Are we there yet?

Sigh. Hurricane season is wearing on me again this year. My roof is still leaking and here comes Gustav:

You can see that the Tampa Bay area is on the outer eastern edge of the cone of uncertainty. Certainly, we'll see some wind and rain. And here I sit with roofing materials on my roof, but no work started yet.

Gustav has already killed 11 people in Haiti and is expected to be develop into a Category 3 storm in the Gulf of Mexico.

Brace yourselves. Here we go again..

Fay Makes Third Florida Landfall

Fay just made its third landfall in Florida. After battering Key West and Collier County, it came ashore near Flagler beach on the other side of the state. The storm has just been hugging the coast and dropping boatloads of water on Florida. Melbourne has already gotten 25 inches of rain.

Oddly enough, the Tampa Bay area will see more rain out of the east coast landfall than we did out of the west coast landfall. It's pouring down rain as I write this. And my roof is still leaking.

Fay spent a lot of time over land. It didn't spend enough time over warm tropical waters to become a hurricane. All things considered, we've been very, very lucky.

Fay the Question Mark

Looking far too tan and rested for someone who claims part of my paycheck for his own, Governor Crist is calling this a "boomerang storm." Looks more like a question mark to me. Check it out:

We have been spared so far. Not a drop of rain. Just a bit of wind. Given that my roof would be leaking right now, I'm fairly happy that Fay wanted to visit parts south and north. Of course, it's not over until it's over. Recall, the initial forecast had Fay coming right up my...err...back yard.

I wonder if I can get a roofer out here before she boomerangs back on us...

I'll keep you posted.

Fay Day

That's the name the talking heads have given the day today. Ingenious, don't you think? Here's Fay's projected track as of 2 PM ET.




I have too much to do today to write much, but here's what the NHC advisory says:

A HURRICANE WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE SOUTHWESTERN COAST OF FLORIDA FROM FLAMINGO TO ANNA MARIA ISLAND*. A HURRICANE WARNING MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED WITHIN THE WARNING AREA WITHIN THE NEXT 24 HOURS. PREPARATIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY SHOULD BE RUSHED TO COMPLETION.

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT ALONG THE FLORIDA EAST COAST FROM COCOA BEACH SOUTHWARD AND ALONG THE FLORIDA WEST COAST EAST OF FLAMINGO INCLUDING LAKE OKEECHOBEE.

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING AND A HURRICANE WATCH ARE IN EFFECT FOR THE FLORIDA KEYS FROM OCEAN REEF TO KEY WEST...INCLUDING THE DRY TORTUGAS AND FLORIDA BAY. A HURRICANE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE FLORIDA MAINLAND EAST OF FLAMINGO TO CARD SOUND BRIDGE...AND ALONG THE FLORIDA WEST COAST NORTH OF ANNA MARIA ISLAND TO TARPON SPRINGS.

A TROPICAL STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT ALONG THE FLORIDA EAST COAST NORTH OF COCOA BEACH TO FERNANDINA BEACH.

* I live less than five miles east of Anna Maria Island.

In short: The entire state of Florida is under some kind of watch or warning due to Fay.

It's starting to get cloudy here, but we haven't seen any rain yet. The Keys are getting pounded right now and Cuba is taking a beating from the re-strengthening outer bands.

The boys are trying to patch my leaky roof and we're putting up my shutters today. I probably won't need them, but I'd much rather sit through a mild storm in a boarded-up house than sit through a raging storm with my windows uncovered. I've done both, believe me, you don't want to be watching branches hitting your windows and wishing you'd boarded up when it's too late to do anything.

The NHC discussion from 11 AM ET today says that the storm is "in a moderate southwesterly shear environment and upper-level winds will likely remain less than ideal for the next 24-28 hours." Good news. Still, they expect the storm to be a category one hurricane when it makes landfall somewhere in Florida.

Stay tuned. The fun's just beginning.

Fay On the Way

Okay, I have enough problems at this moment:

• broken pipe under the bathroom sink
• broken garbage disposal
• microwave that doesn't seal anymore
• internet access down
• nearly everything wrong with a shipment from Musician's Friend
• leaky roof
• overgrown grass
• multiple competing deadlines
  

And now:

• Fay

Fay is on track for Tampa by Tuesday. So now I've got to dig out the shutters and get to work. Lovely. Just what I needed to end a week only the Devil could have devised.

The NHC says "Everyone in the Florida penninsula should monitor the progress of Fay."

No duh. More later. I need a beer.