Ivan is coming

“I thought I noticed some swirls off the Cape Verde's that looks a little suspect.”

“those pics are from CNN”

“TD (soon to be storm) Karl's out that way some where.”

“they are both from Pensacola, FL.

That tanker is sitting on top of other smaller boats. And those are whats left of sheared of house pilings - the house is just gone.”

“ The 1-10 bridge, or whats left of it.”

“I saw the pics of I-10 earlier. Yikes. My parents have good friends in Slidell that they visit frquently. Don't think they'll be heading down that road any time soon. It's interesting how the upper "plates" lifted off. I wonder if the footings are still stable. If they are that'll make repairs much quicker.”

“Island flooded
It was a different story in nearby Gulf Shores, Alabama, where water as high as 6 feet covered much of the barrier island.

An emergency services representative from Baldwin County, Alabama, toured the Gulf Shores area and expressed dismay.

"Orange Beach [east of Gulf Shores] all the way down to what was the FloraBama, it is no longer there. I just can't express the devastation that's there. Just every single condo or hotel, rental unit, had some extensive damage," she told reporters.

Authorities in Gulf Shores were looking for at least 13 deer and six alligators that were not evacuated from a local zoo and were seen wading and swimming through the floodwaters.

One of the alligators on the loose is named Chuckie, which measures 12 feet long and weighs 1,000 pounds, authorities said.

Another alligator was shot and killed, but authorities said they planned to only tranquilize the deer they manage to find.

Oil companies were assessing damage after hundreds of oil rigs were evacuated in the Gulf of Mexico.

Transocean Inc. reported an oil rig missing, but the Deepwater Nautilus was later found 73 miles northeast of its original location. Diamond Offshore Drilling also reported a rig afloat, but it was located and the company reported no apparent damage or pollution.

A spokesman for the Minerals Management Service said it was not unusual for drilling rigs to break free during a storm of Ivan's intensity.

But spokesman Curtis Carey said the potential danger is from damaged pipelines since the rigs' anchors drag on the gulf floor. He said there have been no reports of damage to pipelines so far.

The Gulf of Mexico is home to about 25 percent of U.S. oil and gas production and there was concern about sustained disruptions to the flow of oil and gas.

Oil companies evacuated 545 offshore rigs as the storm approached, disrupting 83 percent of daily production -- about 1.7 million barrels of oil a day, the service said.

In addition, more than half of natural gas production was disrupted, the service reported.”

“
click”

“Poor western NC is getting flooded again it looks like - they havn't recovered from Frances flooding yet.”

“Well, everything's pretty much A-OK here in Huntsville. Just a lot of rain. There may be some flooding in low-lying areas, won't know until tomorrow. Schools are even open tomorrow.”

“not so bad here. some tornado watches and a couple of warnings. it's not bad at all here though. We had a little rain, but not much. It sure didn't look like Tornado weather here , at least not in a 10 mile radius.”

“our schools STILL aren't open - havn't had school since Sept 1!

stupid storms.”

“B'ham is a mess from flooding. They got around 7" of rain. Lots of footage of water at the top of car doors. Very ugly.

My town is only 30 east of B'ham and didn't lose power.

It's going to be real interesting to see all the footage that starts to come in.”

“No rain whatsoever in west Tennessee last night. A little on my way home from Nashville only. This morning, cloudy, expected to rain, but clearing off. Supposedly Nashville's Sat will be clear and 50's.”

“TownDawg - Yep, things look better, but you're still likely to get rain. Knoxville, McGhee Tyson Airport Forecast looks better than the Asheville Regional Airport Forecast.

Oops, you better check Roads and Facilities that are Closed. Just about all of NC and the E/W ends of the Park are closed. Greenbrier Road (above the Ranger Station) is closed. It appears that only the big three campgounds and Cosby are open. Of course, this is subject to change.”

“Man, this is so infuriating! I have yet to contact my wife. Our home is 45 miles North of Pensacola on the Alabama line. I got hold of my old job at the fire dept and they told me a huge pine tree squashed the rear of my home, but my wife was safe. I got hold of my folks nearby and they confirmed that I had some damage. The phones are totally unreliable in the area. I guess my leave from Iraq will be spent hauling off the damage and rebuilding etc. The damage to the house is where I keep my hiking gear, bikes, guitars and amps and such. If they are ruined there will be much wailing and knashing of teeth! Many of the soldiers I serve with are in the same boat.”

“Parts of the Blueridge parkway are already washed out..roads with one lane hanging in space...w/nothing beneath them.. this is after Frances. No clue what it looks like now. Now another one..this is crazy..”

“The Orlando Sentinel is rotating six Ivan pictures on the front page. They have a number of other damage pictures, but you have to register to view them. There are some good ones there, in case you're thinking of moving to Florida.

Good luck making contact, >”

“NowSlimmer: Thanks again for the link and information. Yeah, that could definitely be a problem -- but you never know.. 24 hrs from now.. most of that water could drain away. It will be interesting as the day develops.”

