I am at WDW right now
We have been dodging Tropical Storm Ophelia all week long. We only got rained on once since this past Monday and it has kept the crowds away. For example, Space Mountain was a walk on at 1:30 PM on Tuesday...you don't see that very often. I've kept my poncho with me but, like I said, only had to use it once. The sun is minimal though...it is mostly cloudy which I don't mind at all. I have been seeing bands of clouds from the storm flying VERY fast overhead for the past 2 or 3 days...it looks very wild and the sky changes rapidly.
The bad news is, Tropical Storm Ophelia is supposed to go back to the NE and gather strength as a CAT 1 hurricane by Monday. Local 6 news here thinks it will come back towards Florida next week as said hurricane so it is not looking good for next week. I would stay glued to the weather reports if I were you. Their forecasts are a bit cloudy as this thing has just been sitting out there gathering a bit of strength.
I got real lucky down here for sure. Loving every moment of it. I couldn't ask for a better week so far...I have the parks to myself
And now, with the storm moving to the NE to gather strength in the Atlantic, I should get some sun for the last 3 days of my trip.
Again, stay on the news in regards to your trip. It could get nasty. The local weather station here is at local6.com.
Here is their latest news snippet on the subject:
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Ophelia May Curl Back Toward Florida As Hurricane
POSTED: 12:24 pm EDT September 8, 2005
UPDATED: 4:04 pm EDT September 8, 2005
ORLANDO, Fla. -- The latest projected path of Tropical Storm Ophelia pushes the storm away from Florida before curling it back toward the state as a possible Category 1 hurricane, according to Local 6 meteorologist Larry Mowry.
The National Hurricane Center's path changed from Thursday morning's path.
The storm is expected to move to the northeast for the next 12 to 24 hours and then become a Category 1 hurricane as early as Friday. The storm is then expected to move back toward Florida on Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
"That curve is certainly a possibility," Mowry said. "A lot of the models are telling us that it may curve back to us by the time we get to the middle of next week."
The better-organized storm wobbled to the west overnight, presenting a chance it could make landfall as early as Thursday.
"If it does not jaunt to the north in the next six hours, it could start to move on shore in northern Brevard and Volusia counties," Mowry said. "This is a worst-case scenario because that means higher wind gusts there, near the Space Center."
The computer models continued to show the storm moving in very different paths.
"The models are all over the place," Mowry said. "There is really a lot of uncertainty with this track. We really dont have a good grasp on what is going to happen by the time we get to the weekend. What we are thinking is that it is just going to stay off shore for the next couple of days.
At 11 a.m., Ophelia was located near latitude 28.6 north, longitude 79.6 west or about 70 miles east-northeast of Cape Canaveral, Fla.
Data from an Air Force reserve unit reconnaissance aircraft and NOAA land-based Doppler radars indicate maximum sustained winds have increased to near 60 mph with higher gusts. Slow strengthening is forecast during the next 24 hours.
Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 70 miles mainly northeast of the center.
What To Expect
Residents living along the coastline can expect battering surf and heavy rain Thursday.
The bulk of the rain from Ophelia early Thursday was recorded in parts of Brevard County, Fla.
Rain, wind, beach erosion and isolated flooding remain a strong possibility Thursday in Brevard and Volusia counties as Ophelia spins some 80 miles east of the coast.
If the storm continues to meander off to the west, we may start to see some of these higher winds along the coastline, Mowry said. We are talking winds of 50 to 60 mph possibly early this afternoon depending how much this circulation wants to wobble off to the west.
Mowry said to expect heavy rainfall totals along the coastline this week, with up to 2 inches of rain possible Thursday.
"As the rain bands roll in we will see some stronger wind gusts, Mowry said.
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