As the continuing saga of “Don’t Be My Neighbor” unfolds here at the edge of the Evergaldes, the broadcast news is all hurricanes all the time.
Even Game II of the WS is ad-free as we’re jerked from a 40-something degree night in Chicago to the sultry 81 degrees here where the solemn-faced weather people, led by Mr. Max at the Nat’l. Hurricane Center down the street (as it were) are telling us the BIG danger for those of us on the dirty side (yep! that’s me) of Wilma is going to be tornados.
New with this storm, the weather people have trotted out a technological innovation so we can experience cranked up thrills as the now cat-3 storm bears down on the Naples/Ft. Myers area.
The new tecnology is a computer assisted Super Doppler radar that shows wind speeds at cloud level in precise sampling points. The technology enables the TV viewer to see internal micro-circulations within the larger storm system that appear as little red circles. When these micro-circulations touch down, a barrel attaches itself to the circle and the visual — voila! — becomes a tornado on your screen.
The real tornado is thus precisely locatable and the weather person can tell you where it is within a couple of blocks of any indivdual address.
Just a while ago, 6 micro-circulations were over Key West and Big Pine, one with a barrel. Watch TV. . .count the dots, hear the announcement that the tornado is in the fourteen hundred block of SW 88th St.
Another feature is that the weather person can click the crosshair on any point of the screen and wind speed at that location displays. We’ve been watching 70s – 100s for the past hour over the Keys.
And the last great feature is that wave heights can also be displayed at a similar click. Readings are coming in at a maximum of 40′. Almost all the waves are at 20’+. This is typical of the North Atlantic, never the Gulf of Mexico.
Thinking about storm surge? Then cut those heights in half in order to know the height of the wall of water that’s coming ashore as storm surge (plus factor the tidal data). Currently, the SW coastline is looking forward to the possibility of a 15′-20′ wall of water. Since a lot of Naples is virtually at sea level, as are the Keys, the potential is nasty.
That’s the technological story. The human interest angle is — I’m bored by the constant barrage of info, and at the same time I’m aware of a heightened sense of danger that torandos present within the already awesome power of a hurricane.
Last report (updated hourly now) are winds of 115 and forward speed of 18 mph. On the dirty side that means sustained winds of 133 mph; on the clean side, just under 100. The cone of hurricane force winds is about 80 miles across and will cover the entire lower third of the state. Wilma is a Big Mother.
As for me, I’m typing what may be my temporary good-bye as the noise of the rising winds increases. After Katrina we were a week without power. After Wilma, who knows? Know that we’re all shuttered and battened down and expect to be just fine. Finally, and most importantly, we’re well inland.
The people on the coast? Well their fate hinges on whether Wilma weakens or not before making landfall.
So, until next time at the Frog Pond Cafe. . .goodnight and good luck.