joepub1
Storm Tracker
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Posts: 240
Loc: Jacksonville,Fla
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I understand what your saying. I'm very sorry, for we went through this in 92. The weather channel is a commerical cable station that does as well as can be expected. I did not hear a single word that Dr. Lyons said, for I do not turn on for events like these because of the hype. Some counties, with a Cat 2-3-4 storm sitting to their southwest decided not to go as far as Tampa did, and paid a price not worth paying.
I can't really think of anything to say about the people in the trailer park. People sometimes cling to what little they have, and won't leave, or as you said can't leave without help or encouragement. It's a problem that may never be solved, I'm sure shelters were open, and we can only hope it never happens again.
I ran into people yesterday who did not know, and a few who did not care that a hurricane was on the way. In their own state. Heading toward them. I'm still not sure how some people make it through life.
Edited by joepub1 (Sat Aug 14 2004 11:09 AM)
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Wxwatcher2
Storm Tracker
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Loc:
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AMEN on the no political coverage.
My conclusions after being in yesterday is simply that should be used as a good source of information as the storm forms and approaches your area. HOWEVER, as the storm zero's in on your state, you should begin to place much more emphasis on your LOCAL meterorologists and weather service outlets and less on . I think the little 2 minute updates offers does little except give very general information.
I watched our four local channels in Orlando that offered live coverage throughout the day. I preferred WFTV channel 9. They did an outstanding job and told us the storm was coming to the Orlando area a full two hours before or did.
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LI Phil
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Loc: Long Island (40.7N 73.6W)
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>>> I ran into people yesterday who did not know, and a few who did not care that a hurricane was on the way. In their own state. Heading toward them. I'm still not sure how some people make it through life.
How poignant a statement is that? Scary. Would like to make a joke now, but cannot.
This is one f'ed up season already, and S. Floridians just may need to be on the alert for Earl.
Hoping the monetary damages are below 15 BILLION.
Now, I'm off to my beach where I'm already supposed to expect TS winds from this evening. This monster is going to affect the whole East Coast, granted, FL west coast was the bullseye, the rest of us (not in FL) are the sloppy seconds.
Every one be safe, and we'll get back to normal soon
LI Phil
-------------------- 2005 Forecast: 14/7/4
BUCKLE UP!
"If your topic ain't tropic, your post will be toast"
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Wxwatcher2
Storm Tracker
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And, while the DID do an excellent job, I wish that something could be done to give them greater visibility, especially in the case of major storms, like back in the days when Dr. Bob Sheets was there...I think that someone of authority from the should broadcast thru feed to local news channels as Dr. Sheets did many times. That way, there would be NO doubt as to who "the experts" are and what the official forecast and warnings are, especially in the case where they change suddenly.
Not trying to annoy here...just thinking of ways that things can be improved to save lives. [/quote
I think you've hit the nail kind of on the head. When Bob Sheets and Neil Franks came on the air, you KNEW that you were hearing the official and best information.
We possibly have too many "experts" now. The has actually taken a back seat in some respects.
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Kimster
Weather Hobbyist
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Posts: 77
Loc: Dunedin, FL
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HF,
Your were really close on your speculation of where landfall would occur. I am impress! I have always had the highest respect for your opinions on this website. I look forward to your future thoughts.
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recmod
Weather Guru
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Posts: 188
Loc: Orlando, FL
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Just got back in from checking out the local damage here in Casselberry (25 miles N of Orlando). The city crews have been out this morning with chain saws, cutting the tree debris just enough to allow cars to get in and out of my neighborhood. I was able to drive around a little and have a few more damage pics. There is a mobile home community down the block from me. Last night, we found what looked like foam insulation scattered around my lawn and street. I feared that this debris came from the mobile homes. The damage there was even more severe than I thought. Some mobile homes are completely shattered. Others have their roofs pealed back, exposing their contents. Many many homes have large trees lying on their roofs with corresponding terrible damage. We saw a number of crushed vehicles...even a couple of badly damaged ones driving around (reminiscent of scenes from Hurricane Andrew). There were even some telephone poles tilted at a 45 degree angle over the roadway with power lines hanging onto the road. All in all, quite a mess that will take a long time to cleanup.
