NOAA Cuts Back Hurricane Forecast; Above Average Season Still Expected
August 9, 2013
Weather forecasters have cut back the number of storms forecast for this hurricane season, but they still expect this to be an active season.
NOAA issued its updated Atlantic hurricane season outlook Thursday saying the season is shaping up to be above normal with the possibility that it could be very active. The season has already produced four named storms, with the peak of the season – mid-August through October – yet to come.
“Our confidence for an above-normal season is still high because the predicted atmospheric and oceanic conditions that are favorable for storm development have materialized,” said Gerry Bell, Ph.D., lead seasonal hurricane forecaster at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service. “Also, two of the four named storms to-date formed in the deep tropical Atlantic, which historically is an indicator of an active season.”
The conditions in place now are similar to those that have produced many active Atlantic hurricane seasons since 1995, and include above-average Atlantic sea surface temperatures and a stronger rainy season in West Africa, which produces wind patterns that help turn storm systems there into tropical storms and hurricanes.
The updated outlook calls for a 70 percent chance of an above-normal season. Across the Atlantic Basin for the entire season – June 1 to November 30 – NOAA’s updated seasonal outlook (which includes the activity to date of tropical storms Andrea, Barry, Chantal, and Dorian) projects a 70 percent chance for each of the following ranges:
- 13 to 19 named storms (top winds of 39 mph or higher), including
- 6 to 9 hurricanes (top winds of 74 mph or higher), of which
- 3 to 5 could be major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5; winds of at least 111 mph)
These ranges are above the 30-year seasonal averages of 12 named storms, six hurricanes and three major hurricanes.
The updated outlook is similar to the pre-season outlook issued in May, but with a reduced expectation for extreme levels of activity. Motivating this change is a decreased likelihood that La Niña will develop and bring its reduced wind shear that further strengthens the hurricane season. Other factors are the lack of hurricanes through July, more variability in the wind patterns across the tropical Atlantic Ocean and slightly lower hurricane season model predictions. In May, the outlook called for 13-20 named storms, 7-11 hurricanes and 3-6 major hurricanes.
“The peak of the hurricane season is almost upon us and it’s important to remain prepared for hurricanes through November,” said Joe Nimmich, FEMA Associate Administrator for Response and Recovery. “Make sure to review your family emergency plan, check that your emergency kit is stocked and consider insurance options.”
Willie Steve Goodson
August 9, 2013
Willie Steve Goodson, age 61 of Jay, went home to be with the Lord on Sunday, August 4, 2013. He was a lifelong resident of Jay where he had many friends and family members. He retired from Monsanto/Solutia after 27 years of employment. He lived his life with honesty and integrity. Steve was an avid outdoorsman with a special love of running dogs, fishing on the river, and his catfish pond.
Steve is preceded in death by his mother, Peggy Goodson.
Left to cherish his memory are his significant other and best friend, Patricia (Peachie) Gillman; father, Rex Goodson; brother, Larry (Dawn) Goodson; stepson, Tim Gillman; nephew, Logan Goodson and granddaughters, Brittany and Kirsten Gillman.
A visitation will be held on Saturday, August 10, 2013 from 11:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. at Cora Baptist Church. Funeral services will begin at 12:30 p.m. with Bro. LaDon Hall officiating. Burial will follow at Cora Baptist Church Cemetery.
Active pallbearers will be Billy Boutwell, Obie Nowling, Ronnie Morris, Mike Morris, Walter Butterworth, and Jason Johnson.
The family would like to thank Jay Hospital and Emerald Coast Hospice for their compassionate care during our time of need. Flowers or memorial contributions can be made to the charity of your choice.
Jay Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Man Gets 15 Years For Robbing Sleeping Victim
August 9, 2013
An Escambia County man has been sentenced to prison for robbing sleeping man last year.
Arion Goble was sentenced by Judge Ross Goodman to 15 years in state prison for robbery with a firearm wearing a mask, burglary of a dwelling armed with a firearm wearing a mask and grand theft wearing a mask. Goble was convicted by an Escambia County jury last month.
On August 10, 2012, Arion Goble and Jeffery Pruitt entered into the victim’s apartment with masks over their faces. They both entered the bedroom and awoke the sleeping victim. Goble forced the victim to the ground and held a shotgun to his head. Pruitt then searched the bedroom and stole $800. Afterwards, both Goble and Pruitt fled the scene and split the money. Both Pruitt and Goble made admissions to other persons shortly after the crime. Goble was identified by the victim due to a distinct tattoo on his forearm.
On April 4, 2013, Pruitt pled to the crimes of principal to robbery armed with a firearm and principal to burglary of dwelling armed with a firearm and was sentenced to 10 years in state prison. As a condition of his sentence, he was required to testify truthfully regarding the involvement of other persons in this case. At Goble’s trial, Pruitt did testify that he and Goble committed the crimes.
