Wilma may hit Florida as a Cat 4 or 5. Lovely. Just ruined my week.

[FloridaPat]

[msongs]

1. your fate is in the hands of Jeb, George W, and FEMA poor thing nt

[tallahasseedem]

2. Where is supposed to hit?

[VADem11]

4. In southern florida

Most forecasters say it could end up anywhere between Tampa and the Keys though.

[Cetacea]

9. the blue areas...

..that carried Gore and (probably) Kerry.

[LittleClarkie]

10. And possible flooding in Massachusetts

The blue folks are getting nailed. Greeeat.

[Cetacea]

11. New York had 7 straight days of rain

My sister's yard had 3 feet of water...Very strange.

[LittleClarkie]

15. Depending on your theology

1. God is a Republican

2. The devil really is in charge down here.

3. You're an atheist with a tinfoil hat and Cheney has a weather machine.

[Cetacea]

21. LOL.

But if Fitz announces indictments on Friday and Florida gets a "Katrina"
on Friday or Saturday I may start seriously considering the Cheney machine theory as valid!

[DemocratSinceBirth]

34. The Gulf Coast Is The Reddest Part Of The State

The Democratic strength is in three big counties on the East Coast-Palm Beach, Dade, and Broward...


The north is largely red country and the middle of the state is purple....

[newyawker99]

36. Hi Artiechoke!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Baclava]

23. Pretty consistent models so far

[BeachBuckeye]

26. the aqua colored line

goes right thru my back yard. Maybe no show this Saturday? Stay tuned!!

Guy

[SW FL Dem]

27. Howdy Neighbor

The light blue line is only slightly north of me.

[fortyfeetunder]

3. Hope Wilma peters out and you can rest easy

until then here is a hug hoping for the best :hug:

[SW FL Dem]

5. Tell me about it!

I'm in the direct path and only a mile from the Gulf. The only silver lining is that the latest reports show Wilma being a Cat 4 but weakening by the time she hits land.

[FloridaPat]

6. I can't believe she's going to get that bad that quick! Best of luck to

you. All of us. I think this breaks the record we broke last year for the most hurricanes in 1 season.

[deadparrot]

7. Don't worry--Jeb's governor.

Expect plenty of help...all manner of photo ops. :eyes:

[spindrifter]

8. Maybe Brownie can

get another consulting job--nah! I wouldn't wish that on a DUer.

[TahitiNut]

12. The way Hurricane Dubya staggers around, Lord only knows ...

... what he'll stumble into and knock over. I'm guessing that forecasts he'll swing to the FAR RIGHT are pretty accurate, though. :silly:

[AnnieBW]

13. This is what happens

when you give tropical storms Flintstone vitamins.

[Warren DeMontague]

14. NEEDS MORE STUDY! JUNK SCIENCE! NEEDS MORE STUDY!

Now get outta my way, I gotta gas up the Hummer.

[Roland99]

20. NOAA: WARMEST SEPTEMBER GLOBALLY SINCE BEGINNING OF RELIABLE INSTRUMENTS

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2005/s2521.htm


:wow:

[Warren DeMontague]

30. Ah, it's just coincidence

propogated by all those tree-hugging, commie environmentalists who are "getting rich" off of global warming hysteria!

[buddysmellgood]

16. What is wrong with those Floridians. HELLO. You built your state in an

area prone to hurricanes. Don't come crying to FEMA or the federal government in any way when you get hit. It's time you learned your lesson. I hope you have your 2,000 buses ready and waiting. Oh, and you better sign over your national guard troops to the president right now. Don't even think about looting. We will shoot on site. :sarcasm:

[FlaGranny]

17. I'll be happy to have my

week ruined, if my house stays intact.

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. All we can do is pray at this stage

and hope for the best for the sake of you guys and the country

[graywarrior]

19. Same here. My house got destroyed by Jeanne last year.

Man, this sucks.

[MarsThe Cat]

25. did you rebuild?

i saw a report last year about some people who lived basically where all 3 hurricanes went thru last year- but their house survived them all- mostly because it was built round, specifically so that there was no flat wall for the winds to hammer on- i think a large development of all round houses could have possibilities.

