A message to all our friends in Florida

[CelticMuscle]

Hurricane Frances Is Large And Slow Moving With Extensive Rainfall In All Quadrants. Hurricane Frances Is Also Much Larger Than Hurricane Charley... Resulting In Much Longer Durations Of Rainfall... With Upwards Of 12 To 18 Hours Of Rainfall Occurring In Some Locations. These Factors Are All Signs That Significant Flooding Will Occur As Frances Moves Onshore Saturday Then Slowly Northwest Over The Florida Peninsula. The Flooding Threat Will Begin To Increase Early Saturday As Frances Nears The Coast. The Flooding Danger Will Persist Through Sunday As Frances Slowly Works Northwest Across The Peninsula.

Widespread Inland Flooding Is Likely In Areas Where The Heaviest Rainfall Occurs. This Includes Low Lying And Poorly Drained Areas... But Will Also Occur In Areas Not Typically As Susceptible To Flooding... Due To The Long Duration Of Heavy Rains Occurring On Ground That Is Already Nearly Saturated.

Or in laymen's terms:

[COLOR=Orange]GET THE HECK OUT OF THERE[/COLOR]

[glammaman2000]

for our pal LeatherGryphon;stuck smack-dab in the middle of that mess.

Well, it's 6:45 AM Saturday morning. I'm in Melbourne, Florida. Right in the path of hurricane Frances. Periodic heavy rain, winds are about 40MPH with stronger gusts now and then. I haven't seen TV yet this morning so I don't know exactly where the eye is now but last night it was predicted to hit about 20 miles south of here early Sunday morning.

Obviously I still have electricity and internet connection. I'll post every hour or so. When my message stop, I've lost one or the other.

I'm not in any danger of flooding. This house is on a small hill (yes, a hill in Florida!), next to the Intracoastal Waterway(Indian River). The river is 2 miles wide, then you come to the barrier island which is 1 mile wide, then you come to the ocean. Seas are expected to rise 8 to 12 feet which means the island may be flooded pretty much all the way across. This is the first major hurricane test for all the new multistory condominiums on the beach. It will be interesting to see how they fare.

This house and all the rest of the houses in this development may not flood but one just across the street is almost at river level and I expect to see a lake in her yard because all the drainage from the hill goes toward her. (really smart planning on the part of the developers (*wry smile*).

No major damage outside yet. Hurricane Charley a few weeks ago blew all the palm fronds off the trees already.

Next update around 8:00 AM. The eye is still about 18 hours away.

I have my "safe area" prepared to use when/if necessary.

Time 8:41 AM, Melbourne, Florida

Hurricane Frances is starting to really be felt here and it's just the beginning. Winds are now officially sustained 31 MPH with much stronger gusts. Palm trees swaying, very heavy rain now and then.

No leaks in the house yet, no broken windows, no water into the garage.

I've got the house pretty much powered down so when the power goes out, the flicker & surges won't damage appliances.

I've got a TV still on and of course this computer is still on (and protected by an UPS).

I've been preparing food. Boiling eggs, making soup, using up vegetables and other perishables. The freezer is full of plastic bottles of water which will be used to help keep the refrigerator cool after power fails.

I'm gorging myself on ice cream. Yum!

I've taken some videos out the open front door but haven't ventured out into the storm.

Winds are only 31 but the gusts are 50 or more. In about 3 hours the winds are expected to be 50 with gusts to 70, then about noon the sustained winds are expected to be hurricane level 1 (75 MPH).

The eye will hit about midnight tonight and is still headed for Vero beach (about 30 miles south of us) and that places Melbourne on the northern eye wall at the beginning, and eastern eye wall as it passes us on the west. Worst place to be, we get no calm period during the eye. The eye wall is where the strongest winds are (level 2, 105 MPH). The northern edge is where tornados form. The house next door lost it's roof from a tornado during a smaller hurricane several years ago.

I'll post again in an hour or so if I still have power and internet connection.

Power is going out around the city and already some traffic lights and business signs are damaged. (hey, remember it's only 31 MPH winds now. think of the fun to come :-s )

[jco2007]

LG
Thanks for your posts, it provides an insight for those of us not familiar with living with such natural phenomenon.

