Hurricane Charley Up Close
Aug 21, 2004, 9:35 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: USA
Programs: AA MARRIOTT Lifetime Plat Premier ; Marriott Vacation Club
Posts: 1,650
Hurricane Charley Up Close
Hurricane Charley is the big news topic a week ago, & it remains very much on the minds of hundreds of thousands of Floridians who continue to clean up in his aftermath. My own experience with Charley is that of a passing traveler who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time ( or is it the right place at the right time?).
We are down in Palm Beach Shores spending a week at the Marriott Ocean Pointe timeshare located directly on the beach on Singer Island. We ( myself, my son & a friend of his ) spend the week there while my wife, who is unable to get the week off, flies down to PBI for the weekend to join us before returning home.
We have a great time during our week long Friday to Friday stay at Ocean Pointe. Needless to say, we are paying close attention to the two tropical storms, Bonnie and Charley which are buzzing about the Carribean and the Gulf of Mexico. Friday, the 14th is our checkout day when the boys and I plan to drive up to Orlando where we will spend 3 nights at the Marriott Grand Vista timeshare resort ( my wife is flying to MCO that evening to join us on another abbreviated weekend stay).
By Friday, Bonnie has long-since departed the Florida panhandle, but Charley is now a force 3 hurricane tracking up the western Florida coast towards Tampa. At 9AM Friday, Charley continues to follow his predicted track towards Tampa. I call the Grand Vista resort for guidance about whether they are advising folks to stay away. At that time, given Charley's track, they tell me so long as I arrive prior to 3PM when the first rains and heavy winds are anticipated, that we should be OK. Our second concern (my wife's flight to MCO takes care of itself that morning when US cancels flights and she receives a full refund
).
The boys and I are on our way up the Florida turnpike by 10:30 and allowing for a burger stop to satiate the guy's appetites, we arrive in the Orlando area at 1:30PM. The skies are already dark and forboding and tornado warnings are issued throughout the area as the leading edge of Charley approaches. We are aware from the radio that Charley has altered his track, but only when we check in at Grand Vista do we learn that Charley is presently a category 4 hurricane striking Punta Gorda at that very moment and that Charley will track directly over Orlando.
Authorities tell people to hunker down and not to evacuate. The resort folks advise us to prepare to weather out Charley in our villas. Fortunately for us, the resort has an on-site store and we manage to set aside some food, a mission lots of other guests also have in mind. At this hour (3PM) the skies alternate between clouds and periods of dark clouds which seem close enough to the ground to touch -- the radio warns that it is in these conditions of unstable winds that tornados may form and be difficult to see given the low lying cloud cover -- a real problem for someone driving out on the open roads. Thunderstorms with torrential rain bursts, winds, and lightning move quickly past. It's during this period that cell phones stop working as the transmititng towers all seem to be going down.
Back in our villa, the TV is the first thing we turn on as we unpack our groceries and survey the villa to work out how we will ride Charley out. Charley is now a category 3 hurricane and his projected track continues to be Orlando. Early news reports suggest severe damage on the Florida coast. I look out of our south-facing patio at the trees and villas around us and I try to imagine what our night with Charley will really bring.
The guys and I get to work filling the bathtub, and every pot, pan and glass we have in the villa with water. We gather some clothes and first aid things in a backpack and make some decisions about what to do if things get really bad and we lose power or a sliding glass door or window is broken by flying objects. Fortunately, I do bring a small flashlight along with me out of habit. The resort folks come around with one gallon of water for each unit as well as some of those chemical light source sticks that one bends to produce light. After that, we all hunker down and wait for Charley to arrive.
Our basic plan is to huddle in the second bedroom's bathroom if things go bad. It seems to be the most secure place in the villa. We also clear things away from the windows in the event of glass breakage so that we might prop a mattress up against the window if need be. I feel basically safe & the resort urges folks to stay put in their own villas and to use common sense. Around this time I'm able to call out on my cell phone to update my wife about what we are doing. Then we do what guys always do when a crisis approaches -- we eat.
As it turns out, Charley loses strength by the time he reaches Orlando, dropping to a category 2 hurricane. This does not eliminate the need to worry, but it does take some of the edge out of those deadly hurricane force winds. The wind and rains pick up but it is still light enough to see outside. We remain fortunate in that we never lose electricity and the cable TV keeps working. From the TV we learn that the eye of the hurricane will pass right through the immediate area where our Grand Vista resort is located. This revelation is both exciting and disconcerting. But it turns out that we are extremely lucky because high level winds shear off Charley's eye so it loses its tight concentric spiral and instead creates a whirling crescent-shaped band of still dangerous 100+ mph winds and torrential rains.
