HURRICANE ISIDORE

HURRICANE ISIDORE

300,000 PEOPLE LEFT HOMELESS IN MEXICO

SEPTEMBER, 2002

compiled by Dee Finney

9-30-02 - LILY STILL REMAINS A TROPICAL STORM

10-1-02 - HURRICANE LILI ON THE WAY

Hurricane Isidore

Fri Sep 20, 3:15 PM ET

M. Ressler, Sr. Meteorologist

Tropical Update, The Weather Channel

Hurricane Isidore, nearing the western tip of Cuba, has a central pressure of 967 mb or 28.56 inches. Isidore's intensity has leveled off for the time being, as the Cuban landmass slightly interferes with its circulation. Western sections of Cuba continue to face very heavy rain with well over 20 inches possible, strong 100+ mph winds at the western tip, an 8 to 12 foot storm surge at and to the east of the eye, and large battering waves. The tropical storm warnings are no longer in effect for the Cayman Islands (which received over 15 inches of rain) and the tropical storm watch has been discontinued for the Florida Keys. A hurricane watch plus a tropical storm warning are now in effect from Progresso to Tulum on the Yucatan Peninsula, including the Island of Cozumel. Isidore should track into the Gulf by early Saturday and then will move very slowly westward through Monday. Water temperatures throughout the Gulf are quite warm at 84 to 88 degrees which could lead to an even stronger hurricane in the coming days. After Monday, the path is quite uncertain. The hurricane could get picked up and sent north by an oncoming upper trough, or get left behind to meander about in the Gulf toward Mexico. Everyone from Mexico to Florida should monitor the situation carefully over the next week. The Atlantic is becoming very active. A non-tropical low is located roughly 825 miles east-southeast of Bermuda. It has the potential to develop into a tropical or subtropical low in the next 24 hours. Another low and area of convection between the Bahamas and Bermuda will head toward the Outer Banks and could develop into a subtropical-type storm. Out in the central Atlantic some 1600 miles east of the Windward Islands, there is a persistent area of convection. There are two weak lows associated with this area of showers and thunderstorms. Development is possible in the next 24 to 36 hours. There is one last low off the African coast that shows no immediate signs of development. In the Eastern Pacific, tropical depression Iselle is now drifting northwestward away from Baja California. It looks as though the main area of showers and storms is fizzling out over the open Pacific leaving high clouds over the peninsula. Iselle should gradually dissipate over the next two days and the last advisory has been issued on this system. Thunderstorms continue to develop with the low in the Gulf of Tehuantepec. This area has not become better organized. The Western Pacific is quite calm with showers and thunderstorms scattered in a monsoon trough. There is a more concentrated area of thunderstorms to the west of Guam, but no tropical development is expected today.

Hurricane Isidore Drenches Cuba

Fri Sep 20, 2002

By VIVIAN SEQUERA, Associated Press Writer

PINAR DEL RIO Cuba (AP) - Hurricane Isidore pounded Cuba's sparsely populated western end with heavy rains and winds of more than 100 miles per hour Friday, making its way into the Gulf of Mexico and prompting the evacuation of offshore oil rigs.

Isidore was moving west-northwest and was expected to stay on that track as it headed into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico.

"Isidore is near its closest point of approach to Florida right now. It's moving farther away, a little bit of a sigh of relief," said Eric Blake, a meteorologist at the Miami center. "It doesn't look like it'll affect Florida this weekend."

The National Hurricane Center in Miami discontinued its earlier storm watch for the lower Florida Keys.

Offshore petroleum companies in New Orleans started evacuating their rigs Friday after it became clear Isidore was headed toward the Gulf of Mexico. U.S. Coast Guard officials advised boaters in the Gulf to keep a close watch on the storm's path and make sure their emergency equipment works.

By 11 p.m. EDT, Isidore's center left Cuban territory and entered the Gulf of Mexico, about 40 miles north-northeast of Cabo San Antonio on the western tip of the island. Earlier in the day, the hurricane's eye skirted around the small Isle of Youth, to the south.

