.
GOOD MORNING IT IS NOW 2
A.M.
TOP OF THE HOUR, I'M ALONGSIDE
YOUR METEOROLOGIST LEE SPAN.
WE GOT THE LATEST 2:00
UPDATE FROM THE NATIONAL
HURRICANE CENTER, I WANT TO
BRING THAT TO YOU AS WE THOUGHT
UNFORTUNATELY IT HAS
STRENGTHENED WINDS OF 130 MILES
PER HOUR MOVING NORTHWEST AT 6
MILES PER HOUR.
LET ME SHOW YOU WHAT HAPPENED
THE EYE MOVED OUT A WAY FROM
CUBA, NO LONGER INTERACTING
WITH THE COAST, EYEWALL
REPLACEMENT SOLIDIFYING THAT
MAKING IT A SMALLER EYE YOU CAN
REALLY SEE IT HERE AND WE
LOOKED AT SATELLITE WE LOOKED
AT RADAR AND LOOKED AT WHAT THE
NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER
HURRICANE HUNTERS FOUND AND WE
KNEW THIS WAS GOING TO GET
STRONGER.
THEY DID FIND WINDS AROUND
130 MILES PER HOUR WHEN I
BELIEVE THEIR MADE THEIR SECOND
PASS THROUGH THE EYE, NO
SURPRISE THEY'VE INCREASED.
WE'RE NOTING ON SATELLITE
PRESENTATION THE EYE ITSELF IS
CONTRACTING.
YOU SORT OF THINK ABOUT THIS
LIKE A FIGURE SKATER IF THEY
WERE TO SPIN AND BRING THEIR
ARMS IN THEY WOULD SPIN FASTER,
THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT'S
HAPPENING, WINDS UP TO 130-MILE
PER HOUR, STILL LIKE A SIMILAR
VERY, POWERFUL HURRICANE ABOUT
TO BARE DOWN ON THE KEYS AT
THIS TIME THAT NORTHWESTERLY
MOVEMENT, WE'LL TRACK A LITTLE
BIT LATER, I DO WANT TO GIVE
YOU THE LATEST LOOK AT THE
SCALE.
I WANT TO SHOW YOU IT IS 130
MILES PER HOUR IT HAS MOVED
BACK INTO THE CATEGORY 4 STATUS
IT WAS A CATEGORY 3 NOW IT IS A
CATEGORY 4 NOW THAT IT HAS 130
MILES PER HOUR WINDS WE'RE
TALKING ABOUT THIS STORM
CONTINUING TO STRENGTHEN, WE'LL
SHOW YOU THAT TRACK NOW THAT IT
HAS 130 MILES PER HOUR WINDS IT
IS GOING TO BE HEADING NORTH
TOWARDS THE KEYS AND SHOULD BE
THERE BEFORE DAYLIGHT.
THIS TRACK, KEEP IN MIND THE
ACTUAL TRACK IS BASED UPON THE
11 P.M.
ADVISORY, WE'LL GET A NEW TRACK
AT 5:00 A.M.
THIS HAS IT AS A CATEGORY 3
COMING INTO KEY WEST, NOW WITH
130-MILE PER HOUR WINDS, I
VENTURE TO SAY THAT INTENSITY
FORECAST WILL BE ADJUSTED AT
5:00.
WE CAN ASSUME WE HAVE A
CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE MOVING
THROUGH THE KEYS BY 8:00.
FROM THERE IT CONTINUES INTO
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA AND THAT'S
NOW THE BIG CONCERN.
RIGHT SO WE HEAD INTO THE
DAYLIGHT HOURS OF SUNDAY WE'LL
BE REALLY TRACKING THIS SO
CLOSELY WHERE IT COMES ON SHORE
SOME TIME SUNDAY EVENING SO AT
OR ABOUT MID-AFTERNOON IT WILL
BE EITHER TRACKING RIGHT ALONG
THE COAST OF FORT MEYERS OR
SARASOTA AND MANATEE COUNTY
COMING ON SHORE AT 8 P.M.
ON SUNDAY.
NOW WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS,
NOTICE THAT EYE SPINNING IN A
COUNTERCLOCKWISE SYSTEM.
ONCE THE STORM PASSES YOUR AREA
YOUR WINDS WILL START COMING
FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO, THAT
MEANS IT WILL START PILING UP
THAT GULF WATER IN TO INLETS
BAYS, RIVERS, THAT'S THE
COASTAL FLOODING STORM SURGE
EVENT.
IT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN WHEN
THE STORM MAKES LANDFALL, IT IS
GOING TO HAPPEN WHEN YOUR STORM
PASSES THE AREA.
WELL BEFORE THIS MAKES
LANDFALL YOU'LL BE EXPERIENCING
TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS AS
FAR NORTH AS HERNANDO AND
CITRUS COUNTY.
WE GOT THE LATEST UPDATE IN
TERMS OF THE WIND FIELD,
TROPICAL STORM WINDS UP TO A
CENTER OF CIRCULATION A
TREMENDOUSLY LARGE WIND FIELD,
HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTENDING
70-MILES FROM THE CENTER,
MARATHON FLORIDA IN THE KEYS
THERE DID REPORT A HURRICANE
FORCE WIND GUST OF 88 MILES PER
HOUR.
WE'RE GETTING CONFIRMATION THE
HURRICANE FORCE WINDS ARE
GETTING CLOSER.
