Raf

:)--> I think this one's going to pull a Jeanne on us, start moving away, then loop right back and WHAM!

I believe that's Nate to the east. He'll head up north by the time the night is out. Feeder bands? Not in a TD. They don't call them feeder bands until it's at least a tropical storm, which this is not. At least, not yet.

Gee, I wonder what you'll insist on making the subject?

As if he wouldn't have hijacked this thread had I not said anything. It was a nice thread while it lasted. It's about to become about something else entirely.

NOTICE TO ALL CONCERNED: MIKE IS ABOUT TO HIJACK THIS THREAD. Nice chatting with you folks. This is about to become a Mike thread. Have fun!

Tropical storms are like the bratty little brother of hurricanes. A pain to deal with, but you'd rather deal with him than big brother. Hurricane Party at Lulu's Bait Shack, midnight tonight. See you there (actually, I won't, but whatever). :)-->

Somebody please make sure the cockpit doors are locked!

Note also that the cone has a calendar on it. You can see where it's forecast to hit at particular times. No telling how that will change (and it WILL change), but you can see that the current projection is for landfall on Saturday morning, well, well north of Fort Lauderdale. St. Augustine and Jacksonville seem to be the places to worry about at the moment, but as always with these storms, that could change with the next update.

Fort Lauderdale is in the cone, technically, but the forecast is for this to miss us entirely. If you look at the map, you'll see a thick blue line on Florida's east coast. That's where tropical storm conditions (winds between 35 and 75 mph) MAY hit. The thick blue line ends due east of that big lake in the middle of the state. Fort Lauderdale is well south of that line. So the short answer is: your daughter will be fine.

Only if you're preparing another hijack.

Forgive the all caps: it's how the Hurricane Center sends out its tropical storm warnings. AT 11 AM EDT...1500Z...A TROPICAL STORM WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE EAST COAST OF FLORIDA FROM NORTH OF JUPITER NORTHWARD TO TITUSVILLE INCLUDING MERRITT ISLAND...AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE BAHAMAS HAS ISSUED A TROPICAL STORM WARNING FOR GRAND BAHAMA... THE ABACOS AND BIMINI.

This is tropical depression 16. The cone is circular, which I guess is what happens when it's still in depression stage. Then comes anger, bargaining, acceptance... just kidding. This is heading straight for land, so it may well never get named (which means Ophelia will be a later storm).

Here's Nate.

Nate's nothing. I'm prepping for Ophelia!

Beet William Tell Jews Beetlejuice. Sick, by the way. :)-->

I blame it on the Alaskan Media. Double whammy, two for the price of one!

No, I got it. Good one. Beetlejuice

I suspect that I'll have to see it nine or ten more times before it sinks in.

I hate to say this, but I'm gonna (and I don't mean it to be mean, but to be provocative - that is, to provoke thought). Criticizing the term "awaiting the return" strikes me as a very TWI-ish thing to do. They loved to get down on everybody because of language, didn't they? Merry Christmas! I hope so! Good luck! And WHAM, the TWI thought police come in and yell EN GARDE! to make you feel guilty for... for what, exactly? Awaiting the return... Yes, it leaves out "of Christ." But so what? Whose return do you think she's awaiting, Bob Hope's? Xena, you're not wrong. If that's the way you feel about the phrase, then don't use it. But (as you correctly pointed out) it really is no bigge. And just as you despise the way TWI nitpicked words to death, you might want to let this one pass. The concept is Biblical. Celebrate that. Leave the quibbling to the quibblers. That's what we left behind! :)-->

My prayers Ron For whom? Just kidding. :)--> Let us know if you need a hand with supplies, Ron.

From the Associated Press:

I've taken the liberty of locking the thread on the Greasespot offshoot site.

We found out about 20 minutes ago, and immediately the newsroom went bananas. I don't mean cheering, but a LOT of reorganizing has to be done when something like this breaks at an hour like that. Good night, Your Honor. Rest well.