Hurricane Jeanne Play-by-Play

Hurricane Jeanne - Play-by-Play from Tampa FL
September 25 & 26, 2004

Monday September 27th: Aftermath statistics and reports for those that are interested can be found below.

Click below for the Aftermath Report of your choice. The most recent is at the top.

Associated Press Photos from the aftermath of Hurricane Jeanne - click here

Sunday September 26th - 11:00pm: This will be the final report for tonight and probably for this storm. It's been a VERY long 24 hours since I started this report, but thankfully we made it through OK. We did this play-by-play for family and friends up north that wanted to know how we were doing through the storm and to try and draw a live picture, hour by hour, of what it's like to live through an unpredictable and ever changing hurricane. This storm did not go where it was forecasted and kept all of us on our toes. Keep in mind that this storm was a mere infant compared to Charlie and Ivan. You will NEVER get a play-by-play from us for a Cat 3 or bigger storm because we WILL be evacuating out of the area all together. I will never tempt fate and challege Mother Nature any more then we did today. We know when to leave and this was almost it. There is no way we will brave any storm stronger then this Cat 2. This storm was rough enough for us and we were blessed to be on the mild side since it came in on the east coast! These storms are much more fierce then anything we've ever seen in New Jersey and would highly recommend NEVER playing with Mother Nature. These storms are more fierce then you can ever imagine. It's been a long, sleepless and at times pretty damn scary 24 hours. We can't imagine what some other less fortunate folks must have gone through in the last day. The final weather report outside is....It's still pretty windy outside, probably around 25-40mph gusts, but sustained winds have dropped off. The rain continues on and off but is generally pretty light. We kept power through it all, unlike many. Now on Monday morning, the clean-up will begin. The Amercian Red Cross has already called me to action if I have time this week. I most likely will help out whenever and however I can. God Bless to everyone that didn't fair well in this storm, wherever you might be. Good Bye Jeanne! Now can we finally end this 2004 hurricane season? Good night and good riddins to Hurricane Jeanne.

Photos from in and around Hillsborough County - our home county - Click Here!

Sunday September 26th - 8:00pm: Some 45-55mph wind gusts are still pelting our area, but the rain is relatively light. The storm is obviously starting to pull away from the Tampa area. At times, the rain squalls increase in intensity, but most of the time now it's just the wind that's rocking the area. Looks like Valdosta GA is in line for Tropical Storm Jeanne in the next hour or so. Hang on Aunt Pat!

Sunday September 26th - 6:30pm: Wrap around squall lines are making their way into our area currently. When I last reported, I mentioned the rain was very light. Well, within the last hour some rain has picked up as rain bands started to wrap around on the southern side of the storm and in from off the Gulf of Mexico. But these winds, while fierce, are NOTHING like what we experienced earlier. After earlier today, this is a mild breeze and we should start to see a permanent end to the rain at least within another 2-3 hours.

Sunday September 26th - 5:30pm: Well, we braved the storm and ventured out and now we're back. (Probably a stupid thing to do) We headed out for a ride to survey some damage and ended up in Indian Rocks Beach. We probably experienced the most intense hurricane winds and rain yet and saw the most damage so far as the backlash, or backside of the storm, pounded the area. We have some pictures from Indian Rocks Beach for you, just click on the link below. Crossing the Howard Franklin Bridge proved to be a real chore with 75mph winds. I didn't say it then, but I was really scared with winds that strong pounding the truck and literally rocking it. The waves were crashing over the side of the bridge and the shoreline rocks. We had to be at least 20 feet or more up in the air at one point. As the bridge got higher, the water wasn't pounding over the side towards you any longer, but the winds got extremely bad the higher the bridge went. Why did I do this. I must be crazy! Once we finally arrived at Indian Rocks, dad even got out of our truck on the beach and was almost blown away. You had to see it to believe it. We parked near a condo highrise that blocked some of the wind and rain, but when you walked around the building to the beach side, you were just pelted and almost blown away by the winds. It was incredible. Car windows were shattered and damage was everywhere. Here at home in Tampa, the storm is quickly wringing itself dry it seems. There is very little rain right now, but still a ton of wind. Probably gusting to around 40-60mph still. The storm eye is north west of us about 2 hours and located just about somewhere in Citrus County. It's north of us now and things are getting much better here at our home. It's been a wild ride and a very tiring one. As of this report, we have still not lost power which to us is very important. It means we can cook dinner here and spend the night here, which we weren't sure was going to happen earlier today. There is no damage to our home directly, so this is another plus. Many other folks weren't so lucky. God Bless 'em!