Charley's eye and the worst winds begin to arrive over us shortly after 9PM, just as it begins to grow dark. It is a sight to behold. Sustained winds of 80-90 miles blow outside with gusts reaching 105. Rain moderates between heavy downpours to steady wind-driven torrents. A willow tree near our unit bends and twists almost to the point of touching the ground and breaking. Within ten minutes winds reach their peak as the full force of Charley churns over us.
The best place to watch Charley is from our villa door which faces away from the south and affords cover from wind and rain (not that I want to walk to the edge of the balcony to look out -- too many flying objects such as branches, palm fronds, and other debris sent airborne by the 105 mph gusts). Rain pours out of the sky like a waterfall, but the 90 mph sustained winds turn the rain into sideways-moving sheets of water. The wind gusts drive the rain even harder into something which looks like the crashing waters at the foot of Niagara Falls. And when the winds hit their peak gusts, there is an eerie roaring sound, something akin to a ghostly freight train screaming as the palms sway violently around us.
Now and then one hears the zapping sound of electrical lines snapping or transformers blowing. Most interesting is the combination of the warm temperatures, torrential driving rains, and the scent of palm leaves and other vegetation being ripped and shredded in the winds, creating an aromatic smell of fresh plants somewhat akin to the scent of a freshly cut Christmas tree's needles or a walk in a beautiful forest in the early morning hours.
All of this heavy, gusting activity lasts perhaps 20-25 minutes. Then, the winds die down and the rains become like any other showery tropical night except that the wind blows hard occasionally. By 11 PM, one can hear the frogs and other night creatures returning to their usual night-time symphony. The winds also lose most of their power. It's a very eerie experience, but also a very powerful and inspiring thing to watch nature boil over with wind, lightning, and rain. Our own experience has been more like that of a Disney adventure ride. Of course, most Floridians have a different and more sobering view of Charley.
We are fortunate in that we never lose power at the resort. Likewise we have running water and working sewerage. During the entire hurricane we are able to watch the excellent local news coverage and alerts complete with Doppler radar showing us the approaching eye and it's fierce winds. Except for a brief outage or two, I'm also able to utilize my cell phone to call my wife back in NJ. I speak with her during the peak of the hurricane to let her know that my son and I and his friend are all OK ( a welcome relief to her and to the friend's mother whom my wife then calls and reassures). All in all it is a memorable experience.
The next morning, we can inspect the damage first hand. In my opinion, the resort escapes in excellent condition. Of course there are some downed trees ( a palm falls into one of the main swimming pools ) and everything is a mess. But in the larger scheme of things, Grand Vista fares very well. Crews begin the clean up on Saturday and other than losing the use of the pools and golf course that day, life goes on at Grand Vista. Disney and the theme parks are all open by 12 noon on Saturday, just hours after Charley passes through. We ourselves stay put as I can see no reason to be on the roads after such a fierce event.
Hundreds of thousands of other Floridians do not fare as well as we do. Presently some several tens of thousands are without electricity, running water, and other essentials. Gasoline shortages and panic buying remain other big problems for those folks who live in the region and are trying to return to something resembling normalcy. The local TV stations provide excellent on-going coverage of the hurricanes aftermath which is much more reliable and has better perspective than many of the national media outlets.
Although Punta Gorda and coastal environs are the most heavily hit, especially in terms of loss of life and loss of property, the Orlando metro region is dealt a relatively gentler blow ( if one dares to attempt to make devastation a relative thing ).
Much of the damage throughout the region involves fallen trees, downed power lines and property damage from debris. The cruel twist of this "softer" blow by Charley is that the extent of fallen trees and fallen lines is so huge that it will take days for officials and support services to restore basic power to many places. People will be hurting in Florida for quite some time.
Hurricane Charley plays a coy game, cloaking his true destination until he makes an unanticipated turn further to the south than predicted. Still, state officials do a good job of following Charley and ordering mandatory evacuations as well as advising millions of others to pay attention and prepare themselves. Some regions breath a sigh of relief as Charley turns his force elsewhere while other regions suddenly bear the brunt of Charley's force.
We spend our remaining days at the resort watching rescue efforts become the longer and more arduous task of cleanup. There exists a contrast of experience between residents who struggle without power and ice and tourists who flock to the theme parks and are almost oblivious to the damage and destruction which surrounds us. I do confess that on Monday, the boys and I spend a relaxing day at Sea World enjoying the orcas and porposies and other creatures on display. I wonder what their view of Charley was?
