Kelley's Hurricane Wilma Scrapbook - October 2005

Hurricane Wilma Notes

My Photos

My Video Clips

My Favorite Photos from the Sun-Sentinel.com

My Favorite Hurricane Stories

My Favorite Hurricane Funnies

Hurricane Wilma Notes:

• Wilma became a hurricane on October 18th, and by the next day, she had become a Category 5 hurricane (sustained winds in excess of 155mph) and the pressure dropped to 882 MB...the lowest pressure ever recorded for an Atlantic hurricane.
• After crawling over the Yucatan Peninsula for a few days, she finally emerged into the Gulf of Mexico early on October 23rd.
• On October 24th, Hurricane Wilma made landfall around 6:30a.m. near Cape Romano, FL (a few miles south of Naples in southwest Florida) as a Category 3 hurricane (sustained winds of 111-130mph).
• Hurricane Wilma raced across the state of Florida in less than 5 hours. By the time she moved out to the Atlantic, she was a Category 2 hurricane.
• After the storm passed, 3.2 million FPL customers across 21 counties were without power...including me. My power outage lasted for 9 very long days. I also lost phone and cellphone service. A BIG thanks to the 17,000+ crews from all over the US and Canada that came down here to help out!
• I consider myself one of the lucky ones because my apartment building did not need a blue tarp or worse...get red tagged as unsafe, like thousands of people who were evicted from their homes.
• 95% of signal lights in Palm Beach County were out. Here's a test question: define "four-way stop".
• In Delray Beach, we were under a boil water order until November 1st and a curfew for several days. I was off work for 6 days until my building received generator power. Schools were out for two weeks in Palm Beach County.
• In the few days after the storm, I waited in line 3 times at a distribution center in Delray Beach to get ice, only to find out that the trucks were late or not coming at all. I went to a different distribution center in Boca Raton. After looking at the line of cars, I decided that saving my gas was more important than getting ice.

		Hurricane Wilma Tracking Map from the National Hurricane Center.
		Radar image of Hurricane Wilma that shows the eye of the storm as it crossed into Palm Beach County. I-75 that is visible in the middle of the eye is also called Alligator Alley since it runs through the Everglades. The red circle shows the area where I live. As it moved to the northeast, you can tell from this image how close that I was to the eye wall. The right side of the eye is the worst place to be, so I was right in the thick of it. It also explains why the break that you normally experience during the eye was very short for me (it only lasted about 15-20 minutes, compared to some reports of relative calm for at least an hour).

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My Photos:

		Tree at my apartment complex. Taken 10/24/05 during eye of hurricane.
		Carport at my apartment complex. Taken 10/24/05 during eye of hurricane.
		Tree that fell on a truck at my apartment complex. Taken 10/24/05 during eye of hurricane.
		High water in front of my garage; the water looks red because the winds blew most of the new red bark from the landscaping into the road. Taken 10/24/05 after storm passed.
		Palm tree at my apartment complex; this palm tree had just been planted a couple of weeks before the storm. Taken 10/24/05 after storm passed.
		Palm tree that snapped in half at my apartment complex. Taken 10/24/05 after storm passed.
		Landscaping debris in road at my apartment complex; notice that the tops of the palm trees are rather bare. Taken 10/24/05 after storm passed.
		More landscaping debris at my apartment complex. Taken 10/24/05 after storm passed.
		Palm tree that fell across the road in front of the exit gate at my apartment complex. Taken 10/24/05 after storm passed.
		Steeple of First Baptist Church Delray Beach, which is across the street from my apartment complex. Taken 10/24/05 after storm passed.
		Damaged power lines on Congress Avenue just north of Linton in Delray Beach. Taken 10/25/05.
		Damage at Office Depot Corporate offices. On the far left side of the picture, there is a blue emergency phone pole. If you look a few feet to the right, you can see what's left of the smoker's tent and picnic tables. Taken 10/25/05.
		More damage at Office Depot Corporate offices; large tree on the left fell down and ripped up the parking lot with it. Taken 10/25/05.
		More damage at Office Depot Corporate offices. Taken 10/25/05.
		Damaged electric poles on Military Trail just south of Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach. Taken 10/25/05.
		Street sign and missing signal lights in Delray Beach. Taken 10/25/05.
		Damage at Office Depot Store #597 in Delray Beach. Taken 10/26/05.
		Damaged McDonald's sign in Delray Beach. Taken 10/26/05.
		Very long line for gas on Congress Avenue in Delray Beach - just in front of main entrance to Office Depot Corporate. The gas station (NexStore) is at least another mile south and not visible in this picture. Taken 10/26/05.
		Bushes near King's point on Linton Blvd. in Delray Beach. Wilma huffed and puffed and blew them right down. Taken 10/26/05.
		Welcome relief - power crews working on broken power poles along Military Trail. Taken 10/30/05.
		More welcome relief - crews work to repair broken signal lights. Taken 11/5/05.

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My Video Clips:

Be sure to turn your speakers on to hear the winds in these clips.

Hurricane Wilma - First Half of Storm, Clip 1 (Windows Media, 2.17MB) - this video was shot between 6-7am...near the time the hurricane made landfall on the west coast of Florida. You will see several flashes of light, which are transformers exploding. I finally lost my power about 8:00am.

Hurricane Wilma - First Half of Storm, Clip 2 (Windows Media, 2.04MB) - this video was shot around 8:50am.

Hurricane Wilma - First Half of Storm, Clip 3 (Windows Media, 1.62MB) - this video was shot just before 9:00am. Listen and look for all the debris flying, mostly metal from the carports.

