Ernesto Limps Ashore, Media Mourns
You can almost feel the tangible sense of mourning coming from the press today that Ernesto wasn't a massive hurricane when it hit South Florida. In the end it wasn't much of a storm at all and the press is having to scramble like heck to keep the narrative going by hoping - almost praying - that it just might possibly strengthen again once it hits open water.
Ernesto lost much of its punch crossing mountainous eastern Cuba. It made landfall late Tuesday on Plantation Key with 45-mph winds, far from the 74-mph threshold for a hurricane that Ernesto briefly met Sunday.
"Fortunately it didn't get too big," said David Rudduck of the American Red Cross. "It was the little train that couldn't."
Forecasters said Ernesto could weaken to a tropical depression later Wednesday, but rainbands could dump as much as 10 inches of rain in some spots along Florida's east coast.
At a bar in Key Largo, transplanted New Yorker Brian Lima nursed a beer while he watched the rain fall. "I've seen much worse rainstorms in New York," Lima said. (Emphasis added)
Ernesto was forecast to move up the middle of Florida and exit on the northeast coast by early Thursday before hitting the mainland again in Georgia or the Carolinas.
"How much strengthening occurs after Ernesto emerges into the Atlantic depends on how much of a cyclone is left," said senior hurricane specialist James Franklin.
Better luck next storm guys. I suspect there's a bit of tropical depression in newsrooms everywhere.
By K T Cat, Wednesday, 30 August , 2006 @ 11:14 am
I blame President Bush.
By Roland Hesz, Thursday, 31 August , 2006 @ 12:56 am
Thank god it was nothing serious.
Though my friend complained of not being able to sleep ’cause of the wind.
But she was happy, that it did not take the roof like last year