That Monday evening the boys and I head to MCO airport and our flight home. In typical Florida fashion, those sunny afternoon skies we enjoy at Sea World become filled with dark clouds and thunderstorms. The skies do not open up until we ride the monorail to the US terminals. As we get off of the train and head towards our gate, we discover Charley's lingering impact.
The MCO terminals ( especially gates 49-55 ) sustain heavy wind damage during the hurricane. Sections of the roof are peeled away by the winds. Makeshift patches are made, but the late afternoon downpour sends torrents of water pouring through the roof and the ceilng is a maze of dripping and leaking water. The longer and harder the rains fall, the more the sections of ceilings ooze and spill water.
It seems that a decision to leave the ceiling tiles intact beneath the torn roof is an oversight come back to haunt airport officials. As the ceiling tiles grow heavy with water, they come crashing down to the floor in random places creating a potential hazzard for anyone walking beneath. Workers scramble to move seats and cordon off areas while water pours from the ceiling.
The boys and I walk beyond this mess ( I first grab a Nathan's chili dog before proceeding -- guys always think about food in emergencies ) and find an area of seats that is high and dry towards the end of the terminal. By now officials have cordoned off the terminal and we spend the next couple of hours in near isolation watching fire rescue folks pull down all affected tiles with grappling hooks. The rains have long since passed and the ceilings now drip like the ceiling of a wet cave. As the workers clear away tiles, US officials guide passengers towards their gates where planes continue to disembark and load passengers.
Our own PHL flight is moved to another gate and the boys and I make our way to the gate. Amazing that our flight which arrives 15 minutes late, turns around quickly and we depart on time ( a sign of our improving fortunes also comes when our automatic seat upgrades are confirmed ). Taking off into the night skies with beautiful silhouettes of azure clouds to the west and the twinkling lights of Orlando glistening below belies the true situation on the ground as the region continues to clean up from Charley.
Our own experience with Charley turns out to be a safe and even comfortable evening of observing the power and force of a hurricane up close. It's an evening that I will never forget, especially when I recall what those folks we leave behind continue to experience as they clean up from Charley and try to put houses and lives back together.
Barry
We are down in Palm Beach Shores spending a week at the Marriott Ocean Pointe timeshare located directly on the beach on Singer Island. We ( myself, my son & a friend of his ) spend the week there while my wife, who is unable to get the week off, flies down to PBI for the weekend to join us before returning home.
We have a great time during our week long Friday to Friday stay at Ocean Pointe. Needless to say, we are paying close attention to the two tropical storms, Bonnie and Charley which are buzzing about the Carribean and the Gulf of Mexico. Friday, the 14th is our checkout day when the boys and I plan to drive up to Orlando where we will spend 3 nights at the Marriott Grand Vista timeshare resort ( my wife is flying to MCO that evening to join us on another abbreviated weekend stay).
By Friday, Bonnie has long-since departed the Florida panhandle, but Charley is now a force 3 hurricane tracking up the western Florida coast towards Tampa. At 9AM Friday, Charley continues to follow his predicted track towards Tampa. I call the Grand Vista resort for guidance about whether they are advising folks to stay away. At that time, given Charley's track, they tell me so long as I arrive prior to 3PM when the first rains and heavy winds are anticipated, that we should be OK. Our second concern (my wife's flight to MCO takes care of itself that morning when US cancels flights and she receives a full refund
).The boys and I are on our way up the Florida turnpike by 10:30 and allowing for a burger stop to satiate the guy's appetites, we arrive in the Orlando area at 1:30PM. The skies are already dark and forboding and tornado warnings are issued throughout the area as the leading edge of Charley approaches. We are aware from the radio that Charley has altered his track, but only when we check in at Grand Vista do we learn that Charley is presently a category 4 hurricane striking Punta Gorda at that very moment and that Charley will track directly over Orlando.
Authorities tell people to hunker down and not to evacuate. The resort folks advise us to prepare to weather out Charley in our villas. Fortunately for us, the resort has an on-site store and we manage to set aside some food, a mission lots of other guests also have in mind. At this hour (3PM) the skies alternate between clouds and periods of dark clouds which seem close enough to the ground to touch -- the radio warns that it is in these conditions of unstable winds that tornados may form and be difficult to see given the low lying cloud cover -- a real problem for someone driving out on the open roads. Thunderstorms with torrential rain bursts, winds, and lightning move quickly past. It's during this period that cell phones stop working as the transmititng towers all seem to be going down.
