center of Pensacola fares OK

[Derek Ortt]

was just talking with the news journal and they have fared better than expected

[logybogy]

Pensacola got Cat 1 winds. Probably just what they got with Ivan, the difference being that with this storm they lasted for maybe 30 minutes to 45 minutes vs. 5-6 hours.

[stu]

Agreed - the UKWeatherworld chase team are there and are reporting only minimal damage thank God.

[Canelaw99]

Looking at the radar, it seems like their weather will start clearing up within a couple hours I think. The speed of this storm moving through P'cola was definitely a good thing!

[manofsteele79]

Pensacola got much stronger than cat 1 during Ivan. I drove through there just weeks after and all 4 hospitals and the civic center had roof failures and there were still tons of home with no roof. Cat 1 storms don't do that.

[swimaster20]

Derek, are they reporting anything on the islands yet?

[simplykristi]

Glad to hear that there is minimal damage in Pensacola. I was very afraid that Pensacola was going to get hit hard. I wil be anxious to hear reports from Santa Rosa Island, Navarre, and Fort Walton Beach.

Kristi

[yzerfan]

At least the worst of it looks like it came ashore in the uninhabited national parkland.

[stu]

Gulf Shore and Gulf Breeze the day after the Ivan stuck (I took the images)

http://www.bylink.com/chase/2004ivan/ivan2004.asp

[HurryKane]

Woman in Destin being interviewed on CNN says storm surge has covered hwy 98.

[Skywatch_NC]

Also, any reports about damage in Destin? I have a friend in my SS class who's mother lives there and who evacuated with many others. He mentioned that he had gotten up at 5 am ET to continue monitoring Dennis.

Eric

[Derek Ortt]

I'm not arguing again what Pensacola received during Ivan. Those with any intelligence know to accept scientific studies. I'll just leave it at that as I head off for a nap

[EDR1222]

Glad to hear the initial reports from Pensacola are not real bad. Hopefully we won't hear different in the coming days.

[dhweather]

Gulf Shore and Gulf Breeze the day after the Ivan stuck (I took the images)

http://www.bylink.com/chase/2004ivan/ivan2004.asp

Another freaky example of Mother Nature. The store is DESTROYED, yet the 2 liter bottles sit calmly on the shelves. Great photos Stu!

<img src="http://www.bylink.com/chase/2004ivan/Gulf%20Shores/IMG_2569.JPG">

[ncbird]

Glad to hear this. I remember the 96 Bertha Fran hurricanes, where Bertha came in and we had lots of damage due to tree's and lots of loose and weak stuff being ripped up. Then Fran came in stronger than Bertha but less damage, because Bertha had already cleaned much of the weak and loose stuff out. I am wondering if the same thing may have happened with Ivan and Dennis even though they are farther apart time wise.

[stu]

DH that was one of the most surreal images that I took from Ivan and despite the store being totally wreaked no one even tought about taking a bottle to drink!

Another image was the bomb/shell that got washed up in a residents back garden – this we cordoned off with tape and we called in the army bomb deposal team to deal with it.

[Cape Verde]

How in the heck does a borderline CAT 4 storm not destroy anything it touches? This is the most amazing hurricane I've seen.

[logybogy]

Because the Borderline Cat 3 winds (there were no cat 4 winds on land) were confined to a 3-5 mile swath north and east of the eye!

This was more like a large tornado than a hurricane, aside from the storm surge which looks impressive.

Lots of flooding as far east as coastal sections south of Tallahassee.

[cinlfla]

Another freaky example of Mother Nature. The store is DESTROYED, yet the 2 liter bottles sit calmly on the shelves. Great photos Stu!

This is an amazing photo, Thanks for sharing.