Hurricane Rita & Miami Morning Diary

I'm on information overload here.

Really.

So much to look at .. so much I want to do.

Watching Channel 4 in Miami, CBS.. Norcross station. They have great coverage of the storm in the Keys but they keep losing signals off and on. Switching back and forth to TWC.
I think Bryan Norcross said it perfectly and I quote..wrote it down..

"What a nice surprise to wake up this morning and find a tropical storm not a hurricane." Bryan Norcross

Yes...so so true.

Last night kept watching radar and sat imagery and was worried that Rita was going to become a hurricane any minute and become the sudden Cat 2 or even a Major 3 that would slam Key West but... woke up this morning to a blustery but quiet morning and knew without turning on the TV or wxr radio that she had stayed south.. and hadn't done the deed.. was still a storm.

Hadn't lived up to the model's forecasting a Major Cane.

Thank God.. thank anything you want.. I am very happy on that. Let her be Hurricane Rita but keep her small.. not strong.. a "weak" Category One and nothing more as she makes her way along towards Key West or just south of Key West.

Maybe she will thead the needle as Bryan said.. though she seems on radar to have more of a northerly component now in her westward movement.

Also good news.. since she is moving faster than yesterday she will come into Key West earlier during low tide and not high tide..

More good news.

Not saying there won't be damage but nothing that Key West can't handle though she is slamming the area from Marathon up to Key West with strong bands.

So.. in Miami.

Diary style for a bit..Woke up at 4am and heard loud noises. Stared up at the windows near by bed facing east and they were getting pelted with very strong rain. Very strong. Heard the wind. Heard heavy thunder (which I rarely heard in Katrina) and got up... stood by the window and it was wild. No other world.. word but WILD... looked like a hurricane. Crawled back in bed (with my 13 year old daughter who fell asleep watching TWC on my bed) and fell asleep.

Decided not to put on tv.. just enjoy watching it with my eyes and go back to bed.

Woke up at 7am .. no hard rain, no heavy wind..no sign of a hurricane. Thought to myself.. she stayed south.. she stayed west bound and didn't become a hurricane. And, I was right. Been there before.. knew it wasn't a break in the bands... and I was right.

Went outside with my younger son and sat on the bench watching the clouds. No birds, no cars... a few houses put a few shutters up. Smart thinking in this case... cover the picture window.. cover the side of the house most exposed.

Everyone in Miami had this watch and see mode even though we were having a warning.. was more a watch mode. Wait and see what it was like early in the morning.. keep shutters nearby, supplies nearby, keep flashlight by the bed and radio... "just in case" mode.

Made some strong coffee.. took a quick shower.

Went online to find great pics, better data and watching coverage on TV.

Notice that the dividing line seems to be for now Kendall Drive which was mentioned online and I think Skeetobite showed on his maps. Though right now.... this very minute a strong gust came through and all the trees bent.

Calm again.

Birds came out about 20 minutes ago for the first time all morning.

I want to go to the beach. I really want to go to the beach. I really, really want to go to Haulover. Maybe I will.. later. Have to be the proper role model for the kids and not run out into the danger zone ..right?

I want to go to the beach.

Okay.. I am a hurricane child and I always will be.... even when I KNOW that they upgraded her to a hurricane ..when I open my email and see it say HURR RITA my face breaks out into a childish grin.. smile..

No.. I don't want death and destruction on the nightly news.. or noon.

But..............I just love to watch hurricanes. They are truly amazing. All that wind, rain.. pulled together into a storm..one swirling, round, mass traveling across the surface of the planet.. beautiful. You either get it..or you don't.

You either appreciate nature.. or you don't.

Mayor Jimmy Weekly on tv just coming out of a EOC meeting... just updating.

Telling you people up there..out there.... somewhere.. Key West and Miami are two of the most prepared places you will ever find for a hurricane. We are truly Hurricane Country. New Orleans is Cajun Country or Creole Country...

If I was in Key West yesterday and wanted to get off the Rock.. would have gone to a pick up zone and they would have taken me up to a shelter in Miami. They have help and people waiting to come in already set up. For a city that is made fun of for being too "why don't we get drunk and screw" Jimmy Buffett mentality... truth is it's all a facade to sell tee shirts on Duval Street. People care about eachother, despite color, despite nationality, despite where they came from before they found their way to the Conch Republic and despite their sexual preferences... it is one Human Family and people look out for eachother.

On the phone with a friend yesterday from Key West..he was worrying on if the buses were for just tourists or for the homeless who live down there by different names. He has a house.. a nice house... a business.. cats.. he is stuck up here with a house down there not boarded up and he is worrying if the city is taking the homeless north too..

And, many of my friends who did come up to Miami and Palm Beach..came not because they were terrified Key West would get swept by a tidal wave surge but because it would be easier and more comfortable (electric) and amenities and just to be safe because of what they saw with Katrina. Just to be safe.. everyone is a little shell shocked this year into being safe.
I mean.. I'm here now and haven't gone to the beach yet.. see?

WOW...GOING TO SEND THIS QUICK BEFORE I LOSE POWER.. MASSIVE STRONG BAND COMING THRU...SOUNDS LIKE 4AM.. RAINING HITTING WINDOWS HARD..SLAMMING IT AND LEAVES FLYING BY OFF TREES...WHOLE SKY TURNED DARK AFTER WATCHING IT COME THRU ON HAULOVER EAST OF ME..

WHICH..IS WHY I DIDNT GO THE BEACH :)

YET..

later...want to watch.. want to send in case I lose power but hopefully just a fast, passing band..

Key West will get a storm but a milder one than we thought last night it would be.

Don't ever underestimate a storm.. ever

Bobbistorm.. be back later








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So...
ZCZC MIATCUAT3 ALLTTAA00 KNHC DDHHMMHURRICANE RITA TROPICAL CYCLONE UPDATENWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL915 AM EDT TUE SEP 20 2005
DOPPLER RADAR DATA...SATELLITE PRESENTATION AND PRESSURE FALLS FROMTHE RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT INDICATE THAT RITA HAS REACHED CATEGORYONE HURRICANE STRENGTH ON THE SAFFIR/SIMPSON HURRICANE SCALE. THISWILL BE REFLECTED ON THE 11 AM...1500Z ADVISORY.
FORECASTER AVILA
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My thoughts exactly. Especially, after that crazy band came through at 4am and sounded like someone shooting rocks against my bedroom room window last night