Back in our villa, the TV is the first thing we turn on as we unpack our groceries and survey the villa to work out how we will ride Charley out. Charley is now a category 3 hurricane and his projected track continues to be Orlando. Early news reports suggest severe damage on the Florida coast. I look out of our south-facing patio at the trees and villas around us and I try to imagine what our night with Charley will really bring.
The guys and I get to work filling the bathtub, and every pot, pan and glass we have in the villa with water. We gather some clothes and first aid things in a backpack and make some decisions about what to do if things get really bad and we lose power or a sliding glass door or window is broken by flying objects. Fortunately, I do bring a small flashlight along with me out of habit. The resort folks come around with one gallon of water for each unit as well as some of those chemical light source sticks that one bends to produce light. After that, we all hunker down and wait for Charley to arrive.
Our basic plan is to huddle in the second bedroom's bathroom if things go bad. It seems to be the most secure place in the villa. We also clear things away from the windows in the event of glass breakage so that we might prop a mattress up against the window if need be. I feel basically safe & the resort urges folks to stay put in their own villas and to use common sense. Around this time I'm able to call out on my cell phone to update my wife about what we are doing. Then we do what guys always do when a crisis approaches -- we eat.
As it turns out, Charley loses strength by the time he reaches Orlando, dropping to a category 2 hurricane. This does not eliminate the need to worry, but it does take some of the edge out of those deadly hurricane force winds. The wind and rains pick up but it is still light enough to see outside. We remain fortunate in that we never lose electricity and the cable TV keeps working. From the TV we learn that the eye of the hurricane will pass right through the immediate area where our Grand Vista resort is located. This revelation is both exciting and disconcerting. But it turns out that we are extremely lucky because high level winds shear off Charley's eye so it loses its tight concentric spiral and instead creates a whirling crescent-shaped band of still dangerous 100+ mph winds and torrential rains.
Charley's eye and the worst winds begin to arrive over us shortly after 9PM, just as it begins to grow dark. It is a sight to behold. Sustained winds of 80-90 miles blow outside with gusts reaching 105. Rain moderates between heavy downpours to steady wind-driven torrents. A willow tree near our unit bends and twists almost to the point of touching the ground and breaking. Within ten minutes winds reach their peak as the full force of Charley churns over us.
The best place to watch Charley is from our villa door which faces away from the south and affords cover from wind and rain (not that I want to walk to the edge of the balcony to look out -- too many flying objects such as branches, palm fronds, and other debris sent airborne by the 105 mph gusts). Rain pours out of the sky like a waterfall, but the 90 mph sustained winds turn the rain into sideways-moving sheets of water. The wind gusts drive the rain even harder into something which looks like the crashing waters at the foot of Niagara Falls. And when the winds hit their peak gusts, there is an eerie roaring sound, something akin to a ghostly freight train screaming as the palms sway violently around us.
Now and then one hears the zapping sound of electrical lines snapping or transformers blowing. Most interesting is the combination of the warm temperatures, torrential driving rains, and the scent of palm leaves and other vegetation being ripped and shredded in the winds, creating an aromatic smell of fresh plants somewhat akin to the scent of a freshly cut Christmas tree's needles or a walk in a beautiful forest in the early morning hours.
All of this heavy, gusting activity lasts perhaps 20-25 minutes. Then, the winds die down and the rains become like any other showery tropical night except that the wind blows hard occasionally. By 11 PM, one can hear the frogs and other night creatures returning to their usual night-time symphony. The winds also lose most of their power. It's a very eerie experience, but also a very powerful and inspiring thing to watch nature boil over with wind, lightning, and rain. Our own experience has been more like that of a Disney adventure ride. Of course, most Floridians have a different and more sobering view of Charley.
We are fortunate in that we never lose power at the resort. Likewise we have running water and working sewerage. During the entire hurricane we are able to watch the excellent local news coverage and alerts complete with Doppler radar showing us the approaching eye and it's fierce winds. Except for a brief outage or two, I'm also able to utilize my cell phone to call my wife back in NJ. I speak with her during the peak of the hurricane to let her know that my son and I and his friend are all OK ( a welcome relief to her and to the friend's mother whom my wife then calls and reassures). All in all it is a memorable experience.
