Central Florida Thread {West and East Coast}

[Josephine96]

State of emergency for St Cloud effective at sunset.. No word yet on any other curfews..

I'm also not looking to forward to going to work with the real nasty weather tomorrow

[k-man]

I also have just noticed that our Inland hurricane watch is now an inland hurricane warning.. Brilliant

Well, they dropped Orange county down from an inland hurricane warning to a inland tropical storm warning. You're in Kissimmee/St Cloud, the Northeastern most portion of Osceola...doubt you'll see hurricane strength winds....maybe a gust or two, but that will be it.

[Josephine96]

the windfield for hurricane force winds is 70 miles.. and supposedly expanding.. May see them after all..

[tronbunny]

John,

I think it was about 3pm that Osceola Schools announced closing.

But this is the one I'm confused about.. got it from the Sentinel Hurricane Blog

Rollins College Classes NOT Cancelled
Posted Sunday, October 23, 2005 at 2:30 p.m.

Based on current forecasts, classes scheduled on Monday, October 24 are expected to continue as planned. All employees should also plan to report to work as usual. As a precaution, the Rollins information hotline has been activated. Should conditions change, the EOPT will assess the situation this evening. If conditions do change, updates will be posted on the Web and recorded on the Rollins Information hotline (see number below) around 8 p.m.

[Josephine96]

Now that could get dangerous.. especially if they have kids driving on the roads to school during the early AM hours

[Brent]

the windfield for hurricane force winds is 70 miles.. and supposedly expanding.. May see them after all..

On the current NHC track you'll be 125 miles away on the weak side. I seriously doubt you'll even see hurricane force gusts now. Maybe some 60-70 mph ones though.

[tronbunny]

Read somewhere on NWS MLB hazardous Weather outlook this AM that since the Hurricane Warning was lowered to Tropical Storm Warning in Orange County, the same actually applies to Northern Osceola County...
The Inland Hurricane Warning remains in effect for southern Osceola and is reflected in the Graphical Hazards.


They can't only activate a partial county EOC plan, so that's why the Inland Hurricane Warning remains posted for Osceola.
We shouldn't have much more trouble than Orlando.
So now, what are "the rules" about business being open tomorrow?

[cjrciadt]

thanks tronbunny!

[Josephine96]

I still think the hurricane force winds are gonna come awfully close here.. This could get interesting..

If this thing decides to come in a little further north.. It'll make the NWS look bad for downgrading the warnings to TS warnings..

[O Town]

http://www.floridadisaster.org/index_ac ... ma.asp#Gov

Go down to the situation report and choose the most recent # from the drop box. Page 3 has school closers and such. I think this is from this morning because it says orange county is still monitoring. But I know schools will be closed here tomarrow. Here is the home page link for the site, it has alot of good info on other information you need to know.

http://www.floridadisaster.org/

[Josephine96]

Definitely tomorrow would be a good day not to go to work and stay home..

[inotherwords]

Bumping for Josephine.

[Josephine96]

Thank you IOW.. I think we're all just tired and agitated and want this darn thing to come in, do it's damage and get outta here.. That's why we all {myself included} all seem nerve wracked right now

[Brent]

[Josephine96]

Brent agrees

[inotherwords]

John, I'd give you a hug if I was there with you. We're all under a lot of stress.

[feederband]

Nice cell just to the South of me...Constant lighting in it...Should be here within 10 mins or so..

[tronbunny]

Been looking for Tom Terry since the Tornado Warning was issued near 6:30pm.
Well he just popped in to break up the Funniest Videos just to tell us that a bunch of swampland is experiencing a real tornado.
He says he'll be back soon to tell us more

Not pleased with them (WFTV 9) tonite.

Brighthouse CFL News 13 has been showing some great 3D images of the long-lived tornado near Yeehaw Junction.
Guess the investment in the new radar imaging softaware is paying off.

about to get slammed with thunderstorm.

[Loring]

Nice cell just to the South of me...Constant lighting in it...Should be here within 10 mins or so..

yep, we were just out on the balcony watching the lightning...

[CentralFlGal]

Statement as of 5:35 PM EDT on October 23, 2005


... Hurricane Wilma beginning to accelerate toward Florida...

... New information...
Wilma is now a little stronger and beginning to accelerate toward
Florida. Also... a Tornado Watch will be issued for east central
Florida this evening.

... Watches and warnings...
a Hurricane Warning remains in effect from Jupiter Inlet to
Titusville... with a Tropical Storm Warning from north of
Titusville to Flagler Beach.

An inland Hurricane Warning is in effect for Okeechobee and
Osceola counties. An inland Tropical Storm Warning
is in effect for Orange... Lake... Seminole and interior Volusia
counties.

A Hurricane Warning is in effect for Lake Okeechobee.

... Areas affected...
this statement recommends actions that should be taken in
Brevard... Volusia... Saint Lucie... Martin... Indian River...
Okeechobee... Orange... Seminole... Volusia and lake counties.

... Storm information...
the center of Hurricane Wilma was located near latitude 23.5 north...
longitude 84.9 west or about 210 miles west southwest of
Key West Florida and about 390 miles southwest of Fort Pierce.

... Precautionary/preparedness actions...
a Hurricane Warning means that hurricane conditions are expected
within the warning area within the next 24 hours.

