IVAN HAS AN OUTSTANDING SATELLITE PRESENTATION...HOWEVER...THE RING OF CONVECTION SURROUNDING THE EYE HAS WEAKENED A LITTLE BIT. INITIAL INTENSITY REMAINS AT 140 KNOTS. HURRICANES NORMALLY DO NOT MAINTAIN SUCH PEAK INTENSITY FOR A LONG TIME AND MOST LIKELY THERE WILL WE SOME SLIGHT WEAKENING. THE HURRICANE WILL PROBABLY FLUCTUATE BETWEEN CAT 4 AND 5 UNTIL IT REACHES CUBA. THEREAFTER..THE EFFECTS OF LAND...INCREASING SHEAR AND LOWER OCEAN HEAT CONTENT WILL CAUSE WEAKENING.

Read more at:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh...l/091452.shtml

And those of us who are familiar with these storms know that once they get off land they get stronger. So are they saying it will ONLY be a Cat. 4? Oh, how demure. Just a sweet little storm.

160 mph winds are absolutely terrifying. I can't imagine trying to stay in the Keys with that storm. With US1 being the only "out" I would secure what I could and leave today.

Hurricane Ivan is 140 knots.

1 knot = 1.151 miles per hour.

140 x 1.151 = 161.14

161.14 miles per hour sustained winds is pretty scary to me.

I wouldn't stay in the Florida Keys with a direct hit on a tropical storm let alone a category 5 hurricane. There isn't a building in Key West that can live through that.

Anyone hear from Scarlett. Hope she is doing okay.

Indie, my emails to Scarlett have gone unanswered as of yet, but I'm assuming it's due to power loss. However, OO has talked to her daughter and says they are ok. I'm sure the gekko is mighty drunk and bothersome by now, though. :)

I just want to say that I have the utmost sympathy for all you folks in Florida this year. As someone who lives on a tiny island in the hurricane belt and deals with the threat every year, not to mention back to back hurricanes at times, I know the trauma you are going thru. I'm definitely keeping a close eye on Ivan, as well as the newly formed TD#9.

Take care and stay safe.

You, too, Statia. Looks like you're out of the way of this one. No?

I forgot to make a mention regarding GoJacks earlier inquiry about Georges. I'm sure that one must have been really awful when it reached the US coast. It totally devastated our island when it came thru here. We had a direct hit and many people lost their homes. It took us a long while to recover from that one.

Yes, Tandoori Girl, we have been very blessed this year to barely miss Frances to the north and Ivan to the south.

Our only problem is that our seas are so rough from both storms passing very close that no boats can get in here to deliver food, water or gasoline. But, we'll be fine when the seas calm down. I would still prefer dealing with that issue rather than what you Floridians are enduring.

Thanks statia.

I just skimmed through this thread and am astounded at some comments. Leona where would you recommend people move that's totally safe short of holing out in a bunker somehere.

Anyways hoping for the best for all in Florida.

Austin, you can be our official weatherman :-). You sound like you know what's what. My nerves are too bad to be watching it closely :-(.

I'm not understanding the posts that say, essentially, "Hey you chose to live in Florida." They show no sense of history or knowledge.

Doesn't everyone know that major hurricanes have hit almost every state on the East Coast since the 1950s?

What's happening in FL is abnormal, the likes of which we may never see again in our lifetimes, so enough with the "Hey you chose..."

"Hey, you chose to live on the East Coast."

It isn't just the east coast. The flooding from Hurricane Frances has caused two deaths in the state of Ohio.

I think Ohio is quite a ways from Florida.

You're absolutely right, GoTravel. Which make the "you chose to live" posts all the more silly.

Judy - I like the noaa.com site best. Click on the link to Ivan, then pick "Discussion". It's the analysis of the data by the on-duty forecaster. Sometimes it's just an analysis, sometimes they add their views/opinions of where the storm will go, based on the data. They also have a link to a map - but I like the weather.com maps better.

We got dumped on with rain yesterday from Francis, so did Kentucky, W.Va. Tenn. Georgia etc. Some people here are just **** retentive.

As to the comment about snow storms being worse, I'll take snow over rain, wind and tornados any day. ;-)

buckeyemom, you have a point! Hubby is from NE Ohio. We were just discussing the fact that Frances was a lot like a blizzard -- it pounded us for 48 hours, never thought it was giong to end. But unlike a blizzard, when it was over, no snow. Aside from digging out, of course, the kids used to think of snow as the reward of being cooped up... We were left with just digging out, collapsed roofs, insulation kneedeep in our house, etc. Well, I just consider how lucky we are not to be on one of the islands, like Grenada. Seems there's always someone who has it a lot worse, or better, then you do.

Enjoy:
http://www.geocities.com/hurricanene...anecamille.htm

Hibuscushouse:

Pray...thank God for allowing you do do all those things that you were able to see, do and say...you are blessed. You obviously got your power back on which is yet another good thing huh?

Under the circumstance try and refrain from cursing people out...folks tend to root for the underdog...and Fodor's don't like that.

Hug your kids.

Well, am I sorry I started this post this a.m.

To those on this thread that read about Florida, many of us who are here in the summer during 'cane season do so because our work is based on the travel/tourist/seasonal business. This is our work and what we do. Many people love Florida for vacations and come to Fodors for help from regular posters that offer their experience and advice.

We make things pleasant for you when you come on vacation in the dead of winter or in March when you have had enough of gray skies.

This thread has spawned some amazing stupidity and all sorts of perversions of religious and political thought. Many of you should be ashamed of your ignorance. Many of you don't sound Christian at all to me, perhaps just something else.

A pathetic day on Fodors.

LMF