Aaaahhhhhhh......

From the National Hurricane Center:

I love it.

Keeping it Brief...

Okay... so we're all breathing a sigh of relief about Ike. At least here, we are. In Cuba, they're probably crapping their pants. And Haiti? I work with a couple of Haitians who rarely hear from their family in the first place-- and with the constant flow of hurricanes barraging that country, they haven't heard a thing in ages.

So, two things-- if you're as obsessed with weather watching as I am (well, really just "hurricane watching), check this site out:
www.stormpulse.com
The graphics are awesome. My dad sent me the link after I made last week's post, and I'm totally hooked.

Second, if you haven't seen this website yet, this is really cool:
photosynth.net
You need to download the software (which apparently eats up your graphics system) to actually use photosynth-- and I don't need it that much-- but just watch the demo on the homepage for a few minutes. So very cool.

Really?

Oh yeah... I think this is what we all really needed to see.

I can't wait until December 1, when this whole mess will should be over.

Until then, I'll be holding my breath. And looking into hurricane shutters.

Fay, Fay, Go Away

We obviously survived Tropical Storm Fay. She made landfall about an hour south of us, flooding the streets of Marco Island and dumping 8 inches of rain on some areas to the south and west of us.

Here in the Cape, we only got a little sideswipe by Fay... a couple of inches of rain and a lot of wind. We were ready, though-- with many jugs of water and fresh batteries in the flashlight.

Cory started his new job officially on Monday, going in at 8:00 and staying until about 4:30. Then he had to turn around and go back at 11:00 last night to help cover the storm.

Since I'm not in TV anymore, I wasn't on lockdown. Instead, I was in my own cozy bed, with my cozy little Zoe, watching the Olympics like a normal person.

The weird part is that we never lost power. I know what you're thinking... we didn't really get the brunt of the storm, so why would we, right? Well... we typically lose power at the drop of a hat. The Cape doesn't have buried power lines. Instead, every house is hooked up to a big power line. A stiff breeze, a bolt of lightning, a steady rain shower, and we lose power. On a typical summer afternoon during the "rainy season," we lose power once or twice a day. But somehow, we managed to make it through Fay without a single blackout.

Other places around us weren't so lucky. Collier County, just to the south of us, had about 35,000 people without power.

For the record, Cory got to come home at 10:00 this morning. He was home for about 5 minutes before he fell asleep. It was kind of funny, actually... I was hanging out with him until he nodded off, and I left the room. About fifteen minutes later, I could hear him calling my name. Apparently, he hadn't realized that he fell asleep, and he thought that I just disappeared.

Like I said, he was pretty tired.

I'm obviously at home-- one of the perks of having a "normal" job is that the office was closed today. I'm so bored that I called my boss to see if she needed me to come in (all the VP's are there right now), and she said not to bother.

Oh well.

Stupid Hurricane

So Fay is headed our way... at least for now.


On Friday morning, it looked like Fay would hit far east of us, and travel up Florida's Atlantic coast as a tropical storm.

By Friday evening, the track was headed to the west of us, but was expected to strengthen into a category 1 hurricane.

Well, as these things often happen, the track has changed again. Fay is headed right for us again, and is expected to strengthen into a hurricane a little sooner than before. So keep an eye on Fay for us. (Thanks to weather underground for the screen shot)

Sweaty Betty

Since it's late November, I don't really feel the need to turn on the air conditioning. After all, we have ceiling fans to keep the air circulating in here-- certainly it can't be so hot right now that we need to spend money cooling the place down, right?

Wrong.

I ran some errands today-- and left the windows open to keep it cool in here. And when I returned, it was.... drumroll please... 88 degrees in here! And poor Zoe is stuck wearing a fur coat 24-7.

As my old roommate Darren used to say, "I'm sweating like a whore on Nickel Night."

What A Coinkydink....

It's currently 54 degrees here in the Cape-- balmy by some of my northern readers' standards... but pretty chilly for us here in the Sunshine State. So my weather pixie is all bundled up (if you haven't seen her, she's in the left column, about halfway down the page. As I write this, she's wearing an argyle sweater.

Here's the coincidence... yesterday, I was wearing an argyle sweater ($4.26 on clearance at Target).

