September 16, 2004

Devastating hurricane to make landfall tonight. In the next few hours, Hurricane Ivan will be coming ashore in Alabama and far west Florida. The central pressure of 931 mb would make it the third most intense landfall in the United States since 1961, rivalled only by Hurricanes Andrew (1992) and Camille (1969). Let's hear about those blogs, if you know of any.
  • Also be sure you check out this buoy wave height of 53 feet south of Dauphin Island, Alabama. This is the highest wave height ever measured in the Gulf of Mexico by a buoy. Holy cow!
  • Wikipedia have a page covering it, and this one has a list of links to bloggers in the region Ivan is predicted to hit.
  • Out of a spirit of comradeship and support to any Monkeys in the path of Ivan, I am hereby refraining from making any jokes about the "Dial-a-Buoy" service mentioned in rolypolyman's link. Good luck, people, and remember - during the eye of the storm, stay under the mattress. It is during that time that rogue cameramen for the Discovery Weather Channel prowl, and woe betide any unfortunate innocent who crosses their path.
  • I have already gone through Charley and Frances. I hate hurricanes.
  • Hope our LA/MS/AL/FL Monkey friends get through Ivan safely. *fills bathtub in solidarity*
  • There's not a drop of rain in Tampa right now. We lucked out.
  • Stay safe all you Gulf Staters. ...And the hits just keep on coming. Here comes Jeanne.
  • Good luck, all! Hoping everyone stays dry and if possible high enough not to be troubled by floodwater.
  • My life is finally normalizing post-Frances (I was without power for 5 1/2 days). I'm taking the shutters in the front of the house down this weekend so I don't look all white-trash and stuff, but am leaving the shutters in the back up through hurricane season, as putting up plywood alone (with a cold) truly, truly sucked. If there are any Gulf Coast monkeys out there, good luck and stay dry!
  • Cleolinda is one blog I know of in the area, and she seems like she's going to update during the storm.
  • somehow i wonder if this overly-active hurricane season is some sort of karma. hmmm.... Scene: Governor's office, Tallahassee. JEB is sitting behind a desk. JEB: Oh, man. Election year again. Wonder how it will turn out for my brother. (knocking on door) JEB opens door. In rapid succession, CHARLES rushes in, followed slowly by FRANCES. Both begin knocking things over. CHARLES: Yeah. We was plannin' on talkin' to youse about 'dat whole "election" thing. FRANCES: See, we jus' wanna make sure you an' the rest of da universe ain't got a problem wit' dis election year. Youknowhutimean? IVAN (Hanging out in doorway, but not entering room yet): Hey Jeb. Nice state you got heah. It'd be a shame if, say, something were to happen to it. If you get my drift. (IVAN cracks knuckles loudly) gee. wonder how this little play will end?
  • not to make light of anyone's losses. it just seemed to me lately that the universe is pissed off at florida.
  • not to make light of anyone's losses. it just seemed to me lately that the universe is pissed off at florida. And as well it should be!;~)
  • Indeed. My state sucks (by "my state" I mean Florida, and not some more metaphysical concept like "my state of being").
  • Florida = America's Penis.
  • Or; Florida = The Asshole of America
  • Hey! We don't deserve hurricanes AND insults! Be quiet or we'll take all your retirees (driving 25 mph in the fast lane with a left turn signal on for 30 miles, then seeing WalMart and turning right) and we'll send them back!
  • HA! Mojo. That's no threat. Most of them have forgotten where they used to live, and half couldn't see a fruitstand in a farmer's market, let alone read a road map to get there. Besides, at 25 mph, even if they'd have left last Thursday, I don't think they'll out-run this baby. Stay safe Florida-folk.
  • The herd of elderly migrated slowly across the great plains, coming to rest at last, (much diminished by natural predators), in Florida. They would stay here for the rest of my time with them. I will miss them, these seniors in the mist.
  • Good luck to folk in Florida as Hurricane Jeanne blows in! This is really too much of a no-good thing!
  • Ugh. No kidding.
  • Is it really worth living there? Not being snarky, I'm sincerely curious. How good does it have to be in Florida to be willing to go through this over and over and over and over and over and........
  • I moved here from San Diego when my wife went to grad school. Now that we're separated, I'll probably just move if we're not able to work things out; I'm going to apply to graduate schools in New England and the Midwest. I've had phenomenal job opportunities here, but not enough so to want to stay permanently. The past few years have been very mild as far as weather goes. I haven't put up plywood and so on since 2001. The "four storms in one season" is a statistical anomaly, but apparently we're starting a phase of increased storm activity, so we'll see many more of these hurricanes. There are plently of reasons to live in Florida, though... 1. Spring and fall are gorgeous, and winter's not bad either (especially where I live, down south). Summer is pretty intolerable, but one could always leave for a spell if it's an option. 2. The light. Most places have changes in the light based upon the season, but it's pretty dramatic in FL. 3. The sky is incredible. In the summertime it will take on a purplish cast in the evenings which is magnificent. 4. Hot Latin girls running around with virtually no clothing.