Forecasters warned of possible flooding along Cuban shores from a storm surge of as much as 12 feet and dangerously large waves were expected near where Isidore made landfall Friday afternoon.

Hurricane strength winds extended up to 30 miles out from its center and a hurricane warning was in effect across central and western Cuba.

Because of its westerly track toward the Gulf of Mexico, the Mexican government issued a tropical storm warning and hurricane watch from Progreso to the Mayan coastal ruins of Tulum on the Yucatan Peninsula, including the island of Cozumel.

"The Yucatan should be on alert because the forecast puts (Isidore) north of the north coast a couple of days from now," he said.

President Fidel Castro, visiting Communist Party headquarters in this western provincial capital Friday, told reporters "there is no doubt the country will respond" to overcome any damage caused by Isidore.

Castro was meeting with civil defense authorities just as the hurricane prepared to make landfall a few dozen miles to the southwest on the coast of the sparsely populated Guanahacabibes Peninsula.

There were no immediate reports of deaths or injury, or serious damage.

Activating its highly organized civil defense program, authorities asked tens of thousands of people across the nation's west to move to safer areas — a routine measure aimed at guaranteeing minimum damage to life and property.

High winds and heavy seas rocked 53 boats anchored to the local pier in La Coloma, a fishing community near the hurricane's projected path in Pinar del Rio province, about 100 miles southwest of Havana.

Isidore, the second Atlantic hurricane of the 2002 season, strengthened into a category 2 storm Friday morning as its maximum wind speeds reached 105 mph. Hurricane force winds extended outward up to 30 miles.

The storm was expected to maintain its current strength and drench Cuba's western half through the weekend with as much as 30 inches of rain, the National Hurricane Center said.

Cuban civil defense officials said more than 100,000 people and tens of thousands of farm animals in the island's west were moved to safer ground.

Isidore was far weaker than Hurricane Michelle, a category 4 storm that battered central Cuba last November, causing an estimated $1.8 billion dollars in damage to homes, crops and infrastructure.

Early Thursday, Isidore uprooted trees and flooded low-lying areas in the nearby Cayman Islands. Isidore first passed western Jamaica on Wednesday.

Gustav, which dwindled out in the north Atlantic earlier this month, was the first hurricane of the 2002 season. The 2002 Atlantic hurricane season began June 1 and ends Nov. 30.

Hurricane Isidore Slides Northwest

Sat Sep 21, 2002, 3:20 AM ET

By NEIL JOHNSON, njohnson@tampatrib.com

TAMPA - Hurricane Isidore, after rolling over western Cuba on Friday, moseyed into the Gulf of Mexico and away from Florida, a path it is expected to follow the next two days.

That gives Floridians longer to prepare if the storm takes a sudden swing back toward the state.

``Every step it does move to the west gives more time for us,'' state meteorologist Matthew Green said.

At 11 p.m., Isidore was near 22.4 north latitude and 84.6 west longitude.

Meteorologists said low pressure over the Atlantic Ocean should keep the hurricane pinned to the south and help nudge it westward, at least until Monday.

Hurricane Isidore Pounds West Cuba

Sat Sep 21, 2002, 8:10 AM ET

By VIVIAN SEQUERA, Associated Press Writer

PINAR DEL RIO Cuba (AP) - Oil workers fled their rigs by helicopter as Hurricane Isidore made its way into the Gulf of Mexico, still dumping heavy rain on western Cuba early Saturday.

Florida appeared to be out of danger as Isidore headed toward Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, packing winds of 100 mph. It was expected to strengthen Saturday and could become a major hurricane.

A tropical storm warning and hurricane watch were in effect along the Yucatan coast from Progreso to the Mayan ruins of Tulum, including the island of Cozumel.

However, a direct landfall appeared unlikely in the Yucatan. Isidore was likely to churn parallel to the coast, the weather center said. But forecasters were also unsure about exactly where the hurricane would head.

