Hurricane ThRead II

Gulfbreeze · Post by **Gulfbreeze** » July 8, 2005 8:22 pm

Winds are pickin' up...now if that knob would just get out of the way...

http://www.liveduvalstreet.com/live-duval-cam.htm

RinglingRingling · Post by **RinglingRingling** » July 8, 2005 8:26 pm

Gulfbreeze wrote:Winds are pickin' up...now if that knob would just get out of the way...

http://www.liveduvalstreet.com/live-duval-cam.htm

now there is just a guy testing out his reverse gear

Gulfbreeze · Post by **Gulfbreeze** » July 8, 2005 8:27 pm

RinglingRingling wrote:
Gulfbreeze wrote:Winds are pickin' up...now if that knob would just get out of the way...

http://www.liveduvalstreet.com/live-duval-cam.htm
now there is just a guy testing out his reverse gear

Now there's nothing.. oh wait..there went a white SUV...

balcony girls · Post by **balcony girls** » July 8, 2005 8:33 pm

WOO HOO . .

they just reported that it seems to be taking a slight westernly jog . .

EVEN FURTHER AWAY FROM KEY WEST . . ! !

we'll take every inch . . ! !

UAHparrothead · Post by **UAHparrothead** » July 8, 2005 9:15 pm

I-65 will be all northbound beginning tomorrow morning from Mobile to Montgomery

Sam · Post by **Sam** » July 8, 2005 10:21 pm

"Squall's out on the Gulfstream,......big storm coming soon...."

HsvParrothead · Post by **HsvParrothead** » July 8, 2005 11:13 pm

Photo by: MIKE HENTZ/The Citizen
Mike Stanley and Jerry Henderson board up Sloppy Joe's Friday morning.

HsvParrothead · Post by **HsvParrothead** » July 8, 2005 11:14 pm

Wobble to west looks good for Lower Keys
BY TIMOTHY O'HARA
AND CHELSEA SOLMO
Citizen Staff

KEY WEST — As the weather worsened, the news improved for the Southernmost City Friday, as island residents rushed to prepare for the storm and Hurricane Dennis slowly moved farther west.

Early forecasts predicted the eye of the hurricane coming within 75 miles of Key West, with tropical storm force winds set to begin blowing across the Lower Keys on Friday evening and lasting for 16 hours. However, later reports had the hurricane moving farther west, which would lessen the impact on the biggest city in the Florida Keys.

Rain bands began moving across the island early Friday afternoon. By mid-afternoon, many Key West roadways were flooded out, complicating the driving situation for those who stayed in the Keys.

The hurricane was predicted to come across Cuba in the middle of the night and was tracking north and west throughout the day. Hurricane Dennis increased from a Category 3 to a Category 4 hurricane on Friday, packing 145 mph sustained winds. Hurricane force winds extended 50 miles outside of the eye of the storm. A hurricane warning remained in effect from Key West to the Seven Mile Bridge throughout the day. Tropical storm warnings and a hurricane watch were in effect for the remainder of the Keys.

Even with the better forecast for the Keys, Dennis was still a threat to be taken seriously.

"We have a real close call with a Category 4 hurricane," said Matt Strahan, chief meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Key West office.

Forecasts late Friday afternoon called for winds of 50 to 70 mph today.

City officials remained cautiously optimistic about Hurricane Dennis and its impact on Key West on Friday. The city was still operating its bus service throughout the day, but was using some of its transportation vehicles in the morning to evacuate residents out of the Lower Keys to Monroe County's shelter in Miami-Dade County. The city stopped busing people out of the Keys at noon.

Key West Mayor Jimmy Weekley ordered a prohibition on alcohol sales and the closing of retail stores and bars at 5 p.m. Friday and declared a state of emergency.

The emergency declaration allows city officials up to seven days to take certain actions, such as entering into contracts, employing temporary workers, renting equipment and buying supplies and materials, all without the customary procedures and formalities.

The city planned to order all bars, restaurants and other businesses to close when winds reached 35 to 40 mph. When winds reach 40 mph, all emergency vehicles, including ambulances, are ordered off the roads.

"Ambulances can't roll and we are liable for people. I think this is the smart thing to do," said City Commissioner Mark Rossi, who also owns Rick's, a popular Duval Street bar.

Lower Keys Medical Center, the only hospital in the area, and the Port of Key West closed Friday morning.

Many local residents spent the morning securing homes, businesses and boats. Some left, but many stayed.

"Hopefully most of this will go west," said Capt. Ralph Chiaro as helped secure Subtropic Dive Center's boat in Garrison Bight. "Thank God for the mountains of Cuba."

Islanders said they were not prepared for a hurricane warning this early in July. Usually, hurricane season does not begin heating up for the Keys and most of the Caribbean until late August and September.

"My house is not filled with any groceries or anything because we just got back from a month long trip and haven't had time to do any shopping, not even necessities," said Key West resident Lisa Tennyson. "I'm trying to buy anything we could possibly want — stuff we can make with hot water, candles, and non-perishable items. It's just lucky that we have a gas stove."