Take care (and thanks for your help rendered previously).

[brent]

LG, good luck! I hope all goes well, and I hope we will keep getting updates (so as not to worry). Flex is also supposed to be Down in FL. I hope everything goes well for both of you and one other friend of mine that lives down there.

OK, let's try this again. 3rd time I've started this letter but been interrupted by power fluctuations that knock out the TV-cable broadband connection.

I'll be brief. Storm winds definitely more intense. wind turbine to exhaust hot air from the attic sounds like a helicopter trying to take off.

Trees swaying more, wind noise louder. Power fluctuations once in a while.

I've turned the air-conditioners off. House getting stuffy. Humidity is terrible, air saturated.

Neighbor has had a tree limb fall and crush her fence. Huge rain area seen on radar heading this way in next hour.

I'll report again in an hour or so if I'm still on the air.

Yes, Flex is in this area somewhere. Perhaps he had to evacuate. Mobile homes, low areas, and the barrier island are all evacuated. 2 million people evaculated in the state.

The river is still in it's banks and not crashing over the harbor barriers yet. Ocean is still on the far side of the barrier island but if the surge is as high as expected it could be lapping on our front yard later tonight when the tide is hign and the storm is at it's strongest. I may end up with neighbors flooded out of their home at the bottom of the hill.

Gotta go, power is flickering again.

[optimusx]

Well the last time I chatted ,late yesterday afternoon (EST), with Flex he said he wasn't sure if he'd have to evacuate or not since I think he said he was closer to the west coast... so let's hope that if he had to that he got out safely ... same for you LeatherGryphon.

Just stay safe guys in FL.

Scott

[CelticMuscle]

and I have access to FOX News Channel and WeatherBug

Weatherbug Info for Melbourne, Florida
Current temp: 81?F
Current Wind Speed: 43mph
Average Wind Speed: 43mph NNE
Highest Gust so far recorded: 53mph NNE
Latest Radar Image:

FOX News Live Report from Fort Lauderdale, FL
According to a FOX News reporter in the field, Frances's slow movement is helping ease some concerns about flooding, but winds are gusting to 30mph on the beach, 40mph at the top of the trees and a 71mph gust has been recorded on a condo block

Time 12:12 PM Saturday, Melbourne, Florida

Current instantaneous wind is 38 MPH. TV is listing the sustained winds around 35-40 MPH.

Hurricane Frances is still on track to come ashore at Sebastian between Vero Beach and Melbourne.

Right now the eye is reforming because the storm is over the warm Gulf stream and the eye is currently about 70 miles across (can you say huge).

The eye itself is calm but the eye wall is where the worst winds are that means even if the hurricane comes ashore at sebastian 25 miles south of here, Melbourne will go through the eye getting the worst winds on the north side of the eye wall, then calm, then winds from the south west eye wall as it passes us on the west.

The physical size of the storm and it's slow forward movement means that we will have current conditions (or worse) for the next 40 hours.

FOX, MSNBC, CNN all have TV crews here in Melbourne. FOX is currently looking at a steel railroad bridge across a small river which empties into the Intracoastal Waterway. Their position is right at the end of my street.

House still intact, more debris on the lawn, rain now and then, stronger and stronger gusts.

Still have half my ice-cream to eat up.

River is breaking heavy on the harbor wall. Roof turbine to exhaust attic air still sounds like a helicopter trying to take off. When the sound stops is when I worry.

More later if possible

[CelticMuscle]

East Coast (Melbourne, FL)
79?F (34mph live, average 34mph, gust 48mph)
Rainfall Totals: Not Available

West Coast (Los Angeles, CA)
A flashlight explodes at LAX Airport causing the shutdown of the airport and an evacuation

[ottomun6]

Good luck LG!
Hope all that ice cream dosen't turn you into a condominium

Boy is this storm slow moving. Now they're predicting the 75 MPH winds at 3:00 or 4:00 PM (two hours from now). I still think the nort eastern part of the eye will pass over Melbourne but one of the local TV guys says no.

Photos from Palm Beach are showing building damage, this is what we'll get here in Melbourne in a few hours.