"Anything in the Gulf of Mexico is a potential target," said James Franklin, hurricane specialist at the center.

U.S. Coast Guard officials advised boaters in the Gulf to keep a close watch on the storm's path and make sure their emergency equipment works. Offshore oil companies in New Orleans started evacuating their rigs.

Though now centered in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane was still dumping heavy rain on the sparsely populated western end of Cuba. A hurricane warning remained in effect for Havana and western Cuban provinces, including the Isle of Youth.

At 2 a.m. EDT, the Isidore was about 30 miles north-northwest of Cabo San Antonio on the western tip of Cuba. It was moving west-northwest at about 7 miles an hour and was expected to stay on that track at least until early Sunday.

Forecasters warned of possible flooding along Cuban shores from a storm surge of as much as 12 feet, and dangerously large waves were expected near where Isidore made landfall Friday afternoon.

The hurricane center lifted its storm watch for the lower Florida Keys late Friday.

"It's moving farther away, a little bit of a sigh of relief," said forecaster Eric Blake. "It doesn't look like it'll affect Florida this weekend."

There were no immediate reports of deaths or injury, or serious damage in Cuba.

Activating the country's highly organized civil defense program, authorities had asked people across the nation's west to move to safer areas. Cuban civil defense officials said more than 100,000 people complied.

Isidore, the second Atlantic hurricane of the 2002 season, strengthened into a category 2 storm capable of moderate damage Friday morning. Hurricane force winds extended outward up to 35 miles.

Isidore was far weaker than Hurricane Michelle, a category 4 storm that battered central Cuba in November, causing an estimated $1.8 billion dollars in damage to homes, crops and infrastructure.

Early Thursday, Isidore uprooted trees and flooded low-lying areas in the nearby Cayman Islands. Isidore first passed western Jamaica on Wednesday.

Gustav, which dwindled out in the north Atlantic earlier this month, was the first hurricane of the 2002 season. The 2002 Atlantic hurricane season began June 1 and ends Nov. 30.

Hurricane Heads Toward Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula

Sat Sep 21, 2002 12:08 PM ET

MIAMI (Reuters) - Hurricane Isidore strengthened into a category three hurricane as it sped across Mexico's Yucatan Channel on Saturday with winds near 115 mph and was expected to grow stronger as it moved toward the Yucatan Peninsula.

The storm, which damaged houses and crops and forced 300,000 people to flee their homes in western Cuba, was expected to cause strong winds in the northern coast of the Yucatan peninsula later on Saturday, the National Hurricane Center ( news - web sites) in Miami said.

"We're expecting it could become a category four hurricane later on," said Eric Blake, a forecaster at the center. If Isidore strengthens to a category four hurricane, winds could top 131 mph.

Hurricane warnings were posted along the north and east coasts of the Yucatan Peninsula, including the tourist resort island of Cozumel.

Coastal flooding as high as 4 to 8 feet above normal tide levels was expected on the north Yucatan coast, the center said.

At 11 a.m. EDT, Isidore was located about 60 miles east-northeast of Cabo Catoche on the northeast tip of the Yucatan Peninsula, or at 21.9 degrees north latitude and 86.1 degrees west longitude.

Its projected path showed it pointing straight at Mexico's east coast. Isidore was moving west at about 7 mph and could jog more to the west. On its present track it was no threat to the United States but forecasters said it was possible it could turn toward the U.S. Gulf Coast next week.

Meanwhile in the north Atlantic, Subtropical Storm Kylie was located about 770 miles east of Bermuda and was expected to strengthen into a tropical storm by Sunday. It was heading north at a speed of 7 mph with winds increasing to 45 mph from 40 mph earlier on Saturday.

Hurricane Isidore Entering Southern Gulf of Mexico

Sat Sep 21, 2002, 12:33 PM ET

By Rodrigo Martinez

PINAR DEL RIO, Cuba (Reuters) - Hurricane Isidore swirled into the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday after damaging houses and crops and forcing the evacuation of 300,000 people in western Cuba, weather and civil defense officials said.

