Irma -- Updated 9/11
This may be one of the craziest things I've ever seen on TV.
From the NHC:
"Hurricane Irma Discussion Number 47 NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL112017
500 PM EDT Sun Sep 10 2017
Irma made landfall a couple of hours ago near Marco Island, Florida with an estimated intensity of 100 kt. The eye just passed over Naples, and assuming some decay over land, the current intensity estimate is 95 kt. The interaction with the Florida Peninsula along with strong southwesterly shear should cause significant weakening, but Irma's large and powerful circulation will likely maintain hurricane strength until Monday morning at the earliest. Irma should be well inland and weaken to a remnant low in 72 hours. The official intensity forecast is above the model consensus.
Center fixes indicate a slightly west of due northward motion at about 350/12 kt. Global models indicate that Irma is embedded within a broader cyclonic mid-level gyre. The cyclone is expected to be steered around the eastern side of this gyre over the next few days. This will take the system inland over the southeastern United states within a day or so. The track guidance remains in good agreement, and the official forecast is close to the model consensus with a slight lean toward the ECMWF solution. This is very close to the previous NHC track.
KEY MESSAGES:
1. Life-threatening wind and storm surge from Irma will continue in the Florida Keys and southwestern Florida and spread into central and northwestern Florida tonight and Monday.
2. There is imminent danger of life-threatening storm surge flooding along much of the Florida west coast, including the Florida Keys, where a Storm Surge Warning is in effect. The threat of catastrophic storm surge flooding is highest along the southwest coast of Florida, where 10 to 15 feet of inundation above ground level is expected. This is a life-threatening situation.
3. Irma will bring life-threatening wind impacts to much of Florida regardless of the exact track of the center. Wind hazards from Irma are also expected to spread northward through Georgia and into portions of Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, and North Carolina.
4. Irma is producing very heavy rain and inland flooding across much of Florida, which will quickly spread to the rest of the southeast United States. Intense rainfall rates of 2 to 4 inches per hour is leading to flash flooding and rapid rises on creeks, streams, and rivers. Significant river flooding is likely over the next five days in the Florida peninsula and southeast Georgia, where average rainfall of 8 to 15 inches and isolated 20 inch amounts are expected. Significant river flooding is also possible beginning Monday and Tuesday in much of eastern and central Georgia, western South Carolina, and western North Carolina, where average rainfall of 3 to 8 inches and isolated 12 inch amounts are expected. Mountainous parts of these states will be especially vulnerable to flash flooding. Farther west, Irma is expected to produce average amounts of 2 to 5 inches in parts of Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee, where isolated higher amounts and local flooding may occur.
I'm enjoying the crazy guys on TWC. Except for the super-boring, no risk-taking Tampa guy. Snore! Lol
The hype at this point is kind of comical- there's not much "helpful" needed at this point. I think they're just trying to one up each other. And you can tell how much they LOVE weather!
Norman_Bates said:
Florida TV stations are live streaming. I believe they do a better job of providing practical information than the Weather Channel. A bit less hype, more helpful.
Tampa ABC affiliate: http://www.abcactionnews.com/
Orlando NBC affiliate: http://www.wesh.com/article/tracking-hurricane-irma/12150133
Southwest Florida NBC affiliate: http://www.nbc-2.com/category/300756/nbc2-247-streaming-video
WxNut2.0 said: Some video from chasers Juston Drake and Simon Brewer in Key West this morning.
https://twitter.com/fawadrehman/status/906862554521235457
It gives me the willies watching these guys because I am afraid they'll get hit with flying debris, or get blown away altogether. There's a terrifying YouTube video that Storm Chasers made of the storm surge in Louisiana from Hurricane Katrina. I think they were in an abandoned hotel. It clearly illustrates how treacherous the surges are and how it is that folks drown in them. That water rises so quickly; if you're in an enclosed space there is no escape. Sadly, that is what happened to many folks in Hurricane Sandy, particularly in Staten Island.
well, they do have helmets on do they're fine! Lol
Seems like it's pulling away from Tampa a bit and the surge predictions are lessening. Maybe we'll still have a condo!
FP&L reports power out for between 60% and 90% of households everywhere from Port St Lucie down through Miami-Dade. My guess is they are not yet able to get a handle on outages on the northwest coast or the storm has not yet done its worst up there.
I heard from my mom around 4 and they still had power in Boca but radio silence since then.
