Cant Keep Quiet!

Finally it is raining. It has been very dry here lately. So dry that there are warnings about possible threat of wildfires. What rain we’ve had has been relatively short and did little more than tease the ground.

It’s also part of the reason my allergies have been going nuts. Without enough rain to wash the pollen out of the air and trees it just means that there is more to bother me.

We’re due for rain and had some tonight. It was heavy for about 10 minutes but is now letting up.

Please, please, please don’t be over!

Whenever a news or weather reporter goes out into the public to get some Man-On-The-Street commentary there is an opportunity for someone to act like a fool on camera. The one thing you probably wouldn’t expect would be a streaker when you’re out doing live interviews in single digit temperatures with wind gusts of 35 miles per hour.

That’s exactly what John Loufman of Channel 19, Cleveland‘s Action News did run into earlier this week when he went out to see what people on the street thought of the freezing cold weather.

I decided to post this clip because it made me laugh even though I feel a bit under the weather.

Bush has declared areas in Lake, Seminole, Sumter, and Volusia counties major disaster areas. This will allow residents in these areas of Central Florida to be eligible for federal aid. Federal aid will help provide temporary housing and rebuild homes. Local officials will be able to use the aid to help pay for debris removal and repair roads.

FEMA is also sending water, meals, generators and plastic tarps to the area.

It is unsure if the aid from FEMA will also be available to cover damage from a previous tornado strike in the Volusia County area on Christmas Day. In January, FEMA denied requests for federal aid for those people whose homes were damaged by the Christmas Day storm. At the time, FEMA said that state and local officials should be responsible for the cost of the December storm.

Governor Charlie Crist has stated that when he appealed for federal aid after Friday’s storms he also included a request for assistance for the December tornadoes. FEMA Director R. David Paulison has stated that he would reconsider aid for the earlier storm some time this week.

The official death toll for the storm rests at 20 today. Officials believe that it could be days before the exact number of dead from the storms is known. Search and Rescue personnel are still looking for people trapped in the rubble of what were once homes.

Among the dead are three members of the Downing family from Lake Mack, Florida. Carla and Donald Downing were killed along with their 15 year old son, David. David was one of a set of triplets. The remaining triplets, Heather and Kayla survived the storm, however, Heather was injured and it is unknown what her condition is at this time.

An entire flock of young whooping cranes were also killed in the storm. The 18 cranes were part of a project that hoped to create a second migratory flock of the endangered birds. The whooping cranes were led to Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge near Crystal River, FL from Wisconsin last fall.

Joe Duff, co-founder of Operation Migration which was coordinating the project said that the birds were fine when they were check late on Thursday afternoon. Workers were unable to reach the enclosure where the birds were housed again until Friday morning. At that time all the young whooping cranes were dead. Duff believes that the birds may have drowned during a storm surge.

Nellie Byrd, 75 of Lake Mack, thought she had lost her dog Trixie to the storm. The dog was later reunited with Mrs. Byrd. Her home was destroyed by the tornado.

At least 19 people died in Lake County when tornadoes struck the Central Florida area early this morning. Most people were still in bed when the tornadoes hit.

Florida’s new governor, Charlie Crist, has declared a state of emergency in the area. He told reporters that the top priority right now is “search and rescue.” Emergency crews using dogs are shifting through the debris looking for those reported missing.

Volusia County also reported a great deal of damage from the early morning storms. The Villages of Sumter County reported damages to 300 to 500 homes. There were also several injuries reported in Sumter and Marion counties but so far no deaths have been reported.

You can find more information about the storms at this site.

As I’m writing this we are still getting news of possible tornadoes having moved through the Central Florida area between 2:00 and 6:45 this morning. At this time there are reports of major damage in Lake and Volusia County areas with several fatalities in Lady Lake, Florida. Interstate 4 in DeLand, Florida is shut down in both directions due to an accident involving 4 semis and a car that was reportedly caused by high winds blowing the vehicles over and/or into each other. Details are sketchy at this time but I can believe that high winds can responsible since semis provide such a large area of wind resistance to high speed winds coming at their sides.

If you want to find out more about what is/did happen you can check these various links. Be aware that many don’t have much information up at this time because I am writing this as the news reports are coming into the stations. I am positive they will update their websites when they get the chance.

Channel 2 — already has information up

Channel 6 news

Channel 13

Channel 9

The paper, Orlando Sentinel, also has breaking news.