Morris Daniel “M.D.” Williams
August 9, 2013
Morris Daniel “M.D.” Williams, 64, of Cantonment passed away on August 8, 2013.
M.D. was a disabled Vietnam Veteran. He worked for many years at NADP Pensacola and for three years at Cherry Point NADP.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Mildred and Morris Williams.
Survivors include his wife, Sandra Williams; brother, Wayne Williams; children, Danielle Williams and Tiffany Williams; step-children, Richard Stall and Suzanne Stall; grandchildren, Daysha, Brennen and Dionnah Williams and Jessica and Bryan Hardy; three great-grandchildren; many nieces, nephews, other family members and friends as well as many cousins in South Carolina that he loved dearly and his aunt, Betty Morgan.
Visitation will be held from 12 p.m. until funeral services begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday, August 10, 2013, at Pine Forest Assembly of God Church.
Special thanks to Drs. Meyers, Tamburro and Kevin Jones and the wonderful staff at West Florida Hospital.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Pine Forest Assembly of God Church.
Trahan Family Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Florida Virtual School Cuts Staff
August 9, 2013
Pointing to a change in the state’s education-financing formula, Florida Virtual School eliminated 177 full-time positions.
Florida Virtual School is the state’s online public school, and the legislative change led to traditional school systems receiving fewer dollars than last year for students who enroll in online courses.
House education appropriations Chairman Erik Fresen, R-Miami, said the change was needed because Florida Virtual School was receiving a disproportionately large share of money.
Andrew Noel DeLuca, III
August 9, 2013
Mr. Andrew Noel DeLuca, III, age 49, of Flomaton, passed away suddenly on Friday, August 3, 2013, at Baptist Hospital in Pensacola.
Mr. DeLuca was a native of Long Branch, NJ, and had been a resident of Flomaton since 1984 coming from Comanche, OK. He was employed at Jim Peach Ford as a painter and was of the Baptist faith.
He is survived by his mother, Mrs. Lois L. DeLuca of Flomaton; his wife, Mrs. Tina Gayle DeLuca of Irvington, AL; step-daughter, Tonya Nicole Ashburn of Brewton; sisters, Tina Marie Freeman of Century, Andrea Lee Koonce of Mirando City, TX, Anita Louise DeLuca of Flomaton, and LeaAnn Wolcot of Walters, OK; and several nieces and nephews.
Flomaton Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
$1 Million Powerball Ticket Sold In Escambia County
August 9, 2013
Four players in Florida won $1 million each in Wednesday night’s Powerball drawing. One of those tickets was sold in Escambia County at the Circle K at 4500 East Olive Road.
The $1 million ticket was claimed Thursday afternoon by Melissa Wienmann of Pensacola.
According to Weinmann, her husband is stationed at NAS Pensacola and is a Staff Sergeant in the Marines. They had been experiencing financial struggles due to her recent furlough. However, they are now looking forward to taking their grandson to Disney World in Orlando for his fifth birthday. Weinmann also stated that she intends to pay off their debt and set up a college fund for their grandson.
The winning numbers from the Powerball draw were 05-25-30-58-59, and the Powerball was 32. Each of the four retailers received a $1,000 bonus commission for selling a $1 million Powerball ticket, and more than $32 million was transferred to the state’s Educational Enhancement Trust Fund from this series of rollovers.
There were three winning tickets sharing the $448 million prize. Two of the winning tickets were sold in New Jersey and the third was sold in Minnesota.
Six-Run Second Earns Wahoos 6-4 Win Over Suns
August 9, 2013
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos scored all six of their runs in the second inning and went on to knock off the Jacksonville Suns 6-4 on Thursday night at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium. With the win, Pensacola clawed to within three games of the first place Suns with 25 games to go.
Pensacola strung together seven hits in the second-inning rally, all coming off Jacksonville starter Adam Conley. Ryan LaMarre started the scoring with an RBI single to make it 1-0. Three batters later, with the bases loaded and two outs, Devin Lohman reached on an RBI infield single, setting up Mike Costanzo. The Wahoos first baseman provided the big blow of the frame with a bases-clearing, three-run double to make it 5-0. Costanzo came around to score on a RBI single from Yorman Rodriguez, completing the outburst.
Jacksonville came right back, though, with four runs of its own in the top of the third against Daniel Renken. Chris Gutierrez singled in a run before Zack Cox blasted a three-run homer to right field, cutting the Wahoos lead to 6-4.
Renken settled down to toss six innings for Pensacola, allowing four runs on seven hits with four strikeouts to improve to 6-8 on the season. Jamie Walczak fired two scoreless innings to bridge the gap to Trevor Bell who set down the Suns in the ninth to pick up his 13th save of the year in as many tries.