This first picture shows my backyard with my destroyed fence and trees lying everywhere.
--Lou
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recmod
Weather Guru
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Posts: 188
Loc: Orlando, FL
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Here is a tree lying on a house in Casselberry
--Lou
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recmod
Weather Guru
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Posts: 188
Loc: Orlando, FL
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Another tree lying on a house in Casselberry
--Lou
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recmod
Weather Guru
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Posts: 188
Loc: Orlando, FL
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More damage from trees on houses
--Lou
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recmod
Weather Guru
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Posts: 188
Loc: Orlando, FL
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This picture shows part of a mobile home stuck up in a tree
--Lou
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rickonboat
Weather Hobbyist
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I suppose we need to be studying what Earl will be up to. The preliminary look is another one heading our way. I am so sorry that Florida took this hit. Really am, and have watched TV, and the devastation is sad. Interesting that it hooked right and strengthened, just before landfall, which took people off guard. People in Tampa fled to Orlando...and got the weaker portion of it...
This season is cranking up to be a memorable one.
Is it too early to post a new thread on Earl....?...or at least do some looking and thinking.
Hank Frank was right on with his thoughts...wonder what he is thinking on TD#5....that is...Earl.... who knows...
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rickonboat
Weather Hobbyist
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wonder if the forecasters will even be more careful in decidiing what to tell the public. If they broadcast that Tampa was THE target...and sold it too strongly (to look like experts) instead of letting people know there is NO CERTAINTY with these systems...well, then, it's a lesson in broadcasting, I think.
No one to blame for the deaths that occurred...just that tragedy often wakes people up.
I wonder if the government will be forthright in telling the casualties...or if, as in Andrew, there will be 2- 30 dead...when all indications will be that the number is so much higher.
It will be interesting to see what the government allows us to "know"...
I trust that if hundreds..or thousands die...they won't tell...
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GuppieGrouper
Weather Master
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Posts: 596
Loc: Polk County, Florida
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Here we did get lucky in Lakeland. Just a few miles to our south in Bartow, power lines down everywhere. Lake Wales, there ae mobile home parks destroyed. My boss lives in Lake Wales with two lovely babies and her husband. My work place is between here and there and don't know its condition. It is currently raining as hard or harder than last night. But less wind and more thunder and lighning. Earl no one who got hurt in this one, physically or materially is ready to think about it.
-------------------- God commands. Laymen guess. Scientists record.
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Rabbit
Weather Master
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Posts: 511
Loc: Central Florida
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Im back after several hours with the nearest computer being broken. I live in northern Brevard county, decided at 7:30 last night to drive around. Used an anemometer, measured SUSTAINED winds at 79mph, gusts to 100. (stood outside for a while; took these measurements from the car though after it picked up some more.) Gusty winds continued until after midnight. Lots of rain here, but no flooding. Most damage here was roof tiles blown off or trees blown over. I did see a pole laying across the power lines though, and ost of my area (oddly enough except me) is without power. Not a major, but still pretty strong, and I am ready and waiting if another system should affect this area.
As for the other two systems, it looks like Danielle will likely become a hurricane tomorrow as an eye is showing up on visible imagery.
TD5 will probably be Earl by the end of the day, as convective bands are beginning to wrap around the center and become better organized. Think this will also become a hurricane, and could head towards Louisiana or Texas this time.
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James88
Weather Master
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Loc: Gloucestershire, England, UK
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Danielle is looking very good on satellite, and it will not effect anyone, which is even better.
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FlaRebel
Weather Hobbyist
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Loc: Tallahassee, FL
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I am willing to bet the will tell us this was a Cat 5 on landfall. Wind gusts to 180 are being reported and it REALLY intensified before landfall. I was watching the Channel 2 coverage online out of Ft Myers and the eyewall went completely red upon landfall. Just my opinion. Remember Andrew was a Cat 4 until later analysis. I am saddened by the loss of life by . Needless to say, his name will never again be used. Stay safe everyone and hoping Earl will go fishing. If he hits the GOM and heads towards Tallahassee, I am gone to say the least. The devastation here has convinced me.