Hurricane Isidore's Latest

Heavy downpours followed the passage of the eye of the storm through the tobacco-growing province of Pinar del Rio and forecasters expected rainfall of up to 30 inches in its wake. No casualties were reported.

U.S. meteorologists said Isidore, on a west-northwest track, was moving across the coast of Cuba and entering the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, where warm waters could strengthen the storm.

Forecasters could not predict where the hurricane would head next. It potentially threatens the coasts of Mexico and the United States as well as oil rigs in the Gulf.

Mexico issued a tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch across Yucatan, including Cozumel island. Local authorities closed 10 ports and evacuated 150 fishermen in preparation for the oncoming storm.

Florida appeared to be out of reach of the second Atlantic hurricane of the 2002 season and a tropical storm alert for the lower Florida Keys was lifted. But the U.S. Coast Guard advised boaters to be careful in the Gulf. The U.S. national Hurricane Center in Miami said Isidore had slowed its advance to 7 miles an hour as it crossed western Cuba, and winds dropped to a maximum of 100 miles an hour, with higher gusts.

But the center warned that the hurricane could gather force in the Gulf, fueled by warmer Gulf waters.

"Strengthening is forecast during the next 24 hours and Isidore could become a major hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico," it said in a bulletin. At 11 p.m. EDT, Isidore's eye was at latitude 22.4 north and longitude 84.6 west, 40 miles north-northeast of Cape San Antonio, the western tip of Cuba.

HOMES AND CROPS HIT

Strong winds uprooted trees and downed telephone lines in Pinar del Rio, and the town's 140,000 inhabitants took refuge in shuttered homes. Several rooftops were blown off, but no major damage was reported.

Cuba evacuated 291,900 people in its western provinces and hundreds of tourists and hotel workers were moved from outlying keys and beaches, civil defense officials said.

Isidore first hit the small Isle of Youth off Cuba's southern coast. Officials said the storm damaged 881 houses and destroyed 16,000 tons of grapefruit on the isle known for its citrus orchards.

Cuban President Fidel Castro visited Pinar del Rio in the middle of the storm and inspected measures to protect drying tobacco stocks in the province, the source of the best leaves for Cuba's famed cigars.

"The winds are stronger than we expected, but there is less rain," Castro, 76, dressed in his customary military fatigues, told Cuban reporters. "There will be more damage, undoubtedly, because the tail of the hurricane brings the rains."

Steps were taken to cover 40,000 young plants.

"We are protecting the seedlings by covering them with blankets. Harvested tobacco is safe and sound," said Ernesto Barreto, president of the municipal assembly of Pinar del Rio, 90 miles west of Havana.

Two fishing ports, La Coloma and La Fe, were evacuated because of surge flooding caused by pounding rough seas.

Isidore is a Category 2 storm capable of downing trees and damaging homes, but weaker than the Category 4 Hurricane Michelle, which killed five people, destroyed citrus and sugar cane plantations and wrecked 200,000 homes last November. Michelle caused $1.8 billion in damages for the cash-strapped communist state.

Cuba's national carrier Cubana de Aviacion suspended all domestic flights, though the main airports remained open for international flights, civil aviation officials said.

Hurricane Isidore leaves heavy flooding in western Cuba and heads for Yucatan Peninsula

Sat Sep 21, 2992, 1:48 PM ET

By VIVIAN SEQUERA, Associated Press Writer

PINAR DEL RIO Cuba - Hurricane Isidore strengthened with sustained winds of 115 mph (185 mph) as it churned toward Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on Saturday after drenching western Cuba.

Hurricane Isidore Zeroes In On Cuba

"Hurricane Isidore has continued to strengthen and is now a major hurricane," the National Hurricane Center in Miami said in an 1500 GMT bulletin about the storm. It said Isidore had become a category 3 storm, which can cause extensive damage.

The Mexican government upgraded its hurricane watch to a hurricane warning for the north and east coasts of the Yucatan Peninsula from Progreso to the coastal Mayan ruins of Tulum, including the island of Cozumel.

