SleepingPoliceman

Here are the most recent numbers, according to the Sun-Sentinel: 25% restored in Broward, 26% in Palm Beach, 47% in Miami-Dade.

And still kickin’!

I’ve added a photo gallery to the ol’ Policeman (PT, I’ll get you up and running on it as soon as I figure out how). The link’s over there on the sidebar –>

More to come tomorrow (I hope – things certainly aren’t back to normal here in South Florida).

(Final update 4:02pm)

Anderson Cooper, that is. I’m going to transcribe the text message exchanges between JZ and myself as he hunkers down in his palatial Pembroke Pines bunker to weather the storm. (As it were.) This ain’t going to be hard-hitting journalism, but I’m hoping at some point one of us pulls a Jeanne Meserve on the situation. Actually, I’m not hoping that at all. I make no promises that this is in any way interesting to anyone but us.

***
JZ (8:47am): In the worst of it now. Power out. Water seeping in through some of the windows. It’s blowing like a son of a gun. Ugh.

PTM (9:01am): My apartment’s chilly and I’m late for work. Um..that’s all I got. Hold the line down there.

JZ (9:02am): Will do. Sustained winds over 100 mph.

PTM (9:06am): Yikes. Keep notes for the post-apoc blog novel. I also recommend you start drinking heavily. Game Boy out yet?

JZ (9:09am): Playing Bejeweled on my cell. Probably not the best idea. Already going stir crazy tho…

JZ (9:17am): It’s like the perfect storm on our lake.

PTM (9:28am): Bejeweled! Is that like Columns? Don’t waste all your cell juice on it. I need updates!

PTM (9:31am): Where’s Todd Gross when you need him? No TV and no beer make Joe something-something.

JZ (9:48am): Tiles flying off our roof. Fuck.

PTM (9:52am): You didn’t need those anyway. Is it a few rogue tiles or does it lool [sic] widespread?

JZ (9:54am): Sounds like a lot, but we can’t even go out to investigate.

PTM (9:56am): Well, if it’s just the tiles, that won’t be too bad. Is the worse almost over or just beginning? Or should I be using the Internet and tell you?

JZ (9:59am): We’re listening to the radio. We should be about halfway through it. Doesn’t sound good. Sun-sentinel.com would have the latest news.

PTM (10:04am): Sun etc is reporting they’re in the eye. It’s being called Broward’s worst storm in 50 years. Finally revenge for the ’00 election. Are you in the eye yet?

JZ (10:08am): We were supposed to be in the eye, but the storm hasn’t lessened at all. We live at the intersection of i75 and pines blvd, fyi. Ok, I’m rdy 4 it to be over.

PTM (10:13am): On Sun radar, looks like eye is north of you. Maybe it twirled in such a way that you stayed on the edge. You may get hit with the back end but it’s moving fast

JZ (10:15am): Thx.

PTM (10:19am): I do what I can. Insurance companies already mobilizing ground troops to get down to FLA to deny damage claims.

PTM (10:29am): Actually, with the storm’s twirl and its speed, you may miss a lot of the scary orange-yellow weather and get more green weather. But I’m no Dick Albert.

JZ (10:38am): Thx. Do you know where the eye is now?

PTM (10:42am): Eye is centered over West Palm Beach as of 10:34. The southern edge is halfway between WPB and Miami.

JZ (10:43am): Thx

PTM (10:49am): ‘Officials say a crane has fallen over onto A1A north of the Diplomat in H-wood’ Hey I know that place! So finding ways to keep yourselves occupied?

JZ (10:54am): Yeah, we heard about the crane. Playing cards now. Don’t think we have a roof any more.

PTM (10:56am): Go all in and hope to catch the nuts on 5th street. Is the 2nd floor or attic getting wet? If not, then the roof is functional. If so, then…nevermind.

JZ (10:58am): 5th st? No leaks in the roof, just the tiles blowing off

PTM (11:09am): Random poker chatter. I went all Norman Chad for a moment. No leaks are good. The tiles can be fixed in time. How’s Little Brain [JZ’s dog, Boston] holding up?

JZ (11:14am): Little Brain is a bit nervous and probably needs to go out. It really hasn’t let up since 7am. Hopefully we’ll be able to get out around 1pm

PTM (11:19am): Give her a pat for me and tell her not to piss on the floor Say hi to Boston for me too. Zing! I’m liking your chances avoiding the back end. Again Dickless.

PTM (11:19am): Albert that is.

PTM (11:30am): WPB about to leave the eye. Unless the storm slows considerably, it might be over for you soon. Going outside at 1pm looks very feasible. Current conditions?

PTM (12:10pm): You look almost clear on the radar. How does it look down there?

JZ (12:18pm): It’s still pretty windy, but getting much better. Hot as balls in the house. Took LB outside so she’s OK! We better get power back asap.

PTM (12:22pm): Sun reporting that FL Power has 7,000 workers on standby waiting to move in. How did it look outside? Roof look bad? Any crazy damage in the hood?

JZ (2:06pm): Just took boston for a walk. There’s some serious damage in the neighborhood, a lot of trees down, fences, roof tiles, etc. Our house seems ok, excer [sic] the roof tiles, and the satellite dish is a goner. No Law & Order! Hopefully we’ll have power soon.

PTM (2:09pm): Resend my inbox was full.

PTM (2:11pm): Ok got it. That sucks about the dish but if that and the tiles are it, then you’re pretty all right. Any word on power?

JZ (2:16pm): Ugh. Network too saturated

JZ (2:22pm): No word on power yet.

