Hurricane Harbor: Otto Kills 3 in Panama Before Landfall. Affects Travelers and Local Folks in it's Path For Thanksgiving Day Landfall

Otto still where we left him.

About to start moving towards land.

Currently a Tropical Storm.

Forecast to possibly be a Hurricane again soon.

Either way it has already taken 3 lives in Panama.

So take this Tropical Storm seriously.

Morning Visible shows it's organization.

Still wound up nicely.

Larger view below.

I want you to look up and below.

Cold fronts marching across the USA

Tropical Storm tucked away in the SW Caribbean.

Not looking as good today as it did last night.

Forecast to come back close to landfall.

The water is still warm enough to sustain development and intensification.

Note the warmth of the Gulfstream off the SE coast.

You can see it this time of year as waters cool off around it.

And although I complain about the NHC main page image often.

This image below shown on www.SpaghettiModels.com is great.

Gives so much info.

Where has it been?

Love this site. We used it for years.

It was one of the original early weather sites.

In South Florida people go boating on Thanksgiving ;)

http://www.boatus.org/

Mike has it up on the Main Page... show's Otto's history.

Where is Otto going?

Notice the NHC forecast is for Otto to regain his Hurricane status.

Time will tell on that one.

I'm skeptical.

Whenever I hear the words "there never has been..."

I err a bit more on the side of Climo..

..yet root for Otto to attain that fame!

Either way he's got a name on November 23rd so that's big.

And the name will most likely be retired as people have already died.

I can't verify this video but they have been coming in all morning.

There has been major damage in some areas in Panama from flooding.

Note I kept saying Panama the last few days.

As that is where it has been hanging out.

Just north of Panama with torrential rains falling for days.

Always interesting to me that we ignore what is for what may be.

The forecast track shows it's path towards Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

Yet it HAS been affecting Panama for DAYS

So know that Otto has already shown his fury ahead of landfall.

It should only go downhill from here for those in it's path.

And where is he going?

"Central America"

Let's break that down a bit.

Note Bluefields is in the discussion from the NHC.

Let's look closer at Bluefields.

I know many who rarely go south of Key West wonder...

Why go to Costa Rica or Nicaragua???

Adventure, vacation and the dollar goes far down there.

It's Thanksgiving. Long holiday weekend. People travel.

Enjoy the nicer videos and get a glimpse into the beauty of Bluefields.

Looks like fun ...

...kind of like Miami with mountains.

So why am I showing vacation videos on Thanksgiving Eve?

Cause you should know what is in the path of Otto.

You should see who is in the path of Otto....

And know many travel there for the holidays.

And there are every day people in the towns in it's path.

I'm showing these videos this morning because it needs to be shown. The happy travelers and the reality of what is happening now in Panama. It may be November but there is a serious storm with damaging weather affecting a large area. Late season Tropical Storms over Thanksgiving get lost in the shuffle, especially when they are down in the Caribbean. And the word "Central America" gets lumped together in a way that doesn't tell the story. It's one "area" however it's vastly different from place to place, country t country and town to village. It's like saying "Europe" which includes both Germany and Greek. As it's Thanksgiving Weekend it's worth noting some people take tropical vacations as they have no grandmother over the river and through the woods ...or they are avoiding the family. Sometimes they go home to their relatives who are living in "Central America" for Thanksgiving. Costa Rica is a prime location for holiday travels. In Raleigh some people go to the beach and spend the holidays in Myrtle Beach or Wilmington every year. One last chance to play in the sun before it's too cold to bother with the beach.

People go to surf, to explore, to swim, to get away from the colder weather and see things they have never seen before. Many return each year to their same favorite beaches, like my friends who go to the same hotel in Myrtle Beach every Thanksgiving. Hey we went to Myrtle Beach for Chanukah a few years back. I'd go in any weather really....

So think outside the box.

Just because you may be reading this stuck in traffic on I95

Know somewhere, someone is in the Caribbean on vacation.

Wondering if Otto will crash their party!

Different strokes for different folks.
Where it is and where it will go?
Time will tell.
But for now it's creating misery in Panama.
It's a Killer Storm already.

Thanksgiving in Panama...
Happens.

Looks like fun.
They played that song at my son's wedding in September in Miami.

One of my son's went to Panama a few years back.
His friend's mother ran a Bed and Breakfast there.
And my daughter traveled to Colombia this past year.
Kids travel. People travel.
Not everyone is stuck on I-10 or I-95 today.
I'm home and done traveling for a few days at least.
Hunkered down in Raleigh for a quiet Thanksgiving.

The Meyer kids traveled to Miami in September for a wedding, then to Crown Heights for a Bar Mitzvah and many will be traveling to Israel in January for another sibling's wedding. (Yeah that's happening) So it seems this Thanksgiving we are taking a break from traveling. I'm making two meals in that I'm making some foods on Thanksgiving and then on the Jewish Sabbath Friday Night I'm making another larger Thanksgiving dinner for some friends. I'm making corn bread stuffing and green beans and acorn squash and turkey and cranberry sauce and we are having ice cream over pumpkin pie tarts and cherry tarts. Shabbos I'll serve a real pumpkin pie. Because basically I'm unpacking, resting, relaxing, catching up on the news (AirBNB only had wifi no cable news haha) and going through tons of pictures and lying in bed watching the Macys Day Parade while watching leaves fall through my window and watching TWC do Otto... and Winter all at the same time.

What are you doing for Thanksgiving?

I'll update in real time on Otto but be aware before he makes a move towards landfall he is already making news and creating holiday problems for travelers and local folks. And Otto is already a Killer Storm even without making landfall. That's the reality here..........worth remembering and respecting it even if it's November 23, 2016. Imagine the name Otto may be retired.