The storm's maximum sustained winds of near 115 mph (185 kph), with higher gusts were expected to strengthen more as Isidore neared Mexican territory. Hurricane strength winds extended up to 30 miles (45 kilometers) out from its center.

In Cuba, hurricane warnings for western Cuba were downgraded to tropical storm warnings Saturday morning as Hurricane Isidore pulled away from the island, continuing to dump heavy rains in its wake.

Forecasters earlier warned of possible flooding along Cuban shores of as much as 12 feet (four meters) above normal tide levels and dangerously large waves were expected near where Isidore made landfall Friday afternoon.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage, but a tour of the region found heavy flooding across the western section of the island as the tail of the storm continued to drench the area.

At 1500 GMT, Isidore's center was about 60 miles (110 km) east-northeast of Cabo Catoche on the northeast tip of the Yucatan Peninsula. On its current track, the eye storm was expected to move just north of the northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula later Saturday.

Forecasters said heavy rainfall would begin affecting the northern Yucatan Peninsula by the afternoon, and that heavy coastal flooding was probable.

Isidore, the second Atlantic hurricane of the 2002 season, strengthened into a category 2 storm Friday morning as its maximum wind speeds reached 105 miles per hour (169 kilometers per hour). Hurricane force winds extended outward up to 30 miles (50 kilometers).

Isidore was far weaker than Hurricane Michelle, a category 4 storm that battered central Cuba last November, causing an estimated dlrs 1.8 billion dollars in damage to homes, crops and infrastructure.

Early Thursday, Isidore uprooted trees and flooded low-lying areas in the nearby Cayman Islands. Isidore first passed western Jamaica on Wednesday.

Gustav, which dwindled out in the north Atlantic earlier this month, was the first hurricane of the 2002 season. The 2002 Atlantic hurricane season began June 1 and ends Nov. 30.

Isidore is a major hurricane

Sat Sep 21, 2002, 5:43 PM ET

R. Hulecki, Meteorologist

Tropical Update, The Weather Channel

Hurricane Isidore is strengthening rapidly, just off the northeastern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula. Isidore is now a 125-mph, category 3 hurricane and could grow to category 4 yet tonight. For the past 6 hours Hurricane Isidore has been nearly stationary. Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters, flew over the eye and found a central pressure of 946 mb/27.94 inches. The hurricane will move slowly westward, just north of the Yucatan and into the Bay of Campeche, over the next 72 hours and hurricane warnings have been issued for the north coast of the Yucatan from Tulum to Progreso, including the Island of Cozumel. Even though Isidore is well west of the western tip of Cuba, heavy rain bands continue to move across the Province of Pinar Del Rio and the Isle of Youth, so more floods and mudslides can be expected and tropical storm warnings continue.

Slowly strengthening Subtropical Storm Kyle is drifting north, but is eventually expected to turn southwestward reaching hurricane strength in 72 hours. It is far from any land over the open Atlantic.

Tropical depression 13 formed this evening about 1000 miles east of the Lesser Antilles. TD 13 is forecasted to maintain a westward motion and strengthen into a tropical storm within the next 48 hours.

The low south of the Cape Verde Islands has shown an increase in thunderstorm action. There is another low which is non-tropical well east of Jacksonville and south of Bermuda. It is not expected to become a tropical system, but will cause 3 to 5 foot waves along the Georgia and north Florida coasts over the next several days. Both the Eastern Pacific and the Western Pacific remain quiet.

Tropical depression 13 formed this evening about 1000 miles east of the Lesser Antilles. TD 13 is forecasted to maintain a westward motion and strenghten into a tropical storm within the next 48 hours.

Hurricane Isidore churns toward Yucatan Peninsula after causing heavy flooding in western Cuba

Sat Sep 21, 2002, 6:25 PM ET

By JOSE LUIS MAGANA, Associated Press Writer

CANCUN, MEXICO - Hurricane Isidore roared closer to the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula late Saturday, picking up strength as it began to batter the sparsely populated coast with high winds and heavy rains.

