What a great model for the complexities of hurricane forecasting Frances has been. On Wednesday before school was cancelled, I talked with my students about the types of conditions that can cause a hurricane to strengthen/weaken. I hope some of them have access to TV's wherever they are riding out the storm so that they can see the causes for the dramatic changes we have seen with Frances today. We also talked about how the forward movement of the hurricane can affect flooding. Unfortunately that aspect has me a little nervous. The problem with Florida is there is nowhere for 8-10 inches of rain to go, much less 15-20 inches! The comments about a possibly large storm surge even with a weakened storm is news that is also unsettling. What factors would contribute to such a large surge? I thought the surge was whipped up by the high winds :?: