Charley is coming now (was Bonnie is onshore)

[cphilip]

They cancelled school in all but like 2 county's here. Luckily, I live in one that got cancelled.

My yard's already got a couple inches of standing water in the low spots, and the ditches are about half full... And that's not from either of the storms, just normal rain.

Where are you? If your around Tampa and your family needs a place to come I find you one. Gimme a shout out if you need me brother. Hunker down and stay safe.

[SlipknotX556]

If Charley changes it direction during the night, I am going to be hit. As of its path right now, its not that far away from me, I wont get a major part of the storm, but I will get 50+ mph winds. People are already putting hurricane shutters up on in my neighbor hood. My county was shutting down all schools in the county, but its not offical yet, I guess I will know tommorow morning. I already helped my mom get all the lawn furniture off my deck, we took anything off the deck, that could become airborne.

[SlipknotX556]

Sorry for the double post but....

You guys remember Andrew? Everyone thought it was going a certain route, but at the last minute, destroyed homestead, alot of my area of Florida. Kind of makes me scared, Charley I think is now a category 3 hurricane? If it changes is route, I am screwed, it takes 8 hours to put hurricane shutters up, I havent put any up, this thing is supposed to hit tommorow.

[cphilip]

Its a Category 2 right now but it is predicted that it could reach a Category 3 by landfall in Florida. Right now the center of the current forcast is around Tampa/St Pete. But because of the angle its coming and the contour or the coast it could impact a lot of the west coast of Florida.

Andrew did not so much change course as it did speed up and intesify suddenly. It suprised people by doing that at the last few hours. Predictions are one thing. Mother Nature is another. Just prepare and get ready is the best thing. Monitor and be prepared with a plan of what to do and where to go. Get some bottled water, candles and canned food and think of safe placed to be. Like you did already remove anything that can go airborne and board up. If your below 12 feet or so of sea level get to higher ground. If need be evacuate to a shelter.

Latest track position is here:



Use this link to keep up:

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

[SlipknotX556]

I have enough bottled water, food. Only thing I am worried about, is if I do have school tommorow and the winds pick up, my mom wont be able to get everything in by herself, my dad cant lift anything due to an arm injury, my little brothers will be at school to.

[WickeDKlowN]

Where are you? If your around Tampa and your family needs a place to come I find you one. Gimme a shout out if you need me brother. Hunker down and stay safe.

We're over on the other coast in Daytona Beach, so we should be ok.

Thank's for the concern though.

[SlipknotX556]

Im in Palm Beach County, one of the two counties in the state of Florida having school tommorow.

[cphilip]

Latest is Charlie is a Category 3 with sustained winds of 125 MPH and is expected at this point to go into the west Florida Coast around Port Charlotte in just a little while later on this afternoon. This is south of Tampa around FT Myers.

Warnings and watches all up and down both coasts all the way up into NC as its supposed to move quickly and still be a tropical Storm all the way into NC. So Tropical Storm force winds will affect Ga, SC and NC as well. Even the East coast of Florida.

Another Tropical Depression has formed off the Cape Verde Islands and is expected to strengthen as well.

[cphilip]

However the official forcast track still shows around Tampa but will not be updated until 4pm edt but this new info is still within the cone of probablility and of course its rather unpredictable where it will go in. But current comments from forcasters think its going in to Port Charlotte just east of center line of this forcast track below.

[cphilip]

at 1:31 PM was upgraded to Category 4 Hurricane and currently still thinking Charlotte Harbor area for landfall....

145 MPH sustained winds. with higher gusts. Quick spike in intensity.

[cphilip]

Slightly differing info but copied from the NHS

HURRICANE CHARLEY SPECIAL DISCUSSION NUMBER 18
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
2 PM EDT FRI AUG 13 2004

RECENT AIRCRAFT RECONNAISSANCE REPORTS ALONG WITH RADAR AND
SATELLITE DATA SHOW THAT WINDS HAVE INCREASED TO 125 KT. THE TRACK
HAS ALSO SHIFTED A LITTLE TO THE RIGHT OF THE PREVIOUS ADVISORY
FORECAST WHICH SHIFTS THE GREATEST RISK TO THE AREA OF CHARLOTTE
HARBOR FLORIDA. THESE CHANGES REQUIRE THE ISSUANCE OF THIS SPECIAL
ADVISORY.

FORECASTER LAWRENCE

FORECAST POSITIONS AND MAX WINDS

INITIAL 13/1800Z 26.0N 82.4W 125 KT
12HR VT 14/0000Z 27.5N 81.8W 100 KT...INLAND
24HR VT 14/1200Z 31.5N 80.0W 65 KT...OVER WATER
36HR VT 15/0000Z 36.0N 77.5W 50 KT...INLAND
48HR VT 15/1200Z 40.5N 74.5W 30 KT...EXTRATROPICAL
72HR VT 16/1200Z 46.5N 68.5W 30 KT...EXTRATROPICAL
96HR VT 17/1200Z...ABSORBED BY EXTRATROPICAL SYSTEM

BULLETIN
HURRICANE CHARLEY UPDATE
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
115 PM EDT FRI AUG 13 2004

AT 115 PM EDT...1715Z...A U.S. AIR FORCE RESERVE UNIT RECONNAISSANCE
AIRCRAFT MEASURED 10000 FT FLIGHT LEVEL WINDS OF 162 MPH AT A
DISTANCE OF 8 MILES FROM THE CENTER OF THE HURRICANE. THIS GIVES
AN ESTIMATED SURFACE WIND OF 145 MPH...CATEGORY FOUR ON THE SAFFIR
SIMPSON HURRICANE SCALE. A SPECIAL ADVISORY WILL FOLLOW SHORTLY.

[cphilip]

Latest track prediction

[cphilip]

Best I can tell at 3:20 the outer eyewall band was raking the edge of Pineland just outside the Charlotte Harbor.... looks like landfall within the next 30 minutes just north of there.... MY bet is Cape Haz is bullseye for the center of the eye...

[SlipknotX556]

It will make landfall in Ft.Myers Florida, in an hour or so. 18ft waves, most of Myers has been evacuated, it will only get worse once it makes landfall. Nothing happened today while I was in school, it was cloudy but no rain, but just found out, because Charley is making landfall in Ft. Myers, I will have 60-80mph winds later this afternoon, I have taken most things off my deck, that cant become airbourne. I will give everyone updates as things happen, hope my neighbors took their items inside to, because I dont want their deck furnitire smashing into my house.

[Flow_Tech]

whoo..NC is gunna get HAMMERED with rain..again..Phil..im your nextdoor state neighbor..so rest assured..whatever you get..ill feel some of it too