Florida has declared state of emergency, Hurricane Dennis

[Bluebear]

STAY SAFE FLORIDIANS! (As an aside, is it me or does paragraph 4 sound incredibly pompous with its 'I hereby find' and 'I therefore declare'?)

MIAMI (AFP) - Florida governor Jeb Bush declared a state of emergency, warning that Hurricane Dennis could cause a "major disaster" in the southeastern US state that was pummeled by four such storms last year.

At the same time, authorities ordered the evacuation of all residents in the Florida Keys, which forecasters say could be hit by the increasingly powerful hurricane this weekend.

Governor Bush, a brother of the US president, called for the evacuation of high-risk areas, saying there was "an immediate danger to the lives and property of the residents of those communities."

"I hereby find that Hurricane Dennis threatens the state of Florida with a major disaster. I therefore declare that a state of emergency exists in the state of Florida," he said in a statement.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050707/wl_afp/uscaribbeanweather_050707203706

[Oreo]

1. It's building pretty fast

And it's only July folks. I heard there wasn't even a named storm last year until August.

[Bluebear]

2. You are correct about the named storms fact

[Hawkeye-X]

3. Hmm

My wife's in Tampa right now.. Any danger for her? She is there until Sunday.

[DIKB]

4. from the outlook

It looks like it's gonna miss her, she may get hit with some heavy rains and winds, but the general course is easy to predict till it hits dry land. Then it's like shooting craps, you don't really know what's gonna happen.

[amazona]

5. Looks like Landfall possible on Sunday

Here's a link to the public advisory:

http://www.weatherunderground.com/tropical/at200504.public.html

I'm not sure what I would advise. If the trip can be cut short now, I might consider that in her shoes to beat any crowds of evacuees yet sometimes it turns out to be unnecessary. She needs to see what the local weather service says.

[Bluebear]

6. Forecast category 4 in 9 hours

http://forecast.mssl.ucl.ac.uk/shadow/

[Bluebear]

7. .

[Al-CIAda]

8. Jeb Bush Signs Executive Order on 7 September 2001

Florida Governor Jeb Bush Signs Executive Order 01-261 on 7 September 2001

Notice that 7 September 2001 is a Friday. September 11th was a Tuesday. So the only day this order could be rescinded would have been September 10th.

Jeb Bush signs what appears to be a fairly standard Executive Order regarding the Florida National Guard to:
... to order training to help respond to civil disturbances, natural disasters, and counter drug operations ...
It is Section 3 that is interesting....

Section 3.

The Florida National Guard may order selected members on to state active duty for service to the State of Florida pursuant to Section 250.06(4), Florida Statutes, to assist FDLE in performing port security training and inspections. Based on the potential massive damage to life and property that may result from an act of terrorism at a Florida port, the necessity to protect life and property from such acts of terrorism, and inhibiting the smuggling of illegal drugs into the State of Florida, the use of the Florida National Guard to support FDLE in accomplishing port security training and inspections is "extraordinary support to law enforcement" as used in Section 250.06(4), Florida Statutes.

http://sun6.dms.state.fl.us/eog_new/eog/orders/2001/september/eo2001-261-09-07-01.html

Jeb Bush declares a state of emergency on September 11th with Executive Order 01-262. This order is declared faster than any other state, even New York or Washington, DC, and carries much greater powers.

http://sun6.dms.state.fl.us/eog_new/eog/orders/2001/september/eo2001-262-09-11-01.html