Edited by FlaRebel (Sat Aug 14 2004 02:09 PM)
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bsnyder
Verified CFHC User
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Posts: 18
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I am still stunned at the number of friends and neighbors I have here in South Tampa who were ordered to evacuate, and chose not to. Today, I guess they're thinking they are pretty clever, because they think they spared themselves the inconvenience of packing up and leaving for what turned out to be a false alarm.
In reality, they aren't clever at all. It was just total dumb luck. If the storm had stayed on track, and come up the mouth of Tampa Bay, these people would have been in grave danger, and at the very least, would have had a terrifying experience.
Hopefully, the heartbreaking pictures and videos from 's devestation will change some minds for next time, but I'm afraid all that will happen is additional complacency.
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Londovir
Weather Guru
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Posts: 112
Loc: Lakeland, FL
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Just wanted to post my thoughts post-Charley. Got real lucky here in Lakeland (actually more like Mulberry for me). We got a ton of nasty wind in about a 1 hour period. That was about it. Woke up this morning, looked around. Lots of trees down, some big, most medium/small sized.
Still, showing how fickle this was, about 10 miles east of me, people are still without power in Mulberry, may be for a week. Go another 20 miles east to Bartow, the damage is worse. Go 20 miles more (say 50 miles east of us) in Lake Wales, and it's terrible the amount of damage there is. We are all truly blessed (and lucky) to have not had the major damage here that was just right next to us.
My heart goes out to everyone in SW, like around Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte. Total and complete devastation. Already 15 confirmed dead, 10 from destroyed mobile homes, 5 from vehicular accidents related to storm. Still about 100 missing unaccounted for yet (hopefully just left town at last minute and haven't checked in with loved ones yet). 1.3 million without power, nearly 1 mill without active water systems. Power may be out up to a week. With all due respect to Phil, you didn't censor "Orlando Waiting" ENOUGH last night with the silly ranting. This is widespread damage and destruction. This is the horror of Andrew, perhaps magnified. Maybe Andrew came off looking worse because it impacted a "popular" area like Miami/Ft. Lauderdale. This is just as bad, will likely be far more expensive, and could turn out to be deadlier.
Oh, and as long as I'm typing, lemme say, don't assume that the media hyped Tampa entirely. I watched what had to be 70 hours of continuous coverage. I turned my apartment into a micro-weather center. Anyway, nearly every channel I watched out of Tampa kept constantly emphasizing to not pay attention to the "white line", that the storm could go anywhere in the error "cone". It's not like they told people, Tampa's it, ignore everywhere else. They had a live shot on Channel 13 in Punta Gorda at one of the destroyed trailer parks. During the shot, an older man was wandering, shellshocked, in the background. They went to talk to him, and he said that they left early yesterday morning, when they first heard it was coming their way. They had 8 hour warning, he said, and they went to Ft. Lauderdale. He's fine, his place is actually mostly there. He was shaken (clearly) - said he lived there for over 10 years, but had to ask what street he was on, it was so destroyed. He had tears in his eyes and shook the newsman's hand thoroughly and thanked him for the warning and letting him get out with his wife.
The media didn't drop the ball, and the didn't either. They did the best they could. Once people get through their shock and grief, hopefully they'll realize everyone did the best they could.
Londovir
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DroopGB31
Weather Guru
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Loc: Pensacola
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Anybody have any shots of say an hour before landfall? And then at Landfall that they could post. I was not near a computer or tv at the time so I havent actually seen what the eyewall looked like, but Im sure it was amazing, and vrey similar to Andrews. Thanks
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bsnyder
Verified CFHC User
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Posts: 18
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The reality of it is that the people in Charlotte/Lee county were given the MOST time. They started their mandatory evacuations before the Tampa area did. And those evacuation orders were never, ever lifted. If people chose to ignore the experts, and their local authorities, they do so at their own peril.
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