Tropical Storm Wilma ~ To Affect Fla?

[Feralpeg]

Local news just said that Wilma will be a cat 4 for awhile, but should fall back to a cat 3 before making landfall in south Flordia late Saturday/early Sunday.

 

[spot28]

I'm not a weatherman, but I grew up in Florida. If there is one thing you can count on is not to count on hurricanes. You could cancel/reschedule your trip only to miss beautiful weather that day. Likewise, you could go and be the midst of it. Last year, we postponed our WDW trip due to Frances, stayed in Georgia to avoid the hurricane & invited many my mom and inlaws who all lived in Florida to come here too. They had zero damage and we had a 80' poplar tree hit our house. Go figure. You probably just need to wait a few more days to make your decision, but I wish for you it blows elsewhere.

 

[Disneyglobegirl]

Im not arguing or anything by any means, and statistically I cant see it happening, but things are changing, also take into account if disney went out wouldnt it lay off way more workers then oil rigs as well as effect the tourist, so it seems like it would effect the whole world in a way, look at 9/11..those few buildings put us in recession, imagine a whole theme park industry..universal,disney,sea world..they are all in one area. I dont mean to get off topic but you cant help but think about what a cat 5 could do, but your right, it does appear to go south which is very good, either way is bad though, its better if it just goes way south and avoid Florida

Well I do know what a Cat 4 can do since I live right outside of New Orleans and I would not wish what we are going through on anyone. But I have to disagree about what you are saying about the oilrigs - it would cause massive devastation in the US if there is further damage to the refineries and rigs in the gulf more so than amusement parks being shut down. So I guess we will have to agree to disagree on this one.

 

[russtwinsmom]

So far the forecasting is on track from my earlier discussion. The projections are still that it will be a Cat 1 (hopefully)or 2 at landfall, the location of which is still dependent ot the strength and possitioning of the trough (low pressure). From looking at the data, my guess is that landfall will be south of Ft. Myers. The storm is expected to increase speed as it skirts along the eastern edge of the trough, putting it back in the Atlantic along the east coast of Florida on Sunday.

The airports typically announce airport closures around 24 hours in advance, so you will need to keep an eye on the news. If you have a connection from Miami, Ft. Myers, etc. then you will want to look now for alternate routes that will get into Orlando. A middle-of-the-night placement of the hurricane over land could affect southernmost airports both Saturday PM and Sunday AM (for runway and tower inspections post-storm). My guess is that if Wilma stays on its southerly path, only southern airports will be affected. In any case, expect flights to be full as passengers trying to go south will be flying to Orlando and renting cars. This may be the best weekend to be flying standby.

 

[Shiftgreen]

Disneyglobegirl , Its ok. I' m still learning about all this as time goes on. I wasn't aware a hurricane could have an effect on oil rigs or gas prices till Katrina hit.

 

[Disneyglobegirl]

Disneyglobegirl , Its ok. I' m still learning about all this as time goes on. I wasn't aware a hurricane could have an effect on oil rigs or gas prices till Katrina hit.

Shiftgreen , No problem I just think most of us here in the gulf states get really nervous and antsy when we see any storm come to the gulf - I hope that I didn't come off as too harsh, if I did I'm sorry. We are all just so nervous and tired of Hurricane season already - I really wish it would end already. I love Disney and Orlando and would definately hate to see any harm come to that area or any of Florida. Everyone there will be in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[OhDonna]

Arriving on ~10am Sunday. Very worried.......

 

[Goofy4]

OK. I *totally* missed this right-turn, headed toward Orlando scenario.

We were told today by SW that our flight is probably a go unless they close the airport. Now, I think that is just one person's opinion and not official policy.

I was just wondering.. Do the airlines typically fly empty planes out of hurricane area (to protect their equipment)?

 

[Phrank40]

Personally I think it is way to early to be stating where (of if) Wilma will hit in Florida and whether it will be a Cat 1 or whatever. Don't go by the dotted line on the tracking projection, there is a cone showing where it could hit. Glad I don't have to make a decision about going to Florida this weekend but I sure wouldn't assume a hurricane was (or wasn't) coming my way based on a projection 4 or 5 days out. Just a slight change in degree of the angle of movement at some point and it could wind up hitting Tampa area rather than south Florida. Of course it can turn even more south and miss Florida entirely. Just my 2 pennies from someone who saw hurricane Hugo hit my parent's condo at the beach and then drop 40 trees on their lot outside Charlotte. Never know.

Phrank

 

[TnTsParty]

Speaking as a native Floridian who went through a fair share of hurricanes (the worst 2 were last year - Frances and Jeanne) Thankfully we came through pretty much undamaged as the storm passed a little to the north of us. After seeing the devestation the hurricanes have caused last year and this year everyone who lives in the areas that normally are affected by hurricanes tend to get a little worried everytime a new storm forms. My house is an older house and was fine during the storms last year but if the winds were a little stronger and closer to me then there is no telling how the house would hold up. On top of that my sister and her family live in a trailer (that was a little damaged in Jeanne last year) Thankfully they got the damage fixed but still trailers do not hold up well in strong wind.

