Bill the Only Game in Town Approaching Hurricane Force, As Claudette Makes Landfall...

Will update damage reports in the morning after Claudette has finished making landfall. Good chart from the incredible Skeetobite showing where Claudette will come ashore and who she will impact directly.

With all due respect to people along the beautiful Florida Panhandle... this is a moderately small event and wish I was there to watch, really.

The Carib looks quieter tonight, Claudette is inching towards the coast and Ana is hard to define let alone track... our attention turns to Bill and will for some time. Oh, there is a wave off of Africa but I am not going there yet. Live in the day and I am and so is Bill. Bill is really the only game in town after tonight...



But, Tropical Storm Bill has really pulled itself together and will be a hurricane by the morning. Cannot imagine any scenario where Bill will not be a Cane by daybreak. And, Bill is forecast to become a Major Hurricane in the not so distant future.

Current close up image of Bill with that hedgehog look that Tropical Storms get before they become Hurricanes.



Statistics from the 11PM Advisory show him as a strong Cane in 72 hours and the way he looks tonight...that is being conservative.


INITIAL 17/0300Z 13.4N 41.7W 60 KT
12HR VT 17/1200Z 14.1N 43.7W 70 KT
24HR VT 18/0000Z 14.9N 46.5W 80 KT
36HR VT 18/1200Z 15.8N 49.2W 85 KT
48HR VT 19/0000Z 16.8N 51.8W 95 KT
72HR VT 20/0000Z 19.7N 56.8W 105 KT
96HR VT 21/0000Z 23.5N 61.5W 105 KT
120HR VT 22/0000Z 28.1N 65.5W 100 KT

A green dot has popped out on the funktop in the center of the circulation, he's looking good. Go for throttle up and all hands on deck, Bill is a keeper.



So...after an amazing day tracking storms, working in the yard.. (not my forte) and a ride over to the Farmers Market for flowers and fresh veggies and candy by the pound.. and dinner out I came home, watched a movie and watched loops and it was a good day. A good day for me. Not a good day for Ana. Ana had a bad day... really. She really no longer exists except for a small area of westward bound convection that may or may not have a closed circulation in there somewhere but the point is mute... despite all the hoopla over three areas being tracked... Bill is the real thing, the only game in town. He will most likely hook out to sea but that is not a for sure and the forecast right now is only set for five days... beyond that it's in the wind... atmospherically speaking.

I do want to do a small tribute here to Ana, who was our first named storm of the season after so many almosts and wannabees and strike outs.. Ana was for real, kicked off the season like some fun pre-game show ... she made a great trip against the odds and I would personally not be surprised if part of her kicks up her heels again in a few days ... like the wave that couldn't until it got into the Gulf and ended up Claudette. It's not over til it's over but for now Ana, like most Anas before her seems to have had a mild run and the name will be back again.. probably forever at this rate.

Will be posting updates on twitter as I try not to be Old School ;)

http://twitter.com/HurricaneHarbor

So... here's to Ana, our first named storm of the 2009 Hurricane Season.



Here's to memories of Tropical Storm Ana


First pics..


Go Ana Go..



Track that scared Florida...



Hanging in barely...



Will be back in the morning with Hurricane Bill and some updates on possible damage from Claudette.

Besos Bobbi
Ps a butterfly from the Farmers Market..