Weather update for those flying in/cruising this weekend

[dclwdwlover]

At this hour, 7:20 am, the weather is beautiful, but they expect things to begin occuring early afternoon & strengthen throughout the day into the evening.

All the Disney parks have closed in anticipation of Hurricane Charley. Although there are delays & cancellations of specific flights, Orlando Airport (MCO) remains open. The news says that it will close if winds sustain 46 mph. Definitely call on your flights before you leave.

We hope & pray for the safety of all FL residents & also for everyone's safe travel here & that your trip is able to continue.

I will continue to post updates throughout the day. Anyone else from down here?

 

[lisa702]

Hi
I live in N Lake County. We are expecting some of the hurricane force winds and possibily 10 inches of rain. I'm a little worried about the trees in my yard and area but hopefully we'll ride it out ok. My DH works in Winter Garden and went to work as usual this morning. I'm a little concerned for his ride home this afternoon though. Hope we don't lose power too soon. I need my DIS fix!

 

[dclwdwlover]

Lisa, I sent you a PM.

Yes, I need my DIS fix, also, & hopefully our electric stays on as long as possible.

It appears that a lot of the west coast residents are evacuating to our area - Central FL. I hope their travel is safe. Our schools announced closings yesterday for today in anticipation of the high winds & because the schools are being used for residents.

 

[Carol RN]

From what I just read at the Local6.com website, all Disney theme parks will be open until 1:00 p.m. today.

 

[nisiemouse]

Thanks for the update. I hope everyone stays safe and Charley is less severe than expected.

 

[dclwdwlover]

Originally posted by Carol RN
From what I just read at the Local6.com website, all Disney theme parks will be open until 1:00 p.m. today.

Carol,
I was watching one channel when I wrote that all parks closed & then changed to another that said that they are closing at 1:00. Wasn't sure which one was correct, but I figured that, either way, they're closing soon! Thanks for the update.

Gov. Bush speaking right now & expressing how serious this storm is. They anticipate it becoming a Category 3 hurricane. Where we're located - Lake County - I believe they expect "only" Tropical Storm winds to hit, but that could be up to 60 mph winds. They stated that Port Canaveral may be evacuated. Apparently, Charley is supposed to cross from the west coast to the east over top of Central FL.

 

[lisa702]

We are definately getting nervous from this one!!!!

 

[lisa702]

Caril I PMed you back.

Landfall is expected at St Pete about 6pm according to WFTV channel 9. LOOKS SCARY!

 

[over50visits]

It looks like Key West dodged the bullet, with relatively little wind/surf damage. My guess is the odds are pretty good that Magic will stop there next week. I just watched the live report from the weather channel, and they say it passed 75 miles to the west.

Still bad weather and a possibility of tornados, but I'm happy for the residents there - they could have really suffered a lot from this storm.

 

[westjones]

Originally posted by over50visits
It looks like Key West dodged the bullet, with relatively little wind/surf damage.

That's good news!
DJ

 

[tecdavidt]

Our thoughts and prayers to all down in Florida. We have been watching the weather channel keeping tabs on the storm. It looks like it will be a nasty one. Glad to hear Key West is OK, we have a friend that lives there. I am worried about a cousin who lives in New Port Richie (up by Tampa) she is in the med field and I doubt she will be able to leave.

Just heard another storm is forming and next week could also be busy with another named storm. This must be a busy year. Four years ago on Aug. 12th we were on the first Magic 7 day. It is hard to believe that four years have past. I didn't know how lucky we were not to have a storm. I also remember what the hurricane specialist from the weather channel said during a previous hurricane, "the safest place to be is on a cruise ship." I believe his name is Dr. Lyons? so all cruisers, Go have fun! We hope you all make it to the ship and all current cruisers on the ship, we want you to have a safe journey home.

Florida posters please keep us updated. Kathy

 

[dclwdwlover]

11:15 am - Update from local tv news

Key West made it through - thank God!

Charley changing course, taking a "turn for the worse" & heading NE now. They are saying that everyone in Orange County should know that it is a very serious situation & want people off the highways & cell phones. They have suspended all tolls on all of the roads to allow for unhampered travel. They expect 5-7 inches of rain in Lake & Orange Counties & hurricane-force winds. They are saying to expect downed trees & lines & high power outages.

Cape Canaveral (KSC) may be evacuating. They have been evacuating all of the beaches down there.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts & prayers.

 

[TiggerKing]

If you go to weather.com and look under their tropical storm area, there is a satellite view that shows the Atlantic Carribean. You can see the expected storms forming off the west coast of Africa (really cool to watch unless they end up aimed at you). The forecasters have predicted a busier than normal hurricane season this year. Of course, they have made that prediction for the last 2 years and it hasn't manifested itself. Unfortunately, it appears as if they may be correct for this year.

Interesting trivia from the news last night, this is the first time since 1906 that Fl. has been hit by two tropical storms / hurricane so close together.

 

[dclwdwlover]

Originally posted by TiggerKing
The forecasters have predicted a busier than normal hurrican season this year.

Lucky us! Well, moving down to Mickey & DCL is still worth it!

 

[dclwdwlover]

News as of 1:00 pm:

Charley has strengthened - Category 3 with 125 mph winds & heading NNE, moving at 20 mph.

No ships have been instructed to leave Port Canaveral. - Good news! - They are more concerned with other ports. However, I believe that, and someone can correct me if I'm wrong, the ships head out to sea in these types of storms & don't hang around the port. As long as they're not officially evacuated, I would imagine that it won't affect tomorrow's cruisers (?)

Lake & Orange Counties, among others, have been officially in 'Hurricane Warning' status for awhile now.

 

[TiggerKing]

Category 4 now! 145 mph winds at the center. To our friends in the area, hold on tight!

 

[lisa702]

Now its a category 4!!!

 

[hulabird]

SWA and Delta have cancelled flights going out to Orlando. SWA says they will give refunds. This is from SWA site:

Hurricane Charley Information (Updated: 10:00 AM CT, August 13) - From 5:00 PM CT on August 12 through August 15, Customers holding reservations to/from West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Jacksonville, and Orlando, FL may rebook their travel in the original class of service, travel standby, or request a refund. Our subsequent flight operations to/from these airports will depend upon the airports' operating status. Visit Flight Status Online for the latest information regarding your flight.

 

[tvguy]

According the www.portcanaveral.org the port has ordered the only cruise ship in port today, the Soverign of the Seas out by 2 pm, 3 hours early, and then the port is closed. They will reevaluate tomorrow morning, so the Magic may not make it in tomorrow.

 

[dclwdwlover]

3:00 pm - It's so hard to keep this updated, as Charley - & the predictions - change every 1/2 hr. it seems.

Around 2:00 they changed the course to be coming directly toward south Lake Cty (our area) & we spent the next 1/2 hr. taking even more precautionary procedures. Hearing the thunder, seeing the ominous black clouds & the rain, I began to get scared, finally. By the time we were done, they changed the course again, saying the direct path is downtown Orlando & heading up toward Daytona.

This is good news for Port Canaveral, but bad for all of the citizens in it's path & the evacuees from the west coast that took refuge in Orlando & Daytona

There have been some tornadoes touching down in different areas. There have been numerous traffic accidents already they are saying - some with fatalities. They are saying that it is presently a Cat. 4, but very close to a Cat. 5.

Keep praying everyone for all residents & visitors down here in FL.