The next morning, we can inspect the damage first hand. In my opinion, the resort escapes in excellent condition. Of course there are some downed trees ( a palm falls into one of the main swimming pools ) and everything is a mess. But in the larger scheme of things, Grand Vista fares very well. Crews begin the clean up on Saturday and other than losing the use of the pools and golf course that day, life goes on at Grand Vista. Disney and the theme parks are all open by 12 noon on Saturday, just hours after Charley passes through. We ourselves stay put as I can see no reason to be on the roads after such a fierce event.
Hundreds of thousands of other Floridians do not fare as well as we do. Presently some several tens of thousands are without electricity, running water, and other essentials. Gasoline shortages and panic buying remain other big problems for those folks who live in the region and are trying to return to something resembling normalcy. The local TV stations provide excellent on-going coverage of the hurricanes aftermath which is much more reliable and has better perspective than many of the national media outlets.
Although Punta Gorda and coastal environs are the most heavily hit, especially in terms of loss of life and loss of property, the Orlando metro region is dealt a relatively gentler blow ( if one dares to attempt to make devastation a relative thing ).
Much of the damage throughout the region involves fallen trees, downed power lines and property damage from debris. The cruel twist of this "softer" blow by Charley is that the extent of fallen trees and fallen lines is so huge that it will take days for officials and support services to restore basic power to many places. People will be hurting in Florida for quite some time.
Hurricane Charley plays a coy game, cloaking his true destination until he makes an unanticipated turn further to the south than predicted. Still, state officials do a good job of following Charley and ordering mandatory evacuations as well as advising millions of others to pay attention and prepare themselves. Some regions breath a sigh of relief as Charley turns his force elsewhere while other regions suddenly bear the brunt of Charley's force.
We spend our remaining days at the resort watching rescue efforts become the longer and more arduous task of cleanup. There exists a contrast of experience between residents who struggle without power and ice and tourists who flock to the theme parks and are almost oblivious to the damage and destruction which surrounds us. I do confess that on Monday, the boys and I spend a relaxing day at Sea World enjoying the orcas and porposies and other creatures on display. I wonder what their view of Charley was?
That Monday evening the boys and I head to MCO airport and our flight home. In typical Florida fashion, those sunny afternoon skies we enjoy at Sea World become filled with dark clouds and thunderstorms. The skies do not open up until we ride the monorail to the US terminals. As we get off of the train and head towards our gate, we discover Charley's lingering impact.
The MCO terminals ( especially gates 49-55 ) sustain heavy wind damage during the hurricane. Sections of the roof are peeled away by the winds. Makeshift patches are made, but the late afternoon downpour sends torrents of water pouring through the roof and the ceilng is a maze of dripping and leaking water. The longer and harder the rains fall, the more the sections of ceilings ooze and spill water.
It seems that a decision to leave the ceiling tiles intact beneath the torn roof is an oversight come back to haunt airport officials. As the ceiling tiles grow heavy with water, they come crashing down to the floor in random places creating a potential hazzard for anyone walking beneath. Workers scramble to move seats and cordon off areas while water pours from the ceiling.
The boys and I walk beyond this mess ( I first grab a Nathan's chili dog before proceeding -- guys always think about food in emergencies ) and find an area of seats that is high and dry towards the end of the terminal. By now officials have cordoned off the terminal and we spend the next couple of hours in near isolation watching fire rescue folks pull down all affected tiles with grappling hooks. The rains have long since passed and the ceilings now drip like the ceiling of a wet cave. As the workers clear away tiles, US officials guide passengers towards their gates where planes continue to disembark and load passengers.
Our own PHL flight is moved to another gate and the boys and I make our way to the gate. Amazing that our flight which arrives 15 minutes late, turns around quickly and we depart on time ( a sign of our improving fortunes also comes when our automatic seat upgrades are confirmed ). Taking off into the night skies with beautiful silhouettes of azure clouds to the west and the twinkling lights of Orlando glistening below belies the true situation on the ground as the region continues to clean up from Charley.
Our own experience with Charley turns out to be a safe and even comfortable evening of observing the power and force of a hurricane up close. It's an evening that I will never forget, especially when I recall what those folks we leave behind continue to experience as they clean up from Charley and try to put houses and lives back together.
Barry
Aug 23, 2004, 12:34 am
#4
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: YYZ
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Posts: 2,907
My wife and I were in FLL on the day Charlie hit, and other then some brief afternoon thundershowers and some stronger then usual breezes later, there was nothing to match the havoc that was hitting the west coast and later the central Florida counties. Glad you made it through the storm okay.
bj-21.
bj-21.