Hurricane Dennis (Here We Go Again!)
So Dennis is on his way and he will be either a very strong category 3 or a category 4 when he makes landfall. (Ivan was a category 4 until just before landfall -- the winds dropped about 5 miles/hour, making it a very strong 3.) The computer models show a landfall somewhere between the Mississippi/Alabama border and Pensacola, FL (which is where I'm at). I've done all the preparing I can do, so now we just have to wait. Right now, we are getting some heavy rain from one of the feeder bands.
I will try to check in with updates to this post periodically. This thing is supposed to hit tomorrow afternoon. (At least it will be during daylight and not during the night like Ivan.) Once the power goes out, I can't promise that I'll be able to check in. I have my iBook, and if the cable stays up, I will try to check in. (I will be able to get a limited amount of power to the modem with my UPS.) But don't be surprised if you don't hear from me for a while.
Anyway, say a little prayer for those of us here on the Gulf Coast as we face yet another major hurricane in less than a year.
Here is a satellite picture of Dennis:
(Click for larger view.)
Update (7/10 - 1:00am): I'm about to hit the hay and I just wanted to check in here. There's not much going on right now except for some light rain. Also, as an off-topic aside, I have some (mostly) new songs in the radio blog on the sidebar (under "Site Extras"). A couple of the songs are ones I uploaded a few months ago. I uploaded a few more songs a couple of weeks ago and I uploaded three more tonight. One of the songs is appropriate for the subject of this post. ;-)
Update (8:30am): The storm is now a category 4. It's been raining here all morning with a few gusts of wind. It's not too bad yet. I noticed in the latest tracking that it is going due north rather than northwest. I don't know if this is a trend or a little wobble.
Update (8:45am): My cable Internet connection is acting up, so if the updates stop, that means I lost Internet access.
Update (9:45am): The wind is picking up some, but it's still not too bad yet. The power flashed a couple of times earlier and I heard a transformer somewhere blow. It seems to be moving more northward -- it may make landfall at someplace like Destin or Fort Walton Beach. Or it could make landfall here. We'll see...
Update (10:30am): It's about the same as earlier except we got a few good gusts of wind a few minutes ago.
Update (11:10am): The power just flashed off and on and the winds are getting worse now.
Update (11:30am): It's getting pretty bad here now. Once again, my house sounds (and looks, since it's daylight this time) like it's in a dishwasher.
Update (12:00pm): Things are still about the same and I still have power.
Update (12:15pm): Here's a radar shot of Dennis looming offshore:
(Click for larger view.)
Update (12:40pm): Really heavy rain, lots of strong wind. The power has flashed a couple of times, but we haven't lost it yet.
Update (1:30pm): The wind is starting to get kind of scary. It looks like the storm may make landfall a little to the east of us (the Navarre Beach area). This is good for us, because that means we will get the western side of the storm rather than the eastern side. The western side isn't as intense. Ivan went slightly to the west of us, which means we got the worst part of that storm. Also, Dennis is moving much faster than Ivan did. That means it will get out of here faster rather than sitting on top of us and pounding us for hours like Ivan did.
Update (2:20pm): Dennis has weakened to a category 3 and is making landfall now around Navarre. Navarre is about 45 minutes away from here. It's still raining with lots of wind. Sometimes we get some scary gusts. But I have to say, so far, this isn't nearly as bad as Ivan was. Not even close.
Update (2:50pm): Right now, we are getting the heaviest rains and highest winds yet. This is because the eye is passing just east of us in the Gulf Breeze/Navarre area. We still have power so far, although it has flashed a few times.
Update (3:10pm): Power is out. I'll try to check in when I can.
Update (5:05pm): My power is out and my cable modem is running on an UPS. We are okay and my home was not damaged. The water and telephone are still working. We lost power when the storm was at its very worst. However, the storm moved out very quickly. According to the radio, Pensacola came through this pretty well.
Hang in there!