Hurricane Isidore Zeroes In On Cuba

Authorities canceled dozens of flights at Cancun's international airport and set up more than 2,000 emergency shelters to house families affected by extensive flooding the storm was expected to bring to coastal areas.

Police and soldiers evacuated over 20,000 people from five fishing communities near the peninsula's western tip, busing them to cities further inland.

Authorities also ordered hundreds of people off Isla Mujers, an island near Cancun that's popular with scuba divers. When 600 locals refused to leave their homes, the navy used small crafts to cruise from village to village and enforce the mandatory evacuations.

Emergency crews said they were ready to evacuate 50,000 more people in seven cities and towns elsewhere along the coast. Expecting flash-flood waters, officials declared a state of emergency in 12 cities and towns in Yucatan state and in one city in the neighboring state of Quintana Roo, where Cancun is located.

"This could be the biggest evacuation of people for a hurricane in the history of the state," said Yucatan Gov. Patricio Patron.

At 4 p.m. local time (2100 GMT), the storm was located about 55 miles (90 kilometers) east-northeast of Cabo Catoche on the Yucatan's northeastern tip. It was slowly drifting west at 3 mph (5 kph).

Already a powerful Category 3 hurricane, Isidore threatened to grow into a dangerous Category 4 storm. It had sustained winds of near 125 mph (205 kph), with higher gusts and it was expected to strengthen as it continued to move toward the warm waters of the Yucatan.

Wind speeds would have to reach 131 mph (210 kph) for it to be declared a Category 4 storm, which can cause extreme damage.

Mexico declared a hurricane warning from the Mayan ruins at Tulum to the city of Progresso, an area including the island of Cozumel. On its current course, the storm is expected to narrowly miss the Yucatan's coast, but it could collide with Mexico's Gulf Coast later this weekend or early next week.

Even as a steady rain fell and skies overhead became increasingly dark, the mood remained relaxed in Cancun. Suffers lined the beach to ride hurricane-swelled waves and police said there weren't long lines at grocery stores or hardware centers.

Tourists headed to the airport, optimistic that their flights back to the United States, Canada or Europe would not be canceled.

Isidore hit western Cuba on Friday with 100 mph (160 kph) winds and torrential rains, which continued into Saturday. The amount of damage was unclear, but a tour of the affected region found heavy flooding across the western part of the island.

Forecasters said the tail of the storm could bring another 10 to 15 inches (25 to 38 centimeters) of rain to Cuba.

Some communities in the extreme west were reachable only by helicopter, the Communist Youth newspaper Juventud Rebelde reported. Local reservoirs were filled to overflowing.

Authorities were analyzing the damage done to citrus crops on the small Isle of Youth, south of Cuba's main island, which was battered by the storm's high winds and heavy rains on Friday. They were also trying to determine the damage done to Cuba's lucrative tobacco industry in the western province of Pinar del Rio.

"The hurricane was a strong blow, but manageable," President Fidel Castro ( news - web sites) said during a visit to Communist Party headquarters in this western provincial capital Friday.

When it reached Cuba, Isidore was far weaker than Hurricane Michelle, a category 4 storm that battered the central part of the island last November, causing an estimated dlrs 1.8 billion dollars in damage to homes, crops and infrastructure.

Isidore is the second Atlantic hurricane of the 2002 season. Gustav, which dwindled out in the north Atlantic earlier this month, was the first hurricane of the season, which began June 1 and ends Nov. 30.

Hurricane Isidore May Strengthen

Sat Sep 21, 7:38 PM ET

By PAM EASTON, Associated Press Writer

HOUSTON (AP) - Residents along the western Gulf of Mexico watched and waited Saturday as Hurricane Isidore grew into a powerful, destructive storm but gave little indication where it would head.

The storm was stalled just north of the Yucatan Peninsula and rose near Category 4 strength, capable of causing extreme damage.

