Prospero

Wow! Kind of surreal.

A Wilma that wind shear takes down to a TS a few hours before landfall works for me. We've dodged a few this year, and have barely done any prep, but could handle the thrill (and fear) as long as we don't lose power or any more trees. Irma took all of our morning to noon shade Oaks and our electric bill went way up keeping out house cool in the summer since. I'd even be open to a decent 6-8 ft storm surge and our humble town of Gulfport, Florida would recover and everyone would pitch in to help out the businesses downtown. (They may not agree so much though...) I suppose a 6-8 ft storm surge here might be closer to 12 ft or more in downtown Tampa where the Tampa Bay might be pushed up, so that would not be good news for Tampa. I'd rather no more storms for Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, or the Florida panhandle this year. They got their share already. Of course I'd rather a weak storm hit here on the weekend when I am not working as much so I can enjoy it more. So far I give the season an A-. It started early, kept busy, a lot of hours watching and reading here and there, and I really haven't been bored til now. But with the absolutely gorgeous weather the past couple days here on the central west coast of Florida, no complaints at all.

I'm pretty sure every mile of the Gulf Coast and most, if not all of the Atlantic Coast of the US has been in a cone at least once this season. Makes for an interesting season so far...

It's getting lighter in Texas. Here are some Galveston cams: https://www.galveston.com/webcams/

Nice burst of convection this morning. Decent winds at the Galveston Fishing Pier:

Of course we had the total non-attention getter over Florida that became Omar I posted about during a day like today. Who remembers Omar during 2020? EDIT: Added: Neighbors lost power here in Gulfport, FL. Granted nothing like other areas this year, but for a system with 0% chance of development at the 8PM update, a spinning low over Florida still gets our attention. Seems like over warm Gulf waters late tonight it might flair up a bit before it meets its demise. Already sustained winds at 30 mph around here.

Any bets this is a TD by sometime tomorrow? Long term it will probably not develop much, maybe not a name. But around here we are never surprised to wake up and check the news to see a TD developed overnight when we were asleep. Watching the palms sway, oaks dance, feeling a very stiff steady warm breeze, it feels like "something", again. Then I watched a large swallowtail butterfly that was in the wind effortlessly fly from one hibiscus flower to the next as they were moving to and fro. It must weigh less than a typical bird feather, and had the DNA programming to adjust its wings and work with the wind, not against. Incredible.

Just got home after being away this afternoon a few hours. One of the strongest wind days of the season and we've lost count on how many storms have touched us here this year around Tampa Bay. 35 mph gusts at Clam Bayou a few blocks from here on the water. Palm fronds scattered around the yard, few old dead oak branches down, potted plants tipped over, loose items tossed around outside, and I am taking down my wind chimes as they sound like a horror movie soundtrack as opposed to soft tinkling relaxing sounds we are used to...

I posted this on the actual STB thread and it belongs more in Banter. I need to remember where I belong. Of course I may have elaborated more on Banter... LOL My post may disappear from STB soon as I have seen. I get it. EDIT: I figured out how to delete a post, a skill good to know. So the above is only here.

I wish I did not have a phone... I ditched Facebook 8 years ago, in one of the first waves of people appalled at the copyright issues and privacy agreement.

You think you are invisible, but you are number one in a Google search: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q="the+ghost+of+leroy" In fact, I found AmericaWX when one of your posts came up. You are a number being counted, and sold, Google knows every word you have spoken, money is moving around because of you. Your 3,400+ posts are like gold nuggets in a mountain stream. Google knows who you are, ad block all you want, you cannot escape, someone selling something has you in their scopes. Laugh as you will, the world knows who you are and what you say. But you already knew that anyway... LOL

Sad thing is, you all drive the market. When we sell ads, you are the target. LOL

I'm a web developer, and spend a lot of time doing what too many people think is simple, such as merely keeping a site alive and healthy fighting off hackers and technical issues that never end. A few bucks to the Oz behind the curtain is money well spent for me. I enjoy this more than Netflix or Hulu which costs way more.

This is Banter, so I'll respond. I do look back about 24 hours or so. But this is a "party" for all kinds of storm fans with over 15,000 members and a wide range of knowledge and ignorance. As any party, the old timers and more experienced get annoyed with the new fish. It's fun to jump in and share an opinion, and as you said, you have learned a lot being educated. I've learned a lot here. I paid for a membership to help support this. Costs add up, and money helps keep it going. I am sure I have been blocked by elders already, but this is educational, informative, entertainment and a thrill to be a part of. Hopefully the forum is not too serious when it is not critical for saving lives. Please don't take our silly questions or wild guesses as disrespectful. At least speaking for myself, I have the utmost respect for you all. BTW, where is Sally's eye? Here I do "Feel like a Stranger..."

One of the top ten weather disasters I've experienced was an ice storm in Newaygo, MI around 1976 or 1977. No wind, but three inches of ice on trees and power lines took power out for a few weeks in our area and stripped trees bare. What a mess. It looked like a hurricane came through.

We are not bad people for being excited about extreme storms. I would suggest, being "Prospero", that every thought we have might have a ripple effect on planes of reality that science has yet to explore. So being an observer is innocent, no matter how thrilled we may become, but putting serious conscious intention to make a storm more dangerous is playing with fire. Just sayin'...

Having spent a chunk of my life in the Colorado ski areas, I woke up this morning thinking about what if hurricanes dumped snow instead of rain. Models throwing out 30 inches of rain with Sally would be well over 100 inches of snow in the mountains... "Fresh powder!!!!"

There it is! (First of many sightings to come...)

A dear friend, Blues Hall of Fame member Sterling Magee (Mr. Satan) passed way this past Thursday here in Gulfport Florida shortly after "recovering" from COVID. Mustang Sally was a song he played that we locals always enjoyed around here. I think a few of us who knew him will dedicate this storm to him. Hope it is memorable, but not life threatening. Mr. Satan was an Angel. We loved Sterling very much. Feeling the wind from Sally as we speak. Might need to take down the wind chimes as they are getting crazy...

The Flying Nun? Of course. Flying on her way to New Orleans. And "Smokey and the Bandit"...(She was cute!) But my first thought was Charlie Brown's little sister...

Is tonight when we start to see and talk about an "eye"? Sometimes is a dialog that takes a few days before one is real.

Can one buy property under water? Is there a homesteading policy? I'll take 100 acres in the Gulf of Mexico. Fewer sharks, warm comfortable temperature, fun storms now and then...

It would seem the ice caps melting would cool the ocean enough to prevent major storms. But it doesn't seem to be working. My question is; if hurricanes are the natural way to keep a temperature balance in the oceans, what happens when they stop working? Is there a phenomenon we as humans may have never experienced around the corner that will do the trick? Jupiter has a big ol' storm blowing around it that has been around as long as I remember...

Oh yea! Now I remember! (So soon we forget...especially when lost in the news.) Another one of those storms where the eye got all screwy at the last minute and I wondered if Texas cloud seeder planes were messing with Mother Nature. And like Harvey and Katrina, it might have backfired... Granted the 30 ft surge did not happen, but photos of muddy water lines on second floors of homes is nothing to sneeze at.

There was a Major landfall in LA this season? Oh yea, seems like a distant memory. There were some power outages, a surge, some wind. Yea, was it...Laura?