[FloridaPat]

37. I had no electricity for 3 weeks and 30+ trees down. I still have to take

care of them. Hope it just disappears.

[Roland99]

22. 11PM EDT UPDATE....MAJOR HURRICANE IN A FEW HOURS >>>>

...WILMA CONTINUES TO RAPIDLY STRENGTHEN...SHOULD BECOME A MAJOR
HURRICANE IN A FEW HOURS...

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCPAT4%2Bshtml/171446.shtml

000
WTNT34 KNHC 190231
TCPAT4
BULLETIN
HURRICANE WILMA ADVISORY NUMBER 14
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
11 PM EDT TUE OCT 18 2005

...WILMA CONTINUES TO RAPIDLY STRENGTHEN...SHOULD BECOME A MAJOR
HURRICANE IN A FEW HOURS...

AT 10 PM CDT...0300Z...THE GOVERNMENT OF MEXICO HAS EXTENDED THE
HURRICANE WATCH SOUTHWARD TO PUNTA GRUESA. A HURRICANE WATCH IS
NOW IN EFFECT FOR THE EAST COAST OF THE YUCATAN PENINSULA FROM CABO
CATOCHE TO PUNTA GRUESA.

A HURRICANE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT IN CUBA FOR THE PROVINCES OF
MATANZAS WESTWARD THROUGH PINAR DEL RIO...AND FOR THE ISLE OF
YOUTH. A HURRICANE WATCH MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE
POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA...GENERALLY WITHIN 36 HOURS.

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR HONDURAS FROM THE
HONDURAS/NICARAGUA BORDER WESTWARD TO CABO CAMARON.

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING AND A HURRICANE WATCH REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR
THE CAYMAN ISLANDS.

ALL INTERESTS IN THE FLORIDA KEYS AND THE FLORIDA PENINSULA SHOULD
CLOSELY MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF WILMA.

FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...INCLUDING POSSIBLE
INLAND WATCHES AND WARNINGS...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED
BY YOUR LOCAL WEATHER OFFICE.

AT 11 PM EDT...0300Z...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE WILMA WAS LOCATED
NEAR LATITUDE 16.8 NORTH...LONGITUDE 82.1 WEST OR ABOUT
185 MILES... 295 KM...SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF GRAND CAYMAN AND ABOUT
405 MILES... 650 KM...SOUTHEAST OF COZUMEL MEXICO.

WILMA IS MOVING GENERALLY TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 8 MPH
...13 KM/HR. A TURN TOWARD THE NORTHWEST IS EXPECTED DURING THE
NEXT 24 HOURS.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 110 MPH...175 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS. WILMA IS A CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON
SCALE. ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 24
HOURS...WITH WILMA BECOMING A MAJOR HURRICANE LATER TONIGHT AND
POSSIBLY BECOMING A CATEGORY FOUR HURRICANE LATER ON WEDNESDAY.

HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 15 MILES... 30 KM...
FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP
TO 155 MILES...250 KM. NOAA BUOY 42057 RECENTLY REPORTED SUSTAINED
WINDS OF 50 MPH... 81 KH/HR...WITH A GUST OF 58 MPH... 94 KM/HR.

ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 945 MB...27.91 INCHES.

WILMA IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE STORM TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 10 TO 15
INCHES...WITH LOCAL AMOUNTS NEAR 25 INCHES IN MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN
ACROSS CUBA THROUGH FRIDAY. ADDITIONAL RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 5
TO 10 INCHES...WITH LOCAL AMOUNTS OF 15 INCHES...ARE POSSIBLE
ACROSS THE CAYMAN ISLANDS...SWAN ISLAND...AND JAMAICA THROUGH
THURSDAY. STORM TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 4 TO 6 INCHES...WITH
ISOLATED AMOUNTS OF 8 TO 12 INCHES...ARE POSSIBLE FROM HONDURAS
NORTHWARD TO THE YUCATAN PENINSULA OF MEXICO THROUGH THURSDAY.

REPEATING THE 11 PM EDT POSITION...16.8 N... 82.1 W. MOVEMENT
TOWARD...WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 8 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED
WINDS...110 MPH. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE... 945 MB.

