Wilma radar loop as it crosses S FL

[boca]

Here's Wilma as it crosses South Florida.I still remember Wilma with her destructive force as it was yesterday.

http://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/a ... localradar

[Just Joshing You]

It's crazy how the eye clears out just as it enters the Atlantic.

[Evil Jeremy]

Its amazing all of that happened in just a few hours.

[olddude]

I well remember the flooding in the Keys.

This storm came in the "back door' for us down here and piled the water up in Fl. Bay. I was standing out in the street talking to nieghbors as the wind had died down when we looked down the street an watched the water slowly march our way. It simply over topped the canals in our subdivision and made its way slowly overland. Very bizaar.

Scott

[dolebot_Broward_NW]

Its amazing all of that happened in just a few hours.

Yup was crazy from about 4am on - I woke up at about 5:30 to very strong winds - The worst was about 8-9am, then I experienced the eye for about 20 minutes. By 1pm I was out pulling cars out of ditches with my camaro (yes I know...... things were weird and stupid people kept getting stuck)

We were in an extended stay nice hotel in Parkland (long story involving a crashed truck into my mother in laws house) - and I was awakened when the fire alarm went off at said 5:30am. It didn't stop for another 12 hours. Scotch tape over the piezo for the win

[OpieStorm]

10/18 18 GMT 16.6 81.1 85 975 Category 1 Hurricane
10/19 00 GMT 16.6 81.8 150 946 Category 4 Hurricane
10/19 06 GMT 17.0 82.2 175 892 Category 5 Hurricane

Never will forget that.

[Derek Ortt]

I well remember the flooding in the Keys.

This storm came in the "back door' for us down here and piled the water up in Fl. Bay. I was standing out in the street talking to nieghbors as the wind had died down when we looked down the street an watched the water slowly march our way. It simply over topped the canals in our subdivision and made its way slowly overland. Very bizaar.

Scott

that is why you should have evacuated, as you were ordered to

A track just 5 miles to the south, 5 mere miles, would have put the 125 mph winds and even higher water over you. You likely would have died

[T'Bonz]

I remember going out in the eye, as did most of the neighbors. We had to scurry back in after about 15 minutes. THEN the storm really got mean and scary.

[jinftl]

It's amazing how looking at a radar loop can produce an emotional and physical reaction...almost gives me chills to watch that loop. Folks who went through any of the infamous storms to hit Florida and the Northern and Western Gulf in the last few years can no doubt relate.

It was that southern eyewall band that really tore things up from North Miami-Dade into Palm Beach county....esp hitting Broward and southern Palm Beach hard with Cat 1/2 winds (out of the west).

Probably the most expensive few hours of my life in terms of what the resulting damage ended up costing me in terms of condo assessments for damage exceeding the insurance....couple of thousand bucks an hour for 3 or 4 hours...ouch!

[boca]

It's amazing how looking at a radar loop can produce an emotional and physical reaction...almost gives me chills to watch that loop. Folks who went through any of the infamous storms to hit Florida and the Northern and Western Gulf in the last few years can no doubt relate.

It was that southern eyewall band that really tore things up from North Miami-Dade into Palm Beach county....esp hitting Broward and southern Palm Beach hard with Cat 1/2 winds (out of the west).

Probably the most expensive few hours of my life in terms of what the resulting damage ended up costing me in terms of condo assessments for damage exceeding the insurance....couple of thousand bucks an hour for 3 or 4 hours...ouch!

Jinftl, you summed it up right there. That is the reason why I posted the radar loop because I was assessed $2000 on top of my already high maintenance fee every month.

[gatorcane]

It's amazing how looking at a radar loop can produce an emotional and physical reaction...almost gives me chills to watch that loop. Folks who went through any of the infamous storms to hit Florida and the Northern and Western Gulf in the last few years can no doubt relate.

It was that southern eyewall band that really tore things up from North Miami-Dade into Palm Beach county....esp hitting Broward and southern Palm Beach hard with Cat 1/2 winds (out of the west).

Probably the most expensive few hours of my life in terms of what the resulting damage ended up costing me in terms of condo assessments for damage exceeding the insurance....couple of thousand bucks an hour for 3 or 4 hours...ouch!

Jinftl, you summed it up right there. That is the reason why I posted the radar loop because I was assessed $2000 on top of my already high maintenance fee every month.

Though the eye was unusually large covering a large portion of Palm Beach County, had it been normal size, it would have still gone right over my house along the Wellington/West Palm Beach border in Central Palm Beach County.

Another interesting thing to note, this type of track and the time of year it happened is reminiscent of many Southern FL hits from long ago....even NHC mentioned this fact in one of its discussions. I am really hoping the patterns from long ago do not reemerge again -- and that we don't see another Wilma for a very long time.

I've always said its those systems that develop in the SW Car. or W Car and hook up to the N or NE from the "backdoor" that have historically created problems for South Florida. While the Cape Verde long trackers from the East have also made some serious hits along SE Florida's coast, Southern FL is just as vulnerable from the South than from the East. Many will even argue that the systems from the South are where South Florida is more vulnerable.

[Derek Ortt]

most south Florida strikes, just like Hawaii, come from the south

[cpdaman]

i watched this one from pembroke pines..........i thought it would weaken a bit more over land but i remember reading how it was in a very favorable area of shear...if that makes sense

and i would say while many of south florida (east coast) strikes come from the south.........the worst come from the East or ESE....

i now live by ocean in Boca raton so i will likely be forced to leave for any sort of cane.....regardless that surge's are relatively minor in Palm beach

[gatorcane]

i watched this one from pembroke pines..........i thought it would weaken a bit more over land but i remember reading how it was in a very favorable area of shear...if that makes sense

and i would say while many of south florida (east coast) strikes come from the south.........the worst come from the East or ESE....

i now live by ocean in Boca raton so i will likely be forced to leave for any sort of cane.....regardless that surge's are relatively minor in Palm beach

I just want to clarify that major hurricanes impact from the South also. Just because Cuba is there doesn't mitigate that risk, in fact if you look back at history you will see many major hurricanes hitting South FL from the south and not the east with systems crossing over Cuba.

It just so happens that a few systems recently have been destroyed by Cuba, mostly because Upper-level conditions were not the greatest for development and they moved very slow over the island over a relatively long span of the island. Ernesto is a good example (2006).

Cuba is thin and flat on the Western side, so systems aren't always impacted much especially faster moving systems with excellent upper-level support. The water is so warm in the Staits of FL during the summer, systems can ramp up very quickly.

Charley (2004) is a good example. He weakened some over Western Cuba but quickly gained strength to major status before landfall in Punta Gorda, FL.