Re: [ft-l] Barking all night and such.

Floyd was a big storm, but this is another case of people having very short
memories. Camile had winds of 210 mph:

"Final data on the storm reported wind velocity in excess of 210 miles per
hour and a tidal surge in excess of 24 feet topped with at least a 10 foot
sea.  Many of those who refused to believe the forecast and stayed at home
to ride out the storm lived to regret it.  Some did not live through it.
The latest survey reveals l34 deaths; 27 missing; 8,931 injured; 5,662 homes
destroyed and 13,915 suffering major losses"

This was in 1969, many people think the storm of 1935 was probably the most
intense of this century. The strength of a storm's winds increase with the
square of velocity, so a 210 mph storm is almost twice as strong as a 155
mph storm. Gilbert was another major storm that had the lowest central
pressure every recorded in the western hemisphere- 888 mb that was in 1988.
Wes Skiles the diver from Ginny Springs near Gainesville was in Mexico when
Gilbert hit, he was in a third floor hotel room and waves were breaking in
the windows of his room.

"Barometric pressure is the most accurate gauge of a storm's strength,
determining how much fuel the hurricane will be capable of harnessing from
warm ocean waters; the lower the pressure, the stronger the storm. Gilbert
broke the previous record of 26.35 inches during an infamous 1935 hurricane
that devastated the Florida Keys (hurricanes still weren't named in 1935).
Gilbert was enormous in both its intensity and its size, encompassing an
area roughly the size of Texas.

On Sept. 14, the eye of the storm swirled over the Mexican resort areas of
Cozumel and Cancun with 160 mph winds -- the first time a Category 5 storm
had struck land in the Western Hemisphere since 1969, when Hurricane Camille
battered the U.S. Gulf Coast. "

I doubt Floyd would even make the top 5 list of major storms so I couldn't
figure out the hype I kept hearing on the idiot box and news papers.

Bryan


----- Original Message -----

> We are counting our blessings here on Fl east coast tonight but our
> hearts and thoughts go out to those in North and South Carolinas. In Fl
> Floyd was the biggest and most powerful storm I have ever seen and he
> really shook me up with the chance of a direct hit having seen the
> devastation Andrew caused awhile back.


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