Back From The Storm

Our weekend anchor Amber Moody made it back to Huntsville last night. What a wild 7 days she has had. First getting married (That will scare anybody!) and then off to an idyllic honeymoon...in Cancun!

When she got my message last week (It was short and simple.."Get out NOW!") she tried to get a flight but it was already too late. The already heavily booked flights were all full. She has some real stories to tell about howling winds and incredible floods. She made it to Merida and a flight out last night,after an all day bus ride.

Not even I would take a honeymoon to a cat 5 hurricane (Cat 4 maybe) but she had no way of knowing that the weak depression in the Caribbean would grow in 24 hours to a monster. Usually by mid October the tropics are quieting down. Not this year!

We now have Tropical Storm Beta and this one really scares me. It looks like it will hit Nicaragua. The mountains in Central America will squeeze out rainfall totals that could approach planetary records. It is such a poor country and floods and mud slides could very well lead to a major catastrophe.

Model guidance this evening has Beta up to a cat 2 hurricane in 48 hours. Let's hope they are wrong.

later,
Dan