Gustav Downgraded To Depression
September 2, 2008
Hurricane Gustav made landfall as a Category 3 storm near Cocodrie, Louisiana, with winds of 110 mph. It has now been downgraded to a tropical depression.
Tropical Depression Gustav was located about 135 miles from Lafayette, Louisiana, moving toward the northwest at 10 mph.
Maximum sustained winds are have decreased to 35 mph.
It’s Official: School Is Open Tuesday
September 2, 2008
It’s official…the Escambia County School District has announced that schools in the county will be open on Tuesday.
“School officials monitored local effects of Hurricane Gustav over the weekend and have conducted post-storm evaluations of schools and work sites to ensure safe operations for Tuesday,” Ronnie Arnold, district spokesperson said Monday afternoon.
Schools were closed Monday because of the Labor Day holiday.
Pictured above: For the second weekend in a row, hurricane shutters were up at Ernest Ward Middle School and other schools in North Escambia. NorthEscambia.com photo.
Hurricane, Holiday Cause Traffic Changes On Highway 29
September 2, 2008
Hurricane Gustav led to unusual Labor Day weekend traffic patterns in North Escambia.
There is one live traffic counter in North Escambia located on Highway 29 just south of Century. It records and reports hourly data on traffic patterns, including vehicle counts and the average speed at the location.
On Sunday afternoon, northbound traffic at the traffic counter jumped from a Labor Day weekend average of about 310 vehicles per hour to a high of 480 vehicles per hour as people headed north from the coast.
A notable decrease in northbound traffic was observed Monday morning, due to both the holiday and the hurricane. During the 7 a.m. hour on a Monday morning, 222 vehicles per hour normally head north on Highway 29 toward Century. Monday morning, that number was just 83 vehicles during that hour.
Southbound traffic on Sunday did was not far off average, with about 260 vehicles per hour headed south compared to a normal of about 280 per hour.
Southbound traffic was much lighter than normal Monday morning, dropping from an average of about 200 vehicles per hour to about 35 vehicle per hour headed south.
Speed was not a problem for the weekend traffic. The average speed per hour ranged from 61 mph to 70 mph. The 70 mph was the average speed of the 262 northbound vehicles Monday morning between 11 a.m. and noon. The speed limit in the area is 65 mph.
Pictured above: This graph shows in yellow the weekend northbound traffic count at an automated counter on Highway 29 just south of Century; the green line is the weekend average. Pictured below: The same information for the southbound side of the highway.
Century To Hold Budget Workshop, Council Meeting Tonight
September 2, 2008
The Century Town Council will hold a public workshop this afternoon prior to a regular council meeting.
Department heads and council members will discuss the town’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
The budget workshop will be held at the town hall beginning at 5 p.m. A regular council meeting, moved to today because of yesterday’s Labor Day holiday, will be held at 7 p.m.
The public is invited to both meetings.
Power Outages Scattered
September 1, 2008
(Updated 5:15 p.m.) Gulf Power and Escambia River Electric Cooperative are reporting just scattered power outages across the county
Gulf Power reported as many as 4,600 people without power at one time Monday morning, but that number was down to 494 customers by last Monday afternoon.
EREC reports just scattered outages, with most restored very quickly by EREC crews across northern Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
To report a power outage:
- Gulf Power: (800) GU-POWER
- EREC: (877) OUT-EREC
Don’t forget…if the power goes out, you can still access NorthEscambia.com on your cellphone at www.northescambia.com.
Tropical Storm Ike Forms
September 1, 2008
Tropical Storm Ike formed Monday afternoon with winds of 50 mph.
The storm is in the Atlantic, about 1400 miles from the Leeward Islands. It is moving west at 16 mph.
Ike is likely to become a hurricane in the next couple of days.
Escambia Emergency Operations Center Update
September 1, 2008
(Updated 4:30 p.m.) Here is the latest information from the Escambia County Emergency Operations Center:
Shelters
- East Brent Baptist Church, located at 4801 North Davis Highway, in Pensacola opened at 4 p.m. Sunday for local residents and as a host shelter for travelers. Nurses are available for special needs clients. No advance registration required At 4:30 this afternoon, there were 249 people in the shelter: 199 from out of town, 50 local residents and one special needs patient with two caregivers.
Power Outages
- Gulf Power: (800) GU-POWER
- Gulf Power is reporting 2,347 customers without power at 3:00 p.m.
- EREC: (877) OUT-EREC
ECAT
- ECAT buses will not run on Monday…due to the Labor Day holiday.
Trash
- Allied Waste and Century will not have trash pickup on Monday due to Labor Day. Customers scheduled for Monday pickup will be serviced on Tuesday. Customers scheduled for Tuesday pickup will be serviced on Wednesday.
Schools
- UWF will be open on Tuesday for classes as usual.
- PJC will be open Tuesday as usual.
- Escambia County Schools will be open as usual Tuesday.
Citizen Info Line/EOC
- Citizen information phone lines are open at (850) 471-6600 until 7:00 tonight. The EOC will be open until 7:00 tonight. Both will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Evacuations
- There are no evacuations planned in Escambia County at this time.
Pictured above: An update on Hurricane Gustav Sunday afternoon in the Escambia County Emergency Operations Center. Pictured below: EOC staffers were also updated on Tropical Storm Hanna. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com
North Escambia Weather Forecast
September 1, 2008
(Updated 4:30 p.m.) North Escambia remains under a tornado watch and a flash flood watch until midnight.
Here is the weather forecast:
Tonight: Cloudy with showers likely and a slight chance of thunderstorms. Lows in the mid 70s. Southeast winds 15 to 20 mph becoming east 5 to 15 mph after midnight. Chance of rain 70 percent.
Tuesday: Cloudy with showers and thunderstorms likely. Highs in the mid 80s. Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70 percent.
Tuesday night: Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the lower 70s. East winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.
Wednesday: Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 80s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.
Hurricane Hanna Forms Monday
September 1, 2008
Hurricane Hanna formed Monday afternoon near the southeastern Bahamas.
Winds were at 75 mph, with additional strengthening forecast over the next several days.
The National Hurricane Center forecast takes the storm toward the Georgia coast on Friday as a Category 1 hurricane.
Schools Prepared For Storm
September 1, 2008
Schools in Escambia County are prepared for Hurricane Gustav and the expected tropical storm conditions in North Escambia.
Hurricane shutters were put up Friday in advance of the storm, and on Saturday school buses were recalled to central locations from the homes of bus drivers.
The district is monitoring the progress of Gustav and conditions in Escambia County.
School District spokesperson Ronnie Arnold said district personnel would be assigned to the Escambia County Emergency Operations Center to monitor the hurricane.
Information about school on Tuesday will be relayed to school district employees by email and to the public via news organizations such as NorthEscambia.com.
School is already out on Monday for the Labor Day holiday. As for now, officials say be prepared for school to be in session on Tuesday.
Pictured above: School buses in Escambia County were recalled Saturday from bus driver homes to central locations, such as this parking lot at Ernest Ward Middle School. Pictured below: For the second weekend in a row, hurricane shutters are up at Ernest Ward and other schools across North Escambia. NorthEscambia.com photos.