Greetings from my new summer getaway, Daphne, Ala., on the eastern edge of Mobile Bay.
Tribune photographer Colin Hackley and I arrived here about 8 p.m. after getting our marching orders this afternoon. We are in the same hotel that served as our home base for Hurricane Dennis in early July. By all indications, Dennis will be a mild breeze compared to Katrina.
The phrase “Category 5” has certainly upped the stakes. Everyone from newspaper assignment editors to the Weather Channel beach broadcasters have been ratcheting up the hysteria level. Happy to be able to contribute.
I have very fond memories of New Orleans. I was there in 1997 when my beloved Green Bay Packers won the Super Bowl there. (OK, I have somewhat foggy memories of New Orleans.) I wasn’t able to get into the Superdome, but the streets of the city were alive and electric. It’s hard to picture them under water. I understand the Superdome is now a giant hurricane shelter.
I was a relative newcomer to Florida when Hurricane Andrew, the last Category 5, hit South Florida in 1992. In fact, I was at the Lollapalooza Festival in Orlando as the storm approached. The Pearl Jam and Soundgarden and Red Hot Chili Peppers fans were extremely blase about the impending disaster. Then a guy announced from the stage that I-95 south to Miami was closed. People sobered up fast when they realized that about half of the festival-goers would not be returning home that night. I gave up my hotel room and left early to get back to the Tampa area at a decent hour. I missed a huge chunk of the Chili Peppers show. Damn these hurricanes.
So tonight we’re staying in a hotel in Mobile where we’ll try to get some sleep before what will sure to be a very long day. But I think everyone will be keeping one eye open tonight. We’re on the 16th floor of a high-rise hotel that is made up of large glass windows. Even the lobby is surrounded by glass. I’m sleeping in my clothes and keeping all my belongings next to the door. I imagine when things get bad; we’ll be snatching our stuff and moving into the hallways on the lower floors. I guess we’ll find out how much this building can handle.
Winds are picking up here. One long gust caused the lights to dim a little, but the power didn’t go out. Small limbs and branches that were knocked loose last month by Dennis but didn’t fall are now coming down. It’s been awhile since I went through a storm in a house with a chimney, and I’m noticing the sound - like a larger version of blowing air across the top of a bottle; a deep whistle.
With a promise of tropical storm force winds here, it’s hard to know what to expect. Obviously, we won’t see close to what people in Louisiana are facing, but some tropical storms can be pretty damaging while others pass by with less impact than the average afternoon thunderstorm.
Pensacola has opened up several shelters, including the Pensacola Civic Center. The shelters are less for locals than for those who have evacuated more threatened areas and gotten stranded here.
So it seems people are a bit more worried now that Katrina is a Category 5 storm. We’re now in Mobile, Alabama and many more people are evacuating. Even if the storm hits Louisiana, this area is expected to get hurricane force winds.
The biggest worry here is the storm surge. We were out on the barrier island this afternoon and water was already covering the main roadway. We thought we would be okay in our rented Ford Explorer but still got stuck in the sand.
Luckily, a construction crew with a backhoe was nearby and could tow us out. But they didn’t look happy that they had to do it. I wanted to get pictures of the event for my blog, but after seeing the scowl on their faces at us being out there, I decided to secretly take photos from inside the car.
Although, if you ask the photographer, he’ll tell you that I didn’t want to get my feet wet.
The was a time when I thought hurricanes were fun. Of course, there was also a time when I thought New Kids On The Block and Boyz II Men were cool. Those days are over.
Hurricanes are like snow days for Florida kids: School is cancelled and we stay home watching weather reports. Unless there’s a direct hit and you have to spend the next days, weeks or months cleaning up the yard, hurricanes were exciting as a kid. All together, I remember or guess (because I was too young to remember) that I have been in 6 hurricanes and a handful of tropical storms or depressions.
My friend Tristan, whose father was in the Navy and who lived in Key West, Homestead and now Pensacola, puts her hurricane count at 10 plus about 8 tropical storms. She survived Andrew in Homestead and Ivan here. Needless to say, hurricanes are not fun for her. After last year, they’re not fun for me either.
So I’m wondering what other people’s hurricane scores are. How many storms have you weathered?
