SIDE SALAD - Everything crunchy is good.

LETTER FROM THE EAST COAST

The path of Hurricane Frances keeps creeping further south toward Valrico and Tampa. The latest projections gave me the shivers:

The graphic on the left shows the path, which now is expected to cut through the western part of Hillsborough County. The graphic on the right shows where the wind will be in the next three days. That green blob will eventually overtake the county, followed by more fierce yellow blobs, and then the worst - red blobs.

I'm not worried yet, since the storm is predicted to be much less strong by that time. But the rain will be torrential and voluminous, to say the least.

Here's a chilling notation in an Associated Press report:

The U.S. Census Bureau estimated 14.6 million Floridians live in the storm warning area.

That... just... about... covers everyone.

I e-mailed friends today who live in Port St. Lucie, Stuart and West Palm Beach. As you'd expect, they're all a little on edge. They say U.S. 1, the highway that runs north and south along the coast parallel to I-95 and Florida's Turnpike, has been in gridlock since Wednesday. Which is not good, because you have to run north or south to get on a road that takes you west to another north-south road. That little zig-zag is the only way to get from South Florida.

Got another note about Hurricane Frances from my friend Eliot today. His family lives in Boca Raton. Eliot works in West Palm Beach and Delray.

Things are not looking good anywhere in that realm.

Eliot writes:

Sorry to say things grew more ominous overnight. The most likely path of the storm shifted to Jupiter, which is only about 40 miles from Boca Raton "as the crow flies.'
With hurricane force winds extending some 80 miles, that means Boca can expect sustained winds of 80+ mph for several hours. That's if it goes to Jupiter. But the projected path has already wobbled all over the place, so all bets are off. The hurricane watch goes from the Keys almost to Georgia, so even the forecasters can't say for sure.
But things are looking better for the Miami Kleinbergs, which is as it should be. They've had their hurricane.
I am very worried about my cousins in Nassau. Their two-story department store is just a few blocks from the harbor.
A mandatory evacuation has been ordered for this area for the immediate coast and mobile homes, and of course neither affects us. Schools have been closed for today and Friday. For the boys, it's a bit of an adventure, but I'm sure it's been sinking in as they hear the shaky voices of the weathermen on TV and see everyone boarding up. Robbie's been getting one e-mail after another from friends who said their families are leaving town.
This storm is almost as powerful as Andrew. This region hasn't had a direct hit from any kind of hurricane in 25 years and hasn't seen a major hurricane since 1949. I don't have to tell you what has happened to population and property values here since.
Last night I worked till about 11 p.m. When I got home, Deb and the boys had already moved everything, including patio furniture, from the yard and outside patio. My boss said she didn't want to see me before 2 p.m. today, and I went to bed past midnight, planning to sleep in a bit before starting on the storm shutters.
Of course I woke up at 4:50 a.m.
I'm afraid sleep has been elusive this week. Two nights ago I awoke at 2 a.m. and stared at the ceiling in the dark for more than an hour, going over in my mind what needed to be done around the house, what my neighborhood might look like after the storm, and where the heck the damn thing is going to go.
We've all been on an emotional roller coaster ride really since last weekend, with one forecast update taking the storm away from us and the next hours later aiming it right back toward us. As you can imagine this is pretty exhausting, and of course now is when I really should be getting a lot of rest, since we're not even at the hard part yet. This is the pre-pre-game.
Landfall is now expected to be Saturday morning, but "tropical storm force winds" -- 39 mph sustained - should arrive Friday afternoon.
Deb has decided she and the boys will stay in the house regardless. She's tough and resourceful and as usual has a complete handle on the situation. I really won the lottery.
I of course will be at the paper. Only if the track shifts more toward a direct hit on Boca would I ride it out at home and try to get to work later.
Also I am on the first wave of people to rush to the center of destruction, even if it's a long way from Boca.
Perhaps this afternoon will give a clearer picture of where the storm is coming. As I said before, this storm is not going to stay out at sea, and just wishing it away from us just means it will smash someone else, so this is a no-win for everyone.
Sorry to be so long-winded (pun) but it's good to vent.

Quite alright, Eliot. Quite alright. Posted by Jeff at September 2, 2004 11:32 PM