Charley Exiting Florida Still at Hurricane Strength. Heading up East Coast

[Dover]

...CHARLEY EXITING FLORIDA...HEADING FOR THE CAROLINAS...

A HURRICANE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM COCOA BEACH FLORIDA
NORTHWARD TO OREGON INLET NORTH CAROLINA ON THE SOUTHEAST U.S.
COAST INCLUDING THE PAMLICO AND ALBEMARLE SOUNDS.

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT ON THE NORTH CAROLINA AND
VIRGINIA COASTS NORTH OF OREGON INLET TO CHINCOTEAGUE...INCLUDING
THE LOWER CHESAPEAKE BAY SOUTH OF SMITH POINT.

AT 2 AM EDT...0600Z...THE TROPICAL STORM WARNING FROM JUPITER INLET
TO JUST SOUTH OF COCOA BEACH FLORIDA IS DISCONTINUED.

AT 2 AM EDT...0600Z...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE CHARLEY WAS LOCATED
OVER THE ATLANTIC NEAR LATITUDE 30.1 NORTH... LONGITUDE 80.8 WEST
OR ABOUT 190 MILES SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF CHARLESTON SOUTH CAROLINA.

CHARLEY IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHEAST NEAR 25 MPH...AND THIS
MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE WITH AN INCREASE IN FORWARD SPEED
DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS. ON THIS TRACK...CHARLEY WILL BE NEARING
THE SOUTH CAROLINA COAST LATER TODAY.

DATA FROM A RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT INDICATE THAT CHARLEY IS STILL A
HURRICANE AFTER MOVING ACROSS FLORIDA. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS
REMAIN NEAR 85 MPH...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. SOME STRENGTHENING IS
POSSIBLE TODAY AS THE CENTER MOVES OVER WARM WATER.

HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 25 MILES FROM THE
CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 85
MILES.

MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE REPORTED BY A RECONNAISSANCE PLANE WAS 993
MB...29.32 INCHES.

STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 8 TO 10 FT IS EXPECTED ALONG PORTIONS OF THE
SOUTH AND NORTH CAROLINA COASTS NEAR AND TO THE EAST OF WHERE THE
CENTER OF CHARLEY CROSSES THE COAST. STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 4 TO
7 FEET IS EXPECTED IN THE REMAINDER OF THE HURRICANE WARNING AREA.

RAINFALL TOTALS OF 3 TO 6 INCHES ARE LIKELY ALONG THE PATH OF
CHARLEY ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES. THESE RAINS
COULD CAUSE LIFE-THREATENING FLASH FLOODS.

ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE OVER PORTIONS OF COASTAL
GEORGIA...SOUTH AND NORTH CAROLINA.

REPEATING THE 2 AM EDT POSITION...30.1 N... 80.8 W. MOVEMENT
TOWARD...NORTH-NORTHEAST NEAR 25 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED
WINDS... 85 MPH. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE... 993 MB.

FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...PLEASE MONITOR
PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL WEATHER OFFICE.

THE NEXT ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER AT
5 AM EDT.

Projected Path:

[GainesT1958]

1. Right now, they're projecting Charley's landfall..

Somewhere between Cherry Grove Beach, S.C. (north of Myrtle Beach) and Southport, N.C. (20 miles south-southwest of Wilmington, N.C., where I live).

Tomorrow (actually, later today!:eyes: ) is going to be interesting, to say the least!:scared:

B-)

[goclark]

4. Take Care n/t

[Dover]

6. Yes, take care. Charley has been a bit more unpredictable than most.

So hope everyone along the East Coast will keep their eye on the latest developments.

[Maple]

2. Very bad.....worse than predicted

and what happened to Hurricane Bonnie??

[Dover]

3. Bonnie weakened to tropical depression and dropped a lot of rain.

She's done, but saturated a lot of areas.

[Maple]

5. Thank goodness

I thought for awhile there, they were both going to hit together, or one after another.

[Dover]

7. Florida damage reports coming in......

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WEATHER/08/13/storms/index.html


...There are more and more reports of damage and injury as the storm tears across Florida.

About 270 people had to be evacuated from a nursing home in Lake Wales, about 50 miles due east of Tampa, when the storm tore off the roof, said Polk County spokeswoman Cindy Rodriguez. However, no one was seriously injured, she said.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported the Charlotte County Emergency Operations Center lost part of its roof to intense winds. Local television stations showed footage of flooded docks and battered buildings missing roofs and shutters. And the Cape Coral Hospital in Fort Myers lost much of its roof, Mayor Jim Humphrey told CNN.

The post office in downtown Fort Myers lost its roof, and beachfront hotels reported flooding.

Farther south in Naples, trees were toppled, power lines snapped and canals flooded.

[lebkuchen]

8. MSNBC is reporting "a significant loss of life" at a trailer park in FL

Does FL have its National Guard intact to help out, or is it deployed to either of our two "Vietnam" wars? Why have only 1,300 arrived to the scene?

The state put 5,000 National Guard soldiers and airmen on alert to help deal with the storm, but only 1,300 had been deployed by Friday night, a state emergency management spokeswoman said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5653487/