As Katrina grows in strength, residents here grow more concerned. Though the storm’s track is consistent with each update - aimed right at New Orleans - Katrina’s size promises Pensacola some strong wind and rain. We are under a tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch. It’s started raining and the water is rising. Navarre Beach is under a mandatory evacuation and officials are urging Pensacola Beach residents to leave, too.
I took the requisite pre-storm trip to Wal-Mart with my sister today. The lines are back at the gas stations and the store was quite crowded—except for the frozen food aisle, which was deserted. When the power goes out, everything in the freezer has to be eaten or tossed, so why bother with that?
I heard on CNN the other day that the most sold item at Wal-Mart in the days before a hurricane is beer. I would have guessed water. Silly me.
Pensacola residents believe they finally may bet a break. Yesterday, we cruised around town and found life as normal. People mowing lawns, leisurely shopping and the beaches packed with people.
It was eerie to see houses completely destroyed from Ivan sitting on the beach with their stuff still inside, and a few feet away people sunbathing on the soft white sands.
The people here said they’ve done all they can do to prepare and they just hope it turns away.
You definitely would never guess there was a storm out there. There was a clear sky, light breeze and a beautiful sunset.
But Sunday is a new day. I awoke to find that Katrina is now a category 5 storm that covers practically the entire Gulf. Pensacola isn’t out of the woods yet. The forecast may say Louisiana but these people know that a sudden turn and it’s a new game.
I took a drive around Pensacola Beach this afternoon. There were plenty of families at Quietwater Beach, a parasailer in the air, and people fishing in Santa Rosa Sound. There were a few boarded-up windows, but far more “Open” signs on businesses.
I spotted a few people filling sandbags at the South Santa Rosa County Recreation Center in Gulf Breeze. Katrina’s aim toward Louisiana seems to have people watching, but no longer too worried.
The biggest concern yesterday was gas, but what I’ve seen here is just the low octane gasoline sold out. There were lines at the stations yesterday. One woman I spoke to said she happily got into what looked like a short line only to see the first person in the line finish filling his vehicle and take out several (she said 12) large gas cans. So much for the short wait.
After last year’s storms, I tacked to my desk at work this picture of the state of Florida fully covered by a hurricane with an arrow and the words “We Are Here.”
Last night, I saw that Allen Strum (Pensacola’s non-blonde answer to meteorologist Steve Jerve) had put a magnet graphic on his weather map, right over the Panhandle. Yeah, that’s pretty accurate.
Currently, I am here: Gulf Breeze, a little town on a barrier peninsula, sandwiched between Pensacola and Pensacola Beach (or what’s left of it).
Just for some perspective on where I’m coming from with this blog, I should tell that I grew up here and my family lives here. While I was in Tampa, my family and several friends battled Ivan, Dennis and a couple tropical storms. (When I was home for the 4th of July, we were still fishing shingles out of the bottom of my parents’ pool and their house is not yet fully repaired from Ivan’s damage. And compared to many here, they did pretty well.)
So, in short, the Panhandle is over it. Over the storms, over the plywood, over the gas station lines, over the work trucks and the piles of debris. Over it.
Katrina’s current track is pointing toward New Orleans. From a journalist’s standpoint, I probably shouldn’t express a preference for where Katrina makes landfall, especially given New Orleans’ vulnerable position below sea level, but from the perspective of a daughter/sister/aunt/friend and that of a former resident, I’m willing Katrina West.
I think I finally understand the term storm chaser.
I try not to take these things personally, but I’m starting to think Hurricane Katrina is trying to avoid me.
Thursday, we loaded up and headed to Punta Gorda for yet another storm. We didn’t expect anything too bad because Katrina was predicted to only be a tropical storm by the time it got to Florida’s west coast. Yet, it could still be problematic for Punta Gorda residents who still have damage from last year’s Charley.
However, when we woke up Friday morning we found light breezes and patches of sunny sky. It seems Katrina stayed south avoiding the area.
So next, we hear the storm is headed to the Panhandle and could possibly come in as a Category 4. That means we have to make that very long drive up to Panhandle. When we finally arrive about 10:30 p.m., we hear she now may be headed for Mississippi or Louisiana. That’s great for Florida residents, not great for someone trying to cover a storm.
Who knows? Katrina seems tricky, so we’ll wait and watch.
Michele Jones blogs on Hurricane Katrina.
The Tampa Tribune’s Michele Sager covers Hurricane Katrina.
Jerry Stockfisch of The Tampa Tribune covers Hurricane Katrina.
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