[senior citizen]

Just wondering if anyone else felt that the Weather Channel, CNN , etc., etc. were slightly exaggerating the tropical storm / hurricane.

One minute we read the red banner online that it was a hurricane and then they changed it to a tropical storm........on t.v. they are saying how bad it is but nothing is actually falling or blowing in the background............it looks pretty quiet.

We've heard that Fort Myers Beach is being evacuated?

That all flights into and out of Miami are cancelled?

How is the weather in Lady Lake area????????

We realize that often they can change course or pick up steam over warm water.........but the news people seem to be blowing it out of proportion.
Thanks........

[ugotme]

Some forecasters tend to over exaggerate. I believe most seem to err on the side of caution. I am in So. Fl. and boarded up. We have gotten some bursts of heavy rains and some winds but nothing like we thought. A lot of flights out of Miami have been cancelled.

[Taltarzac725]

They often do this. We were in the bulleye's of all the 2004 hurricanes at one time or another when we lived in Palm Harbor, FL. Palm Harbor is between Tarpon Springs and Clearwater, FL on the Gulf Coast. We only got the tail end of one of these storms.

Better safe than sorry.

The science is just not there for them to really get an accurate prediction on where a storm will go outside of 48 hours or so; unless the weather patterns are very predictable in that area.

[pooh]

It's not too bad here in Caroline. Every once in a while a gust of wind and a small rain shower, but pretty quiet.
Our problems may arise tonight, overnight and tomorrow. Florida is on the eastern side of the storm....and that side has more rain and the potential for rotational storms, tornadoes. Once the storm enters the Gulf, who knows what will happen, the water is warm and Issac can pick up speed. Tampa could be impacted early tomorrow...storm surge, which can impact sea level buildings surrounding the bay.
The people at TWC do seem to stress more negative than positive, but with storms, it's better to be prepared than to not be.

[goodgrief]

Well right now we're okay some rain on and off. Hearing some thunder to the south. Suppose to pick up in wind and rain tonight. 30 mph winds and 3-5 inches of rain expected tonight into tomorrow. (last info I saw earlier today on the local) The bands are just starting to come up this way. Yeah did see Miami transit and stuff shut down midday but they are getting that right side of the storm as it comes through the straits, I would think they're getting it worse than we will. But they are expecting weather here.

[janmcn]

A state of emergency has just been declared in New Orleans. If Isaac continues on its projected path, it could arrive in NO on the anniversary of Katrina.

[senior citizen]

Thanks to all for a clearer picture of what is happening and/or can happen overnight into tomorrow. Stay dry and out of the wind......most of all , stay safe.

[asianthree]

move your stuff into the garage just in case

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

The center of this storm is being predicted to pass over the middle of the Gulf of Mexico about 250 mile to the west of The Villages.
Television weathermen live for these kinds of storms. They love to report on them and IMHO they tend to exaggerate the impact for a lot of areas. This is not a very powerful storm as hurricanes go. They are predicting a CAT 2 at most.
Of course places like New Orleans may be impacted as it slams directly into the coast, but I don't see anything other than the Keys and southern Florida being affected much in our state.
A friend of mine today heard two different reports today. One said that we have a 40% chance of rain and the other had a 70% chance of rain. You could pretty much say that about any day in August in this part of Florida.
Still, these kind of storms are somewhat unpredictable so we are prepared. I pulled in the grill and wind chimes and we have regular hurricane supplies. I bought a weather radio yesterday and it woke me up at 5:30 this morning. I have to learn how to program that thing correctly.

[KayakerNC]

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr

The center of this storm is being predicted to pass over the middle of the Gulf of Mexico about 250 mile to the west of The Villages.
Television weathermen live for these kinds of storms. They love to report on them and IMHO they tend to exaggerate the impact for a lot of areas. This is not a very powerful storm as hurricanes go. They are predicting a CAT 2 at most.

Ask the residents of Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda about predictions on how powerful a storm will be, and where it is headed.
Better to be hunkered down than surprised.

[cquick]

Originally Posted by janmcn

A state of emergency has just been declared in New Orleans. If Isaac continues on its projected path, it could arrive in NO on the anniversary of Katrina.

My younger son lived in New Orleans when Katrina hit. The forecasters had a hard time deciding where that one would hit. His apartment was on the ground floor near the racetrack. the mayor never made an evacuation order for that area until after the levy broke. By that time my son had left with just his computer, an airbed a suitcase of clothes and his important papers. By the time he was allowed back into the area, everything he owned was ruined...he just walked away from his job, and his apartment. It was devastating.

So, I say it's ok for the weatherpeople to be concerned. Better to be prepared.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr

I bought a weather radio yesterday and it woke me up at 5:30 this morning. I have to learn how to program that thing correctly.

The boys at your local Firehall will be pleased to program the weather radio for you.

[Shimpy]

The media love these storms. While living in S. Fla. channel 7 was renown for over stating everything. As soon as a storm moved off Africa they were alerting people that the threat it could imposed.
I guess they could be libel if they understated the potential threat so they over prepare people. The weather people have admitted that while they do a decent job of predicting the path of a storm they are extremely deficient predicting the intensity. Hurricane Andrew was predicted to be only a cat 1 and hit Ft. Lauderdale. It quickly intensified to a cat 5 and moved further south and hit S. Miami and Homestead with winds approaching 200 MPH. I remember staying up at night while the storm was hitting and hearing on the radio it blew their wind speed anemometer away.

[Skybo]

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr

I bought a weather radio yesterday and it woke me up at 5:30 this morning. I have to learn how to program that thing correctly.

Mine went off at 5:30 this morning as well. I had mine programmed at the fire station, so I think yours is probably programmed correctly.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

The tropical storm watch for central Florida has been called off. The storm moved more to the west.