House still intact, no water damage yet..., oops power just went off for a couple of seconds but my UPS saved the computer. And now the internet connection has re-established so I'll try to send this.

In any case we're looking for a day or two of weather like this.

[CelticMuscle]

based on Melbourne
Wind Speeds
33 live, 33 average, 45 gust
Rainfall (based on Port Saint Lucie): 3 1/4 inches in the last 24 hours

4:30 PM EDT, Melbourne, FL

Winds still increasing, southern part of the county is registering first hurricane speed winds (75 MPH).

Hurricane had stalled for a few hours but is on the move again slowly. Landfall expected late tonight. Hurricane level winds expected here in Melbourne in a couple of hours.

I'd considered taking a walk down to the river but I stepped outside and quickly changed my mind.

First damage noticed around the house. We have a big mercury-vapor lamp on a pole in the back yard. Well, we HAD one anyway. Also noticed major limbs down off the huge Liveoak tree. limbs 3-4 inches in diameter.

Still have power and internet and TV and ice cream.

Given the length of time we're going to be in this maelstrom, the damage, although light now, will continue to accumulate for many many hours to come

Cooking up some spaggetti while I still have power. Yum, cold spaggetti tomorrow but it beats hunger.

I'm pretty sure there will be no work on Tuesday. Vero beach is where I was supposed to go to photograph undergrad kids for their yearbook but the school is a shelter. Vero is getting hit very hard now and I expect the shelters won't disband for several days after the storm.

Mobile homes being torn apart already. More power outages, more street lights down.

Worst of storm will hit tonight, all night. I may sleep in the car in the garage just in case the Liveoak tree decides to fall into the bedrooms.

Car has a DC to 110v AC converter and I have a small TV, radio, and laptop computer with wireless internet. If the TV cable and power stay on I can stay in touch and do everything except cook in there.

Big power fluctuation, I heard a transformer explode down the street. I still have power but things are getting exciting. I just might have to finish that ice cream tonight.

[CelticMuscle]

Port Saint Lucie
Rainfall in last 24 hours: 4.64 inches
Wind Speeds: 32 mph (Live) 24mph (Average) 57mph (Gust)

Melbourne
Wind Speeds: 38mph (Live) 38mph (Average) 56mph (Gust)

What you wouldn't give for one of these stories to come true and grant you the strength to stop this storm, eh?

6:00 PM, Melbourne, FL

Something big just hit the roof, probably a limb from the Liveoak tree.

A check out the windows reveals that a large old mullberry tree in the back yard has split and half of it is down.

Many of the palm trees in the public park between the house and the river look like they're ready to topple when the wind gets a little stronger.

The wind is getting stronger. First reports of 60 & 70 MPH winds in Melbourne have been measured. Eye wall is still 6 to 8 hours away.

Still have power & TV & internet.

[CelticMuscle]

The good news is that according to Fox News Channel landfall won't happen until at least 3.00am EDT tomorrow morning, the bad news is that landfall is forecast to be Melbourne!

Latest Melbourne Data: 41mph (Live) 41mph (Average) 61mph (Gust)
Latest Port Saint Lucie Data: 21mph (Live) 26mph (Average) 52mph (Gust)

If you happen to see a reporter for Fox News Channel about the place (either before the power goes or after the storm) could you make him a nice hot drink and say that "Harry from Wales who watches Fox News Channel thought you needed a hot drink"

[brent]

Why is everyone quoting Fox "News" Channel? Their, "News" tends to be hearsay at best. Also, I'm a little concerned that LG hasn't reported in a while. I'm even more concerned that Flex hasn't reported in a while.

Hope all is well down there guys!

[omelissokomos]

Originally Posted by brent

Why is everyone quoting Fox "News" Channel? Their, "News" tends to be hearsay at best.

Heresy from the Fucks News Channel is more like it.

Originally Posted by brent

Also, I'm a little concerned that LG hasn't reported in a while. I'm even more concerned that Flex hasn't reported in a while.

CNN.com just reported the power went out for 1.45 Floridians. That storm really looks nasty even from where I'm sitting half a world away.

