Hurricane Jeanne Update
Jeanne pummels weather-weary Florida
September 26, 2004, 10:32 AM EDT
TALLAHASSEE -- Hurricane Jeanne smashed its way across Central Florida Sunday morning, packing 85 mile per hour winds and dumping heavy rain in a path that officials said was frighteningly similar to Hurricane Frances.
Jeanne's winds blew at 120 mph, making it a Category 3 storm at landfall, which was in St. Lucie County just before midnight in almost the exact spot where Hurricane Frances came ashore Sept. 5, said State Meteorologist Ben Nelson.
Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, said the similar paths of Jeanne and Frances were remarkable.
Mayfield said it was the first time ever that we know of'' that two hurricanes landed so close in place and time.
God, I hope it's over,'' Jaye Bell said early today.
The bartender from Jensen Beach rode out the storm at a Ramada Inn in Stuart.
Angry swells licked pieces of mobile homes out to sea. At one of the causeway bridges leading to the barrier island, a sailboat bashed against the seawall and sank.
Within minutes, all that remained above water was less than a foot of its yellow mast.
Jeanne weakened to a Category 1 storm, with 85 mph winds as it worked its way across land this morning.
Hurricane force winds were recorded from Brevard County all the way to Palm Beach and as far south as North Broward County, Nelson said. Hurricane force winds extended throughout the metro Orlando area, he said.
The storm was expected to slam the Tampa Bay area before turning north and heading for the Panhandle.
"It's a very signifcant storm at this point," said Department of Community Affairs Secretary Thad Cohen. "We're taking out the Frances playbook."
There were no confirmed deaths, state officials said.
Thousands of people woke up today without power in Orange County, with OUC reporting about 60,000 homes dark throughout its coverage area and Progress Energy reporting another 160,000 homes out scattered throughout Orange, Osceola, Polk and Highlands as of 8 a.m.
In Sanford, Waves crashing against the shoreline of Lake Monroe are threatening to wash away large sections of U.S. Highway 17-92, west of downtown Sanford.
The hurricane already is taking a toll on hospitals, including some hospitals still recovering from earlier hurricane damage.
The storm ripped off part of the roof at Palm Bay Hospital in Brevard County, said Alan Levine, who oversees state regulation of hospitals and nursing homes.
About 400 people were transferred from a shelter at an elementary school in Melbourne after parts of its roof flew off, police Lt. Jeff Koska said.
No one was injured, and the evacuees were taken to another shelter, he said.
About 100 people at a similar shelter in Fort Pierce were transferred after its roof started leaking, but no one was hurt.
In Cocoa Beach about 80 miles north of Stuart, Paul and Ann Jutras weathered another storm in their reinforced house that they claimed was hurricane-proof.
Sitting two blocks from the Atlantic Ocean, the structure has two roofs, in case one is damaged. In Frances,we got pounded for 37 hours, but the wind would blow for about 20 or 25 minutes and there would be a lull. This one, it's just not letting up at all,'' Paul Jutras said.
The generator failed at Sebastian Hospital in Indian River. In Stuart, the roof suffered significant damage at Martin Memorial Medical Center, which was still recovering from Frances, he said.
Other hospitals in the area also feeling the effects, he added.
"The big issue is capacity,'' Levine said. "Most hospitals are full or nearly full already."
Nelson said no physical characteristics would explain why a storm would hit the same spot twice.
"There's nothing natural,'' he said. "It's just the steering currents."
Gov. Jeb Bush was scheduled to stop at an emergency shelter and a Catholic church for mass Sunday morning in Pensacola, before heading to St. Lucie and Martin counties to meet with emergency officials.
Officials warned that the storm increases the threat of flooding in central Florida, with predicted rainfall of six to 12 inches, Nelson said.
More than 42,000 people huddled in shelters and nearly one million were without power, state officials reported.
The Category 3 storm became the fourth to pummel Florida in a single hurricane season, something that has not happened since 1886 when Texas was the target.
The three other hurricanes, Charley, Frances and Ivan, have all hit within the last month and a half, about midway through the June-to-November season.
