Hurricane Frances
 

And this thing is still 7-10 days away coming straight for south florida. :eek:





Frances
Bulletin
Hurricane Frances
Advisory Number 20
NWS TPC/National Hurricane Center Miami FL
5 PM Ast Sun Aug 29 2004

...Powerfull Hurricane Frances Continues On A Slow Westward Track...

At 5 PM Ast...2100z...A Tropical Storm Watch Has Been Issued For The Following Leeward Islands By Their Government Officials... Saint Maarten....Anguilla...Barbuda...And Antigua. The Tropical Storm Watch May Be Extended To The British Virgin Islands Later Tonight.

Interests In The Northern Lesser Antilles And The Northeastern Caribbean Sea Should Closely Monitor The Progress Of Frances.

At 5 PM Ast...2100z...The Center Of Hurricane Frances Was Located Near Latitude 18.8 North...Longitude 55.6 West Or About 495 Miles... 795 Km...East Of The Northern Leeward Islands.

Frances Is Moving Toward The West Near 9 Mph ...15 Km/Hr. This Motion Is Expected To Continue During The Next 24 Hours

Maximum Sustained Winds Are Near 135 Mph...215 Km/Hr...With Higher Gusts. Some Fluctuations In Intensity Are Expected During The Next 24 Hours.

Hurricane Force Winds Extend Outward Up To 35 Miles... 55 Km... From The Center...And Tropical Storm Force Winds Extend Outward Up To 115 Miles...185 Km.

Minimum Central Pressure Reported By A Reconnaissance Plane Was 949 Mb...28.02 Inches.

Repeating The 5 PM Ast Position...18.8 N... 55.6 W. Movement Toward...West Near 9 Mph. Maximum Sustained Winds...135 Mph. Minimum Central Pressure... 949 Mb.

For Storm Information Specific To Your Area...Please Monitor Products Issued By Your Local Weather Office.

An Intermediate Advisory Will Be Issued By The National Hurricane Center At 8 PM Ast Followed By The Next Complete Advisory At 11 Pm Ast.

Forecaster Avila

It's Hurricane Freedoms as far as I'm concerned.

-Rudey

i can't wait for nov. 30th when the hurricane threat finally goes away for awhile.

Of course this is on target for when I come home!!!

Grrrrrreat. Just when we finally got Central Florida put back together. :(

how are things going since charley...nothing in the news lately

Nice.

Things are pretty good in Central Florida. Everyone finally got their power back in the Orlando area sometime last week. There are still some trees down and a lot of people's roofs still need to be repaired but it looks a lot better than it did 2 weeks ago.

Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda are still hurting, though. Some people still don't have power back and the area still looks like a disaster area.

I hope Frances doesn't hit anywhere near here. We're definitely not ready for another hurricane so soon!

I heard this morning on the news that Frances will either be Andrew's course and hit South Florida or will be on Floyd's course and hit the Carolinas. They said it looked like Central Florida will be in the clear this time.

This is why I can't stand weather men, they make pretty vague statements such as the ones you said. I mean, Floyd was bigger than the whole freaking state and Andrew may have been the most powerful on record to have hit the state. This storm is bigger than andrew and already just as strong as Charley was when it made landfall, and it's over a week away still. Its has all the time in the world to intensify. There goes our gc-florida meet up after labor day. If it hits the Miami, Laudi, Boca, Palm Beach area.....we'll have to yet again cancel the eluding FL-gc meet up. lol.

I'm sure everyone is trying to up their homeowners coverage right about now. I know my parents are freaking out. The insurance industry will either put a freeze on HO-policies today or tommorrow if it hasnt already been done. I know they did on Bonnie and Charley, it was about 1 week before they hit.

Update: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/co...nces_0830.html

Well screw it. I have a non-refundable ticket, so come hell or highwater, I'm flying IN!


(And I realize that is such a brilliant way to view a hurricane!)

:mad:

Standard procedure for insurance agencies is to not issue homeowner policies anytime there is a named storm active in the Atlantic or the Gulf.

Meteorology is not an exact science. And it's a hell of a lot tougher than the TV weather-guesser makes it seem to be. (I oughta know... I took - and flunked - a meteorology course at OU.)

Size of the storm does not necessarily equal strength. The smaller and more defined the eye of the hurricane, the stronger it is. Andrew's eye was measured at around 8-10 miles in diameter, and passed so fast over South Florida that it was hardly noticed.

Well, I'll be in ATL this weekend so if it hits Florida, I won't be there. :)

Airlines usually have a policy to allow rescheduling or refunding of 'non-refundable' tickets (more the former than the latter) without penalty in the event your travel days are a wash courtesy of Frances.

Keep an eye on the weather the next few days; the airlines won't initiate the policy unless the storm's at least 72 hours before making landfall in the US mainland.

Great, coming for Palm Beach. Why not just hit Miami?



UPDATE: Category 3 Hurricane Frances Still Heading towards U.S.
August 31, 2004

The National Hurricane Center's latest bulletin on Hurricane Frances, issued this morning, confirmed that the storm is a category 3 hurricane, packing winds near 125 mph (205 km/hr.) with higher gusts.

The NHC said "some strengthening is forecast during the next 24 hours." Frances is a big and potentially very destructive storm. The NHC reported that "hurricane force winds extend outward up to 70 miles (110 km.) from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 175 miles (280 kms)." If it follows the NHC's projected storm track, Frances would strike Florida's Eastern Coast between West Palm Beach and Daytona Beach late Saturday afternoon.