I started covering it this morning, Shibb. Be assured that, should you get blown over the rainbow, I’ll be there chronicling it.
I don’t think that’s the link you think it is.
dies of laughter Woops! 
OK, try this one…
What, are you working for the Weather Channel now? Or are you a cub reporter working hard to get that big break? Just let us know if you need any quotes of local color. I’m sure I can come up with some stuff that will leave people scratching their melons and wondering if they’re reading The Onion.
This is just ducky. We’re flying into Orlando tomorrow and will be there for training and a tournament through the weekend.
We dodged a bullet with Rita, and now we’re stepping into the line of fire for Wilma. This weekend should be…interesting.
Sorry to hear that. What kind of training and tournament is it, anyway? With a little luck you might have decent weather for the first couple of days, maybe intermittent rain and a bit windier than normal.
So turn it into a drinking game. Take a shot everytime you hear it. Eventually, you’ll want them to say it.
It’s still going across the southern part of the state. Central Florida may be okay.
Still, the thing hasn’t hit the Yucatan peninsula yet. Plenty of time for some cold front to pull it more northward.
8mph? That’s slow-moving, isn’t it, for a storm?
I’m pretty sure that they said 3 mph yesterday, so it’s accelerating. IIRC most hurricanes move at more 15 mph +/-5. Way to early to declare any part of Florida in or out of the woods. Let’s look again late tomorrow or Thursday and that’ll give us an idea of our weekend plans.
And meantime we scramble at work and deal with sales offices in NY who don’t understand why a little wind and rain is such a big deal.
You have plans?
Man, I’m flying into Tampa on Sunday, in theory. Argh. I have some job training that week, and if I can’t get there before 8 AM Monday, then I can’t go and that means I’ll have to gasp work that week! :eek:
I was all set to have an almost-vacation. :mad:
I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Central Florida, too (my family lives there) - and for SoFla (I have a good friend near Ft. Lauderdale)! Go away, Wilma, you bitch!
I report on media coverage of disasters for a contract. In effect, I give my clients the sum total of how the media is treating the story.
So give the Tribune some doozies, Shibb. If you get quoted I’ll make sure you’re in there!
Me, I’m doing it by remote from Ohio.
so far i haven’t heard any reports using fred’s scream for “wilma!!!” i’m expecting to hear it several times before this is over.
And you guys wonder why no one trusts the media. 
Bouv, you’d best call me for lunch if we’re still here next week. We can literally walk over to meet each other.
I’m with you on that. It makes me not want to hunker down just to be contrary. It makes me want to run screaming into the streets “I WILL NOT GO GENTLY INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT AND I WILL NOT F@#$ING HUNKER DOWN!”. It makes me want to see Don Germaise get pelted with debris everytime he says it while standing in a storm and I giggle with glee just picturing that.
Hey I’m bettin’ that’s all you’ll get in your area too. I’m fairly certain AT THIS TIME that landfall will be south of a Sarasota to Vero Beach line.
Shibb is correct that most hurricanes move around 10 to 15 mph, but many do meander around when they have no real steering currents. That is the case with Wilma currently.
The official forecast calls for her to rapidly intensify in the next two days possibly to a Cat 4 (20% chance for that cat) and once she’s caught up in good steering currents (looks like Friday now) she’s gonna start moving fast.
Knowledge is power with these things. Let’s fight ignorance and not get all in a panic just yeah…well those of you in far southwest and southeast FL can start a little panic dance.
Last thing, as of 8pm 10.18, all models have Wilma going over or south of the big lake.
The probability cone still has it anywhere from central Cuba to Dixie County. And that could change. As of the 11 pm NOAA updates it already has max sustained winds of 110 mph. Don’t know what the isobar readings are. But my how are little girl has grown so quickly.
And she’s just gonna get stronger, from the looks of it. Looks like western Cuba is gonna get it pretty bad. They’re forcasting a possible Category 4 before Wilma even leaves the Caribbean! Tampa has gotten very lucky with hurricanes. I just hope it stays that way!
13 inches of rain in Santiago de Cuba so far! There are already a reported ten dead in Haiti from mudslides. Lets hope this isn’t another Stan! She’s still only moving at 8mph (faster than the 3mph she was doing yesterday, you’re right Shibb), and it sounds like she’s packing pretty heavy rains. She’s supposed to start going faster as the Low that was over California moves eastward (right now it’s moving northeastward) and pulls her into the Gulf. The counter-clockwise rotation of winds from the low should push her eastward, from what I understand.
She has a very small eye - 9 miles across. Which means she’ll probably start an eyewall replacement cycle, after which she will probably strengthen. 
I hope the dry air and maybe a bit of shear out over the Gulf will weaken her before she hits Florida. But unfortunately there’ll probably be a “panic period” when she hits Cat 4 somewhere out there and people in South & Central Fla will start losing their minds.
Well, this is going to be a record-breaking season. Next up… Hurricane Alpha?? Tropical Storm Beta? It just ain’t right.
(I realize the "she"s in this post are a bit excessive, sorry)
Let the panic begin!
As of 1am EDT on 10.19 our girl Wilma was upgraded to a Cat 4 w/a very impressive pressure of 901mb and substained winds of 150mph. NHC is predicting now that she’ll be a Cat 5 by the end of the day.
Wilma’s pressure at the 2pm Tuesday report was only 975mb. What an impressive 74mb drop in about 12 hours!
However, the track currently remains the same.