Originally Posted by brent

Hope all is well down there guys!

Ditto from me.

[brent]

Originally Posted by omelissokomos

Heresy from the Fucks News Channel is more like it.
...

I sort of think that CNN is getting nearly as bad, and I wish there was a decent alternative. Notice what I made the name fox a link to...

[glammaman2000]

the fox news slogan should be changed from"we report,you decide"to"we make shit up,you swallow it whole"rupert murdoch is the antichrist.i'm going to PM Leather.

[nutzy2222]

besides the trees coming down is the flooding and the tornados!

[nutzy2222]

pic of the huricane just just hitting land. the radar was updated at 12:22 est

[CelticMuscle]

is that it is the only American news service I get on digital television. The news channels I get are:

Sky News (which only shows CBS Nightly News)
BBC News (who only show ABC's World News Tonight daily)
CNBC (which shows NBC's Nightly News daily and MSNBC when there is nothing happening in the European finanical markets)
CNN (but they are the international service)
ITV News Channel (who don't have any American news feeds)
Euro News (who only deal with European news)
Fox News (as listed above)
CCTV 9 News (which only deals with the People's Republic of China)

[brent]

Sorry, I just find Fox's lack of credibility really bad. America doesn't have much good news/real journalism to have come out to the rest of the world... Fox just seems the worst with their, "Some people say..." bit and all. FOx isn't even American, they're Aussies telling Americans how to think.

[CelticMuscle]

the centre of Frances is now over Tampa in Florida and heading towards the Gulf of Mexico, however there are reports that the next hurricane Ivan is heading on almost the same track as Frances

[nutzy2222]

here is an update on the hurricane on radar. taken at 9:16 est

[ottomun6]

We haven't heard from LG since yesterday.
Let's hope he's ok out there. There's no real way of telling how long it will be before they get power and phone lines back up.

[nutzy2222]

i hate to be barrer of bad news but he may be hit by Ivan in a few days as a cat. 4

[CelticMuscle]

for Melbourne, FL is thus:

Average wind speed: 32mph
Hightest recorded gust: 81mph (when Frances made landfall)
Total rainfall recorded: 215mm (8? inches)
Estimated damage in town limits: Between $5 and $7 million

[brent]

Otto, you are right that LG has been silent for a while now. I hope he's OK. I do know that Flex is fine.

[glammaman2000]

YIPPEE!!HOORAY!!!HUZZAH!!!just got a post from Leather;HE'S OK!a bit of a wet cat,but that's to be expected(why can't everybody live in NYC,like normal people?)he's a tough bird,& i hope Ivan will be no problem for him.LET'S DO IT FOR THE GRIFFER!

Composed on battery powered laptop at noon Sunday, Melbourne, FL

Winds got really bad last night about 9:00 PM. Power was fluctuating very badly so I shutdown all electronic gear.

I went to bed around 10:00 PM, woke up around 12:30AM and everything still OK. Woke up again at 2:30AM and power was out and is still out.

Storm was at it's worst early this morning. Howling winds. Sounded like a train near the house all night and this morning. Storm eye came ashore about 60 miles south of us sometime last night we've been on the outer rim of the eye all the time it's been passing us. Wind shifted to come from the south and that was the "straw that broke the camel's back" and a big tree right outside the living room too. Huge tree. Split and part of it fell hitting the corner of the house crushing the eaves. Wall is intact and roof seems to still be watertight but it broke a window and has made hash of about 10 foot of the roof eaves as the tree slid off the corner of the building.

Most of the palm trees in the neighborhood are still up from what I can see. The yard is full of debris including some shingles from the roof (probably from the damaged corner).

Vegetation used to come right up to the windows on the windy side of the building but it's all been "removed". There must be at least 5 foot space cleared out on that side of the building. Scrubbed clean! Strange to see this much light coming into the room and such an unobstructed view of the park and river again.

Air-conditioning is of course out and it's getting damn hot and stuffy in here. Most windows have been sealed shut for decades. A couple of windows are opened a little bit to let a breeze through but the rain still comes in downpours now and then.

The storm is crossing the state but we'll still have really bad wind and rain for another 24-36 hours at least.

