Hi everybody.
I hope this blog finds you well. School has started back up.
We are praying for those in the south wishing we could do more or give more.
Back to work and summer is over. I love fall but hate the winter! Oh well,
just time to visit our site and feel like you're in Florida anyhow.

However, I just found this news article about another storm coming.
Man, does Mother Nature and those up above hate that area?

For those of you heading to Florida, be careful, have a safe trip and come
back with some stories for us.

I am in the process of adding pictures and updating the site to include
our trip and so forth. We had perfect weather, wonderful views, relaxation,
quality time, and came back refreshed for the fall and end of 2005.

So, here is the story and we'll keep you updated with new stuff as it comes
and if you hear of something before we do, let us know!!

---

Ophelia stalls, may bulk up

Storm stationary off Cape; winds up to 60 mph

BY CHRIS KRIDLER, FLORIDA TODAY
and The Associated Press

Forecasters' cloudy crystal ball is giving few clues to where Tropical Storm Ophelia might meander in the next few days.

Wednesday, tropical storm warnings were discontinued south of Cocoa Beach, where surfers were enjoying big waves.

At 11 a.m. EDT today, Ophelia's top sustained winds were 60 mph - 20 mph stronger than 24 hours earlier.

The center of Ophelia was near latitude 28.6 north, longitude 79.6 west or about 60 miles east-northeast of Cape Canaveral.

Ophelia is stationary and little overall movement is expected today.

The National Hurricane Center said Ophelia could become a hurricane by the weekend. Forecasters suggested the storm could linger off the northern coast of Florida, as computer models’ tracks were widely contradictory.

Warm waters offered fuel to strengthen the storm, but shear was slowing its intensification, forecasters said.

"All interests in north Florida and southeastern Georgia should monitor the progress of this developing cyclone," Lixion Avila wrote in the hurricane center's forecast discussion.

"We have to wait and see what (Ophelia) is going to do. The possibilities are endless," said Steve Letro, meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service Office in Jacksonville.

"This one is going to keep everybody on the edge of their seats for quite some time," Letro said.

Brevard County can expect more squalls of rain and waves
breaking 6 to 8 feet onshore, with offshore waves building to 10 to 15 feet over the next few days, said meteorologist Scott Spratt of the National Weather Service in Melbourne.

As long as the storm keeps moving away, flooding isn't much of a concern, he said, but beach erosion is.

"It looks like the worst erosion would be Cape Canaveral northward up through Volusia County," Spratt said.

The weather service called for a 60 percent chance of rain today in North Brevard County, with north winds of 20 mph to 25 mph and gusts to 40 mph in the afternoon. Stronger winds and more rain were possible Friday.

In South Brevard County, the rain chances were similar but decreasing slightly on Friday, with winds today and Friday of 15 mph to 20 mph from the northwest.

"Looks like over the next two days, we're just going to see a slow northward or northwestward motion, parallel to the coast," Spratt said. Beyond that, Ophelia's path is too uncertain for the Space Coast to relax its guard completely.

"When you've got something like that sitting over the warm, toasty water, you've got to be very, very careful," said John Madura, head of Kennedy Space Center's weather office.

Kennedy Space Center planned to remain in its lowest level of hurricane alert until the slow-moving storm passed, NASA spokesman George Diller said.

"It's going to be lulls punctuated by brief bursts of excitement," he said of the storm.