The backside of Frances is still hammering our area. The rain
bands have been moving through all night. They weather guys just
measured rainfall rates at 1-3 inches per hour in the areas of the rain
bands. Downtown Tampa is on the TV right now and is flooded in
many areas.
Sometime around 6:30 I heard a large thump out in the yard. I
went out and we lost a large branch from one of the Maples in the back
yard. It was about a 6-8 inch thick branch that missed the house.
The TV weather guys are having a hard time talking and operating the
computer at the same time. The weather radar systems are getting
so sophisticated that they need to have a team, one to operate the
computer, and another to desccribe the displays. There are
hundreds of thousands of people without power and are listening to the
TV broadcasts that are simulcast on the radio. I’ve heard several
of the weather reporters talk about the folks listening to them on the
Radar instead of Radio.
The winds have picked up since last night. When we went to sleep
around 1:00 am it had let up quite a bit. Now we have sustained
winds in the 30 mph range and gusts inthe 40’s. The live shots
from the beaches look really nasty. Hernando county has announced
mandatory level A and B evacuations.