H. Charley now a CAT 2 Hurricane, could hit Tampa as a CAT 3 Fri PM

NWS / Hurricane City / Local Tampa-Miami stations ^ | 8.12.04

[mhking]

The National Weather Service has just issued a Tornado Watch for most of south Florida until at least 8:00 Friday morning.

Hurricane City is streaming live coverage at http://hurricanecity.com/live.ram -- their coverage includes reports from The Weather Channel, from observers on the ground, plus streamed reports from local Miami television stations.

[gcruse]

I'll do 'er. See you apres le deluge! :)

[GatorGirl]

I heard TECO was planning to shut off power to Davis and Harbor Islands and most of downtown in the morning. The hospital, even on emergency power, will be unreachable with that storm surge, not to mention any damage it might sustain.

[Bahbah]

"cumulonimbus clous fro."

That sounds very french.

[jwpjr]

Not to worry (too much), Leesburg is a long ways from the Tampa Bay area inland and on the 'ridge' part of Florida. The ridge runs down the center of the state and is at least a hundred feet above most of coastal Florida. Their area is far enough inland that much of the storm's fury will have dissipated if it goes over them. Their biggest worry would be a tornado, and that's no small concern. Our main concern is the storm surge, so much of the coastal area is built right on the water and a 10 foot surge would cover the ground floor of most buildings.

[Amelia]

Disney's E-ticket rides couldn't be better. And then it's over.

It does sound better than sitting in traffic trying to evacuate from Floyd, which ended up not making landfall here anyway...

My next project is a super safe room, so I don't have to evacuate unless it's a Cat 4 or 5.

[piasa]

Hope so, evac area D in Pasco.

Weeeelll.... looks like I might get dunked long before you. I'll let you know when the water gets up to my neck... unless a tree gets me first. Now I wish I could've voted early just in case I get whacked by a grapefruit going 110 mph.

[oceanview]

11PM advisory:

105MPH winds, moving NNW 14 mph, hits Havana in 2-3 hours.

path is still dead center to Tampa.

[ovrtaxt]

Only a Cat 4? I must be thinking of the gust speed of around 180.

[asgardshill]

I'm glad to hear that, at least when it comes to Gitmo. There's not too much high ground for our armed forces to retreat to on that little island.

[gcruse]

It's July 4th all summer! They say if you hear thunder at all, go inside, even if the storms are ten miles away. Oh, and unplug your computer and TVs. I can live with all that, but having to sit there offline makes me crazy. LOL

[ovrtaxt]

Maybe so, but I take baths.

[nwctwx]

Category One Hurricane:
Winds 74-95 mph (64-82 kt or 119-153 km/hr). Storm surge generally 4-5 ft above normal. No real damage to building structures. Damage primarily to unanchored mobile homes, shrubbery, and trees. Some damage to poorly constructed signs. Also, some coastal road flooding and minor pier damage. Hurricanes Allison of 1995 and Danny of 1997 were Category One hurricanes at peak intensity.

Category Two Hurricane:
Winds 96-110 mph (83-95 kt or 154-177 km/hr). Storm surge generally 6-8 feet above normal. Some roofing material, door, and window damage of buildings. Considerable damage to shrubbery and trees with some trees blown down. Considerable damage to mobile homes, poorly constructed signs, and piers. Coastal and low-lying escape routes flood 2-4 hours before arrival of the hurricane center. Small craft in unprotected anchorages break moorings. Hurricane Bonnie of 1998 was a Category Two hurricane when it hit the North Carolina coast, while Hurricane Georges of 1998 was a Category Two Hurricane when it hit the Florida Keys and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Category Three Hurricane:
Winds 111-130 mph (96-113 kt or 178-209 km/hr). Storm surge generally 9-12 ft above normal. Some structural damage to small residences and utility buildings with a minor amount of curtainwall failures. Damage to shrubbery and trees with foliage blown off trees and large trees blown down. Mobile homes and poorly constructed signs are destroyed. Low-lying escape routes are cut by rising water 3-5 hours before arrival of the center of the hurricane. Flooding near the coast destroys smaller structures with larger structures damaged by battering from floating debris. Terrain continuously lower than 5 ft above mean sea level may be flooded inland 8 miles (13 km) or more. Evacuation of low-lying residences with several blocks of the shoreline may be required. Hurricanes Roxanne of 1995 and Fran of 1996 were Category Three hurricanes at landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and in North Carolina, respectively.

Category Four Hurricane:
Winds 131-155 mph (114-135 kt or 210-249 km/hr). Storm surge generally 13-18 ft above normal. More extensive curtainwall failures with some complete roof structure failures on small residences. Shrubs, trees, and all signs are blown down. Complete destruction of mobile homes. Extensive damage to doors and windows. Low-lying escape routes may be cut by rising water 3-5 hours before arrival of the center of the hurricane. Major damage to lower floors of structures near the shore. Terrain lower than 10 ft above sea level may be flooded requiring massive evacuation of residential areas as far inland as 6 miles (10 km). Hurricane Luis of 1995 was a Category Four hurricane while moving over the Leeward Islands. Hurricanes Felix and Opal of 1995 also reached Category Four status at peak intensity.

Category Five Hurricane:
Winds greater than 155 mph (135 kt or 249 km/hr). Storm surge generally greater than 18 ft above normal. Complete roof failure on many residences and industrial buildings. Some complete building failures with small utility buildings blown over or away. All shrubs, trees, and signs blown down. Complete destruction of mobile homes. Severe and extensive window and door damage. Low-lying escape routes are cut by rising water 3-5 hours before arrival of the center of the hurricane. Major damage to lower floors of all structures located less than 15 ft above sea level and within 500 yards of the shoreline. Massive evacuation of residential areas on low ground within 5-10 miles (8-16 km) of the shoreline may be required. Hurricane Mitch of 1998 was a Category Five hurricane at peak intensity over the western Caribbean. Hurricane Gilbert of 1988 was a Category Five hurricane at peak intensity and is one of the strongest Atlantic tropical cyclones of record.

[ovrtaxt]

Hehe-- yes, I've fried plenty of modems back in the dial-up days...

[Gabz]

Okay, my Donna story.

I'll give you mine - which really isn't mine because I was born that year...............My best friend's, from my summers in Sarasota, name is Donna because she was born shortly after that one.

[nwctwx]

Yeah, it was a cat 4:

"The maximum sustained surface wind speed (1-min average at 10 meters [about 33 ft] elevation) during landfall over Florida is estimated at 125 kt (about 145 mph), with gusts at that elevation to at least 150 kt (about 175 mph)."

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/1992andrew.html

[gcruse]

My next project is a super safe room, so I don't have to evacuate unless it's a Cat 4 or 5.

With uninterruptible power so you can still freep?  ;)

[Gabz]

Of course!!!!!!

[Howlin]

http://www.intellicast.com/Local/USNationalWide.asp?loc=usa&seg=StormCenter&prodgrp=FloaterImagery&product=Float2Loop&prodnav=none&pid=none

[nwctwx]

path is still dead center to Tampa.

Not good news, I still do not think it is being stressed enough what will happen if this track verifies. We could be looking at 50-100 billion dollars in damage.

[Amelia]

With uninterruptible power so you can still freep? ;)

Thanks! (Adding that to my wish list....)