Tropical Storm Fay

No matter happens with Fay, this is a good reminder to finish getting some of the things together on our hurricane preparedness list that we have been putting off. Might as well do it today!

10AM track has it further east hugging Florida's west coast.

CNN just showed updated cone from NWC that shows it tracking a tad more east over land on Florida's west coast. Tampa right in the center - do not return to Tampa or the coast unless you are prepared to face a category 1 Hurricane, and certainly time your trip so that you aren't traveling near it.

CNN just showed updated cone from NWC that shows it tracking a tad more east over land on Florida's west coast. Tampa right in the center - do not return to Tampa or the coast unless you are prepared to face a category 1 Hurricane, and certainly time your trip so that you aren't traveling near it.

We are headed home with the idea that we may have to come right back. Gotta at least get the dog and secure our stuff, also the boys start their brand new school Monday and if it is in session I don't want them to miss it. Really it's a tough call. Best case is a curve rightward, less strenghening and it heads for the middle Keys and the Glades.

Just ... Yikes!

As a reminder, in our area, there could be many emergencies which could cause us to need emergency supplies. For example, a chlorine gas leak at the Sheriff's substation or at any other water tower in the area, could be cause for us to "Shelter in Place," requiring you to stay inside your homes, and seal doors and windows, for extended periods. Big scale emergencies don't happen too often in our area, but they are possible, and you should think of your kit as Emergency Kits, not Hurricane Kits.

TFT, Forget first day at new school, when life is potential threatened.

Oh, my...I thought the same thing...is the daughter representing this year?

Well, one of the names is really close. And Nana is what she calls my Mom.

gee, my generators look a little dusty!

And I am counting on you to tell us if we need to be worried, or if we are evacuating and you are "housesitting".

I wouldn't be packing my bags quite yet if I were you.

I wouldn't be packing my bags quite yet if I were you.

Gotcha.

We had a Cat 1[Charlie-2004] that literally kicked our arses here in O'town. Most of my neighbors had no power for a week, and downed oak trees were blocking streets. We missed the entire Olympics as it was over two weeks for cable to be restored. Do not discount a Cat 1 if you are directly in it's path.

Was that Charley, if so I was there for that one and you are right it was something to see the next day.

The most recent prediction I saw was the one Kurt and TFT discussed. With Monday being the deciding day as to whether it hugs the Florida coast or moves to the Gulf.

Problem with these storms you don't want them to go anywhere.

I get so upset when I read the Disney forums during the days before a storm, because so many simply want it to move anywhere but Orlando so their vacation is not affected.

HEY I'm going on vacation to scallop in Port St. Joe Monday-Wednesday. My last vacation was a year ago to kayak in Alaska. I know this one is only two hours away and for a couple of days but doggone I earned it and no TS is going to ruin it for me. Maybe I should go ahead and buy scallops and a larger ration of beer in case rain causes the inactment of Plan B!

We had a Cat 1[Charlie-2004] that literally kicked our arses here in O'town. Most of my neighbors had no power for a week, and downed oak trees were blocking streets. We missed the entire Olympics as it was over two weeks for cable to be restored. Do not discount a Cat 1 if you are directly in it's path.

I don't discount any of them. And I remember that Charlie was a very unique animal. He went from Cat 2 to Cat 4 as he turned a sharp right and hit Charlotte Harbor and traveled up the middle of the state while still gaining some strength from the Harbor and from Peace River. He sucked that thing dry. My sister is the Chairman of the Sarasota Red Cross and had to go out to assess the damage. All those years of thinking that the inland folks would be spared from the full force of a hurricane were so wrong.

HEY I'm going on vacation to scallop in Port St. Joe Monday-Wednesday. My last vacation was a year ago to kayak in Alaska. I know this one is only two hours away and for a couple of days but doggone I earned it and no TS is going to ruin it for me. Maybe I should go ahead and buy scallops and a larger ration of beer in case rain causes the inactment of Plan B!

As it stands now Plan B might not be a bad option. Of course things are always subject to change but right now the weather might actually stink next week. We will have to see if the NHC shifts the track more east again. I wouldn't hold my breath though!



Tropicwatch

No matter happens with Fay, this is a good reminder to finish getting some of the things together on our hurricane preparedness list that we have been putting off. Might as well do it today!

You actually have a hurricane preparedness list?

We've been so busy watching the election that we are about as off-guard as people can possibly be!

Its going to go up the East Coast

I've consistently found that the European Weather Site has the best forecast model and they've been showing this storm tracking east of Florida for several days now. Now they show it going ashore in So Georgia. That hasn't happened in a long time.

