[FLARES] HURRICANE WANDA ADVISORY NUMBER 9

[kg5qd at wxsvr.net]

Sent by Wxsvr in support of the South Florida Section SET 2004

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BULLETIN
HURRICANE WANDA ADVISORY NUMBER  9
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
11 AM EDT THU MAY 20 2004

THIS IS AN EXERCISE MESSAGE.  REPEATING, THIS IS AN EXERCISE MESSAGE.
 
.. DRILL! WANDA NOW A DANGEROUS CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE... 

.. ALL PREPARATIONS IN THE WARNING AREAS SHOULD NOW BE COMPLETE...

.. A TROPICAL STORM WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR BIMINI... GRAND BAHAMA... AND ABACO ISLANDS IN THE BAHAMAS... 

AT 11 AM EDT... 1500 UTC... A TROPICAL STORM WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR BIMINI... GRAND BAHAMA... AND ABACO ISLANDS IN THE BAHAMAS AND WILL LIKELY BE UPGRADED TO A HURRICANE WARNING LATER TODAY.

A HURRICANE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT SOUTH OF FLORIDA CITY AROUND THE FLORIDA PENINSULA TO BOCA GRANDE.  THIS INCLUDES ALL OF THE FLORIDA KEYS AND THE DRY TORTUGAS.  A HURRICANE WARNING CONTINUES IN EFFECT NORTH OF BOCA GRANDE TO LONGBOAT KEY.

A HURRICANE WARNING IS IN EFFECT FROM FLORIDA CITY TO JUPITER INLET ON THE FLORIDA EAST COAST AND FOR LAKE OKEECHOBEE.  A HURRICANE WARNING IS IN EFFECT NORTH OF JUPITER INLET TO FLAGLER BEACH FOR DETERIORATING CONDITIONS TONIGHT AND FRIDAY MORNING.  A TROPICAL STORM WARNING AND HURRICANE WATCH IS IN EFFECT NORTH OF FLAGLER BEACH FLORIDA TO BRUNSWICK GEORGIA.

INTERESTS ON THE REMAINDER OF THE FLORIDA PENINSULA SHOULD CONTINUE
TO CLOSELY MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF WANDA.
 
AT 11 AM EDT... 1500 UTC... THE EYE OF HURRICANE WANDA WAS LOCATED
NEAR LATITUDE 24.7 NORTH... LONGITUDE  81.6 WEST... OR VERY NEAR KEY WEST AND 100 MILES... 161 KM... SOUTH OF NAPLES.

REPORTS FROM AN AIR FORCE RECONNAISSANCE HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT REPORT THAT WANDA CONTINUES TO STRENGTHEN AND IS NOW A CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE.

WANDA IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH NORTHEAST NEAR  8 MPH... 13 KM/HR... AND THIS MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT  24 HOURS.  ON THIS TRACK THE CENTER OF WANDA WILL REACH THE LOWER SOUTHWEST FLORIDA COAST EARLY THIS EVENING.  DO NOT FOCUS ON THE PRECISE LOCATION AND TRACK OF THE CENTER.  THE HURRICANES DESTRUCTIVE WINDS AND RAIN COVER A WIDE SWATH.
 
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NOW NEAR 115 MPH... 185 KM/HR... WITH HIGHER GUSTS.  SOME INCREASE IN STRENGTH IS POSSIBLE PRIOR TO LANDFALL.  WITHIN THE PAST HOUR KEY WEST INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT REPORTED A SUSTAINED WIND OF 96 MPH WITH A GUST TO 117 MPH.  WITHIN THE PAST HOUR AN AUTOMATED STATION AT FLAMINGO REPORTED A WIND GUST OF 75 MPH.
 
HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO  45 MILES... 72 KM... FROM THE CENTER... AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 175
MILES... 282 KM.
ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS  949 MB... 28.02 INCHES.

A STORM SURGE OF 8 TO 10 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS IS NOW EXPECTED IN THE WARNING AREA OF EXTREME SOUTHWEST FLORIDA... AND 6 TO 8 FEET IN THE FLORIDA KEYS AND FLORIDA BAY.  THERE ARE REPORTS THAT PORTIONS OF U.S. 1 WEST OF THE SEVEN MILE BRIDGE ARE UNDER WATER.

ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAINS OF 10 TO 15 INCHES... WITH LOCALLY HIGHER
AMOUNTS... ARE ASSOCIATED WITH WANDA.

THERE IS A RISK OF ISOLATED TORNADOES OVER PORTIONS OF SOUTH FLORIDA
AND THE FLORIDA KEYS TODAY. 
 
REPEATING THE 11 AM EDT POSITION... 24.7 N...  81.6 W.  MOVEMENT
TOWARD... NORTH NORTHEAST NEAR  8 MPH.  MAXIMUM SUSTAINED
WINDS...  115 MPH.  MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...  949 MB.
 
AN INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE
CENTER AT 2 PM EDT FOLLOWED BY THE NEXT COMPLETE ADVISORY AT 5 PM
EDT.
 
FRANKLIN



THIS IS AN EXERCISE MESSAGE.  REPEATING, THIS IS AN EXERCISE MESSAGE.
THIS IS AN EXERCISE MESSAGE.  REPEATING, THIS IS AN EXERCISE MESSAGE.

For graphical APRS plots of the Forecast see:
http://wxsvr.net/tmp/ui_cap.png
http://wxsvr.net/tmp/snapshot.png

Sent by Wxsvr in support of the South Florida Section SET 2004