Hurricane!

Angelo’s was washed away by Hurricane Dennis in 2005 and just recently reopened this winter. It’s a beautiful place, lovely view and great food, but not the place to grab a quick and cheap bite to eat. We had enjoyable meal, though, sitting on the deck and watching the boats and birds over the bay.

There was also bad news for BP concerning the reopening of Thunder Horse platform in the Gulf of Mexico, put back from 2007 to the middle of 2008 after it was damaged by Hurricane Dennis last year.

On to the tropics. Monday marked the 1 year anniversary of Hurricane Dennis. A major hurricane at landfall, Dennis moved inland over Santa Rosa County, very close to where Opal moved in during the 1995 season. The damage was not confined to the coast, as many inland spots of southwest Alabama had major wind damage. Damage in Escambia Co., AL was worst in some areas than what Ivan had done. Currently, there are no named systems out there, but there are a few areas to watch.

Well it’s the one year anniversary of Hurricane Dennis, the third major storm to hit the Gulf Coast during the 2005 season. For my blow-by-blow check out the entries on my old Spaces blog.

A little over a year ago I was in Florida when Hurricane Dennis hit, we were evacuated and upon out return there was a gas shortage. The only time there was any available was when the trucks brought it in, anytime after that, gone. Even with this prices barely reached the 3 dollar mark. It didn’t take long for prices to steadily go back down to near normal.

The mortar on both sections are actually the same. The lower “lighter” area of mortar is several years older than the new section. The top portion of the wall was damaged during Hurricane Dennis. We went back to the original supplier and got the same mortar. It was manufactured by Lafarge and supplied by W.R. Taylor & Company. The mortar has lightened significantly over time. The new mortar will take a few years and will look the same. The mortar’s specifications can be found here.

One of the challenges is ecological. Hurricane Dennis subsumed portions of the beach and damaged the dunes separating the housing from the Gulf's waters. As the article rightly asserts, the planning framework employed by developer Robert Davis and Duany--which limited private housing on the oceanfront in favor of a communal beach--proved fortuitous. Since housing doesn't abut the water and natural dune systems were respected, housing took less of a hit than in other parts of the region.

In the past, Cuba has refused U.S. offers of aid, the most recent following Hurricane Dennis. That storm killed more than 10 people in the Caribbean island nation in July.

I’d like to have the job of the person who gets to name hurricanes. I could come up with some really great names instead of boring Hurricane Emily or Hurricane Dennis. I’d sit at my desk all day just waiting for a hurricane to name.

Is it just me or is serious weather the order of the day? The recent heatwave in Northern Ireland left apples cooked on the trees as we all know here on the fair Isle. We have had delightful weather on and off for the last month or so but it seems that this is only because all the rain and wind is centralised in the South Eastern US of A as hurricane Dennis tears about wreaking havoc and causing over $900 million in damages. That is just the cost of wind damage, according to some news sources, and is nothing compared to the damage that will be caused if hurricane Emily makes landfall properly. The US in the meantime is still in the grip of heatwaves on the east and west coasts (although the west coast is apparently cooling off now).

While Hurricane Dennis was a very dangerous storm, Chris Pirillo has an interesting and humorous take on US news coverage of the Hurricane. Then he topped himself with his own audio "News Report".

As Hurricane Dennis slowly made its way inland, many evacuees from the Gulf Coast began arriving in Selma searching for a safe place to stay. It wasn't long before the majority of the hotels in the area booked all their available rooms, according to several hotel representatives.

Hurricane Dennis flew through with its cat-4 self, intimidating the people of my home town. Pensacola was spared for the most part due to Dennis’s traveling speed and last minute change of direction. Still the beaches and old historic areas were kinda hit hard.

My hubby's brakes are on strike. They decided to give up the ghost. Now I'd like to point out here that on Friday when he was off I offered to take his car to the shop for these handy dandy little devices that make 2,000 pounds of moving death trap metal stop. He refused and said he'd drop it off next to his work - it would be easier.

Easier - yes. He has now taken my car to work for the second day in a row since the hurricane weather is making driving without breaks a wee bit sketchy. This also leaves me stuck at home with three kids and no vehicle I feel safe putting them in. (He also took the car seats - thanks).

I see a lot of reporting this morning about Hurricane Dennis. Some of the stores have the tone that “this storm wasn’t as bad as it could have been,” comparing the 120 MPH Dennis with last year’s stronger Ivan. Dennis came ashore about 50 miles east of the Ivan trike point near Pensacola, and apparently moved through more rural areas, minimizing the damage.

Watch/Warnings —– Florida

Cyclone Graphic — Caribbean

Advisories — 1

Miss. Evac maps — Full Map (PDF)

Clarion-Ledger Mississippi Weather Page

Casinos in Mississippi closed at 4pm CST.

These are pictures of the evacuation from Florida past Montgomery… they’re not good pictures (as I was driving and Holly was in the passenger seat), but as you can see, more people by FAR are going north than south!

I’ll post when I can, the weather is getting kind of ominous down here, but if anything happens, i’ll let you guys know!

Hurricane Dennis emerged into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico today after pummeling Cuba. A much weaker hurricane, currently a category one, it does not show immediate signs of strengthening yet but is expected to get stronger as it moves over warm waters.

Hurricane Dennis, currently a category 4 hurricane, approaches Florida. C’mon, it’s just July for crying out loud! Not even August yet! And we have Dennis blasting through the Caribbean?

The depressions are the third and fourth of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1 and ends Nov. 30. The next tropical storm would be named Cindy, followed by Dennis.