Jeanne pummels weather-weary Florida
September 26, 2004, 10:32 AM EDT
TALLAHASSEE -- Hurricane Jeanne smashed its way across Central Florida Sunday morning, packing 85 mile per hour winds and dumping heavy rain in a path that officials said was frighteningly similar to Hurricane Frances.
Jeanne's winds blew at 120 mph, making it a Category 3 storm at landfall, which was in St. Lucie County just before midnight in almost the exact spot where Hurricane Frances came ashore Sept. 5, said State Meteorologist Ben Nelson.
Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, said the similar paths of Jeanne and Frances were remarkable.
Mayfield said it was the first time ever that we know of'' that two hurricanes landed so close in place and time.
God, I hope it's over,'' Jaye Bell said early today.
The bartender from Jensen Beach rode out the storm at a Ramada Inn in Stuart.
Angry swells licked pieces of mobile homes out to sea. At one of the causeway bridges leading to the barrier island, a sailboat bashed against the seawall and sank.
Within minutes, all that remained above water was less than a foot of its yellow mast.
Jeanne weakened to a Category 1 storm, with 85 mph winds as it worked its way across land this morning.
Hurricane force winds were recorded from Brevard County all the way to Palm Beach and as far south as North Broward County, Nelson said. Hurricane force winds extended throughout the metro Orlando area, he said.
The storm was expected to slam the Tampa Bay area before turning north and heading for the Panhandle.
"It's a very signifcant storm at this point," said Department of Community Affairs Secretary Thad Cohen. "We're taking out the Frances playbook."
There were no confirmed deaths, state officials said.
Thousands of people woke up today without power in Orange County, with OUC reporting about 60,000 homes dark throughout its coverage area and Progress Energy reporting another 160,000 homes out scattered throughout Orange, Osceola, Polk and Highlands as of 8 a.m.
In Sanford, Waves crashing against the shoreline of Lake Monroe are threatening to wash away large sections of U.S. Highway 17-92, west of downtown Sanford.
The hurricane already is taking a toll on hospitals, including some hospitals still recovering from earlier hurricane damage.
The storm ripped off part of the roof at Palm Bay Hospital in Brevard County, said Alan Levine, who oversees state regulation of hospitals and nursing homes.
About 400 people were transferred from a shelter at an elementary school in Melbourne after parts of its roof flew off, police Lt. Jeff Koska said.
No one was injured, and the evacuees were taken to another shelter, he said.
About 100 people at a similar shelter in Fort Pierce were transferred after its roof started leaking, but no one was hurt.
In Cocoa Beach about 80 miles north of Stuart, Paul and Ann Jutras weathered another storm in their reinforced house that they claimed was hurricane-proof.
Sitting two blocks from the Atlantic Ocean, the structure has two roofs, in case one is damaged. In Frances,we got pounded for 37 hours, but the wind would blow for about 20 or 25 minutes and there would be a lull. This one, it's just not letting up at all,'' Paul Jutras said.
The generator failed at Sebastian Hospital in Indian River. In Stuart, the roof suffered significant damage at Martin Memorial Medical Center, which was still recovering from Frances, he said.
Other hospitals in the area also feeling the effects, he added.
"The big issue is capacity,'' Levine said. "Most hospitals are full or nearly full already."
Nelson said no physical characteristics would explain why a storm would hit the same spot twice.
"There's nothing natural,'' he said. "It's just the steering currents."
Gov. Jeb Bush was scheduled to stop at an emergency shelter and a Catholic church for mass Sunday morning in Pensacola, before heading to St. Lucie and Martin counties to meet with emergency officials.
Officials warned that the storm increases the threat of flooding in central Florida, with predicted rainfall of six to 12 inches, Nelson said.
More than 42,000 people huddled in shelters and nearly one million were without power, state officials reported.
The Category 3 storm became the fourth to pummel Florida in a single hurricane season, something that has not happened since 1886 when Texas was the target.
The three other hurricanes, Charley, Frances and Ivan, have all hit within the last month and a half, about midway through the June-to-November season.
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