panama City and brought a fairly dangerous line of tornadoes with it, killing atleast 2 people and damaging a firestation. Our prayers go out to them.

The power has flickered off a few times, but nothing substantial yet. There are over 3000 already without power and there is no doubt that we'll be part of that growing number later tonight. Our neighborhood is notorious about losing power during rough weather. We're just about to eat dinner and I'll grab one more picture from outside for today. They'll be posted whenever I can get to my house(I'm at the parents) or my computer at work. I'm rather anxious to see what the area will look like when I wake up tomorrow morning and I'll probably take a drive around town tomorrow evening if the weather allows in order to get a feel for what kind of damage our community has suffered.

I'll try to check in again later.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Probably my last post for awhile. The power has gone out several times now for minutes at a time. The wind has picked up even more and its howling pretty good between the trees, course we expect it and we know it'll get atleast twice as bad before getting better.

More people are losing power and I'm suprised we have it at this point. There is flooding, trees down, along with downed powerlines, across the coastal areas of MS, AL, and FL. The sun is down now so looking outside isn't very interesting any more which means its time to break a few beers open and start putting money down with the folks to see who is closest to guessing how long our power will continue before crapping out.

See you guys on the other side!