Did Frances Save ECFL?

[DESTRUCTION5]

Think about it..

First of all the minor details are she knocked down all the trees that were going to be knocked down in turn it forced FPL to Upgrade plenty of power structures...In Jeanne there were barely any trees that went over...which would have done in the power lines once again...We had all power back in a week for Jeanne compared to Frances, which was 2-3 weeks...

But the most important fact here is it knocked the SST's down at least 4-5 degrees...Think about it...If Frances had not come thru 3 weeks earlier ECFL could have been looking at a 150-160 MPH Storm without a doubt....This would have put us not only with a leaky roof it would have put thousands without a home..

So did Frances save us? ...

The Irony Runs Amuck....

[bigmike]

Hmm interesting point. The only comment I would make is that I don't think francis made that much difference in the ssts nearer the coast as Jeanne did strengthen by by about 10-15 knots before landfall. I thought francis would have drained the water around the bahamas more. JMO.

[jpigott]

i feel the same way. When i came out of my home after Frances the place looked like a war zone (trees/foliage/power lines all over the place) However, there was very little in the way of structural damage. I think Frances did the pruning. When i came out after Jeanne there was little in the way of tree damage, however i did notice substantially more structural damage. Didn't think about Frances cooling the waters, but that sound right to me.

[Derek Ortt]

what saved florida was the fact that Jeanne decided it was time for an eye wall replacement cycle 12 hours before reaching land, despite having an eye that was 40NM wide. It resumed its intensifying in the final hour before landfall. Had that EWRC not occurred, Jeanne was a shoe in to be a very strong category four hurricane at the time of landfall

[DESTRUCTION5]

what saved florida was the fact that Jeanne decided it was time for an eye wall replacement cycle 12 hours before reaching land, despite having an eye that was 40NM wide. It resumed its intensifying in the final hour before landfall. Had that EWRC not occurred, Jeanne was a shoe in to be a very strong category four hurricane at the time of landfall

very good point ORTT...

[mascpa]

I certainly don't feel like I was saved. I don't think we would have encountered the terrible flooding we did had Frances not visited three weeks earlier although your point is well taken. I lost 19 trees in Frances, only 8 from Jeanne. Without power for 8 days with Frances, only 5 days from Jeanne. But the flooding was unbelievable, reminding me of the flooding from the 100 year storm in October, 1995.

[janswizard]

And I'm just getting power and water back today. We had significant roof damage during Frances; Jeanne made sure she damaged what little we salvaged two weeks earlier. Jeanne also took the rest of the pool enclosure that Frances weakened. We can also thank Jeanne for ripping the water pump and water softener right off the side of the house. We couldn't lose any more trees with Jeanne as Frances took them all down.

[DoctorHurricane2003]

The 100-year storm???

[Scorpion]

I agree. Frances took out most of the top heavy branches and leaves, so the trees didnt have much weight on them. More structural damage happened with Jeanne.

[TampaFl]

Most of the damage here in Hillsborough Co. was east of I-75. Over 600 tress were felled in this part of the county by Hurricane Jeanne, with the City Of Plant City reporting that 730 trees were blown down in the city limits with 91 tress falling on homes in the Historic District and Walden Lake area. Hurricane Frances blew alot of trees down in the county, but Jeanne was alot worse. There were some huge oaks 2-300 years old that were blown over! Many fell onto homes and mobile homes. Plus the wind damage was more severe in the eastern part of the county with many homes suffering wind damage in the form of blown off shingles to roofs blown off. And to think this was only a cat 1 hurricane by the time it arrived here. It could have been alot worse!