The storm was expected to take several days to slowly drift off the Yucatan, gaining strength over warm Gulf of Mexico waters. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Louisiana, Texas and Mexico seem likely to bear the brunt of the storm.

"We just have to wait until we found out something definitive," said Joe Murphy, a resident of Texas' Bolivar Peninsula. "If it has a good chance of coming through here, then we'll go from there."

Weather forecasters said they won't be able to predict its path further until Monday or Tuesday. The storm moved very little Saturday, after causing heavy damage in Cuba on Friday.

"We could be looking at a hurricane that could be going into Mexico or could go into Texas or could go into Louisiana," said Debby Helvy, a weather service meteorological technician in the Houston-Galveston office. "We just don't know yet."

Emergency management officials encouraged coastal residents to enjoy regular weekend activities, but also to monitor forecasts and make early preparations such as storing bottled water and reviewing evacuation routes.

Emergency officials in Louisiana scheduled a conference call for Sunday, hoping to have a better idea then of the storm's path, said Terry Tullier, interim director of the New Orleans Office of Emergency Preparedness.

Studies have said New Orleans, which sits below sea level and is surrounded by levees, would be devastated by a Category 4 hurricane. Heavy rain and storm surges could force both the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain over the levees and into the city like water filling a bowl.

Stennis Space Center, which employs 5,000 people in coastal Mississippi, held an emergency preparedness meeting Friday. The center provides safe harbor for boats and planes from military bases in Gulfport and New Orleans.

Carnival Cruise Lines said it changed the itineraries of some ships that departed Saturday for Gulf destinations. Cruises that left from Tampa and Miami reshuffled their scheduled stops, and a cruise from Galveston canceled stops in Calica and Cozumel and proceeded straight to Veracruz, Mexico.

Murphy, 72, said he's lived along Texas' coast for 19 years and keeps bottled water in his home and his vehicle's gas tank full throughout the Atlantic hurricane season, which ends in November.

"We have to wait till we see where it's going to hit," he said. "You can't do anything 'til you find out."

Hurricane Isidore Heads for Mexico

Sat Sep 21, 2002, 7:25 PM ET

By JOSE LUIS MAGANA, Associated Press Writer

CANCUN, MEXICO (AP) - Hurricane Isidore roared closer to the tip of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula late Saturday, picking up strength as it began to batter the sparsely populated coast with high winds and heavy rains.

Hurricane Isidore Zeroes In On Cuba

Already a powerful category 3 hurricane with sustained winds near 125 mph, Isidore threatened to grow into a dangerous category 4 storm by Saturday night as it moved toward the warm waters of the Yucatan. A category 4 hurricane has winds of at least 131 mph.

Forecasters said Mexico, Louisiana and Texas seemed likely to bear its brunt. Emergency officials in Louisiana scheduled a conference call for Sunday, hoping to have a better idea then of the storm's path, said Terry Tullier, interim director of the New Orleans Office of Emergency Preparedness.

Authorities in Mexico canceled dozens of flights at Cancun's international airport and set up more than 2,000 emergency shelters to house families affected by extensive flooding the storm was expected to bring to coastal areas.

Police and soldiers evacuated more than 20,000 people from five fishing communities near the peninsula's western tip, busing them to cities further inland.

Emergency crews said they were ready to evacuate 50,000 more people in seven cities and towns elsewhere along the coast. Expecting flash-floods, officials declared a state of emergency in 12 cities and towns in Yucatan state and in one city in the neighboring state of Quintana Roo, where Cancun is located.

"This could be the biggest evacuation of people for a hurricane in the history of the state," said Yucatan Gov. Patricio Patron.

At 5 p.m. EDT, the storm was located about 55 miles east-northeast of Cabo Catoche on the Yucatan's northeastern tip. It was slowly drifting west at 3 mph.

Mexico declared a hurricane warning from the Mayan ruins at Tulum to the city of Progresso, an area including the island of Cozumel. On its current course the storm is expected to narrowly miss the Yucatan's coast, but it could collide with Mexico's Gulf Coast later this weekend or early next week.

