The Tropics: After Gustav, There’s Hanna And Ike And Josephine
September 2, 2008
Gustav is expected to fade away into a rainy low over Texas and Oklahoma this week, turning attention to the next round of tropical systems…Hanna and Ike and now Josephine.
Hurricane Hanna was located near the southern Bahamas. A category one hurricane, Hanna is expected strengthen this week and head west then northwest toward the U.S. Coast. Hanna is expected to make landfall on the South Carolina coast near the Georgia line Friday afternoon as a category two hurricane.
From his location in the middle of the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Ike is forecast to become a category two hurricane moving west toward southern Bahamas by the weekend. Long range forecast models have Ike potentially moving toward southern Florida or even the Gulf of Mexico by early next week.
Behind Ike is Tropical Storm Johsephine, just off the coast of Africa. Preliminary forecast models have the area approaching hurricane status in three days. But those models also have it beginning a turn out to the middle of the Atlantic and not becoming a threat to land anywhere.
Pictured above: A satellite image showing Gustav making landfall in Louisiana (left) and Hurricane Hanna over the southern Bahamas (right).
Gustav Lacks Gusto In North Escambia
September 2, 2008
Hurricane Gustav rained out more than a few Labor Day Barbecues in North Escambia, but overall it led to few problems in our immediate area.
Rain bands from Gustav contained storms that were observed rotating on radar, prompting the National Weather Service to issued about a half dozen different tornado warnings Monday morning. Possible tornadoes were observed on radar near Molino, Barrineau Park, Walnut Hill, Molino, Enon and Cantonment, but funnel clouds were never reported to have reached the ground in the area. There were no injuries or damage reported from the possible tornadoes.
A weather station in Molino reported a wind gust of 37 mph, while a weather station at Century reported a wind gust of 29 mph. Rain totals were from half an inch to almost two inches across the area.
Scattered power outages were reported across North Escambia by both Gulf Power and Escambia River Electric Cooperative. Most outages were brief in duration, with power crews able to quickly restore service to most customers.
No other major problems were reported across the North Escambia area.
Gustav Downgraded To Depression
September 2, 2008
Hurricane Gustav made landfall as a Category 3 storm near Cocodrie, Louisiana, with winds of 110 mph. It has now been downgraded to a tropical depression.
Tropical Depression Gustav was located about 135 miles from Lafayette, Louisiana, moving toward the northwest at 10 mph.
Maximum sustained winds are have decreased to 35 mph.
Hurricane, Holiday Cause Traffic Changes On Highway 29
September 2, 2008
Hurricane Gustav led to unusual Labor Day weekend traffic patterns in North Escambia.
There is one live traffic counter in North Escambia located on Highway 29 just south of Century. It records and reports hourly data on traffic patterns, including vehicle counts and the average speed at the location.
On Sunday afternoon, northbound traffic at the traffic counter jumped from a Labor Day weekend average of about 310 vehicles per hour to a high of 480 vehicles per hour as people headed north from the coast.
A notable decrease in northbound traffic was observed Monday morning, due to both the holiday and the hurricane. During the 7 a.m. hour on a Monday morning, 222 vehicles per hour normally head north on Highway 29 toward Century. Monday morning, that number was just 83 vehicles during that hour.
Southbound traffic on Sunday did was not far off average, with about 260 vehicles per hour headed south compared to a normal of about 280 per hour.
Southbound traffic was much lighter than normal Monday morning, dropping from an average of about 200 vehicles per hour to about 35 vehicle per hour headed south.
Speed was not a problem for the weekend traffic. The average speed per hour ranged from 61 mph to 70 mph. The 70 mph was the average speed of the 262 northbound vehicles Monday morning between 11 a.m. and noon. The speed limit in the area is 65 mph.
Pictured above: This graph shows in yellow the weekend northbound traffic count at an automated counter on Highway 29 just south of Century; the green line is the weekend average. Pictured below: The same information for the southbound side of the highway.
Escambia Emergency Operations Center Update
September 1, 2008
(Updated 4:30 p.m.) Here is the latest information from the Escambia County Emergency Operations Center:
Shelters
- East Brent Baptist Church, located at 4801 North Davis Highway, in Pensacola opened at 4 p.m. Sunday for local residents and as a host shelter for travelers. Nurses are available for special needs clients. No advance registration required At 4:30 this afternoon, there were 249 people in the shelter: 199 from out of town, 50 local residents and one special needs patient with two caregivers.
