Hurricane Frances (1 Viewer)

[Philip_G]

I'd head to a shelter. Two of my coworkers rode out andrew, one lost his house while they were in it.

 

[Chris_Morris]

The NHC is reporting that the western eye-wall has hit land around St. Lucie. Good luck to all those in the path of this monster.


Chris

 

[Rob Lutter]

My roommate and I were just outside for a bit... winds are at about 35 here in Orlando with 40-50mph gusts. Rain is heavy and storm drains are looking rather full.

quote:I'd head to a shelter. Two of my coworkers rode out andrew, one lost his house while they were in it.

I'd rather be in my house while it's being blown away then spend 4 days in a shelter

The winds in O-town are going to max out at about 70 sustained anyways (compared to Andrew, which had sustained winds of over 140).

 

[Michael Caicedo]

Still have power in Orlando. Waiting for a heavy band to come through. Damage looks to be mcuh less than Charley so far.

 

[Todd Hochard]

For Orlandoans (is that what they call us?

), this is going to be MUCH less than Charley. I'm guessing about 65mph sustained, tops, at my place (East Orlando), which is about 40 off of what Charley gave.



And, I -STILL- have power!

 

[nolesrule]

We're getting some wind and rain here now,and sstained winds are expected to get up arounf 50mph later this evening as Frances gets closer. Fortunately, it'll be a tropical storm by the time it gets here.



There was a small snake climbing our sliding glass door, but he just got blown off.

 

[Geraldine/F/M]

I went out on the porch. The wind has not pick up yet. We're waiting for this slow moving thing. The concern in Lakeland is not wind damage but rain. Because of Charley, land is already flooded. For those of you who are going "Where is Lakeland." It is between Tampa and Orlando. Until recently, they rolled up the sidewalks at 8pm. Now, the have until 10pm. Woo wee!

 

[Todd Hochard]

The winds are picking up here in Orlando, but it's going to be hard for this thing to do any real wind damage. The wind is really gusty, and I'm seeing continuous, sudden reversals, then back again, with another gust. It is not the relentless, albeit quick, winds in one direction a la Charley.

It's the telltale sign of a storm coming apart, I suppose.

But, holy crap, is it raining! I'd say 6+ inches already. Fortunately, we have good drainage in the 'hood.

And, wouldn't you know it, I (wait for it...) still have power.

P.S. If it looks like I have nothing else to do, it looks right.

 

[Malcolm R]

I updated the satellite in the thread's first post to show more of the eastern US.



Ivan has now been upgraded to a hurricane. Long range forecast has it coming through the Caribbean and into the southwestern Bahamas in 5-6 days. Expected to be a Cat. 3 or 4 by first landfall (Hispanola/Cuba).

 

[Keith_R]

I live here in Gainesville, FL and we are starting to see the Tropical Storm conditions now with wind and some rain. I'm shuddering at the thought of wind with all these trees around us and my poor car parked out on the driveway. In fact, I just saw some pinecones blow into my car, hope my car holds up and doesn't get destroyed.



Much luck to all other HTF Floridians in the path of this storm. Stay safe!

 

[nolesrule]

Todd, the long duration of winds can make up for the intense yet short duration of Charley.



But Orlando's not goin to get hit directly this time, so I wouldn't expect as much damage.



We haven't gotten any major rains yet here, but it's expect to get about 6 inchesof rain when all is said and done.



The most recent updates have Frances gaining enough strength to become a hurricane again when it gets over the gulf. But it won't be there for too long fortunately for the people of the FL panhandle. Hurricane warning has been issued from the Suwanee River to Destin.

 

[Rob Lutter]

I still haven't lost power...



There's definitely some damage in my area. I can't see very far, but I see some trees down, there's a fence (which didn't come down in Charley) coming down in my backyard (which fences some cattle/horses, which have since been evacuated). I've been inside for 3-4 days though, so cabin fever is starting to set in... although I've ventured out into the rain quite a few times



I just feel bad for the poor girl on FOX in Melbourne, FL... she's been blown around for the last 24 hours. LOL

 

[Todd Hochard]

Hmm... it's starting to lighten up here already. Looks like the worst is past the east end of Orlando. I'd be surprised if we got past 60mph, sustained, right here.

I've got a couple of small branches down, and lots of leaves, and my fence that leaned over during Charley is now leaning more (post snapped off during Charley, but the fence stayed together, and I didn't get it fixed in time), but all-in-all, not bad here.

Looks like the eye is crossing 27, just north of Sebring, about now. Good luck to the Gulf coasters.

Todd

 

[nolesrule]

The large western portion of the storm is about to reach downtown Tampa. It's about 40-45 miles wide based on what I'm seeing on radar.



It'll be here in Pinellas not too long after that. I'm 20 miles west of downtown Tampa. Wind has been picking up for the last couple hours, and apparently will increase for another couple hours.



Frances has not yet been downgraded to a tropical storm. It's still a borderline hurricane.

 

[Rob Lutter]

Wind died down a bit, so I took a pic of me outside...



("Emergency Kiba" 2-second cosplay for you anime dorks

)



After the rain dies down and I can bring my digicam outside, I'll take some pics of any damage around me. I saw a couple rooves with massive wind damage, downed trees... but really no broken windows or major damage.



I have underground power lines and am also on the same grid as a major shopping mall (Waterford Lakes for those in the area), so I still haven't even had a flicker in my lights.

 

[Michael Caicedo]

Looking a lot better now here in the south area of Orlando. Winds have quieted down with the occasional gust and rain is pretty sparse. I've been keeping track of the local radar pic and looks like we are not in the path of any more heavy bands. The hurricane was feeding off the ocean water and so Volusia, Breavard, and northern Seminole got the brunt of the rain. Minimal damage in my subdivision. Whew!!

 

[Rob Lutter]

Say hello my friends to ...

Hurricane IVAN

Man, do I love being a native Floridan this month!

 

[todd s]

Florida should invest in putting all of their power lines underground.

 

[Bruce Hedtke]

quote:Florida should invest in putting all of their power lines underground.

Why? Isn't this the first hurricane in Florida in years? Or decades? It's the lead story on every news network, so that HAS to be the case

All of this build-up by the media and as far as hurricanes go, Frances was pretty average.

Bruce

 

[Mike Voigt]

Ivan: 135mph winds. At 155+ it goes into Category 5... and there haven't been too many of those.



Wow. 3 in a row.



Mike