The parking lot at Palacio is full of license plates of our friends from Louisiana and in many of the other condos' parking lots I can see from my 15th floor vantage point it is the same. We are full of compassion for their plight and saying our prayers for them and what they left behind. It is heartbreaking to those of us who lived through Ivan and we can't imagine the devastation to our souls to live through it again as they might be facing this evening.
Here is my take on the latest we are hearing about the effect Gustav will have on Perdido Key. I have little to report about current conditions. It is cloudy, overcast mostly, but no thunderstorm clouds nor any rain since earlier this afternoon.
We are being told and can confirm on several web sites that we will see 2-4 feet of storm surge on Perdido. Orange Beach is expecting 4-7 feet according to the folks I have spoken to over there. This is all dependent upon the track remaing the same but as we know an east bound swerve at the last moment before landfall is possible. They are actually evacuating some areas of south Baldwin, mostly to the south of Ft. Morgan Rd, Plesch Island and such vulnerable spots in low lying areas in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores. The majority of the concerns I hear from our AL neighbors centers on their water craft. Many of my friends with boating experience and expertise are helping each other move and/or secure boats that cannot be removed from the water.
Here are some charts to show you the situation as we see it.
The warning and watches are shown here. This may give us a false sense of well being because the worst areas "stop" at the FL border but hurricanes don't know state lines. I have been watching the computer projections and they are extremely consistent so I do think we will be spared the worst and will likely experience 25-30mph winds and heavy rain. See this next chart to see that Pensacola is in the Green/Blue area.
I can say at 1830 military time on the 31st that we are not seeing anything locally that would be considered Tropical Storm like. In fact people are out on the beach but wisely staying out of the heavier than normal surf. Red flags are out. It is definitely dark to our south in these waning hours of sundown. Gustav is there without question.
I have not made mention of this but in this case and in subsequent weather events ( we know there will be more) I will use this blog to inform. I will also try to answer any questions or respond to any comments you make to these postings. Just click on the "comment" link below and I will receive it. Please understand that my response will depend upon information I have and on the situation in which I find myself. For instance I don't expect to be forced to evacuate but I will if required. I should have power and internet wherever I remain or run to safety but it might take time to respond. Please be patient.
To those in harms way our prayers are with you. To those who are associated in any way with the possible effects of this storm we are concerned and compassionate and we are trying to give you what we know from our perspective on Perdido Key. We invite you interest and your comments/questions.
Comments