AN INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL
HURRICANE CENTER AT 2 AM EDT FOLLOWED BY THE NEXT
COMPLETE ADVISORY AT 5 AM EDT.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/AT24/refresh/AL2405W5_sm2+gif/023803W_sm.gif

[Cetacea]

24. twas a few nights before Fitzmas..

..and all through the night
visions of tanks rolling through Miami
gave me quite a fright

[ultraist]

28. LOL!

:rofl:

[specimenfred1984]

29. If You're Declared "Braindead"...

Can we totally cash in on it by keeping you artificially alive for a decade and 1/2, start websites to "raise" money and pander to every sick fck we can find for every last hypocritical dollar that our whoring and self-loathing personalities will allow?

[FloridaPat]

38. Only if you promise to use it for the good of humanity and not the repubs.

[Baclava]

31. Wilma now a Cat 5

000
WTNT64 KNHC 190629
TCUAT4
HURRICANE WILMA TROPICAL CYCLONE UPDATE
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
230 AM EDT WED OCT 19 2005
DATA FROM A RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT INDICATE THAT HURRICANE WILMA
HAS BECOME AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS CATEGORY FIVE HURRICANE ON THE
SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE SCALE. THE RECONNAISSANCE PLANE MEASURED
175 MPH WINDS AND ESTIMATED A MINIMUM PRESSURE OF 892 MB. THIS IS
THE LOWEST PRESSURE OBSERVED IN 2005 AND IS EQUIVALENT TO THE
MINIMUM PRESSURE OF THE 1935 LABOR DAY HURRICANE IN THE FLORIDA
KEYS.

[Roland99]

32. 5AM EDT Update: STRONGEST HURRICANE *EVER*!

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCPAT4%2Bshtml/171446.shtml

000
WTNT34 KNHC 190835
TCPAT4
BULLETIN
HURRICANE WILMA ADVISORY NUMBER 16
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
5 AM EDT WED OCT 19 2005

...AIR FORCE RECONNAISSANCE PLANE REPORTED 884 MB...THE LOWEST
MINIMUM PRESSURE EVER MEASURED IN A HURRICANE IN THE ATLANTIC
BASIN...THIS VALUE SHOULD BE USED WITH CAUTION UNTIL CALIBRATED...

A HURRICANE WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE EAST COAST OF THE YUCATAN
PENINSULA FROM CABO CATOCHE TO PUNTA GRUESA.

A HURRICANE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT IN CUBA FOR THE PROVINCES OF
MATANZAS WESTWARD THROUGH PINAR DEL RIO...AND FOR THE ISLE OF
YOUTH. A HURRICANE WATCH MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE
POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA...GENERALLY WITHIN 36 HOURS.

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR HONDURAS FROM THE
HONDURAS/NICARAGUA BORDER WESTWARD TO CABO CAMARON.

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING AND A HURRICANE WATCH REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR
THE CAYMAN ISLANDS.

ALL INTERESTS IN THE FLORIDA KEYS AND THE FLORIDA PENINSULA SHOULD
CLOSELY MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF EXTREMELY DANGEROUS HURRICANE WILMA.

FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...INCLUDING POSSIBLE
INLAND WATCHES AND WARNINGS...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED
BY YOUR LOCAL WEATHER OFFICE.

AT 5 AM EDT...0900Z...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE WILMA WAS LOCATED NEAR
LATITUDE 17.2 NORTH...LONGITUDE 82.5 WEST OR ABOUT 170 MILES...
270 KM...SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF GRAND CAYMAN AND ABOUT 365 MILES...
590 KM...SOUTHEAST OF COZUMEL MEXICO.

WILMA IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 8 MPH...13 KM/HR. A
TURN TOWARD THE NORTHWEST IS EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 175 MPH...280 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS. WILMA IS A CATASTROPHIC CATEGORY FIVE HURRICANE ON THE
SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. SOME FLUCTUATIONS IN INTENSITY ARE EXPECTED
DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS.

HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 15 MILES... 30 KM...
FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP
TO 160 MILES...260 KM.