I think my weather pixie is spying on me.

Chillin' Out

For the first time since early March, we got to open the windows on Friday night!

The temperatures have finally dropped down into the high 50s overnight. It's still been in the mid-80s during the day, so we had the air on for a little while yesterday-- but just for a few hours.

It'll be so nice to get an electric bill that's under $150 this month!

Twistin'

If you happened to hear about the tornado here in the Cape and at the Beach, rest assured, Cory, Zoe and I survived... though Cory and Zoe were at home when our neighbors watched it cross the street a block from our house. Thankfully, it was one of those little, skinny twisters that cuts a very narrow path, because otherwise, I might not have a condo to sit in right now... let alone a computer to type this onto.

The worst damage from the tornado happened just two blocks from our condo. Cars flipped over, roofs ripped off. This photo was taken just a few hundred feet from our front door.

Cory and I both took some pictures of the neighborhood today-- but they aren't very good because of the legion of gawkers, fire trucks, roofing contractors, tow trucks and (of course) news live trucks) surrounding some of the hardest-hit areas.

As for us, we're counting our blessings. We lost power for about six hours and thankfully, that's it.

Baseball Weather

Sure, I've enjoyed watching the World Series because of two teams I'm particularly fond of (one more than the other, of course). But really, I've enjoyed watching it because of all the freezing-cold fans in the stands.

Not that it hasn't been "cool" here. It's 57 degrees right now, and we're expected to shatter our record low of 54 degrees for this date. I actually wore LONG SLEEVES today!

A Visit from Aunt Flo

In the last few hours, Tropical Depression #6 turned into Tropical Storm Florence.

I'm trying not to freak out much. This one looks like it'll head northeastish of here-- like maybe to the Carolinas. Hear that, McKinney? I know how much you love the tropical activity, so we're sending another one your way. Enjoy!

I have to admit, I wouldn't mind a minor hurricane coming our way. When that happens, we go to work for 24-hour shifts... and I could really use the overtime. A handful of Category One hurricanes, and we might be able to put a downpayment on a house.

Hurricane, Shmurricane

As far as our first "Hurricane," Ernesto has proved to be more of an annoyance than anything else. No, I'm not complaining.

Of course, Ernesto wasn't a hurricane for long... just a 12-hour stretch on Sunday. Just long enough to get everyone in Southern Florida a little bit nervous. After Charley and Wilma, nobody here really wants to take any chances. No, there wasn't panic. Yes, lines at gas stations got a little bit longer than usual, and I'm sure that sales of flashlights and batteries probably spiked for a day or two.

Schools here have been cancelled for today, which means I had to go in on my day off to do my weekly high school football story. I was prepared to work a long week anyway. Originally, I was supposed to go in at 8 am today to cover tropical storm stuff... but my phone rang at 3:30 a.m. and I was told that the storm had weakened to the point where my services were no longer needed. Yeah, I'll still have to work... but at least I won't have to go in six hours early.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to sleep since. Thank you, Ernesto, for providing me with yet another sleepless night.

As far as the actual weather here is concerned, so far, we've had a little rain with a slight breeze. Mostly, a steady drizzle, with occasional bursts of showers. Watching The Weather Channel, it appears that the rain will get much heavier in the later morning hours, and our yard will probably flood, as it always does when it rains. I'm guessing that some of the really low-lying areas south of here (like Everglades City) will get some flooding, and if we get some heavy rain bands, our electricity may even go out briefly (we seem to lose power for a while every time there's a thunderstorm). But as I've mentioned, I'm no weather expert. I'm just the sportslady.

I'm interested to see what will happen once Ernesto crosses the state and reaches the Atlantic. But for now, I'm just glad that I don't have to be at work in 2 1/2 hours. I think I'll try to hit the hay now.

Insomniac

No, this post isn't about "Insomniac," the delightful drunken TV-fest formerly hosted by delightful drunken comedian Dave Attell. This post is about me.

I've always been a pretty heavy sleeper. Once, when I was a kid, our smoke detector started beeping in the middle of the night (low battery), and I didn't even wake up.

