Clearly there’s only one thing I’m talking about today and likely the rest of the week…that’s Isaac. OK fine – your weather through Friday will be highs in the low 90s with a decent chance of afternoon thunder there. Now things get interesting this weekend into early next week depending on MANY factors and the point of these sentences is not to SCARE or FRIGHTEN because the intensity forecast keeps changing BUT if you live anywhere on the coast (especially around the Keys – this is something to pay attention to) – in fact the first public statement was issued this morning:
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KEY WEST FL 550 AM EDT WED AUG 22 2012 ...FLORIDA KEYS RESIDENTS AND VISITORS SHOULD MONITOR ISAAC... AT 500 AM EDT WEDNESDAY...THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM ISAAC WAS LOCATED ABOUT 1640 MILES EAST-SOUTHEAST OF THE FLORIDA KEYS. TROPICAL STORM ISAAC IS MOVING WESTWARD NEAR 18 MPH. THIS GENERAL MOTION IS ANTICIPATED FOR AT LEAST THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 45 MPH. ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS APPEAR FAVORABLE FOR INTENSIFICATION WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT. THE TRACK ERROR FORECAST CONE NOW COVERS MOST OF THE FLORIDA KEYS AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS. TROPICAL STORM ISAAC POSES A THREAT TO THE FLORIDA KEYS. THE LATEST FORECAST TRACK HAS TRIGGERED PROBABILISTIC WORDING FOR TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS FOR SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT. THIS MEANS THERE IS A GOOD POSSIBILITY THE THE KEYS WILL EXPERIENCE AT LEAST TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS BY LATE SUNDAY. NOW IS THE TIME TO CHECK YOUR DISASTER SUPPLY KIT. A DISASTER SUPPLY KIT CONTAINS ITEMS YOU NEED TO HAVE REGARDLESS OF WHERE YOU RIDE OUT A STORM. THIS KIT IS A USEFUL TOOL WHEN YOU EVACUATE...AS WELL AS MAKING YOU AS SAFE AS POSSIBLE IN YOUR HOME. A LIST OF ITEMS FOR YOUR DISASTER SUPPLY KIT AND ASSISTANCE IN DEVELOPING A FAMILY OR PERSONAL PLAN CAN BE FOUND ON THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY INTERNET SITE AT: WWW.READY.GOV. IF TROPICAL STORM OR HURRICANE WATCHES ARE ISSUED FOR THE FLORIDA KEYS...YOUR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN KEY WEST WILL RELEASE INFORMATION AND IMPORTANT SAFETY PRECAUTIONS IN A TROPICAL STORM OR HURRICANE LOCAL STATEMENT. THIS STATEMENT IS REFRESHED AT 2 OR 3 HOUR INTERVALS DURING THE ENTIRE PERIOD OF A TROPICAL CYCLONE THREAT. THIS PRODUCT CAN BE VIEWED ON THE INTERNET AT: WWW.WEATHER.GOV/KEYWEST. TO RECEIVE THE LATEST INFORMATION REGARDING TROPICAL STORM ISAAC... LIKE US ON FACEBOOK AT: HTTP://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/US.NATIONALWEATHERSERVICE. KEYWEST.GOV OR FOLLOW US ON TWITTER AT: HTTPS://TWITTER.COM/NWSKEYWEST YOU CAN ALSO MONITOR THE SITUATION BY VISITING THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER ON THE WEB AT: WWW.NHC.NOAA.GOV.
So as you can see this is the real deal. It’s about being prepared – not panicked. We aren’t talking Andrew real right now – and you can likely thank the islands for some weakening but Isaac is going to move into very low wind sheer and warmer waters over the next 24 hours so I would expect a hurricane by Thursday (if not earlier).
Follow me on Twitter @WDW_Weather if you are interested as I will post updates through the weekend.