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TS/Hurricane Idalia thread

C

crainbebo

Tropical Storm, soon to be Hurricane Idalia is barreling down on the eastern FL panhandle and Tallahassee, and could cause life-threatening storm surge as far as Tampa. It's near western Cuba right now, heading north. Current HWRF models show a landfall as CAT 3 on Cedar Key and the Big Bend. Evacuation orders have already been issued for a few counties, Pinellas County is issuing one for Zone A and mobile homes tonight. Use this thread to discuss radio/TV coverage of the hurricane in FL and GA.

www.wctv.tv

LIVE BLOG: Major Hurricane Idalia makes landfall in Florida

The latest updates on Hurricane Idalia as it approaches Florida.
www.wctv.tv www.wctv.tv
www.wcjb.com

Evacuations ordered ahead of Idalia, shelters open in North Central Florida

North Central Florida emergency management agencies are announcing storm shelters as Idalia approaches Florida’s Gulf Coast
www.wcjb.com www.wcjb.com

BTW, the landfall area, unfortunately, is one of Florida's poorest areas. Some of these towns have large rates of poverty. Really hoping everyone has a way out when the counties call for it. 😟
 
Unfortunately, the Perry FL stations (93.5, 92.1, etc.) don't have streams and hardly any web presence. That's unacceptable in 2023.
That's where the most damage is expected. They may just be satellite feeds.
IHeart has an Operation Stormwatch page set up, but Tallahassee stations are still playing music.
Evacuations ordered in Taylor County.

I don't think Tallahassee should be messing around with this and 'hunkering down'. Tallahassee is home to tens of thousands of oak trees. I seriously believe that Leon County needs to voluntarily evacuate before DeSantis or Leon County government tells them to. I'm looking at these HWRF models (link below) and it does not look good for Tallahassee and FSU tomorrow morning. Landfall looks to be in the wildlife refuge but the western eyewall hammers Tallahassee and Crawfordville. As a major hurricane, to boot. Remember that Hurricane Michael in 2018 rapidly went from CAT 2 to CAT 5 before it destroyed Panama City and Mexico Beach.
www.tropicaltidbits.com

HWRF Model

HWRF model forecast of MSLP & 10m Wind for 10L
www.tropicaltidbits.com www.tropicaltidbits.com
 
crainbebo said:
Tropical Storm, soon to be Hurricane Idalia is barreling down on the eastern FL panhandle and Tallahassee, and could cause life-threatening storm surge as far as Tampa. It's near western Cuba right now, heading north. Current HWRF models show a landfall as CAT 3 on Cedar Key and the Big Bend. Evacuation orders have already been issued for a few counties, Pinellas County is issuing one for Zone A and mobile homes tonight. Use this thread to discuss radio/TV coverage of the hurricane in FL and GA.
Click to expand...
Tallahassee is about 20 miles inland, and even just that amount will weaken a hurricane that is not a Category 4 or 5. Plus, most of the metro is over 200 feet AMSL, so not subject to tidal flooding which is the major issue in places like Miami or the Tampa Bay metro or all of coastal Puerto Rico or the USVI or even Savannah and other Atlantic Coast metros.

Elevation creates drainage paths. For most in Tallahassee who are in areas with elevation and drainage, staying put or going to shelters at schools and the like is the best. Most points of refuge with safe lodging would be to the west, and the Interstate and coastal roadways will be jammed. They can not go north, east or southeast along the bend as that is where the storm is going to be felt.
crainbebo said:
BTW, the landfall area, unfortunately, is one of Florida's poorest areas. Some of these towns have large rates of poverty. Really hoping everyone has a way out when the counties call for it. 😟
Click to expand...
If you look at the Tallahassee TV station coverage, the roads are jammed. In most places, getting off the beach and coast and going inland immediately takes you up in elevation. At this moment, anyone who has not gotten out of the area needs to get to a shelter or be confident that their area has drainage and strong construction.