You can press the play button labeled "Step Valid Time" and see where they show this storm going for the next few days.

I've consistently found that the European Weather Site has the best forecast model and they've been showing this storm tracking east of Florida for several days now. Now they show it going ashore in So Georgia. That hasn't happened in a long time.

You can press the play button labeled "Step Valid Time" and see where they show this storm going for the next few days.

Oops. I should have looked at the latest before posting. They now have it brushing the coast of the Carolinas. That's a change since lunchtime today.

I can't remember what site it was, but I was looking at hurricane stats for Jacksonville and basically it said we were due for a major storm before the end of 2009. With our governor declaring a state of emergency, I guess somebody somewhere in our state is expecting some weather.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080816/ap_on_re_us/tropical_weather_florida

I don't own one myself, but have thought about buying, and highly recommend to others, one of the small multifunctional radios, which has a flash light, radio, and one regular DC or AC outlet, which can be operated on batteries or hand cranked, user-generated. They could be great use if the power goes out and you are keeping tabs with ppl via text message, email via cell phone, or cell phone itself, if you are able to get a darn signal. Text messages will work best because they just sit in hold until a cell opens up, where the phone doesn't.

by: JeffMasters, 11:53 AM EDT on August 16, 2008
www.weatherunderground.com

...Fay's future strength when it hits the U.S. depends critically upon how much strengthening occurs today. Fay will be traversing the highest heat content waters in the entire Atlantic Ocean today, so there is the potential for the storm to reach Category 1 hurricane status before crossing Cuba Sunday night. If Fay does hit South Florida, the storm is likely to be a tropical storm or Category 1 hurricane, since it will not have enough time over water to reorganize much. A strike further up the coast will likely result in a stronger Fay at landfall, with a Category 3 storm not out of the question (20% chance).


The latest model map is below. NOGAPS model is pointed directly at Panama City area.

Another good tropical weather site

This guy summarizes all of the sites. You'd be amazed at how much info is available.

http://www.crownweather.com/tropical.html

Its like a fix for a weather junkie.

I don't own one myself, but have thought about buying, and highly recommend to others, one of the small multifunctional radios, which has a flash light, radio, and one regular DC or AC outlet, which can be operated on batteries or hand cranked, user-generated. They could be great use if the power goes out and you are keeping tabs with ppl via text message, email via cell phone, or cell phone itself, if you are able to get a darn signal. Text messages will work best because they just sit in hold until a cell opens up, where the phone doesn't.

Got one. Mine will charge your cell phone from either the radio's internal battery or from the hand crank. AM, FM, Shortwave, and broadcast TV (which of course will be useless once DTV comes along).

As it stands now Plan B might not be a bad option. Of course things are always subject to change but right now the weather might actually stink next week. We will have to see if the NHC shifts the track more east again. I wouldn't hold my breath though!



Tropicwatch

This looks like the optimal rain-dumping model for Georgia, at least...

But I hope for the best for all of you. Let us know if you need anything.

I don't own one myself, but have thought about buying, and highly recommend to others, one of the small multifunctional radios, which has a flash light, radio, and one regular DC or AC outlet, which can be operated on batteries or hand cranked, user-generated. They could be great use if the power goes out and you are keeping tabs with ppl via text message, email via cell phone, or cell phone itself, if you are able to get a darn signal. Text messages will work best because they just sit in hold until a cell opens up, where the phone doesn't.

Yeah, I had bought one of those when we moved to Port St Joe. Got it at Target. I finally found it again last week. The bleepin' thing didn't work anymore, not with hand crank, not with fresh batteries. ::sigh::

I don't own one myself, but have thought about buying, and highly recommend to others, one of the small multifunctional radios, which has a flash light, radio, and one regular DC or AC outlet, which can be operated on batteries or hand cranked, user-generated. They could be great use if the power goes out and you are keeping tabs with ppl via text message, email via cell phone, or cell phone itself, if you are able to get a darn signal. Text messages will work best because they just sit in hold until a cell opens up, where the phone doesn't.

We love our little cheapie solar / battery multifunctional radio and highly recommend them. It cost us about $10. We've stayed through all the storms and being able to crank up that little solar radio is a real godsend. It keeps us in touch with what's happening with the weather, road closures, after the storm help, etc. Without it we would have no idea what's going on in the outside world! It works like a charm. We just sit it on the porch and let it soak up the light ... give it a crank ... and just like that we are connected to important information. It also has a flashlight built in. We keep it in our beach bag all year and if we ever need a radio for any reason at the beach, we've got one.