Here's the latest on Frances:

The winds have slowed a bit to 105 mph with higher gusts but they could increase as it moves to shore.

Severe Alert:


...HURRICANE FRANCES LOCAL STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 818 AM EDT SAT SEP 4 2004

... STRONG OUTER RAINBANDS WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND FLOODING RAINS SPREADING ONSHORE EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA...

... HURRICANE WARNING FROM SOUTH OF FLAGLER BEACH TO FLORIDA CITY WHICH INCLUDES ALL OF THE EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA COAST...

... INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING FOR ALL INTERIOR COUNTIES OF EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA...

... FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING FOR ALL OF EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA...

... AREAS AFFECTED... THIS HURRICANE LOCAL STATEMENT RECOMMENDS ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN BY RESIDENTS OF THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES... VOLUSIA... LAKE... SEMINOLE... ORANGE... BREVARD... OSCEOLA... INDIAN RIVER... SAINT LUCIE... MARTIN AND OKEECHOBEE.

... WATCHES AND WARNINGS... A HURRICANE WARNING IS IN EFFECT FROM FLAGLER BEACH SOUTH TO FLORIDA CITY... WHICH INCLUDES ALL OF THE EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA COASTAL COUNTIES... AND ALSO LAKE OKEECHOBEE. AN INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR OKEECHOBEE... OSCEOLA... ORANGE... LAKE ... INLAND VOLUSIA AND SEMINOLE COUNTIES. A FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING FOR ALL OF EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA.

... STORM INFORMATION... AT 8 AM EDT THE CENTER OF HURRICANE FRANCES WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 26.7 NORTH... LONGITUDE 78.4 WEST OR ABOUT 130 MILES SOUTH EAST OF FORT PIERCE. FRANCES IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHWEST NEAR 6 MPH... WITH A TURN MORE TO THE WEST NORTHWEST EXPECTED LATER TODAY.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 105 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS. THIS MAKES FRANCES A STRONG CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE. SOME FLUCTUATIONS IN INTENSITY ARE POSSIBLE TODAY AS FRANCES BECOMES A LITTLE MORE ORGANIZED. LANDFALL STRENGTH IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR CATEGORY THREE STRENGTH.

... PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... CONDITIONS WILL BE DETERIORATING AS THE DAY PROGRESSES AS HIGH WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN MOVE IN. POWER OUTAGES AND DOWNED TREES AND LIMBS HAVE ALREADY BEEN REPORTED IN COASTAL BREVARD COUNTY THIS MORNING. RESIDENTS OF BREVARD... EASTERN OSCEOLA... INDIAN RIVER... SAINT LUCIE... MARTIN AND OKEECHOBEE COUNTIES SHOULD STAY IN SHELTER TODAY AS STRONG RAINBANDS WITH WIND GUSTS TO 60 OR 70 MPH AND TORRENTIAL RAIN ARE ALREADY MOVING ONSHORE THIS MORNING. RAINBANDS WILL BEGIN MOVING ACROSS WESTERN OSCEOLA COUNTY... SEMINOLE... ORANGE AND SOUTHERN VOLUSIA COUNTIES BY MID DAY OR EARLY AFTERNOON. PRECAUTIONARY AND PREPAREDNESS ACTIVITIES SHOULD ALREADY BE COMPLETED AND RESIDENTS MUST STAY IN SHELTER ONCE RAINBANDS MOVE IN. THIS WILL BE A LONG DURATION EVENT. DO NOT GET CAUGHT TRYING TO DO THINGS OUTDOORS IN BETWEEN RAINBANDS... STAY PUT IN SHELTER. IT IS NOW TIME TO CONCENTRATE ON KEEPING YOURSELF SAFE DURING THE STORM. AS FRANCES MAKES LANDFALL THIS EVENING... PEOPLE IN AND CLOSE TO THE CORE OF MAXIMUM WINDS SHOULD TAKE SHELTER IN A SMALL ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR SUCH AS A CLOSET OR BATHROOM. PUT AS MANY WALLS BETWEEN YOU AND THE HURRICANE WINDS AS POSSIBLE. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

