Killer Storm Stalks Sunshine State

The Weather Channel is in the midst of its always-odd storm coverage as Hurricane Charley approaches Florida’s Gulf Coast. TWC is famous for sending its people out onto the beaches and showing them getting whipped by rain and blowing sand and tossed around by gusting winds. The effect is so familiar that it’s kind of campy and makes the whole scene seem like a damp but wondrous carnival, not some potentially deadly blast of nature. (My favorite place for storm information, which is pretty straightforward but very complete: The Weather Underground’s Tropical Weather page.)

Meantime, how has blogging changed storm reporting? Well, through Technorati I did find a Florida meteorologist who’s making a game attempt to keep up with the storm online: “Heavy rain is now falling into southwest Florida as bands of Charley move through the area. There are still many people out and about, but traffic continues to decrease. Most businesses including grocery stores and restaurants are now closed. So far, winds are not too gusty but they are expected to increase shortly.”

Traffic continues to decrease. Can you say “drama in real life”? (Non-snide point of curiosity: What happens when he loses his Net connectivity?)

But what does the great blogging public, the non-weather-expert types, make of the approaching menace? We take you now to the tale of an apparent teenager chased all the way across the state by the storm:

“I was having a great time in Marco Island till’ we had to evacuate [Hurricane Charlie] I absolutley it here in Ft. Lauderdale [thats wer i had to evacuate to] But there is pretty good shopping l0l0l…..i miz mii h.h.h.h. sisters at home l0l0l deb nd jen well gotta go shopping!”

The terror is palpable.

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