***scroll for updates***

Sign of the times from the Florida Keys:

Photo: AP/Yahoo!

Landfall is expected at dawn. She’s back up to Category 3:

The center of the storm was expected to hit the Florida coast at dawn Monday with the eastern edge of the eyewall arriving about two hours earlier. Surf was already pounding the beaches Sunday night.

At 11 p.m., tropical storm force winds were occurring in the Yucatan Channel, western Cuba and the lower and middle Keys.

Maximum sustained winds associated with Wilma were near 115 mph. Hurricane winds extended 85 miles out from the center and tropical storm winds 230 miles.

Bloomberg News reports that about 150,000 people have moved inland ahead of the storm.

Tornado warning in effect for all of west central Florida from Citrus County southward until 11 a.m. Monday.

Some residents of New England are bracing for high winds created by Wilma:

The Weather Service said a high wind watch is in effect Monday night through Tuesday afternoon in Massachusetts as a result of a Nor’easter created by Wilma off the coast of North Carolina.

The Nor’easter is expected to generate sustained winds of 40 miles per hour, with gusts of up to 65 miles per hour, and could down trees and power lines and cause property damage in Massachusetts, the Weather Service said Sunday.

Back down in Florida, Boudicca’s Voice is blogging the hurricane and has compiled a map of Florida bloggers.

Tim at Hyscience watches FOX News reporter Orlando Salinas as his shoes get blown off by storm winds.

***

Some vivid Wilma photos here and here.

Best Wilma photo caption of the day at Small Dead Animals. Ha!

***

National Guard prepares:

- 5,000 Florida National Guard troops are on alert.

New York sends personnel and equipment.

- 14 members of the South Carolina National Guard are headed down to Florida to help with communications.

- Air crews from the North Carolina Air National Guard are assisting with medical evacuations.

Navy ships are ready:

Three Norfolk-based amphibious ships will get underway Oct. 22, headed for the south Florida region in the event assistance is needed if Hurricane Wilma strikes land there.

USS Wasp (LHD 1), USS Trenton (LPD 14) and USS Nashville (LPD 13), all homeported at Naval Station Norfolk, are making preparations to load humanitarian relief supplies.

Other military and industry personnel are mobilizing communications help:

The Defense Department has military and industry teams on alert to provide communications if Hurricane Wilma disrupts the operation of telephone and wireless networks in the country.

Northern Command (Northcom) called Army communications officials earlier this week and ordered them to get mobile communications teams ready, said Brig. Gen. Nick Justice, deputy program executive officer in the Army’s Program Executive Office for Command, Control, Communications-Tactical (PEO-C3T). “Teams are standing up right now at Fort Monmouth (N.J.),” said Justice, who spoke Wednesday at the Milcom 2005 conference.

Army signal units, which operate the service’s battlefield communications systems, are also on call. “Tactical assets are ready,” said Brig. Gen. Carroll Pollett, the new commanding general of the Army’s Network Enterprise Technology Command and 9th Army Signal Command located at Fort Huachuca, Ariz.

Industry officials with DataPath and Qualcomm said they have personnel and equipment ready to provide communications with the Army. The two companies assisted Northcom, the Army and the Federal Emergency Management Agency in providing wireless and radio communications to police, fire and emergency personnel involved in relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina.

The DoD has more details on military preparations.

***

Meanwhile, if you’re thinking of donating to the Red Cross, you might want to hold off this time. The Senate Finance Committee may be looking into possible misuse of funds, according to Meghan Clyne at the NYSun.

***

10/24 1000am EDT. Stuck on Stupid is riding things out 40 miles north of Tampa.

Flooding is severe in Key West.

comments (0)   trackbacks (10)