Power Outages
- Gulf Power: (800) GU-POWER
- Gulf Power is reporting 2,347 customers without power at 3:00 p.m.
- EREC: (877) OUT-EREC
ECAT
- ECAT buses will not run on Monday…due to the Labor Day holiday.
Trash
- Allied Waste and Century will not have trash pickup on Monday due to Labor Day. Customers scheduled for Monday pickup will be serviced on Tuesday. Customers scheduled for Tuesday pickup will be serviced on Wednesday.
Schools
- UWF will be open on Tuesday for classes as usual.
- PJC will be open Tuesday as usual.
- Escambia County Schools will be open as usual Tuesday.
Citizen Info Line/EOC
- Citizen information phone lines are open at (850) 471-6600 until 7:00 tonight. The EOC will be open until 7:00 tonight. Both will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Evacuations
- There are no evacuations planned in Escambia County at this time.
Pictured above: An update on Hurricane Gustav Sunday afternoon in the Escambia County Emergency Operations Center. Pictured below: EOC staffers were also updated on Tropical Storm Hanna. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com
Evacuation Traffic Smooth North Of Our Area
September 1, 2008
Traffic on I-65 in Atmore was flowing smoothly Sunday afternoon as thousands of evacuees headed north from the the coasts of Alabama, Mississippi and Lousiana.
Motorists experienced few delays in the early afternoon, with near bumper to bumper traffic continuing to move near the speed limit.
Gas was still available at stations at the Atmore Exit 57 early Sunday afternoon, with no more than five or six vehicles waiting in line at any one time. The Atmore Police Department was on hand to ensure the safe flow of traffic in and out of the gas stations at the exit.
Pictured above: The wait was short for gas at a station at I-65 and Highway 21 in Atmore early Sunday afternoon. Pictured below: Near bumper to bumper traffic was moving at near the speed limit northbouth through Atmore. NorthEscambia.com photos.
Trash Pickup Schedule
September 1, 2008
There was no trash pickup Monday in North Escambia, including the town of Century.
It was not because of the hurricane, but because Monday was the Labor Day holiday. Monday pickups were moved to Tuesday, and Tuesday pickups will be on Wednesday. That schedule is in effect in all of North Escambia for Allied Waste customers, including those in Century.
Alabama Orders Evacuations; Prepared To Reverse I-65
September 1, 2008
Alabama Governor Bob Riley declared a state of emergency in advance of Hurricane Gustav.
“The tracking of Hurricane Gustav indicates that Alabama is at risk to sustain damage from high winds, heavy rains, and possible tornadoes,” said Governor Riley. “I am again urging everyone to take the necessary precautions to ensure your and your family’s safety. Because of the high possibilities of damage, it is extremely important to have a declaration in place.”
Governor Riley has already put 3,000 Alabama National Guardsmen on alert, and the Departments of Transportation and Public Safety prepared to reverse flow traffic on I-65, but that did not take place.. That plan would have made all four lanes northbound. Southbound traffic would be re-routed to Highway 31.
Mandatory evacuations in Mobile County south of I-10 and the coastal areas of Baldwin County have led to heavy traffic on I-65.
Pictured above: Alabama State Troopers and the Alabama Highway Department work at the Atmore exit on I-65 late Sunday morning to prepare for making all four lanes northbound. NorthEscambia.com photo.
Santa Rosa Jail Escapees Back Behind Bars After Tip
August 31, 2008
Two Santa Rosa County Jail escapees were captured this morning in Santa Rosa County.
Ricky Dale Spears, 43, and David Chapell Dixon, 20, were captured after a tip that the two were at a home in Berrydale.
When the SWAT team arrived, the two tried to escape into some nearby woods but were quickly taken into custody.
The were taken back to the Santa Rosa County Jail.
They escaped on July 26. Spears was in jail on charges that included kidnapping and aggravated battery. Dixon was in jail on charges that included armed robbery, aggravated battery and a escape.
Molino VFD Responds To Fire
August 30, 2008
The Molino Volunteer Fire Department responded to an address in the 1100 block of Brickton Road Saturday night for a fire that was reportedly threatening a stucture.
The first fire units on the scene reported a large trash fire in the area. No structures were involved.
The fire was reported about 8:00.