Hurricane Wilma - First Half of Storm, Clip 4 (Windows Media, 3.40MB) - this video was shot just before 9:00am. In this clip, the gutter on the carport is dangling and more debris is flying around.

Hurricane Wilma - Second Half of Storm, Clip 1 (Windows Media, 4.08MB) - I've dubbed this clip the "Car Wash" clip. I shot this video around noon. The back side of the hurricane was worse than the front half, so I had to shoot this video from inside. You can see in the first part of the clip how the winds lift up the back end of my neighbors car.

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My Favorite Photos from the Sun-Sentinel.com:

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My Favorite Hurricane Stories:

You might be a Floridian if...

• You have more than 20 C and D batteries in your kitchen drawer.
• The freezer in your garage is full of homemade ice.
• You flinch when you are introduced to a person named Charley, Frances, Ivan or Wilma.
• You find yourself dropping words like "Millibar" and "Convection" into everyday conversation.
• Your pantry contains more than 10 cans of Spaghetti Os.
• Your freezer never has more than $20 worth of food in it any given time
• Making coffee on your propane grill does not seem like an odd thing to do.
• You are thinking of repainting your house to match the plywood covering your windows.
• When describing your house to a prospective buyer, you say it has three bedrooms, two baths and one safe place.
• You are on a first-name basis with the cashier at Home Depot.
• You are delighted to pay $3 for a gallon of unleaded.
• The road leading to your house has been declared a No-Wake Zone.
• You decide that your patio furniture looks better on the bottom of the pool.
• You have the number for FEMA on your speed dialer.
• You own more than three large coolers.
• Three months ago you couldn't hang a shower curtain; today you can assemble a portable generator by candlelight (however, see this story).
• You catch a 5-pound catfish- In your driveway.
• You can recite from memory whole portions of your homeowner's insurance policy.
• You have had tuna fish more than 5 days in a row.
• There is a roll of tar paper in your garage.
• You can rattle off the names of three or more meteorologists who work at The Weather Channel.
• Ice is a valid topic of conversation.
• Relocating to North Dakota does not seem like such a crazy idea.
• You no longer worry about relatives visiting during the summer months.
• You now understand what that little "2% hurricane deductible" phrase really means.
• You're putting a collage together on your driveway of roof shingles from your neighborhood.
• Your parrot can now say" hammered, pounded and hunker down".
• You stop what you're doing and clap and wave when you see a convoy of power company trucks come down your street.
• You're depressed when they don't stop.
• You know what "Bar chain oil" is.
• You're thinking of getting your wife the hardhat with the ear protector and face shield for Christmas.
• You now think the $6000 whole house generator seems reasonable.
• Your therapist refers to your condition as "generator envy".

Here are a couple more added by my co-workers:

• Cold showers give you a legitimate reason not to shave your legs!
• The soldiers giving out meals and ice know your car and how many require.
• You are unsure if it is ok to flush.

Top Ten Reasons Hurricane Season is Like Christmas:

10. Decorating the house (boarding up windows)
9. Dragging out boxes that haven't been used since last season (camping gear, flashlights)
8. Last minute shopping in crowded stores
7. Regular TV shows pre-empted for "specials"
6. Family coming to stay with you
5. Family and friends from out-of-state calling
4. Buying food you don't normally buy ... and in large quantities
3. Days off from work
2. Candles

And the number one reason Hurricane Season is like Christmas ...

At some point you know you're going to have a tree in your house!

Dumb luck! Generator destroyed when lit candle used to check fuel level

October 28, 2005, 4:00 PM EDT from sun-sentinel.com.

Two Broward residents narrowly escaped injury after causing a flash fire and destroying their portable generator Thursday night at a home near Fort Lauderdale, the Broward Sheriff's Office said on Friday.

One resident was attempting to re-fuel the generator in the dark on the 2900 block of Northwest Seventh Court and decided to peer into the gas tank using a burning candle for light. The flame from the candle ignited flammable gasoline vapors inside the tank causing a flash fire that destroyed the generator and created a serious risk to the adjacent structure.

Residents at the scene began to fight the fire with a garden hose. Broward Sheriff's Office Fire-Rescue personnel responded quickly to the scene.

There were no injuries to civilians or firefighters.

Ten things I liked about Wilma

Bonnie Gross
Sun-Sentinel.com
Posted October 30 2005, 11:18 AM EST

Ever the optimist and despite lacking power and drinkable water, I have found some good things about the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma (Kelley's note: I can particularly relate to the items in bold below) .

1. The sensational night sky, filled with more stars than I've ever seen in South Florida.
2. I see kids playing outside, having a great time without TV and computers.
3. Some of the trees that I lost in Hurricane Wilma deserved to go. My bird of paradise was way too overgrown, and looks better with pruning by Wilma.
4. After I threw out all of its contents, my freezer is as clean as new.
5. With a big stock of bottled water and no alternative cold beverages, I am drinking lots and lots of water, just like all the advice.
6. Similarly, I am a virtual vegetarian, since I can't keep meat cold. Isn't that healthier?
7. I talked to all my neighbors for the first time in a long time. They're great folks.
8. I have heard from far-away friends with whom I haven't spoken in a long time.
9. Without access to e-mail, I sat down and wrote letters yesterday -- and I do still remember cursive!
10. And this one came from a reader[:] My electric bill will be really, really low this month.

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My Favorite Hurricane Funnies:

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