Those that have been through several hurricanes before said they were not too worried about Dennis.

"I have lots of water and items that will stay," said Key West resident Karen Nunez. "We left for Ivan and that was the first time we ever left and this has become so common that we just stopped worrying."

tohara@keysnews.com

HsvParrothead · Post by **HsvParrothead** » July 8, 2005 11:16 pm

Police plan to close off island
BY SCOTT FUSARO
Citizen Staff

Key West police implemented emergency staffing Friday morning and said they planned to stop traffic from entering the island if weather conditions deteriorated with Hurricane Dennis' approach.

Throughout the rest of the Keys, which remained farther from the storm's projected path, Sheriff's deputies remained on regular shifts and entrance to the island chain was expected to remain open even as officials warned motorists against entering.

"We have some people that are observing the traffic, but we're not stopping the traffic," said Monroe County Sheriff's spokeswoman Becky Herrin.

"We're not recommending that anybody come down here," she added.

A traffic counter on U.S. 1 in Key Largo showed a heavy exodus of vehicles beginning Thursday afternoon and slackening slightly overnight before resuming Friday morning. More than 950 vehicles an hour left the Keys every hour from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday. The numbers dropped to the low hundreds in the early morning hours, but by 8 a.m. Friday, more than 1,200 vehicles left the Keys every hour through early afternoon.

Traffic Friday afternoon was flowing smoothly throughout the Lower and Middle Keys, but drivers reported that it slowed considerably in Islamorada, where the flow was stop-and-go.

Meanwhile, the Key West Police Department called all its officers to duty Friday morning. They were split into two teams working alternating 12-hour shifts and would continue handling normal patrols and routine calls until conditions deteriorated, according to Chief Bill Mauldin.

In a prepared statement, he described officers as "calm, prepared and standing by."

Beginning at 5:30 p.m. Friday, officers would also speak to business owners to reinforce a ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages and the closing of retail stores and bars mandated by Mayor Jimmy Weekley, who declared a state of emergency in Key West.

At the onset of tropical storm force winds, Sheriff's deputies would be removed from road patrol, said Herrin.

Throughout the morning and into early afternoon, however, they responded to a steady stream of calls that mostly appeared to be weather related but not serious, including medical calls and alarms.

"It looks like the calls were pretty steady, but nothing real serious. A lot of it looks like its traffic related or probably storm related with this many alarms," said Herrin.
sfusaro@keysnews.com

HsvParrothead · Post by **HsvParrothead** » July 8, 2005 11:53 pm

Power just went out on Duval

springparrot · Post by **springparrot** » July 9, 2005 12:08 am

but the cam is still on---that's weird.

HsvParrothead · Post by **HsvParrothead** » July 9, 2005 12:12 am

since the Duval Street is "streaming video" I'm thinking it's on a cable connection...

Where as all the other cams only refresh every 8 seconds... they might be on dial up... and perhaps the phone lines are out as well

chalksoperations · Post by **chalksoperations** » July 9, 2005 12:26 am

Just got power back on, checking in. A number of tree parts scattered about the roads.

Monroe County suspended alcohol sales at 11:40.

Some snapperhead towing a boat got blown off the side of US1 coming into Monroe County.

Blow the fu#$&*% bridge.

HsvParrothead · Post by **HsvParrothead** » July 9, 2005 12:40 am

chalksoperations wrote:Just got power back on, checking in. A number of tree parts scattered about the roads.

Monroe County suspended alcohol sales at 11:40.

Some snapperhead towing a boat got blown off the side of US1 coming into Monroe County.

Blow the fu#$&*% bridge.

Who on earth would be towing a boat at this stage in the game??

Glad your alright chalks...

DonnaKayDunbar · Post by **DonnaKayDunbar** » July 9, 2005 12:46 am

I hope all the hemingway kitties are taken indoors tonight.

DonnaKayDunbar · Post by **DonnaKayDunbar** » July 9, 2005 1:27 am

national hurricane center wrote:THE 1 AM EDT POSITION...23.3 N... 82.3 W. MOVEMENT TOWARD...NORTHWEST NEAR 14 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...110 MPH. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE... 962 MB.

RinglingRingling · Post by **RinglingRingling** » July 9, 2005 7:18 am

Looks like the Shrine at St. Mary's did its job again.

Gulfbreeze · Post by **Gulfbreeze** » July 9, 2005 11:06 am

DonnaKayDunbar wrote:I hope all the hemingway kitties are taken indoors tonight.

And what about the chickens?

RinglingRingling · Post by **RinglingRingling** » July 9, 2005 11:07 am

Gulfbreeze wrote:
DonnaKayDunbar wrote:I hope all the hemingway kitties are taken indoors tonight.
And what about the chickens?

They have wings...

DonnaKayDunbar · Post by **DonnaKayDunbar** » July 9, 2005 11:08 am

Gulfbreeze wrote:
DonnaKayDunbar wrote:I hope all the hemingway kitties are taken indoors tonight.
And what about the chickens?

eh.
They should know best to hide.

Now the kitties... they need love.