With Hurricane Frances WNW-bound across the eastern Bahamas, Florida appears headed for the second potentially devastating rendezvous in less than a month with a Cat. 4 (131+ m.p.h. winds) or stronger hurricane. The huge hurricane is to crash into the Southeast coast–possibly Florida–this weekend. Never before have two Category 4 or stronger storms hit the Sunshine State in a single season. There remains a possibility the storm could ultimately follow a different track–one which would take it north to Georgia or South Carolina. But, with the threat of a major blow looming just three weeks beyond Hurricane Charley–a powerful but much smaller storm than Frances–hurricane watches were hoisted along Florida’s east coast late Wednesday night from Florida City north to Flagler Beach. When averaged, a series of computer storm tracks puts the system onshore Saturday along a stretch of coast which includes Melbourne, Cocoa Beach and the Kennedy Space Center. Orlando is also at risk.
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Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist at WGN-TV. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN-TV News at noon and 9 p.m.
