not sure where ERNESTO might be at this hour (1:25 AM) ... last i heard

[flordehinojos]

ERNESTO was headed SOUTH FLORIDA way. Need to get up early in the morning and help hubby board up...
this is no fun--but in the last few years we now have learned the drill to a tee...after that we pray for God's Mercy to protect our house, our neighbors and all who might be in the path of ...
Ernesto, Wilma, Katrina ... whichever named storm...(also need to stop by the local church and replenish my HOLY WATER bottle with HOLY WATER).

[Cleita]

1. All I can say is...

:hug: and do the best you can to keep yourselves safe.
Check in with us when you can.

[flordehinojos]

13. hi Cleita ... it seems Ernesto has dissipated a great deal and is not

packing the punch people were expecting him to. We boarded up the house in four hours (it took us four hours to board up the house) and then another two or so to put everything from the outside into the shed. I am exhausted but happy. Hubby has already gone to bed, exhausted as well. We will keep the house boarded up for the remainder of the hurricane season (i don't like living in this darkness--but i don't think we could go through un boarding and then boarding up again any time soon.
thanks for your post and good wishes. i think all of us here are thankful for the dissipation of Ernesto.

[niyad]

2. our thoughts and prayers are with all of you in harm's way. be safe, and

know we are hee for you.

[flordehinojos]

15. hi niyad. thank you for your thoughts and prayers--powerful prayers it

seems...for Ernesto has dissipated almost and is not packing the punch it was expected to.

We are exhausted from boarding up and picking up and putting anything that could fly into the shed.
we will leave it all boarded upuntil the end of the hurricane season, though we may unboard a window or two so as to let some light in.

thank you for your thoughts and prayer...and thank God for his precious Mercy.

[Radio_Lady]

3. I feel so badly for you. Used to be a South Floridian in 1940-50-60.

We went through lots of hurricanes and lost some roof tile -- trees, etc.

But nothing like this.

Here's a picture from Sanibel Island of me and my first boyfriend in 1955. That beautiful island was totally devastated a few years ago -- can't remember which hurricane did it.



Let's hope you'll be smiling again in a few days. We're headed to Ft. Myers and Orlando on October 6th for my 50th high school reunion. I do hope the weather is clear for those weeks, too.

I don't believe in holy water, but whatever you can do to get enough bottled water to drink is certainly suggested.

Peace to you all,

Radio_Lady

[marions ghost]

8. cute picture!

Do you think it was because the buildings were fewer, lower, and there was more vegetation that the hurricanes were less devastating then in South Florida? Or has the climate changed?

Those must have been some idyllic days down there, with swimming, ice tea and fans instead of AC. I imagine it was a much slower pace.

[flordehinojos]

16. what a beautiful picture of your and your first boyfriend ...in 1955 i was

still living in Cuba, my mother was still alive (she died in l956--here in Mississippi at her sister's farm where we had come to bring her home, it seems). Between the years I was born and lived in Cuba, until I came here to stay in 1960, my hometown in Cuba had never experienced a full force hurricane--we had experienced some gale storm winds, and as I recall them, for us kids it was all pretty exciting.

50th high school reunion?! Time flies. Doesn't it? That became so prescient to me the day my son left home when he was 18 years old some 14 years ago. I remember asking myself, "where has all the time gone to?" ...

anyhow, i did sprinkle the house with half my bottle of holy water which i had just filled at the church...(now i'll have to go back and get some more) ... and beautifully the news is reporting the dissipation of ERNESTO. We are beat from boarding up. (we did have enough bottled water in the event that we would need it) and now we'll be glad to make use of it under normal circumstances (although, as I am typing this, I hear some rain starting to fall and some wind starting to blow...hopefully everything will continue to be alright.)the rain and wind have stopped now.

Happy 50th High School reunion.

[K8-EEE]

4. Oh Gosh, Hope It Peters Out On You!

Best of luck to you and your neighbors in weathering the storm.

[Radio_Lady]

6. Here's an 11 PM ET update... but I guess that's old now.

http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane/blog/2006/08/11_pm_update_ernesto_still_not.html

[flordehinojos]

17. guess what? Ernesto seems to be dissipating!

that is wonderful ! however, we are all, all boarded up and my husband and i are exhausted, but happy that the storm seems to be dissipating. Thank you for your good wishes for all of us in the path of the storm.

[saltpoint]

5. If he ain't churnin' up Florida's east coast, he's out drinkin' with Elvis

.

I hope you folks down there are battened down and safe.

We'll be watching with fingers crossed.

