LATEST UPDATE ON DENNIS

Hello everyone! The base commmand post just broke into programming and said we are in Hurcon 1 (winds 50 knots or greater expected within 12 hours). It is still wierd that they can do that-break into the t.v.. We are all packed and ready to go, and I just found out Melanie and her husband are in the same shelter as us. Yay! So now Anthony will have someone to play with. I was just looking on the WLOX site, in case anyone is interested, we are in zone B on the evacuation zone map. It is the yellow part, and we are kind of in between Ploesti and Bayview. As of now, there is a mandatory evacuation of zones A and B. The casinos are closing at midnight, oh wow, that was about fifteen minutes ago. It's a lot later than I thought! There are no curfews as of yet. They are closing pretty much all of the bridges tomorrow morning, but that won't affect us personally since we'll be on base. It might affect Melanie and her family since they live in the next town over. Below is the latest update I have gotten from the news station in New Orleans. You can also check out www.wkrg.com, from Mobile, Al. area. Anyways, I am beat. I'm headed off to bed, and as promised, I will post at least one more time before we head to the shelter. Good night!


Issued at: 10:40 PM CDT 7/9/05, expires at: 5:45 AM CDT 7/10/05

Dennis now a dangerous category 3 hurricane continues to strengthen,
Dennis could be a category 4 hurricane at landfall.
Coastal mississippi residents urged to prepare for hurricane
conditions,
Areas affected. in south mississippi, harrison, hancock,
jackson
Watches and warnings. A hurricane warning is in effect from the mouth
of the pearl river eastward across the Florida panhandle. The hurricane
warning includes the entire mississippi coast.
A hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions, winds in excess of
74 mph, are possible within the warning area within 24 hours.
A tropical storm warning is in effect from the mouth of the pearl river
to grand isle, including new orleans and lake pontchartrain.
A tropical storm warning means that tropical storm conditions of winds
39 to 73 mph are possible within the warning area within 24 hours.
Precautionary/preparedness actions. Residents of coastal mississippi
should continue preparations for hurricane conditions, winds in excess
of 74 mph and increasing tides, developing on Sunday.
Hancock county emergency management has mandatory evacuations for all
unincorporated low lying and mobile homes areas. No curfew is in effect
for hancock county at this time.
Harrison county has mandatory evacuations for flood zones a and b, and
evacuations are strongly encouraged in flood zone c. No curfew is in
effect for harrison county at this time.
Jackson county emergency management has issued mandatory evacuations in
flood zone a along with mandatory evacuations of low lying areas,
mobile homes, campgrounds and beach fronts. Evacuations are highly
recommended for all other areas.
Mississippi coastal residents should listen to local media for
additional evacuation information.
In extreme southeast louisiana, residents should prepare for tropical
storm force winds on Sunday which may cause damage to tree limbs
resulting in some power outages.
Storm information. At 10 pm cdt, the center of hurricane dennis was
located near latitude 26.6 north, longitude 85.3 west or about 340 miles
southeast of biloxi mississippi. Dennis is moving northwest near 14 mph
and a gradual turn towards the north northwest is expected tonight or
Sunday.
Maximum sustained winds are near 125 mph. Dennis is a category three
hurricane on the saffir simpson scale. Strengthening is possible during
the night and dennis is expected to become a category 4 prior to
landfall.
Wind impacts. For the mississippi coast, winds will begin to increase
over the coastal waters later tonight and early Sunday. Tropical storm
force winds, 50 to 70 mph with gusts to 80 mph, will spread over the
mississippi coastal counties early Sunday morning. Hurricane force winds,
74 mph or greater, are likely Sunday afternoon and sunday evening
across the mississippi counties, with wind gusts in excess of 100 mph
possible in jackson county if the eyewall passes nearby.
For extreme southeast louisiana, tropical storm force winds of 45 to 55
mph with gusts to 70 mph possible could occur over the area on Sunday
as the western periphery of powerful hurricane dennis moves by the area.
Wind gusts of this magnitude may down tree branches, resulting in
downed power lines.
Storm surge. For the mississippi coast, a 3 to 5 foot storm surge is
likely. If the hurricane landfall shifts westward a much greater storm
surge will occur over the eastern portion of the mississippi coast. A
storm surge potential of 12 to 17 feet is possible near and to the east
of the hurricane.