THE CENTER HASN'T GOTTEN TO
MARATHON WHICH MEANS IT IS ONLY
GOING TO GET STRONGER AS IT
CONTINUES TO MOVE IN A FORWARD
MOTION.
NOW WE'LL TURN OUR ATTENTION TO
MAX DEFENDER 8 IT IS OUR TOOLS
WE USE TO ANALYZE OUR RAINBANDS
WE HAVE A TORNADO WATCH IN
EFFECT FOR HIGH LANDS AND
DESOTO AS THE STORM MOVES NORTH
THE TORNADO WATCHES WILL MOVE
NORTH, EMBEDDED IN THESE
RAINBANDS.
MAX DEFENDER 8 HAS POWER, RANGE
WE CAN SEE THROUGH THE BANDS
THAT IS IN HIGHLANDS COUNTY IN
ANALYZING IT DOWN TO KEY LARGO.
WHAT WE'LL DO IS SWITCH
SOURCES AND WE ARE SEEING THAT
NORTHERN EYEWALL REALLY
STARTING TO STABILIZE HERE, IT
WENT THROUGH AN EYEWALL
REPLACEMENT.
YOU'LL NOTICE EARLY ON, I'LL
ZOOM INTO THE EYE HERE, WE ARE
SEEING ACTUALLY SEVERAL, A
COUPLE OF EYEWALLS.
LET ME GO BACK AN HOUR OR SO
AND DRAW THIS IN FOR YOU
BECAUSE IT REALLY DOES TELL YOU
THE STORY.
WE HAD AN INNER EYEWALL RIGHT
ABOUT THERE AND THEN WENT
THROUGH AN EYEWALL REPLACEMENT
AND NOW WE HAVE THIS SOLID
EYEWALL THAT IS TAKING OVER AT
THIS TIME WE'LL GO BACK INTO
CURRENT TIME HERE, AND YOU CAN
CLEARLY SEE THIS IS LOOKING
MUCH BETTER ON THE RADAR
PRESENTATION, ALSO I'M GOING TO
GO BACK 3 HOURS AND LOOK AT THE
POSITION OF THIS HURRICANE SO
LEE, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT AS
WE START TO DRAW OUT THIS
EYEWALL.
THIS IS 11:15 IT JUST
STARTED TO EMERGE FROM THE
COAST OF CUBA, WE GO FORWARD 3
HOURS LOOK AT WHERE THAT HAS
MOVED IN THREE HOURS.
THE NORTHERN SIDE OF THE STORM
OF THAT EYEWALL THAT,
ESPECIALLY THE NORTHEASTERN
SIDE IS WHERE WE'LL HAVE THE
STRONGEST WINDS, IF I'M ABOUT
TO EXTRAPOLATE WHERE IT GOES,
DEFINITELY HEADING TOWARDS THE
KEYS POSSIBLY RIGHT TOWARDS KEY
WEST UNLESS IT MAKES MORE OF A
NORTHERLY JOG.
THAT'S ABOUT 20-MILES AND
THEE MILES, THAT PUTS THE SPEED
AROUND 6 TO 7 MILES PER HOUR,
MOVING RIGHT IN THE DIRECTION
OF KEY WEST, WE EXPECT THAT
FORWARD SPEED TO MOVE FORWARD.
ABSOLUTELY WE DO.
WIND SPEEDS IN AND AROUND THE
EYE TO CONFIRM THIS IS USING
RADAR LOOKING AT THE VELOCITY
PRODUCT, I'LL TOGGLE ON THE
WIND SPEEDS, WELL AROUND 100 IN
AND AROUND THE CENTER HIGHER
SPEEDS OCCASIONALLY CLOSER TO
THAT EYEWALL HERE SO I MEAN
WE'RE SEEING NOW WHAT WE CAN
SAFELY SAY IS A STRENGTHENING
HURRICANE OVER THE FLORIDA
STRAIGHTS A CATEGORY 4
HURRICANE INCREDIBLY INTENSE
HERE.
AFTER IT MAKES LANDFALL HERE
POSSIBLY SARASOTA POSSIBLY FORT
MEYERS STAYING ON FLORIDA'S
WEST COAST LOOK AT THAT FORWARD
SPEED BY MONDAY MORNING 12
HOURS LATER AFTER IT MAKES
LANDFALL IN FORT MEYERS IN
SARASOTA THANKFULLY ONCE IT
GETS GOING IT IS FAST MOVING,
YES IT IS GOING TO BRING ABOUT
A FOOT OF RAIN IN SOME CASES
BUT NOT GOING TO RAIN FOR DAYS
LIKE WE SAW WITH HARVEY.
THERE WILL BE FLOODING BUT NOT
AN EXTENDED FLOODING EVENT.
REALLY THE WORST WEATHER
COMES FROM SUNSET TONIGHT TO
SUNSET SUNDAY ALL THE WAY
THROUGH SUNRISE ON MONDAY.
ONCE WE GET THROUGH THAT PERIOD
THE WORSE WILL BE BEHIND US
STILL DEAL WITH A COASTAL FLOOD
THREAT STILL HIGH WATERS IN
SOME AREAS, IT IS GOING TO BE A
ROUGH NIGHT AS WE MADE MENTION
TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS ARE
BUILDING LATER THIS MORNING AND
THE WINDS CONTINUE TO PICK UP
INTO THE EVENING.
HURRICANE FORCE WINDS BY