Photos from Indian Rocks Beach - Click Here! (still pics don't do this storm justice - you really need to see the video)

Sunday September 26th - 1:30pm: The center of the eye is about 1-2 miles off to our northeast around Dade City and Zephyerhills. ( I probably spelled that wrong) It looks like the center is going by just to our north and east. The eyewall however looks like it will just graze our home on the southwest corner. Just minutes ago I went outside to open up a drain clogged with leaves and the sky was brighter. The winds have calmed down and the rains have let up. Amazing...it looks like the storm is almost over! BUT......this is just the eye of the storm. The calm weather is directly related to the calm eye of the hurricane. Historically, many people are killed or injured when they venture out during this time. Only to get lashed by the backside of the storm. We will experience the backside of the storm in the next few hours. The worse part might just be that all the hurricane coverage has interrupted Sunday football. With nothing to do but sit in the house all day, at least they could put a game on. Gesh!!!

Sunday September 26th - 12:30pm: HOW do we still have power? The eyewall is REALLY pounding us directly at this time. The center of the eye may go a bit more north now they're saying, (is this called forecasting or calling it as it happens?) but if that happenes, that may not necessarily be good news. That just means we won't get the "calm" of the eye. We'll stay in the eyewall and hurricane force winds. It's blistering out there and I'm VERY confident there will be serious damage as this thing passes and people start to venture out. The rain feels like you're getting sandblasted and you can't walk a straight line due to the winds. If you weigh less then 100 pounds, you might just blow away! SERIOUSLY!! I'll try to bring you pics if I can! HOW do we still have power? (oh yea, I said that already!)

More photos of Hurricane Jeanne - Click Here!

Sunday September 26th - 12:00pm: The eye of Hurricane Jeanne is still just to our southeast. Maybe about 10-15 miles. It doesn't much matter though...the storm is as fierce as you can imagine. I braved the storm to take a ride about 1 mile up the road and to see what's happening. I found a BIG tree down blocking the entrance to our complex, a tree of a car a few buildings down, and many signs busted up without leaving the grounds of our complex. The REAL damage will be seen once I can go further down I-75 and I-4. Stay Tuned

The entrance to our complex was completely blocked on one side by downed trees. Photos by Mark House

Sunday September 26th - 10:30am: Winds are sustained in the 60-70mph range. Hurricane force winds are here and gusting to over 70mph. WOW....we went outside for about 5 minutes but couldn't stay out there because it's so intense. The door is rattling and banging even when it's shut and the rain is of course coming down sideways. The eyewall bands of Hurricane Jeanne have arrived! The eye itself is still about 30-40 miles southeast from here though, but we're in her fury now!

Sunday September 26th - 10:00am: Well we finally got about 3 hours of sleep, if that's what you call it. The eye is now approaching and is only about 40 miles to the southeast of us. God, this thing is taking FOREVER to get here. Just get here and get it over with already! It's hard to believe it can still get worse!!! The winds are unbelievable (sustained probably around 50-60mph and gusting over 70mph) and the rain is of course coming down sideways. We'll try to get some pictures soon. Winds last night were from the south but now seem to be from the east. The heaviest of the storm is just south of us and will be here in the next few hours or so. For now, we still have power, but alarms are sounding in other buildings here in our complex. Stay Tuned!

Sunday September 26th - 7:00am: St. Petersburg was just reported to have a wind gust of 57mph. The eye is just north of Sebring FL and moving west, northwest towards us here in Tampa. That freight train sound that everyone talks about with severe storms is starting outside. Sustained winds are starting to sound vicious out there and the rain is rough. I've never heard a storm outside my windows sounding like this one. And it's only a Cat 2 storm I guessing at this time. WOW!!! This is intense! The heaviest part of the storm is still hours away though.....so hold on! The storm is still listed as a Cat 2 as per our local news.