Hurricane Wilma continues on track to approach the southwest coast of
Florida early Monday and accelerate very rapidly across the peninsula
during the day. Implementation of hurricane and tropical storm plans
and all preparedness actions to protect life and property must be
rushed to completion by Sundown.

If tornado warnings are issued later tonight and Monday take them
seriously. In the event of a tornado... or destructive winds with the
inner rainbands of Wilma... the safest place is in an interior room
on the lowest floor of a block home away from windows. For those
living in manufactured homes... check with County emergency managers
for shelter locations. There is still time early this evening to
safely move to shelters.

... Wind impacts...
the greatest threat from Wilma across east central Florida is for
destructive winds. The tropical storm force wind field is very large
and therefore will arrive well before the approach of the core winds.
Tropical storm force winds are expected to begin across Okeechobee...
Osceola... Martin... Saint Lucie and Indian River counties very early
Monday morning and spread across Brevard... Orange... Lake...
Seminole... and Volusia counties starting before 8 am. Hurricane
force winds are expected to begin impacting Okeechobee...
Martin... southern Osceola and Saint Lucie counties after sunrise...
and possibly spread into Indian River and southern Brevard counties
by mid morning.

Because the of the rapid movement of Wilma... winds will be highest
immediately near the center and to the right. It is likely that a
band of destructive winds with gusts to around 100 mph will move
across the peninsula Monday morning. These destructive winds will be
capable of causing damage to roofing materials... as well as exposed
doors and windows. Considerable damage will occur to Mobile
homes that happen to be in the path of the destructive winds.
Scattered power outages will occur from downed trees and large signs.
A few roads may become blocked due to some large debris... especially
within the main wind swath of the core winds.

The locations that may experience the greatest wind impact will not
be known until Monday morning. By that time Wilma will be moving very
fast. Tropical storm force winds will continue across east central
Florida through Monday afternoon and begin weakening rapidly by late
afternoon as Wilma continues to move offshore into the Atlantic. A
cold front will be pulled southward behind Wilma and gusty northerly
winds will likely continue into Tuesday.

... Tornado impacts...
the threat of strong and longer-lived tornadoes will be increasing
tonight and early Monday morning and continue through mid day Monday.
The greatest risk of tornadoes will be in outer rainbands preceding
Wilma later this evening and in the inner rainbands near and to the
right of the center of Wilma as it rapidly crosses the peninsula
early Monday. Tornado watches will be issued for east central
Florida later this evening.

Late season tropical cyclones moving in from the Gulf of Mexico have
produced killer tornadoes in the past. Therefore... take tornado
warnings seriously. Strong tornadoes have already occurred in
vicinity of the Keys today.

... Flood impacts...
a Flood Watch is in effect for all of east central Florida through
Monday. Because Wilma will be moving rapidly across the state...
widespread excessive rainfall is not expected. However... rainfall
amounts of a couple inches may occur in heavy showers and isolated
thunderstorms late this evening along and just to the north
of a frontal boundary. Additional heavy rain will be possible as
outer rainbands from Wilma lift northward up the Florida Peninsula
and intersect this frontal boundary. The heaviest rains are expected
to occur late tonight and Monday morning mainly from Orlando
southward as the core of Hurricane Wilma moves across South Florida.

While it is impossible to pinpoint exactly where this might occur...
it appears that the coastal counties will be especially vulnerable to
the excessive rainfall. If you live in a flood prone area... or in an
area that is already experiencing drainage problems... complete
preparations to protect life and property by this evening.

... Storm surge flood and storm tide impacts...
because of the anticipated rapid movement of Wilma and the movement
offshore into the Atlantic... high impact storm surge and coastal
flooding is not expected. However... a storm tide of perhaps 3 or 4
feet is possible before and around the time of high tide mid day
Monday... north of where the center of Wilma moves offshore. Extremely
rough surf... beach erosion... and dangerous rip currents can be
expected along all of east central Florida beaches as Wilma moves out
into the Atlantic.

... Marine impacts...
this is a dangerous storm for mariners due to its rapid
approach and acceleration from the southwest on Monday. Marine
conditions will quickly become hazardous this evening with building
seas and then become extremely dangerous on Monday. Mariners
should remain in port.

... Next update...
the next hurricane local statement will be issued by NWS Melbourne by
midnight... or sooner if conditions warrant.

A graphical version of this hurricane local statement can be
viewed on the National Weather Service web Page at...
http://www.Srh.NOAA.Gov/mlb and clicking on Wilma local info.

Expires 4:00 PM EDT on October 24, 2005

Statement as of 11:35 AM EDT on October 23, 2005


... Inland Tropical Storm Warning now in effect until 4 PM EDT
Monday...

The inland Tropical Storm Warning remains in effect until 4 PM
EDT Monday.

Based upon the current forecast from the National Hurricane
Center... increasing winds from Hurricane Wilma will begin to be
felt across Lake... Seminole and inland Volusia counties near
sunrise on Monday. The strongest winds will occur in the rain
bands north of Wilma. These will produce torrential rain and wind
gusts between 50 and 60 mph.

An inland Tropical Storm Warning means winds of 39 to 73 mph are
expected due to a land falling hurricane or tropical storm in
less than 24 hours. Winds of this magnitude are likely to cause
sporadic power outages... fallen trees... minor property damage...
and dangerous driving conditions for high profile vehicles.

http://www.weatherunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=32714#WND