“Ivan's brushing against Ohio this morning. What's the big deal? This things a pussiecat! j/k”

“

Let's go hiking, ehh?

”

“Don't forget your rubbers!”

“I lost power yesterday at 4:30, and today, still none. I'm an isolated one square block area, so I'm a low priority...so I thought I might as well come on in to work...”

“Report from North AL:

I live at an elevation of approx. 1600ft and my house faces a valley in the north east direction. My house is approx. 15 miles east of Hunstville. The wind from the storm came from that direction and had nothing to stop it. The front side of my house took a direct hit by the wind from approx. 2pm - 9pm last night. The house shook violently several times and I lost about 50% of the shingles on the front side of the house. The road I live on looks like my yard...limbs, debris, trees, leaves all over the place. We lost power for several hours but it's back on now.

I guess it could have been worse...I've already called the insurance company. :D”

“Looks like Jeanne will turn into the coast now. The maps are showing it at about Daytona, but that's so far out location will definitely change.”

“Only 73 days left in the hurricane season.”

“MDS, look at the bright side...you get a new roof!”

“Yeah,$500 deductible for a new roof. That's not too bad.

How did your girls do? My son was all worried about what James Spann had to say (local weatherman).”

“MDSHiker - Glad to hear that you and your family are OK.”

“My wife's b'day was yesterday. In the morning my son and I went out to get her a cake. He called it, "Momma's Hurricane Ivan Birthday Cake."”

“I think Spann used to work up here in Huntsville. I see that we're successfully spreading the "Weather Fear" virus from Huntsville to the rest of the state.”

“He may have. He's been the main B'ham guy for close to 20 years now.”

“EXPECT ADDITIONAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 3-6 INCHES WITH ISOLATED
HEAVIER AMOUNTS THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING...CONCENTRATED ALONG THE
APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS.”

“I heard rumors that this thing would back up. Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy.”

“This Afternoon
Rain. Breezy. Highs in the lower 70s. Winds becoming north 10 to 20 mph with gusts to 30 mph late. Chance of rain 100 percent.

Tonight
Rain...mainly during the evening. Breezy. Lows in the mid 50s to lower 60s. Northwest winds 10 to 20 mph with gusts to 30 mph. Chance of rain 70 percent.

Saturday
Mostly cloudy. Showers likely then a chance of showers in the afternoon. Breezy. Highs in the upper 60s to mid 70s. North winds 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60 percent.

Saturday Night
Mostly cloudy. Lows in the upper 50s. North winds 10 to 15 mph.

Sunday
Mostly cloudy with a slight chance of showers. Highs in the 70s. North winds 5 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Sunday Night
Mostly cloudy with a slight chance of showers. Lows in the 50s. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Monday
Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers. Highs in the upper 60s and 70s. Chance of rain 30 percent”

“Dayhiker: I don't claim to be a weatherman.. but my guess.. hehe.. the perfect storm.. IVAN is being pulled SE by Jeanne, and they will MERGE.”

“Yes, I think James Spann use to work in Huntsville many years ago..jeezzz...I'm old.

PPpfffftttt !!”

“Honestly, it didn't get really bad here until Dan "I wet my pants again" Satterfield was imported from the Houston area. He has toned down a little since the NWS threatened to spank him for canceling their watches/warnings prior to the NWS's times.”

“I'm fine.
Ivan was making a beeline for my house up to a few hours before landfall till it took a Western jog to Gulf Shores.
I'm back home now, power just came back on. No major damage to my house. A lot of tree limbs down on my roof and yard. Only one small leak so far.
I was lucky lucky lucky.

Thanks to all of you that sent me emails. I'll answer them as I get time.

Cleanup time.

I think I'll leave the windows boarded up till no other hurricanes are cooking up. ;-)”

“Good to hear from you StoveStomper!”

“Great to hear from you SS. Glad for you it jogged east.”

“~Whew~
That's good news. Glad you are ok SS.”

“Good news, SS. And I was thinking "phhhht!" when I saw you had posted on Twigeater's thread -- until I saw you *probably* posted in here first. LOL!”

“If you have got to be near a hurricane, be on the western side of it! The line of destruction pretty much stopped about ten miles to the East of my house.
I was lucky lucky lucky.

Poor Gulf Shores, AL took the full force of it. It kind of pisses me off the way the news shows keep talking about Pensacola. But then again, they always talk about the closest big town. The little places that get hit don't get much press.”

“LOL, yea I posted here first, lizsbaby.”

“Glad you're okay SS.”

“Did I say I was damn glad to be able to post from my still standing home with the A/C now running? ;-)”

“Good to hear you made it home safe, and no major damage!”

“Just heard that Brevard got 8 inches of rain. All those waterfalls must really be pumping ---

The Davidson River campground must be underwater.”