I chased Harvey a couple weeks back. The wind is scary, but finding sturdy structure isn't too difficult most of the time. The water, like you said, is what scares me. We stayed much further inland for just that reason.
DottyParker said:
WxNut2.0 said: Some video from chasers Juston Drake and Simon Brewer in Key West this morning.
https://twitter.com/fawadrehman/status/906862554521235457
It gives me the willies watching these guys because I am afraid they'll get hit with flying debris, or get blown away altogether. There's a terrifying YouTube video that Storm Chasers made of the storm surge in Louisiana from Hurricane Katrina. I think they were in an abandoned hotel. It clearly illustrates how treacherous the surges are and how it is that folks drown in them. That water rises so quickly; if you're in an enclosed space there is no escape. Sadly, that is what happened to many folks in Hurricane Sandy, particularly in Staten Island.
those pictures of the water gone from Tampa Bay are really freaky. Wish cameras could capture it coming back in.
mfpark,
Finally got word from my father and wife in Boca,, they lost cell phone too. Maybe cell tower, could be reason for radio silence on their end for you
Eric
This morning, Irma remains a huricane for a few hours more as it continues up the west coast of Florida. Later, the storm will head inland north into Georgia as a tropical storm.
On the satellite imagery, you can see the eye deteriorate as the storm interacts with the land.
Mom lost power at 4 PM yesterday, just as the main force of the storm pulled out from Boca Raton. Not sure if her townhouse is okay, as she is staying at a neighbor's, but she will scope it out later this morning.
Her neighbor is a stubborn old coot and kept his ATT POTS phone line and boring old phone without electrical features. Smart move on his part! I was able to speak with them last night and get the all-clear.
Over 3 million are without power in Florida but from what I can see they have a lot of crews working hard to get folks back on line.
mfpark said:
Her neighbor is a stubborn old coot and kept his ATT POTS phone line and boring old phone without electrical features. Smart move on his part! I was able to speak with them last night and get the all-clear.
Glad Mom is okay. And yay for POTS (Plain old telephone service) lines. Still have ours and after Sandy it was a G-dsend!
librarylady said:
Glad Mom is okay. And yay for POTS (Plain old telephone service) lines. Still have ours and after Sandy it was a G-dsend!
Sadly, Verizon is doing whatever they can to eliminate them ... dragging their feet on repairs, etc. We didn't know to request to keep it when we got our FIOS. However, we never lost FIOS service after Sandy ... just couldn't use it without power. (When we hooked it up to a generator, it worked fine.)
My mom made it back to her condo in Port St. Lucie this morning. Just got power and cable back, though it has gone on and off. No damage to her place. She had a lot of damage previously from a past hurricane, so we are all very happy to hear this
Now waiting to hear about my sister's place in Naples...and my niece in Tallahassee....
we're good here in Orlando. Never lost power, plenty of food. Wild ride last night but all is good
Saw on FB that Debby is okay and no damage to her place, although she still does not have power.
For those interested in The Hemingway Cats and their caretakers, A surprising story.
http://www.tmz.com/2017/09/10/hemingway-houses-cats-hurricane-irma-key-west/
Best Regards,
Ron Carter
we wound up with no damage, save a tipped light pole and some crap in the pool. No idea when we'll get power back.
Still no power here in Delray, and the major damage is trees and wires down (only minor flooding). My house is okay, need to get a guy up to check the roof, where a big tree bounced off.
Never thought I could survive South Florida without AC (or a working cellphone), but apparently I can. Just not very happily. ;-)
On the up side, I had a business trip long scheduled for tomorrow, so I've got a ticket out, and the airports are opening today. So looking forward to a hot shower and a cold drink!
Thanks, Max & WxNut, for your storm reports, HUGELY helpful.
For anyone who hadn't heard, apparently West Palm Beach had power and phones reconnected too, about 12 hours ago.
(Was soooo relieved to hear everyone is safe and managing ok)
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Florida TV stations are live streaming. I believe they do a better job of providing practical information than the Weather Channel. A bit less hype, more helpful.
Tampa ABC affiliate: http://www.abcactionnews.com/
Orlando NBC affiliate: http://www.wesh.com/article/tracking-hurricane-irma/12150133
Southwest Florida NBC affiliate: http://www.nbc-2.com/category/300756/nbc2-247-streaming-video