Models to the Left, Models to the Right..

With apologies to Jimmy Buffett... sort of like that song.

NHC has had some job this week. No matter how much they talk to them. How much data from the planes they put in...

Nogaps/UKmet goes left.
GFS/GFDL goes right.

They have been very cautious..done a good job, covering all their bases and ours.

And..the storm moves slowly...........very slowly.

Was watching it earlier and thought for a while it "drifted" west a bit before resuming WNW movement. Wonder how much that made up for its earlier NW movement. We end up with WNW.

This is what its all about. Wobbles... to the right... to the left... we watch the eye from our bedrooms.. laptops balanced lord knows where, at computers, on TWC, local news...friends call from far away and describe to us what they see... we watch.. overall movement WNW.

And..not much movement. Won't argue with the nice guys at NHC on this but imagine they feel overall it will get 10mph.. think thats a generous hope but maybe it will. Looks to me like its a bit slower but..who knows? Well..Frances knows.

Dropsondes dropped into the air out in front of the storm indicated the high moving in... strengthening and they believe that will show the storm slow.. even slow more and or try to bend west. My only comment on that is...we sort of thought this would happen a bit further to the north.. maybe it will again.

Watching TWC right now. Shame they haven't caught Seidel in any of the feeder bands we have had a few pass through.

The kids were outside talking... came in and said that they were standing there talking in the driveway and without any warning... suddenly got slammed by horizontal heavy rains. Yup, thats what they do. And..oddly... hour or so later the water is sort of ponded from those heavy showers for all of like 3 minutes. Makes you realize how much water is in that storm if it left flooded puddles so fast.

Yes..we have a flood alert as well as a Hurricane Warning.

Went to the beach earlier with Sharon, my best friend, and watched the waves, felt the breeze, walked a bit in the water at the water's edge. Was NOT that windy.. nor that dangerous so relax... Sunny Isles Pier/Haulover on Collins. Lots of people by the pier wandering around, taking pictures. Wind was no where as wild as it was when Floyd passed. You could feel it out there.. see the relentless waves coming ashore and fast moving dark patches of rain off on the horizon but... didn't look like it did by Floyd. And...didn't have an eerie a feel. Then again as Sharon pointed out its further away and so.. amazing to feel it so much.

Might go back with a few of the kids in the morning depending on what the weather is life and if Frances has moved..

Have raised kids who are very into weather.
Shayna calls to ask me what flood zone I'm in.
Dina calls to tell me her predictions and tell me how wild some loop is and where Jim Cantore is waiting for the storm. Sharon's daughter called to tell her Mike Seidel was in town. Shuky calls with his forecast and thoughts. Levi IMs me with the words "got any good sites?" He means WEATHER sites.. lol. And, they all want to know if we are prepared. Shuky made Mendy promise he would make me go to a shelter if we have a cat four coming here.. we don't. And, it goes on and on. Left to go to the beach...got six blocks from the house ...my cell phone went off and was Sharon's daughter asking her a question about the storm from NY. Our kids out of town are ALL up there...watching. Dina fought with her room mate over watching TWC.. she is the worlds biggest Friends fanatic. She told me tonight .."now I know what she gives up Friends for" lol..

And, may I say on shelters.

You have to go early. People are there NOW... and they fill up. Are filled. You can't just see the storm veer west and run over and ask them to let you in.

And, I have two places to go with shutters.. give the shelters to people who don't.

Anyway..............does anyone know if Gidget's name was Frances. I'm sure it was.. Though maybe that was the girl in Dirty Dancing.. "Baby" makes me think she would love to do the beach at Ft. Lauderdale like it was Spring Break.

But..I will stick with my prediction earlier in the week of WPB to Melbourne.

Will see what Frances has done in the morning... will it be WNW at 12 like it has been all week or..............something different?

Will see.

Thanks for best friends like Sharon who goes to the beach with me always before a storm. And, for Stuart who rescued me from nonstop weather coverage and took me out for Chinese to get away from the 5pm news. To my sister in law who had the kids over there all day babysitting for her and helping them put up shutters giving me some breathing space. To my ex husband calling to check and sending me hurricane jokes..not to mention putting me on some speaker phone to tell friends in NY what was happening in Miami because they all have relatives there. Amazing...the judge in our divorce would not have believed that one. And...to Jim at Hurricane City and to Howie for the beautiful websites and tutorials in yiddish and everyone at Flhurricane which my brother tells me is a really good site. (deep breath..rolling eyes..smiling, like yeah.......have heard of THAT site before...............) and who by the way did that amazing hurricane graphic they use on their site? That is the most amazing hurricane I've ever seen, good luck on finding that neat swirl..... And..to Jimmy Buffett forever impressing me with his wonderful ability at stringing together the most beautiful and whimsical prose.

Going to put a CD on that a friend sent me..and relax.

Yes..thank heaven for friends.. good ones. Good kids.

I'm blessed. Here in Miami. That is in fact my hebrew name.. Blessed..

Bobbi... hanging in here in Miami... waiting for Frances to climb a bit more..