PTM (2:29pm): Network saturated? Literally or figuratively? Get your power back – we need you online.

JZ (3:34pm): We are ok. All phones are jammed.

PTM (3:37pm): Raspberry? I hate raspberry. Do you want me to group reply to the email Tara sent out and let everyone know you’re all good?

JZ (3:42pm): Nah, that’s ok – let ‘em squirm! we’ll email pics asap (assuming we get power soon)

PTM (3:52pm): Pics! Awesome. Glad to hear it all worked out in the end. Now get online so I have someone to email with.

Well, I can’t really compete with the tribulations of my comrade down in FLA. I have stories from the Compound Halloween party (which was last night (aka Saturday night) even though Halloween is about 43 days away) that hopefully will be accompanied by pictures. But that will have to wait while we focus on the potential wrath of Wilma.

During the wait, slide on over to The Daily Show’s video page and scroll down to Bill O’Reilly’s visit. He’s such a douchebag, and doesn’t fail to show his doucheness on the show. I mean…seriously, a France boycott? Jon Stewart barely has to make any jokes, because O’Reilly has become a friggin’ caricature of himself. It’s depressing that people turn to him for their current events discussion…but I’m sure those people would say the same thing about me and Jon Stewart. But of course I’m right and they’re wrong.

Stay dry down south.

The sky is slightly overcast outside, but no sign of the chaos Wilma is about to unleash. Yet. This must be what they (they who?) mean by “the calm before the storm.” Wilma is projected to make landfall near Naples tomorrow morning around 8 AM. We here in western Broward County should start to feel it shortly thereafter. Forecasters are predicting that Wilma will be a category 2 hurricane when it hits, which, according to the National Hurricane Center, means:

Winds 96-110 mph (83-95 kt or 154-177 km/hr). Storm surge generally 6-8 feet above normal. Some roofing material, door, and window damage of buildings. Considerable damage to shrubbery and trees with some trees blown down. Considerable damage to mobile homes, poorly constructed signs, and piers. Coastal and low-lying escape routes flood 2-4 hours before arrival of the hurricane center. Small craft in unprotected anchorages break moorings.

In their briefing early this Sunday morning, the folks at the National Hurricane Center instructed those of us in South Florida to treat Wilma as if it would be a category 3:

Winds 111-130 mph (96-113 kt or 178-209 km/hr). Storm surge generally 9-12 ft above normal. Some structural damage to small residences and utility buildings with a minor amount of curtainwall failures. Damage to shrubbery and trees with foliage blown off trees and large trees blown down. Mobile homes and poorly constructed signs are destroyed. Low-lying escape routes are cut by rising water 3-5 hours before arrival of the center of the hurricane. Flooding near the coast destroys smaller structures with larger structures damaged by battering from floating debris. Terrain continuously lower than 5 ft above mean sea level may be flooded inland 8 miles (13 km) or more. Evacuation of low-lying residences with several blocks of the shoreline may be required.

It all comes down to this: meteorologists will never be 100% certain about a storm until it is literally right on top of us. There are too many variables. And we are at Wilma’s mercy. Wilma’s been on our minds since last Wednesday. We’ve all been watching. Waiting. With all of the storms that have just missed us in the past two years, my brother-in-law has it right: we’re about due.

Meanwhile, we’ve done everything we can to prepare: bringing inside anything in our yard that’s not tied down, the hurricane shutters are up (finally!), countless trips to Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Publix. We’ve got plenty of non-perishable food in case we lose power. Plenty of books and plenty of board games to keep ourselves occupied.

When Wilma hit the Yucatan peninsula mere hours ago, it was traveling at 3 mph. It’s now picked up speed and heading straight for us at 12 mph.

Fort Lauderdale/Hollywoood International Airport is closing down tonight at 8 PM. Seven hundred residents of Broward County have evacuated to shelters set up by the Red Cross. Broward County schools are closed until Wednesday. Stores are putting up their hurricane shutters, waiting until the last possible minute to close. The roads and highways will be completely empty tomorrow. The major news channels have overtaken the NFL and are now broadcasting 24 hour coverage of Wilma. So it begins.

Update: Latest weather reports indicate that winds have gotten stronger. Formerly at 100 mph, Wilma’s winds are now up to 105 mph. And the pressure is dropping. Here are some key points from the current report coming out of the NHC, as of 4 PM:

WILMA IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST NEAR 14 MPH…22 KM/HR. A CONTINUED NORTHEASTWARD MOTION AND A GRADUAL INCREASE IN FORWARD SPEED ARE EXPECTED TONIGHT AND MONDAY. ON THIS TRACK…THE CENTER OF WILMA IS FORECAST TO BE NEAR THE SOUTHWESTERN COAST OF THE FLORIDA PENINSULA EARLY MONDAY MORNING. HOWEVER…WILMA IS A LARGE SYSTEM AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS WILL REACH THE FLORIDA KEYS AND FLORIDA PENINSULA TONIGHT…WELL IN ADVANCE OF THE CENTER.

DATA FROM AIR FORCE AND NOAA HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT INDICATE THAT MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE INCREASED AND NOW ARE NEAR 105 MPH…165 KM/HR…WITH HIGHER GUSTS. WILMA IS A CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. SOME STRENGTHENING IS POSSIBLE TONIGHT AND EARLY MONDAY…AND WILMA COULD BE NEAR CATEGORY THREE STRENGTH AS IT NEARS THE SOUTHWESTERN FLORIDA COAST.

FWIW, here’s the Technorati link on Wilma.