... WIND IMPACTS... WITH WINDS OF 105 MPH... FRANCES IS A STRONG CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE. IT IS LIKELY THAT SOME REORGANIZATION WILL TAKE PLACE TODAY AS FRANCES MOVES SLOWLY OVER THE GULF STREAM AND FRANCES COULD STILL MAKE LANDFALL AS A CATEGORY THREE STORM WITH WINDS NEAR 110 MPH... MAKING FRANCES A DANGEROUS AND MAJOR HURRICANE. THEREFORE... THE WIND THREAT REMAINS EXTREME. THE THREAT OF MAJOR HURRICANE FORCE WINDS WILL BE CONFINED TO THE VICINITY OF LANDFALL. WINDS OF 105 TO 110 MPH WILL CAUSE SIGNIFICANT TO EXTENSIVE DAMAGE.

RAIN BANDS AND SQUALLS WILL BE SWEEPING ACROSS THE AREA THIS MORNING... INCREASING INTO THE AFTERNOON. GUSTS TO 75 MPH WITH PASSING RAINBANDS MAY OCCUR THIS MORNING AND BECOME CONSIDERABLY STRONGER INTO THE EVENING.

... STORM SURGE FLOOD AND STORM TIDE IMPACTS... THE STORM SURGE AND STORM TIDE THREAT TO EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA IS HIGH. APPROXIMATELY 6 FEET OF SURGE WILL OCCUR NEAR AND TO THE IMMEDIATE RIGHT OF WHERE FRANCES CROSSES THE COAST. A SURGE OF 4 TO 5 FEET WILL BE COMMON FOR THE REMAINDER OF COASTAL SECTIONS SOUTH OF CAPE CANAVERAL. NORTH OF CAPE CANAVERAL... A SURGE OF 3 FEET IS LIKELY. ALSO... BATTERING WAVES WILL BE OF GREAT CONCERN ALONG THE BEACHES GIVEN THE HIGH WINDS SPEEDS AND DURATION... WITH SIGNIFICANT WIND AND WAVE DAMAGE ALSO LIKELY IN THE INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY.

... TORNADO IMPACTS... ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE IN SOME OF THE STRONGER OUTER RAINBANDS AND THE THREAT WILL INCREASE AS THE INNER RAINBANDS OF FRANCES MOVE IN LATER TONIGHT. TORNADO WARNINGS WILL BE ISSUED IF A HIGH THREAT OF TORNADOES OR DESTRUCTIVE WINDS IS INDICATED BY DOPPLER RADAR.

... FLOOD IMPACTS... BETWEEN 5 AM AND 8AM RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF UP TO TWO INCHES OCCURRED IN OUTER RAINBANDS IN BREVARD... INDIAN RIVER AND SAINT LUCIE COUNTIES AND LOCALIZED FLOODING HAS ALREADY BEEN REPORTED. HEAVY RAINFALL WILL OVERSPREAD CENTRAL FLORIDA TODAY AND ONE OF THE MORE DANGEROUS ASPECTS OF HURRICANE FRANCES WILL BE FLOODING. THE SLOWER FRANCES MOVES ACROSS THE PENINSULA... THE GREATER THE FLOOD THREAT. A FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR ALL EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA COUNTIES THROUGH SUNDAY. RAIN TOTALS OF 8 TO 10 INCHES OF RAIN ARE POSSIBLE AS FRANCES CROSSES THE PENINSULA. LOCALIZED AMOUNTS OF 16 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE. THE GREATEST RAINFALL IS EXPECTED IN THE VICINITY OF THE CENTER TRACK. PLACES ALREADY SATURATED FROM RECENT HEAVY RAINS WILL BE MOST VULNERABLE TO SERIOUS FLOODING. RESIDENTS ALONG THE SAINT JOHNS RIVER SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR MAJOR FLOODING.

... NEXT UPDATE... THE NEXT HURRICANE LOCAL STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED AROUND NOON OR SOONER IF CONDITIONS WARRANT....


Again, to all our SZ Floridians and everyone else in Frances's path and outlying vicinity - STAY SAFE!!

PS: Hopefully everybody has already evacuated that needs to be and IS safe ALREADY from Frances's fury.

Best regards,
Mike