But when I do wake up, I often have a lot of trouble falling back asleep. I'm ok, as long as I don't have time to think about anything. A quick trip to the bathroom isn't usually enough to keep me awake... but if I happen to pick up a magazine while I'm in there, look out. Once my mind starts going, I start obsessing about things, and the next thing you know, I'm awake for the long haul.

Nevermind the fact that it's 6:00 am and I didn't get to sleep until after 2:30 am. I'm up.

This morning, the culprits were:

1. High school football season (we had our first show on Friday night, and we were phenomenally shortstaffed. And we'll be even more short-staffed again this week.)
2. The wedding. We're going to a bridal show today and we need to get a lot of details worked out.
3. A nasty tummy-ache.
4. Ernesto.

So, at about 6:20, I trundled out to the living room, turned on the TV, and fired up the computer. Being a Florida resident... and being a glutton for punishment... I switched over to the Weather Channel. Within two minutes I learned that Tropical Storm Ernesto is now Hurricane Ernesto, and that we're now smack dab in the middle of the "cone of uncertainty."

I prefer the map used by Weather Underground than the one on the NOAA website. The NOAA has Ernesto making landfall on Thursday, just north of Tampa. That's about two hours north of here. And as I know from talking with co-workers, that's the same place that Charley was expected to hit two years ago. Instead, at the last minute, Charley changed his mind and hit here instead. Oh, and he turned into a Category 4 storm right before making landfall. Punta Gorda, just to the north of us, was practically leveled by the storm. There are still hundreds of people living in the FEMA Village there. And the high school there won't be completely reopened for three more years.

See what I mean about obsessing when I can't sleep? Maybe I should go buy more batteries.

Stormy Weather

Fortunately, it looks like Hurricane Debby is just going to be a fish spinner. Bad news for the fish in the Atlantic... but good news for us.

Unfortunately, Tropical Depression Five has formed off the coast of Venezuela. It's expected to become Tropical Storm Ernesto sometime tomorrow morning... and Hurricane Ernesto by Sunday night.

Right now, our cozy little hamlet is right on the edge of the 5-day "cone of uncertainty". Ernesto isn't currently expected to head straight towards us, but if it meets similar conditions to Hurricane Wilma last year, it could hit the Yucutan peninsula, then swing back around Cuba and get us on the rebound.

Sounds like fun, huh?
I hate being a "Nervous Nellie." On the other hand, I don't like being unprepared either. I guess that means we'd better start stocking up on batteries again, just in case.

Hit the Road, Chris

The worst part about working down here in SW Florida is going to be dealing with the hurricanes... because neither Cory or I are allowed to take time off during a hurricane. So, ever since we requested this week off, we've had our fingers crossed that we won't have to cancel our vacation plans.

Last week, while I was in Orlando at Buccaneers training camp, the local weather guy mentioned "a little tropical disturbance that we need to keep our eye on."

This morning, I'm keeping a close eye on The Weather Channel. That "little tropical disturbance" is now Tropical Storm Chris. And Chris is making me very nervous.

According to the NOAA's 5-day cone, Chris is headed straight for our neck of the woods. Fortunately, we'll be back in town by the time he's scheduled to arrive. Unfortunately, that doesn't give us a lot of time to prepare for it. And it might also get us on our employers' shit lists fecal rosters. So keep your fingers crossed for me that Chris takes a turn to the north or the east. Me? I'll be glued to the Weather Channel.

Rainy Days and Tuesdays...

It just started raining... and that has me a little cheesed off right now. See, Cory and I are planning to go see a baseball game tonight. The Palm Beach Cardinals are in town, and Colby Rasmus, a kid that I used to cover back when he was playing high school baseball, is playing for them.

I got to see him play on Saturday night... I was shooting the game for that night's newscast. But Cory hasn't had a chance to see him play. Ever. Not in Little League, Babe Ruth or High School. And since the Cardinals drafted Colby in the first round last year, Cory would really, really, really like to see him play. And if it rains, that won't happen.

Best-case-scenario? It rains just long enough to delay the start of the game (it starts at 7:05 and Cory usually gets off work around 7:00). Keep your fingers crossed.

You can only hope to contain him...