I went through a whole set of very boring government lectures when they financed "hardening" of WTNT which I supervised. The tower will supposedly take any wind conceivable, and there is a bomb and wind proof studio and generator complex in a foot-thick reinforced concrete structure.
 
DavidEduardo said:
I wonder if they are doing the same with their Tallahassee AM?
Click to expand...

Yes, they have networked Tallahassee, Sarasota, and Tampa together

wflafm.iheart.com

100.7 WFLA - Tallahassee's Talk Radio

100.7 WFLA is Tallahassee's Talk Radio with Preston Scott morning and the latest news, traffic, and weather all day
wflafm.iheart.com wflafm.iheart.com

From the Inside Radio story I linked earlier:

WFLA’s coverage was carried Tuesday on iHeart Tampa sister stations AC “Mix 100.7” WMTX and WDAE, which is simulcast on the Pinellas Park-licensed translator W237CW at 95.3. iHeartMedia’s Tallahassee talk outlet WFLA-FM (100.7) also broadcast the Tampa coverage, which included live broadcasts of press conferences from Governor Ron DeSantis and other state officials.
Click to expand...

They're talking about pre-emting music stations in Tallahassee as well. They're calling it "statewide coverage."
 
Even smaller hurricanes have caused serious damage in Tallahassee. Hurricane Kate in '85 knocked power out to 90% of the city and some areas didn't get power back for 2 1/2 weeks. That was only a Cat 2.
Music stations in Tallahassee seem normal right now, but I expect TV simulcasts to start late tonight or early in the morning.
No major hurricane (CAT 3+) has ever hit Apalachee Bay. If Idalia continues into a CAT 3, 4 or even 5, it will be unprecedented per the NWS office in Tallahassee.
 
CTListener said:
FEMA should be dropping AM radios across northern and central Florida right now, dammit!
Click to expand...
Daytime there is horrible AM coverage of the Big Bend area. Lots of small signals that don't get out of local towns, and some areas far from any AM. At night, there are no big signals that don't have tons of co-channel interference.

That's why in the past 690 in Jax used to go to the day facility of 50 kw non-directional and run storm updates, covering as far north as the Carolinas and as far West as the Panhandle. The Big Ape did huge service back then.

Note that WWL in 'Orleans is directional north. The Big Bend is in their null, although it still does pretty well to that area.

Today, who would even think of looking for an AM station?
 
Gulf 104 might be one of the better FM signals from Tallahassee out there. They put grade A into Perry. Last check was a CAT 2 at 100mph, forecasted to become a major CAT 3 by tonight.
 
crainbebo said:
Gulf 104 might be one of the better FM signals from Tallahassee out there. They put grade A into Perry. Last check was a CAT 2 at 100mph, forecasted to become a major CAT 3 by tonight.
Click to expand...
As you have mentioned, the big danger is flooding and tidal surge. I've been through a good number of Cat 1 and Cat 2 hurricanes in Puerto Rico where they did not even knock the avocados off the tree in my backyard. A 3 can cause damage to things like those Home Depot storage sheds in peoples back yards, rotten roof and porch supports and the like... but those I have experienced mostly blew trash cans down the street.

Of course, in most of Puerto Rico we sensibly build walls and roofs out of reinforced concrete, not wood. That's why Miami and some other parts of Florida have code that requires block walls in many situations.
 
CTListener said:
FEMA should be dropping AM radios across northern and central Florida right now, dammit!
Click to expand...
Only ones that are playing "Try That In A Small Town"..! 😑

Sounds like storm surge is going to be very bad for some.
Cedar Key is likely to get slammed. It's fascinating that some people are always defiant and refuse to evacuate. They are usually the ones who whine the loudest that "Nobody warned us"...
 
My view is the media does not appear to have spent some time looking at the area in conjunction with the National Hurricane Center predictions. Or they did and chose to ignore it.

Locals in Steinhatchee, Horseshoe Beach, Suwanee and Cedar Key have been through this before. More recently constructed houses are frequently elevated.

