Hurricane Ivan (2 Viewers)

[Mike Voigt]

That is the I-10 bridge across Escambia Bay just east of Pensacola.

I've driven across it a dozen times, mostly on my way from Texas to Florida or vice-versa.

It will take weeks if not months to repair that kind of damage. It isn't just the visible damage - the whole bridge, which is quite long, is now suspect. And inspecting that will take quite a bit of effort.

As far as Tampa is concerned - if Ivan had hit Tampa head-on, it would have been an utter disaster. The area has no drainage for something that massive. Add to that the bridges connecting St. Pete with the mainland, most of which would probably be badly damaged judging by the pictures from Pensacola, and Tampa would be a very unhappy place.

So would Houston and SE Texas, if such a monster ever hit. Houston's essentially built in the middle of a swamp (we're less than 20ft above sealevel in many places - 50 miles inland - and the highest hills here are the interstate overpasses). It would NOT be pretty.

The area can consider itself lucky in only losing a few people. Outside of Pensacola and Mobile, there isn't that much down there... thank goodness.

However, I understand that the Florida panhandle coast is pretty much toast. Lots of people lost their beachfront property in this mess... and that is some of the most beautiful beachside in the world down there.

Mike

 

[Kirk Gunn]

The nightmare known as Ivan is not done yet....

From Accuweather:

The remains of Ivan is a small cluster of clouds off the Southeast coast. Showers and thunderstorms associated with this feature will move westward across Florida on Monday. Once out into the Gulf of Mexico, this feature may regenerate due to favorable conditions and warm water. This feature is then expected to move westward towards Louisiana and Texas during the last half of this week.

 

[John Alvarez]

We're getting more FREAKING RAIN today because of that bastard.

 

[Malcolm R]

That would be something if it does regenerate. Mitch did something similar years ago, landfalling in Honduras and meandering around Central America for a few days before re-emerging and re-strengthening in the Gulf of Mexico. It then made a second landfall in Florida as a TS.

 

[Kirk Gunn]

MITCH !!! I was trying to remember the name of the system that re-generated. Looks like I lost too many brain cells in my youth. Thanks

Let's hope Ivan doesn't re-stick around....

 

[Holadem]

Jeanne, which is not even a fecking hurricane, has already claimed 300 lives.

--
H

 

[Chris Lockwood]

> Add to that the bridges connecting St. Pete with the mainland

Mike, surely you know St Pete is part of the mainland. You make it sound like it's an island.

It's weird that remnants of Ivan are back in the state. How far north did it get before coming back?

Jeanne & Karl don't look to be threats to the continental US at all, but Jeanne did kill 700 or more people in Haiti. Has there been another hurricane in modern times with that high a death toll?

 

[John Alvarez]

Ivan actually split into 2 storms. One part raced up into New England and the other is back here again. I think it split somewhere around Va./D.C.?

 

[Mike Voigt]

Chris, you're correct, of course, and it is part of the mainland - but it is also a very long peninsula. There are quite a few bridges connecting them, and while it wouldn't knock out traffic completely, it sure would make a big dent in it. I'd bet more than 90% of the traffic down into St. Pete goes across one of the bridges...

Take out I-4, the southern bridge across the Tampa Bay inlet, and the middle one (I forget the names), and that side is in trouble as far as traffic is concerned. Not impossible, but in trouble. It would take hours to get through...

Mike

 

[Malcolm R]

In 1998, Hurricane Mitch killed 9,000+ in Honduras and Nicaragua.

It basically sat right on the coastline for days and days, whipping up pounding surf and dropping insane amounts of rain which caused massive mudslides.

 

[nolesrule]

I-275 crosses Tampa Bay as the Howard Frankland Bridge between Pinellas and Tampa and then over the mouth of the bay as the Sunshine Skyway Bridge between Pinellas and Manatee (Bradenton) counties.

The Howard Frankland is the middle bridge across the bay between Pinellas and Tampa. The southern one is the Gandy Bridge and the northern is the Courtney Campbell Causeway.

Without any of those 4 bridges, St. Petersburg to Bradenton would be a good 75 miles with about 40% of the distance being without use of limited access highways due to the loss of bridges and having to go around the top of the bay. To put it in perspective, Tampa to Orlando is 85 miles, all interstate.

 

[Henry Gale]

WTF!
How did Ivan get back in the Gulf as a tropical depression?

 

[Malcolm R]

The wonderful eccentricities of Mother Nature.

And basically the same reasons why Jeanne is now looping back to the southeast coastline...very weak and erratic steering currents.

 

[Holadem]

Apparently, Lisa ate (screwed?) Karl and gave birth to Matthew :rolleyes.

--
H

 

[Malcolm R]

Nah, Karl's off doing his own thing in the central Atlantic. If anything, Lisa is being swept into the arms of a mysterious unnamed stranger and the 2 may become 1.

Lisa? Matthew? The offspring will definitely have gender issues.

 

[nolesrule]

We got some weather from Ivan in the form of wind and rain yesterday, but it wasn't even classified as a depression then.

 

[Henry Gale]

Three weeks ago when this storm started across the Carribean, I got fixated on it. At that time it was aimed at my location and I saw no reason it would not come to where I was.
Expert forecasters however proclaimed more problems were ahead for Florida. Ten days ago I commented in this thread that it was finally starting to turn north. The Florida panhandle, and lots of other places right up to Ashville NC got more of it that they needed.
Then we were off to the races with a couple of new storms.
Hold the front page!
It IS headed for me.
I heard a storm tracker today mention my little town, it will be here Saturday.
It will be a weak tropical depression (again) by the time it drizzles on me, but it DID find me.
Well, maybe...two days is a long time in the weather business.

 

[Malcolm R]

Accuweather seems to think Ivan may make yet a third appearance in the Gulf of Mexico next week.

 

[Henry Gale]

The long dreaded storm arrived at 10 AM. My preparations paid off. Recently I had changed out my windscreen wiper blades.
Today I used the “intermittent” setting.