[flordehinojos]

18. Thank You Old Crusoe.

"fingers crossed" seems to be working. Ernesto is dissipating. :)

P.S. Robinson Crusoe was one of the stories I treasued as a child growing up!

[Swamp Rat]

7. I hope y'all will be ok

:hug:

[nosillies]

9. Help me keep my spirits up

Post more "Bush sucking baby's head like a crawfish" pictures, please.

[Swamp Rat]

23. Here ya go:

:D

[nosillies]

25. A belated thank you very much

So I missed your post yesterday. Doesn't mean I still don't love the baby pics.

[flordehinojos]

19. Hi Swamp Rat. It seems we're gonna be okay.

Ernesto is dissipating. Thanks for the good wishes.

[skids]

10. Not good -- looks like it is tracking left of the 5AM estimates.

If this thing manages to dodge the S tip of FL things could get hairy before landfall.

Oh by the way: proof that climatologists are all a bunch of liberal commie pinkos: :sarcasm: :silly: :sarcasm:

AN AIR FORCE RESERVE RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT HAS BEEN INVESTIGATING
ERNESTO THIS MORNING AND FLIGHT-LEVEL WIND DATA INDICATE THE
CIRCULATION CENTER HAS FINALLY MOVED OFF THE NORTH COAST OF CUBA
AND IS BACK OVER WATER. THE CENTER IS JUST INSIDE THE SOUTHWESTERN
PORTION OF YET ANOTHER EARLY MORNING CONVECTIVE BURST NOTED IN
RADAR DATA FROM MIAMI AND CAMAGUEY CUBA...AND ALSO IN SATELLITE
IMAGERY. THE INITIAL INTENSITY OF 40 KT IS BASED ON A 50-KT
FLIGHT-LEVEL WIND OBSERVED IN THE NORTHEASTERN QUADRANT WITHIN THE
DEEP CONVECTIVE CLOUD MASS. SPECIAL THANKS TO THE GOVERNMENT OF
CUBA FOR PERMITTING THE RECON AIRCRAFT FLY RIGHT UP TO THEIR
COASTLINE TO GATHER THIS CRITICAL WEATHER DATA.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCDAT5+shtml/290909.shtml

[nosillies]

11. Of course you made the font be RED

:rofl:

[skids]

12. Yes, I should have said, emphasis mine, with flare. :-) n/t

[flordehinojos]

20. something happened. it seems Ernesto's dissipation even

surprised Max Mayfield of the NATIONAL HURRICANE WEATHER CENTER ... or it just paying tribute to the man who has manned the center for the last few years and who recently announced that after 34 years he is resigning his position there. I heard one of the reporters say that Mayfield had been ousted, but that was just one brief mention...no one else mention it and neither did the reporter who had first mentioned it--he also did not expand on it, either. However, with Bush as chief in residence at the white house, one never knows.

[skids]

22. Yeah, glad it fell apart either way, though.

That was one dodgey storm. I could easily see the potential for it to be used in intraoffice politics, given in situations where there's such unpredicatbility someone inevitably ends up with the losing bet.

[Opusnone]

14. I'm in Ft. Lauderdale and the rain just started heavy

But the storm appears to have morphed into a rain event with high winds. Not too hard to deal with, thankfully.

As long as the power stays on. Over.

[flordehinojos]

21. i hear you, loud and clear. i also heard the rain and the wind a little

while ago. now it seems to have stopped around here. hopefully when it is over we will still have power (amen to that), our fence which we just replaced this year after wilman knocked it down last year will still be up, and the sun will be shining, happy and smiling, in the morning when we all get up!

[skids]

24. Kick (with landfall discussion)

Stay safe, all...

RECONNAISSANCE DATA EARLIER THIS EVENING FOUND 1003 MB PRESSURE JUST
BEFORE ERNESTO MADE ITS SECOND FLORIDA LANDFALL ALONG THE SOUTHERN
PENINSULA NEAR THE MIAMI-DADE AND MAINLAND MONROE COUNTY LINE.
RECON ALSO FOUND 850 MB FLIGHT-LEVEL WINDS OF 49 KT JUST OFFSHORE
THE UPPER FLORIDA KEYS. SINCE THEN...SURFACE OBSERVATIONS FORM THE
SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT INDICATE THE CENTRAL
PRESSURE IS AT DOWN TO AT LEAST 1001 MB. ALSO...THE NWS MIAMI
DOPPLER RADAR HAS INDICATED VELOCITIES OF 45-50 KT FROM 200 TO 3000
FEET ALONG THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY COASTAL AREAS AND EXTENDING
INLAND...AS WELL AS OVER THE UPPER KEYS. A FEW SPOTS OF 55 KT WINDS
HAVE ALSO BEEN NOTED...AND THE FOWEY ROCKS C-MAN STATION HAS
REPORTED A WIND GUST TO 50 KT ALONG WITH A 10-METER WIND EQUIVALENT
OF 37-40 KT. BASE DON THIS DATA...THE INTENSITY OF ERNESTO WILL
REMAIN AT 40 KT.