I have heard that Disney is one of the safest places to be during a hurricane. So anyone who is on site as it passes should be fine (except maybe if you were staying at FW - but then again they move those people to a room)

Before we left for our Sept trip - Ophelia decided she wanted to spring up. I was a little worried that I would have to change our plans (since you can never tell where these things are going till the last minute - I would definately stay home to protect my house before going on a Disney trip) Thankfully she decided to stay just off shore and we only had rain the first day and at that it was maybe a half hour - and it was when we were back at the resort on our mid-day break.

 

[crazy4wdw]

Well, my planned eight day WDW vacation ended up only being four days. I was supposed to leave on Sunday, 10/23, however I decided to leave today in case Wilma came knocking at WDW's door. My main concern was not being able to get back to SC on Sunday as I have a major presentation at work for Monday.

I was supposed to check-in at the Beach Club today. I had the AP best rate and Disney did not impose the nonrefundable deposit restriction. They allowed me to transfer the deposit to a new reservation for May 2006. The airline also waived their itinerary change fee. I was really surprised.

I really enjoyed POFQ. This was my first stay since 1999. I liked the new rooms and the bus transporation to the parks was great! I don't think I waited over 10 minutes for a bus. The resort seemed to be near capacity during my stay. The pool always seemed to be very crowded. If anyone has any specific questions, please ask.

 

[jeanyusjean]

I leave this Saturday and am a little worried too. Our flight arrives at MCO around 2:30 pm. I just want to get there and I'll feel better...

We arrive 12:50!!! I totally agree w/ you. DH tells me not to stress about it

 

[MINNIEBOWSER]

Our flight leaves Philly at noon this Saturday...and arrives at MCO at 2:20. I'm saying that our flight will be fine. The storm will be way south at that point and our flight will NOT be canceled/delayed. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

I just want to GET THERE!!

I agree!! I just want to get there too. I pray that no one is affected by this storm.
Tinkerchele, if all goes according to our plans, I will be arriving at MCO at 2:10p.m. on Saturday. If you are using ME, then we may be on the same bus to the Poly. Lets hope all goes well!!

 

[crow11ad]

I think everything will be ok. I am just trying to think positive. From DFW there is only 1 flight out per day to WPB to where my dad lives. I just hope Friday there will not be any delays and we can make it. I know that once we land, everything else will be ok. Even if we can't really go to the beach due to weather, I am sure we will be able to drive to Disney on Monday morning at 3 am.

 

[aquaticmom]

We are scheduled to arrive at 1:27 PM on Saturday. Nothing we can do but wait and see what happens and pray for the residents of Florida that have to go through yet another hurricane. Sure, I'm upset that our vacation plans may be delayed or changed but I just have to put things into perspective, there are a lot worse things in the world right now than my vacation plans not being the perfect vacation I had hoped for.

 

[Tinkerchele]

I agree!! I just want to get there too. I pray that no one is affected by this storm.
Tinkerchele, if all goes according to our plans, I will be arriving at MCO at 2:10p.m. on Saturday. If you are using ME, then we may be on the same bus to the Poly. Lets hope all goes well!!

I am using ME! Hopefully we'll both be on that bus taking us to the Poly on Saturday!!

 

[cdpa4d]

Personally I think it is way to early to be stating where (of if) Wilma will hit in Florida and whether it will be a Cat 1 or whatever. Don't go by the dotted line on the tracking projection, there is a cone showing where it could hit. Glad I don't have to make a decision about going to Florida this weekend but I sure wouldn't assume a hurricane was (or wasn't) coming my way based on a projection 4 or 5 days out. Just a slight change in degree of the angle of movement at some point and it could wind up hitting Tampa area rather than south Florida. Of course it can turn even more south and miss Florida entirely. Just my 2 pennies from someone who saw hurricane Hugo hit my parent's condo at the beach and then drop 40 trees on their lot outside Charlotte. Never know.

Phrank

About 2 yerars ago I would have agreed with you, but the Meteoroligists have gotten much, much better at predicting the path of these storms. I don't know if they have better instumentation, or if they just know more about hurricanes, but they have been very accurrate the past couple of years. Yes...there is still a chance that it could miss, but the chances are very slim it will miss the predicted cone area.

I apologize for sounding negative. I fly in this Saturday AM. I am beginning to wonder if our flight will make it out of Indy.

 

[Uncleromulus]

I think Phrank has it right--you never know until it's almost on top of you. Remember they had Galveston and Houston absolutely destroyed by Rita--until it moved elsewhere.
What you have these days is lots of computer models, but very few "humans" willing to say which one they think is correct. At least Joe B**** ventured his opinion!! Most of them have that "flummoxed" look and then suggest we wait and see---which, unfortunately , is about all we can do.

Where's the latest "cone of uncertainty" this morning (Wednesday, 5:45 AM)??

 

[SamanthaL]

The track is still the same on Wed morning taking it about 2- 2 1/2 hours South of Orlando BUTTT it is now a Cat 5 all of a sudden. It will be making landfall in FL sometime around 1am Sunday morning as far as they can tell and be back at sea ealy Sunday morning. I hope for everyone's sake it does not hit at a 4 or 5.

 

[suevee]

I am supposed to be arriving at noon on Sunday at MCO. I wonder if I will even get out.