You may have heard of Mark Mathis, aka "The Crazy Weatherman." If you haven't seen him before, I implore you, watch this video. Then watch the other videos of him on the same webpage.

I've heard plenty of explanations for his unusual delivery style. Actually, that's not true. I've really only heard one... rumors that he was fired from his last job and went into drug rehab. Just rumors, but not hard to believe when you've watched him a few times.

This morning, while suffering from a bout of insomnia, I had a Mark Mathis sighting. He's filling in on "The Daily Buzz," a wacky national morning show based out of Orlando. It's really the perfect place for him... after all, I've quickly learned that the Sunshine State is filled with nutcases.

Tropical Troubles

As you may already know, the first named tropical storm of the year is upon us. Alberto became a "tropical storm" yesterday, and so far, that means a lot of clouds and rain down here in paradise. It poured on-and-off most of the day yesterday, and today it's cloudy, windy, rainy, and all-around yucky.

Alberto is supposed to turn into a category one hurricane later this afternoon. It appears he's heading a couple hours north of us, to the Clearwater Beach area, or even north of that. In fact, Columbus, GA is closer to the "cone of uncertainty" than we are.

So I guess there's no need to buy plywood... though I'm very glad that my beautiful new rubber rain boots arrived on Friday, two days before Alberto got here.

Happy Hurricane Season!

That's right, kids... it's June First, and that means the first official day of Hurricane Season. I just read that 36% of all U.S. hurricanes hit the state of Florida. And, apparently, nobody is ever prepared. Just ask Dave Barry.

This week, Cory and I went hurricane shopping. Gov. Jeb Bush signed off on a tax-free hurricane supply "holiday," so what better time to buy all of our supplies (Unfortunately, many items we needed were not on the tax-free list... but I'll take what I can get).

Since Cory and I both work in television news, we're not allowed to evacuate if a hurricane is headed our way. Instead, we get to set up camp at work, living there until the crisis is over. His station has a shower. I don't think ours does-- though if the water isn't working, what difference does that make?

Because we need to ride out the storms at work, we need things like toiletry kits in addition to normal hurricane supplies.
Some of the items we purchased during the last week:

2 Faraday Flashlights (tax-free)
8 Gallon Jugs of water
2-24 packs of 12-oz water bottles
Large drink cooler (tax-free)
plentiful "Blue Ice" (tax-free)
trial size soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, mouthwash, deodorant, hairspray, cotton swabs, and something called "Odor Cide."
hand sanitizer
spare toothbrushes
Binaca
Body powder
Giant-size container of baby wipes
Portable AM/FM/Weather radio which also has TV sound (tax-free)
More batteries than I have fingers and toes (tax-free)
Cell phone chargers for the car (tax-free)
Battery for the keyless remote on my company car
So-ugly-they're-cool Rubber Rain Boots
"Pet Taxi" for Zoe (she's such a good little passenger that we've never needed one)

There are still a lot of things we need to buy-- I need a sleeping bag for work, we need to buy a drill (for installing plywood on our windows), and at some point, Zoe needs all of her shots. Shhh. Don't tell her.

Fortunately, Florida's never had a major hurricane hit in the month of June. July and August are fairly calm, too... but in September, the you-know-what hits the fan. Oh, goody.

The Sky is Falling!

The strangest thing happened this morning. When I woke up, drops of water were falling from the sky. You can imagine my confusion. Fortunately, Cory explained to me that the drops of water were called "rain" and that it was a fairly common atmospheric phenomenon.

I'm sure you can understand my confusion. Today, we received 0.3" of rain. That's three times as much rain as we got all last month! In fact, the last time I remember it raining was March 10th, when the Red Sox game was delayed. (Oddly enough, it wasn't the rain that delayed the game... it was an overturned sludge truck on I-75 in the Tampa area. But that's another story altogether).

The dry weather here has been miserable. Last week, we had a massive brush fire that burned about four thousand acres and destroyed about a dozen homes. Oh, and they've charged some 11-year-old kids with starting it. Nice, huh? Still, that's not nearly as bad as what's been going on northwest of here at New Smyrna Beach, where they've declared a state of emergency.

So let it rain. At least until June 1st, the official start of Hurricane Season.