#6683 Postby jinftl » Mon Aug 27, 2012 10:10 pm
To the folks who are going to experience Isaac in a stronger form, might be helpful to know that the Palm Beach Post has a lead article on their site called:
Did forecasters adequately warn this area about Isaac? by Opinion Staff
Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast were out of Isaac’s “cone” well before the storm approached the Florida Keys. There was a tropical storm watch as far north as Jupiter Inlet, but the models were in ever-better agreement that the storm would cross the Keys going west-northwest, and head out into the Gulf of Mexico a good distance from Florida’s west coast.
So how bad could it be way over here on the east coast? Pretty bad, as it turned out.
There were tropical storm force gusts, but the rain was the real surprise. Even as the storm was hitting Key West on Sunday, there seemed to be nearly as much rain in Palm Beach County. Then, as the storm moved beyond Key West on Sunday evening and overnight, there was much, much more rain in Palm Beach County. And the rain didn’t stop on Monday. Into the afternoon, a long “snake” of heavy rain extended from Melbourne down to Miami, inundating areas just west of the coast. A curving swath of heavy rain also curled across the northern part of the state. Forecasters had predicted rain. And the official forecasts included the expectation that some of the storms “could produce heavy rain.”
The National Hurricane Center’s graphics also had warned that even though most of Florida was out of the cone, “The cone contains the probable path of the storm center but does not show the size of the storm. Hazardous conditions can occur outside of the cone.” Certainly Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast experienced plenty of those “hazardous conditions outside of the cone” on Sunday and Monday.
But were we adequately warned?
Several readers have posted comments like the excerpt below:
Hi. I’m looking out my window; my house sits atop a tiny island that I hope remains above the water level as the afternoon progresses. It’s never been this deep and I’ve been in this location nearly a decade and a half. I did not anticipate this much water, nor did those nearby that I’ve discussed it with. I can’t say that I wasn’t warned; anyone who’s lived here for a while knows that tropical drenchers frequently bring extensive flooding.
I’d also appreciate some detailed local information regarding when to expect water levels to drop enough that I can get my car out of my driveway. Do we know when which canals and drainage areas will subside below street level again? I’d really like to let my boss know whether I’ll be able to make it to work tomorrow or not
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