July 11, 2005

'IF IVAN WAS A 10, DENNIS WAS A 3 OR 4'


PensacolaBeachDennis.jpg

The Pensacola News Journal says this morning that Hurricane Dennis spared the area catastrophic damage. It's bad, but not as bad as it could have been:


Randy McKee, meteorologist-in-charge at the National Weather Service in Mobile, rode a roller-coaster Sunday. It started when Hurricane Dennis, the most potent July hurricane on record, was two hours away from steam-rolling downtown Pensacola with 145 mph winds.

Instead, at 2:28 p.m., the eye of Hurricane Dennis sawed across Santa Rosa Island between Pensacola Beach and Navarre, packing sustained winds of 115 to 120 mph, the National Hurricane Center reported.

"It was still a strong (Category 3). I don't think people who were in those areas where Dennis struck will feel like they dodged a bullet," McKee said Sunday night as Dennis pounded central Alabama. "We still have a lot of damage to assess. But it could have been much, much worse."

Here's what happened:

· Dennis weakened as it churned over cooler waters that had been stirred up by Tropical Storm Cindy when it pushed ashore last week.

· The compact, still-powerful hurricane, veered north and cut through less dense residential areas in Santa Rosa County.

· The powerful northeast quadrant missed Pensacola. A 121-mph gust was measured in Navarre. At Pensacola Regional Airport, the wind reached 93 mph.

McKee is waiting on damage assessments -- mainly from Santa Rosa County where a large field of violent, 120-mph winds was measured on Doppler radar. Some residents reported tornadoes, but powerful straight-line winds likely caused devastation, McKee said.

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center marveled at the speed that Hurricane Dennis achieved after it spent 10 hours over Cuba and weakened to a Category 1 hurricane Saturday.

Dennis feasted on warm Gulf waters, wrapped itself into a tight coil and aimed at the Gulf Coast. At 4 a.m. Sunday, the National Hurricane Center called the storm's overnight intensification "insane."

DennisMap.jpg

The Pensacola Beach Beach Blog hasn't been online since the storm.

Right before landfall, PBRLA wrote:

Farewell for Now

The Boardwalk pier on Pensacola Beach, rebuilt after Ivan, is now well under water. Water and power were shut off to the beach several hours ago.

Near midday, wind gusts over 65 mph are beginning to be felt on the mainland. Trees are being bent by the stronger gusts. Electrical brownouts are playing havoc with power in various mainland neighborhoods.

At 11 am EDT Dennis was 100 mi SSE of Pensacola. According to the National Hurricane Center "earlier intensification has ceased" and the storm is now speeding over waters that are not quite as warm. Dennis "is moving rapidly enough that only modest changes in intensity are likely."

The center of the storm therefore is expected to make landfall as a Category 3 or 4. Hurricane force winds will be experienced on the mainland by early afternoon and will likely persist well into the night.

Signing off for now. Back when the power is restored, which may be several days to a week -- or even longer. In the meantime, tune to live Internet Radio at WUWF-FM .

The evil twin of Ivan now has the stage.....

We'll keep the eyes peeled for an update.

Tampa Tribune reporter Tom Krause wrote on his blog from Pensacola that:

As early as sunrise here, the winds were picking up fast. It's getting worse right now. We hear we might be feeling hurricane force winds later this morning.

Last year, during Hurricane Frances, a photographer and I were on Riviera Beach as the winds were howling. An SUV pulled in front of us and two TV reporters got out. The photographer started to complain that the TV guys were in his shot. I went to talk to them and realized one of them was Geraldo Rivera.

This morning, I got an e-mail. Geraldo, I'm told, is on the way. It must be a real storm now.

DennisSatellite0710.jpg

Meanwhile, the Pensacola News Journal Storm Team says that at least so far, it appears Escambia County "dodged a major, major bullet":

Reports are incomplete, but a 5 p.m. briefing of Escambia County emergency planners indicated that damage from Hurricane Dennis was greater in the north end of the county.

Sheriff Ron McNesby said there were probably tornadoes through the north end as Dennis came through.

If Hurricane Ivan was a 10, Dennis graded out as a 3 or 4 for Escambia County, according to Buck Lee, head of the Santa Rosa Island Authority.

That's even though the island was washed over by the Gulf, according to the Escambia County Sheriff's Office.

The Three Mile Bridge is open to traffic. Perdido Key is open. The Bob Sykes Bridge is closed, but an inspection will begin first thing Monday morning. The Interstate 10 bridge, also, remains closed, but Florida Department of Transportation engineers will begin an assessment of it at first light Monday, as well.

Touart said Pensacola Beach could be re-opened as early as late Monday, but probably Tuesday morning. There is no water, sewer or electricity on the beach.

There is a boil order for water for customers of the Escambia County Utility Authority because power was lost at a number of pump stations. The Main Street Wastewater Treatment Plant is out of power, but did not have operational damage.

A curfew for Escambia County remains in effect, beginning at 8 p.m.
There are 450 state law-enforcement officers headed this way, 200 of them to be staged in Crestview tonight. Another 700 members of the Florida National Guard are also on the way.

Reports from various agencies was a roster of heartening news.

At least 100,000 Gulf Power customers have no electricity.

Officially, the company says it could be three weeks for restoration. "Privately, I can assure you we don't expect that," said Gulf Powers' representative during the briefing.
No damage at hospitals.


Posted by Jeff at July 11, 2005 07:21 AM | TrackBack
Comments
Post a comment









Remember personal info?