AN AIR FORCE PLANE JUST MEASURED A MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE OF 884
MB...26.10 INCHES. THIS IS THE LOWEST PRESSURE EVER RECORDED IN A
HURRICANE IN THE ATLANTIC BASIN. HOWEVER...THIS PRESSURE VALUE
SHOULD BE USED WITH CAUTION UNTIL IT IS FULLY CALIBRATED.

WILMA IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE STORM TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 10 TO 15
INCHES...WITH LOCAL AMOUNTS NEAR 25 INCHES IN MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN
ACROSS CUBA THROUGH FRIDAY. ADDITIONAL RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 5
TO 10 INCHES...WITH LOCAL AMOUNTS OF 15 INCHES...ARE POSSIBLE
ACROSS THE CAYMAN ISLANDS...SWAN ISLAND...AND JAMAICA THROUGH
THURSDAY. STORM TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 4 TO 6 INCHES...WITH
ISOLATED AMOUNTS OF 8 TO 12 INCHES...ARE POSSIBLE FROM HONDURAS
NORTHWARD TO THE YUCATAN PENINSULA OF MEXICO THROUGH THURSDAY.

REPEATING THE 5 AM EDT POSITION...17.2 N... 82.5 W. MOVEMENT
TOWARD...WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 8 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...175
MPH. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE... 884 MB.

AN INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE
CENTER AT 8 AM EDT FOLLOWED BY THE NEXT COMPLETE ADVISORY AT 11 AM
EDT.

[cmf]

33. I cannot believe the hurricanes this year

How did Wilma go from a TS to a Cat 5 in less than 24 hours? Not just a Cat 5, but one of the strongest ever recorded? I'm just praying that it weakens before it hits land.

[spinbaby]

35. On the bright side...

...it's a very compact storm.

This morning they're reporting that, although it's the strongest storm ever recorded in the Atlantic basin, it's tiny. A small storm has less inertia so it's more likely to be affected by wind shear. It can decline as fast as it accelerated.

[belle]

39. Fingers crossed that it will (decline just as quickly)

That, or become even tinier and stronger, and somehow go directly for Jeb Bush, bypassing everything and everyone else...

[Ladyhawk]

40. LOL...miniature hurricane. :)

It would have to wind around stuff, but I like the imagery.

[LuCifer]

41. Well...any FEMA trolls I see...

...let's just say, they better not come around MY place...if ya catch my drift...

Lu

[Roland99]

42. 11AM EDT update: Pressure is 882MB...Winds near 175mph

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 175 MPH...280 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS. WILMA IS A POTENTIALLY CATASTROPHIC CATEGORY FIVE HURRICANE
ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. FLUCTUATIONS IN INTENSITY ARE COMMON
IN HURRICANES OF THIS INTENSITY...AND ARE LIKELY DURING THE NEXT 24
HOURS.

HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 50 MILES... 85 KM...
FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP
TO 160 MILES...260 KM.

ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 882 MB...26.05 INCHES.

WILMA IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE STORM TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 10 TO 15
INCHES...WITH LOCAL AMOUNTS NEAR 25 INCHES IN MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN
ACROSS CUBA THROUGH FRIDAY. ADDITIONAL RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 5
TO 10 INCHES...WITH LOCAL AMOUNTS OF 15 INCHES...ARE POSSIBLE
ACROSS THE CAYMAN ISLANDS...SWAN ISLAND...AND JAMAICA THROUGH
THURSDAY. STORM TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 4 TO 6 INCHES...WITH
ISOLATED AMOUNTS OF 8 TO 12 INCHES...ARE POSSIBLE FROM HONDURAS
NORTHWARD TO THE YUCATAN PENINSULA OF MEXICO THROUGH THURSDAY.

REPEATING THE 11 AM EDT POSITION...17.4 N... 83.2 W. MOVEMENT
TOWARD...WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 7 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED
WINDS...175 MPH. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE... 882 MB.

[FlaGranny]

43. Dang, just saw on local news

that Wilma will be moving so fast that it may lose very little strength all the way across Florida and will stay a 2, 3, or even 4, all the way.