THE INITIAL MOTION IS 345/07. ERNESTO APPEARS TO BE GRADUALLY
TURNING MORE NORTHWARD OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF HOURS...WHICH IS
RIGHT ON THE PREVIOUS FEW OFFICIAL FORECAST TRACKS. THE GLOBAL
MODELS REMAIN IN EXCELLENT ON THE SUBTROPICAL RIDGE OVER THE
SOUTHEASTERN U.S. AND FLORIDA TO GRADUALLY ERODE EASTWARD OVER THE
WESTERN ATLANTIC AHEAD OF A STRONG SHORTWAVE TROUGH DIGGING
EASTWARD THROUGH THE CENTRAL UNITED STATES. ERNESTO IS EXPECTED TO
TURN NORTHWARD AND THEN NORTH-NORTHEASTWARD LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT
...AND EXIT THE EAST COAST OF FLORIDA BETWEEN CAPE CANAVERAL AND
DAYTONA BEACH. ANOTHER LANDFALL IS EXPECTED IN THE VICINITY OF THE
SOUTH CAROLINA-NORTH CAROLINA BORDER IN 36-48 HOURS...WITH A SHARP
TURN TOWARD THE NORTH EXPECTED AFTER THAT. IN 72-96 HOURS...THE
AFOREMENTIONED SHORTWAVE TROUGH IS FORECAST BY ALL THE GLOBAL
MODELS TO CLOSE OFF INTO A POTENT MID- TO UPPER-LEVEL LOW WHICH
SHOULD ACT TO PULL ERNESTO NORTHWESTWARD TOWARD THE EASTERN GREAT
LAKES AND BECOME AN EXTRATROPICAL SYSTEM. THE OFFICIAL FORECAST
TRACK IS VERY CLOSE TO THE PREVIOUS TRACK THROUGH 72 HOURS...AND
THEN IS MORE LEFT OF TRACK AND SIMILAR TO THE NHC MODEL CONSENSUS
AFTER THAT.

ERNESTO COULD WEAKEN TO A TROPICAL DEPRESSION DURING THE NEXT 12
HOURS WHILE THE CENTER REMAIN OVER LAND...BUT IT COULD ALSO HOLD
ONTO TO MINIMAL TROPICAL STORM STATUS DUE TO RAINBANDS ALONG THE
COAST CONTAINING TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS. AFTER ERNESTO EMERGES
BACK OVER THE ATLANTIC OCEAN IN ABOUT 18 HOURS OR SO...IT WILL BE
MOVING NORTH-NORTHEASTWARD RIGHT OVER THE GULFSTREAM AND BENEATH A
FAVORABLE UPPER-LEVEL OUTFLOW REGIME. FRICTIONAL EFFECTS CAUSED BY
THE FLORIDA PENINSULA WILL LIKELY TIGHTEN UP AND IMPROVE THE
OVERALL LOW-LEVEL CIRCULATION OF ERNESTO TODAY...WHICH WILL ENHANCE
THE OPPORTUNITY FOR ERNESTO TO RE-STRENGTHEN ONCE IT IS BACK OVER
WATER. IT IS ENTIRELY POSSIBLE THAT ERNESTO COULD BE NEAR HURRICANE
STRENGTH JUST BEFORE IT MAKES LANDFALL AGAIN...AND FOR THAT REASON
THE FOR MAINTAINING THE HURRICANE WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF THE SOUTH
AND NORTH CAROLINA COASTS. THE GFDL MODEL IS FORECASTING ERNESTO TO
BE AT 79 KT JUST PRIOR TO LANDFALL AGAIN...WHICH IS PROBABLY TOO
HIGH BUT STILL INDICATIVE THAT IT COULD REACH HURRICANE STATUS. AS
A SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE DROPS SOUTHWARD OUT OF CANADA OVER NORTHERN
NEW ENGLAND...THE SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE
ACROSS THE MID-ATLANTIC STATES...AND THAT IS THE REASON FOR KEEPING
ERNESTO AS A TROPICAL STORM AT 72 HOURS AND FOR EXPANDING THE WIND
FIELD FARTHER TO THE EAST AT THAT TIME.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCDAT5+shtml/300907.shtml

(Is it me, or are there a whole lot more typos and pastos than usual in the above? Did the NOAA coffee machine break?)