I hear gasoline generators running at the neighbors, and I've seen city park trucks examining the damage in the park.

Debris nearly hides the road completely.

When/if I get internet back in the next day or so I'll submit this message.

Originally Posted by CelticMuscle

for Melbourne, FL is thus:

Average wind speed: 32mph
Hightest recorded gust: 81mph (when Frances made landfall)
Total rainfall recorded: 215mm (8? inches)
Estimated damage in town limits: Between $5 and $7 million

Hello world.

Ice cream defeated me. I had to flush a pint of it.

No electricity, no water, no fan, no wind for the last three days. Can you say hot and miserable?

I was smart and had a full tank of gas in the car but many were in a desperate search for gas the first two days after the storm.

If the winds that I observed were only 81MPH I totally understand what can happen with a category 3 & highter storm.

Local radio here was reporting wind gusts of 100 MPH for hours as the eye passed us.

It wasn't so much the relatively "weak" winds as the length of time they operated, nearly two full days of weather to not play around in.

Strange storm. There would be periods of relative calm then a "feeder band" would come through and in 20 seconds go from 30 MPH to 80-100 MPH winds and unbelievable rain that would last for 10-15 minutes, then "calm" again for a while, if you can call a steady wind of 30 MPH calm.

City (and entire State) slowly coming back to life. I had my ear glued to a tiny portable radio for the last 5 days trying to find out where to get more ice and to keep an ear on "Ivan".

Tree is still on the house, insurance people haven't been here yet. Debris all over the place. Most of it has been raked into huge piles of rotting vegetation all over the city waiting to be picked up by the city or redistributed by "Ivan".

Glad to have my internet back. I was having withdrawal symptoms and was going through blinding periods of intense sanity.

[wbhunk]

The lack of Internet explains why the email I sent you bounced. I'll try to send it again before Ivan hits -- although I hope it's moving AWAY.

Take care and be safe!

[The Magus]

Glad you're okay, LG...and thanks a lot for these blow-by-blow (heh. Pun not intended, but is appreciated, at least by me :P ) updates...I've only been in a hurricane a couple of times, and usually when they reach the east coast of Canada, where I grew up, they've lost a lot of their punch, or are too far off shore to do much damage (the exception was last year, but I don't live there anymore...)

I definitely prefer experiencing the hurricane vicariously through you to experiencing it myself, though.

Be safe.

Local newspaper delivery has resumed. Damage estimates are now up to $100 million.

People are franticly trying to repair from both Charlie and Francis and trying to get ready for Ivan. Central Florida (Orlando & Disney World area) have been hit HARD twice by the storms. Severe flooding in some areas. The slow moving rivers react several days after a storm and swell over their banks. The land is so flat that once over their banks, huge areas of housing are flooded. The arrival of Ivan will only add to the unprecidented flooding now occuring. Francis may not have been a real blowhard but she sure dumped a load of water on us.

Damage around Melbourne is mostly limited to downed trees, electric, phone, TV cable lines. About 70% of the traffic lights were down or gone. Lots of carports took off like kites. A few of the big hotels on the beach side were damaged severely. Sand covered the main road down the barrier island. Kennedy Space Center had some severe damage. Here and there you see roofs peeled back like a bannana. Many boats in the river are missing or sunk or impaled on the dock pilings.

I have power again and the first thing I did was turn on the hot water heater and take a warm shower and do a load of laundry. Everything I had was saturated with sweat. All the towels had been used to mop up the little bit of water damage.

This house belongs to my elderly aunt who evacuated to one of her daughter's on the Florida West coast who had been damaged during Charlie. Now I'm watching Ivan follow Charlie's path. My aunt and the daughter are now evacuating to here to get away from Ivan. Can you say ping-pong?

Originally Posted by wbhunk

The lack of Internet explains why the email I sent you bounced. I'll try to send it again before Ivan hits -- although I hope it's moving AWAY.

Take care and be safe!

You probably sent to my LeatherGryphon.com e-mail address. Sorry, but that's been discontinued for a month or two. Ran out of money to maintain an unnecessary domain. You can reach me via private messaging here at the Evolution Archive.