Sunday September 26th - 6:30am: Lake Wales High School about 1 hour away just lost it's roof. I can't stress enough, Highlands and Polk Counties to our immediate southeast are getting pummeled currently. Power outages, wide-spread structural damage and extreme winds are being reported in these places. We're next! Winds are getting REAL FIERCE here at times and sustained somewhere around 40-50mph. Rain is coming down much, much harder now, but I can't see outside since it's dark. Out my window, things are banging and clanging somewhere out there and there are loud crashes at times, but it's dark and I can't tell what's happening. Wind is really getting fierce. Hurricane Jeanne is approaching our area. WOW.....as I wrote the last sentence, a gust of wind probably around 55mph or higher just hit. Looks like the hurricane force winds (75mph+) are starting to approach the Tampa area. Power won't be on long.......I just feel it. It's getting much worse very quickly. Severe wind and rain bands are starting to hit the Fort Mead and Winter Haven areas and approaching us. Tornado watches have been posted for our area and hopefully won't turn to warnings anytime soon.

Sunday September 26th - 6:00am: Gary Vickers from Pinellas County Emergency Management has Pinellas County Sherriffs going around street-by-street with loud speakers trying to "LAST MINUTE" evacuate folks. There's not much time left and those folks are in trouble. Storm is currently still in Polk and Highlands Counties moving northwest towards us. Avon Park (where Cory raced the Gator National in April 2004) was in the direct path of Charley and Frances and now Jeanne. They are once again getting POUNDED right now again. Storm is making a beeline for our home's area but slowly. (or at least it feels that way to us just waiting and watching!) Not much sleep being had tonight by mom and dad, but the kids are out like a light at least......so that's the good news. Gusts here in Tampa are still tropical storm force (35-74mph) right now on a regular basis and rain is steady, but still not too bad!

Sunday September 26th - 5:00am: Inland counties of Highlands County and Polk County are loosing power and getting SLAMMED right now! 100-110mph winds and power outages are extreme and just about 1 - 1 1/2 hours to our southeast. Jeanne is cuurently around the Lake Wales, Frost Proof, Bartow, Lakeland, Mulberry and Avon Park areas. Storm continues northwest towards Tampa very slowly. Reports are that somewhere around 800,000 people are without power. Thankfully, we still have power for now! Our worst is yet to come! For those in Polk and Highlands Counties, this is a nightmare. Charley and Frances pummeled these areas also just weeks earlier. Our winds are sustained around 35-45mph with much higher gusts.

Sunday September 26th - 4:00am: All weather stations and The Weather Channel NOW have Tampa directly in the path of Jeanne! Six hours after landfall and THE TRACK HAS CHANGED. Go figure! The northwest turn is starting but a little bit later then thought. Hurricane Charley did the same thing. he was forecasted to come to Tampa and made a right turn 90 miles south and crashed into Punta Gorda. If there's one thing we've learned about hurricanes, it's that they're unpredictable to say the least. The eye of Hurricane Jeanne should pass directly over the New Tampa area and actually DIRECTLY OVER OUR HOME. Our home is just to the east of the I-75 and I-275 junction just north of the city of Tampa if you have a map handy! :-) Winds are getting sustained at about 25-40mph. Gusts are definately higher (probably around 45-60mph) and the rain is getting stronger and steadier.

Sunday September 26th - 2:00am: Jeanne is NOT making a northwest turn as forecasted. Reports are starting to put Tampa in the direct path of Jeanne! Winds getting much stronger (gusting to about 35-45mph), rain off and on - light to moderate. Hold on...it's gonna be a bumpy ride it looks like. If this were a Cat 3, 4 or God Help Us, a Cat 5.....now would NOT be the time you'd want to plan your evacuation. It's already too late!

Sunday September 26th - 12:00am: Storm is NOT making that Northwest turn yet. It's staying on a westerly track through Stuart FL and towards Lake Okeechobee. Winds here in Tampa about 25mph, light rain. Storm appears to be on direct path for Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties on the west coast of FL. Pinellas County (next county over to our west) FINALLY issues a mandatory evacuation of mobile homes and level A & B zones. Glad to see they're getting with the program since other counties including Hillsborough issued these warnings long, long ago ( like 6:00pm on Sept 25th). WAKE UP Pinellas and GET OUT!

Saturday September 25th - 10:00pm: Hurricane Jeanne is about to make landfall around the Stuart FL area on the east coast of the state as a minimal Cat 3 hurricane with winds topping out at 120mph. Stuart FL is near Vero Beach and Port St. Lucie FL. In Tampa, 15-20mph winds are starting, no rain but it's getting breezy. Storm is forecasted to make a northwest turn and Tampa should be on the west side (weaker side) of the storm.