Conley, tied for the Southern League lead in wins entering the night, took the loss for Jacksonville to fall to 11-5. The southpaw lasted five-plus frames and gave up six runs on 11 base knocks with five strikeouts.
Pensacola will now look for the series win having already won the first two games of the series. Tim Crabbe (5-8, 3.43) gets the ball for the Wahoos while the Suns will counter with Bryan Evans (4-3, 3.88). First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.
by Kevin Burke
Mary “Graham” Mitchell
August 9, 2013
Mrs. Mary “Graham” Mitchell, 93, passed away on Wednesday, August 7, 2013 in Atmore.
Mrs. Mitchell was a native of Wardville, FL and has resided in Walnut Hill for most of her life. She attended the New Life Fellowship Church. Her husband, John Mitchell; two sons, Jimmy Lamar Mitchell and James Allen “Chuck” Mitchell; and one daughter, Pat Emmons, precede her in death.
She is survived by her three sons, John C. (Marie) Mitchell of Atmore, Jack (Hazel) Mitchell of Walnut Hill and Joe (Sue) Mitchell of Germany; two daughters, Helen Bell of Flomaton and Linda (Lee) Johnson of Brinson, GA; one brother, Otis Graham of Pensacola; one sister, Luverne Graham of Walnut Hill; 12 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren.
Graveside services will be Saturday, August 10, 2013, at 10:30 a.m. at the Walnut Hill Baptist Cemetery with Rev. Joe Gipson officiating.
Visitation will be held Saturday, August 10, 2013, from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Petty- Eastside Chapel Funeral Home.
Pallbearers will be Ryan Johnson, Kevin Johnson, Riley Mitchell, Malcolm Mitchell, Freddie Emmons and Steven Alderman.
Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Homes, LLC is in charge of all arrangements.
Morning Y’all: Marty White Marks 40 Years On The Radio
August 8, 2013
“Morning y’all!”
Marty White has been waking up Pensacola area residents on “Your Hometown Morning Show” on 102.7 WXBM for over 20 years now…a phenomenally long time in the world of today’s radio business, big corporations and a tendency to change morning hosts on a whim. And this month, he’s marking another major milestone — 40 years behind a microphone, over 30 of those on the radio in Pensacola.
“Somebody that I knew, knew somebody with a radio station. I went in, read a few PSA’s (public service announcements), and the next thing I know, I was on the air making $1.65 an hour,” Marty said Wednesday morning from behind the mic in the control room of WXBM.
“Boy radio has come a long way since then. We used to have a couple of turntables on one side for the records and carts (large, 8-track like cassettes) for the commercials,” he said.
“Then we got all this,” he said, pointing to a computer system that lines up songs and commercials that automatically play with the click of the mouse. “I told ‘em I was never going to learn this computer stuff, or it was going to take me two years to figure out how to do anything.”
But he’s adapted. And that’s a big part of the reason he’s still around in the every-changing world of corporate radio.
WXBM”s studios are no longer out in the country “at the end of the road” in Chumuckla. Now, the WXBM studio is tucked away at “the end of the hallway” in an office park building off W Street in Pensacola. Just down the hallway are the studios for WXBM’s “sister” stations — WCOA 1370 AM, News Talk 100.7 FM, Magic 106.1, and Today’s Soft Rock 94.1 — all owned by media giant Cumulus.
Despite all the changes, Marty is still a self-described country boy who “barely graduated from Tate High School” that went from high school in Cantonment to the U.S. Air Force as a spy before his first radio gig.
“Man, she makes the best potato salad around,” Marty remarked on the air about the wife of a man celebrating a birthday. It’s those little down home touches that make Marty part of the family each morning in thousands of area homes.
In his spare time, you’ll often find him on the golf course, hunting somewhere in the North Escambia woods or out on a buddy’s boat.
The country artists on the air have changed a lot over 20 years at WXBM, but for Marty his favorites are still George….George Strait or George Jones. His all time favorites are “The Chair” by George Strait, “Bed of Roses” by George Jones, “That Was Us” byRandy Travis, and one almost guaranteed not to be on a teenager’s iPod — “16 Little Red Roses and a Horse That Sweats” by Jim Stafford.
Getting up early for a 6 a.m. start on the radio is just a way of life for Marty White. His show is not powered by coffee. There’s usually just a little water in his “sippy cup”, or just a little extra power from a Mountain Dew.
“I guess I’ll always be here behind a mic,” Marty said Wednesday morning. “Unless I win that Powerball tonight. Got $4 in that thing. Then this chair going to be empty in the morning.”
Pictured top and bottom: Longtime radio host Marty White on 102.7 WXBM Wednesday morning. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge. Pictured inset: Marty White records a commercial in August of 1985.