Cedar Key evacuation orders seem more like government agencies on autopilot, looking out for themselves. All Cedar Key residents are within walking distance of 20 foot or higher elevation. A community center is at 26 foot elevation. Fears of not being able to rescue Cedar Key residents because the causeway/bridge flooding are myopic. Heart attacks can happen anywhere, and there is probably more physical exertion and stress driving to Perry to an uncertain destination with strangers, than staying with your neighbors on high ground at home. Locals will move their cars and other things with wheels to higher ground. They know to have shelves at home very high up, and put things there.

Storm surge comes and goes in a few hours. Even if the causeway is washed out, water is shallow in that bay. Walking in it is not a good idea because you will probably get stuck and the tide may rise. Once the storm passes, any boat can get across. Local pilots can fly from Perry to Cedar Key airport maybe 36 hours after the storm.

If a resident of the communities mentioned can get inside a well built structure at over 15 foot site elevation with reasonable supplies, I think they will survive. If local officials evacuate and prevent residents from taking shelter at city buildings at higher ground, this increases danger to the residents, instead of decreasing it.

I would not want to live in those communities, at any price, though. I've seen enough of Florida scrub islands and and swamp. It gets cold there, the panhandle is freezing cold in winter.
 
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Greg Strickland said:
My view is the media does not appear to have spent some time looking at the area in conjunction with the National Hurricane Center predictions. Or they did and chose to ignore it.

Locals in Steinhatchee, Horseshoe Beach, Suwanee and Cedar Key have been through this before. More recently constructed houses are frequently elevated.

Cedar Key evacuation orders seem more like government agencies on autopilot, looking out for themselves. All Cedar Key residents are within walking distance of 20 foot or higher elevation. A community center is at 26 foot elevation. Fears of not being able to rescue Cedar Key residents because the causeway/bridge flooding are myopic. Heart attacks can happen anywhere, and there is probably more physical exertion and stress driving to Perry to an uncertain destination with strangers, than staying with your neighbors on high ground at home.

Storm surge comes and goes in a few hours. Even if the causeway is washed out, water is shallow in that bay. Walking in it is not a good idea because you will probably get stuck and the tide may rise. Once the storm passes, any boat can get across. Local pilots can fly from Perry to Cedar Key airport maybe 36 hours after the storm.

If a resident of the communities mentioned can get inside a well built structure at over 15 foot site elevation with reasonable supplies, I think they will survive.

I would not want to live in those communities, at any price, though. I've seen enough of Florida scrub islands and and swamp. It gets cold there, the panhandle is freezing cold in winter.
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What happens if the power is knocked out for several days or weeks? It makes things really unpleasant. I suppose it's good that the population is low in the areas you mentioned. Of course, much of that part of Florida is barely livable under ideal conditions. That area has never taken a direct hit from a hurricane. There's no way to tell what might actually happen...
 
tbolt909 said:
What happens if the power is knocked out for several days or weeks? It makes things really unpleasant. I suppose it's good that the population is low in the areas you mentioned. Of course, much of that part of Florida is barely livable under ideal conditions. That area has never taken a direct hit from a hurricane. There's no way to tell what might actually happen...
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What part of Florida is "unlivable"? Much of the Big Bend is sparsely populated, but it is not any more unlivable than Tallahassee or Live Oak or Lake City.

Have you ever lived in that area? I have.
 
DavidEduardo said:
Daytime there is horrible AM coverage of the Big Bend area. Lots of small signals that don't get out of local towns, and some areas far from any AM. At night, there are no big signals that don't have tons of co-channel interference.
Click to expand...
Has the FCC ever allowed a boost in signal in the event of a weather or other emergency?
 
I think roads should be passable within a few days. A resident could probably drive to Ocala, Gainesville or Tallahassee and stay in a place with power. etc.

Larry most of the AM stations in that area are not capable of making much more than their licensed power. I think we can say confidently that WZCC Cross City does not have a 50 kW transmitter sitting there.

tbolt909 they have running water in the Big Bend 😁 If you mean mosquitos, humidity and thunderstorms, they have that everywhere. Any freshwater in Florida can have alligators.
 
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