Hurricane Watch! >:o

[greatdarkwing]

Figures.....Just doesn't stop.

I had a toga party this weekend too!

~Alex
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South Florida Under Hurricane Watch
Tropical Storm Katrina Forms as It Passes Over Bahamas

MIAMI (Aug. 24) - Tropical Storm Katrina formed Wednesday morning in the Bahamas and could reach hurricane strength before hitting the coast of Florida later this week, the National Hurricane Center said.



A tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch were posted for a 150-mile stretch of Florida's southeast coast from Florida City north to Vero Beach, meaning tropical storm conditions were likely by late Thursday.

"It's time for South Florida to start taking precautions," said Eric Blake, a hurricane center meteorologist.

At 11 a.m., the season's 11th named storm had sustained wind of 40 mph and was centered about 50 miles east-southeast of Nassau, or about 230 miles east-southeast of Florida. It was moving toward the north-northwest at 8 mph.


"It's time for South Florida to start taking precautions."
-- Eric Blake, hurricane center meteorologist

Katrina could reach hurricane strength, with sustained wind blowing at 74 mph, before making landfall Thursday, the hurricane center said.

The storm is expected to cross the state and head into the Gulf of Mexico, and could drop a foot or more of rain in places.

Crews had started lowering water levels in a 2,000-mile network of drainage canals, which drain into the ocean, said Randy Smith, spokesman for the South Florida Water Management District. The storm runoff system is still above normal levels since heavy rainfall that started with last year's four hurricanes, although it should be able to contain Katrina's rain, he said.

Sales at Home Depot Inc. stores had already picked up as people learned of Katrina, spokesman Don Harrison said.

"We stay ready this time of year. Because we have to. Moving vast quantities of product around is not something you do instantaneously," he said.

Wednesday is the 13th anniversary of Hurricane Andrew's landfall in southern Miami-Dade County. The most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history virtually wiped out the cities of Homestead and Florida City, although they have been rebuilt.

The Florida Panhandle was hit by Tropical Storm Cindy and Hurricane Dennis earlier this year. The four hurricanes that hit the state last year caused $23 billion in insured wind damage across the country but actual damage was about double that, experts said.

In an average year, only a few tropical storms develop by this time in the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. The Atlantic hurricane season ends Nov. 30