Even as a steady rain fell and skies overhead became increasingly dark, the mood remained relaxed in Cancun. Surfers lined the beach waiting for hurricane-swelled waves and police said they had not seen long lines at grocery stores or hardware centers.

Tourists headed to the airport, optimistic that their flights back to the United States, Canada or Europe would not be canceled.

Isidore hit western Cuba on Friday with 100 mph winds and torrential rains, which continued into Saturday. The amount of damage was unclear, but a tour of the affected region found heavy flooding across the western part of the island.

Forecasters said the tail of the storm could bring another 10 to 15 inches of rain to Cuba.

Some communities in the extreme west were reachable only by helicopter, the Communist Youth newspaper Juventud Rebelde reported. Local reservoirs were filled to overflowing.

"The hurricane was a strong blow, but manageable," President Fidel Castro said during a visit to Communist Party headquarters in this western provincial capital Friday.

When it reached Cuba, Isidore was far weaker than Hurricane Michelle, a category 4 storm that battered the central part of the island last November, causing an estimated $1.8 billion dollars in damage to homes, crops and infrastructure.

National Hurricane Center , http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

Storm could threaten U.S., forecasters say

Sunday, September 22, 2002

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- The eye of Hurricane Isidore skirted the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula Sunday, lashing the shoreline with heavy rain and powerful winds, forcing the evacuation of about 50,000 people and leaving thousands without water or electricity.

The storm damaged five homes as its eye came within 15 miles (24 kms) of land, officials said.

"It's almost mirroring the coast of the Yucatan," said Eric Blake, a forecaster with the National Hurricane Center.

The Emergency Administration Director of Mexico's Civil Protection Department, Carlos Gelista Gonzalez, said people from both his division and the Mexican army have headed to the northern part of the state of Quintana Roo on the Yucatan to help restore water and electricity.

With sustained winds of 125 mph, Isidore -- the second hurricane of the Atlantic season -- is just shy of being a destructive Category 4 storm. Forecasters said this upgrade was likely the next step in Isidore's march across the southern Gulf of Mexico. The NHC said portions of the Yucatan could receive 10-20 inches of rain.

A Category 3 storm carries maximum sustained winds of 110 mph to 130 mph, likely to cause structural damage to small residences and utility buildings and knock down large trees, according to the Saffir-Simpson Scale used to rate hurricanes.

A Category 4 storm, with winds reaching 131 mph to 155 mph, typically causes extensive damage, massive flooding and large numbers of potential evacuations.

At 5 p.m. ET, the strengthening storm was moving to the west at about 8 mph. Forecasters predicted the eye would approach the Yucatan's north coast, with a possibility that Isidore could make landfall on the Yucatan's northwestern tip.

Isidore is expected to make a turn to the west-southwest over the next 24 hours, forecasters said, and could briefly make landfall on the Yucatan's northwestern tip before heading back out to sea.

Hurricane warnings were in effect from Tulum, on the Yucatan's eastern Caribbean coast, to Campeche on the western Gulf coast -- including the popular vacation island of Cozumel. Almost 50,000 people have been evacuated from the area, including the entire 44,000 or so population of the city of Progreso, which lies in Isidore's path, about 60 miles (96 kms) away.

Cancun, another famous Yucatan vacation destination, was spared the brunt of the storm, but officials were still bracing for heavy rain.

"The hurricane did not hit Cancun directly," said Roberto Cintron, vice president of the Quintana Roo Hotel Association, which includes Cancun. "No one reported anything but chairs in the pool. We were very lucky. Thank God."

Coastal storm surges up to 5 feet are expected along the Yucatan Peninsula and could increase to 12 feet if the hurricane's center moves onshore.

Blake also cautioned that Isidore could take a turn to the north -- and threaten U.S. shores -- this week.

"For the next three days or so, we see it staying in the southern Gulf of Mexico," Blake said. "Beyond three days, there are some suggestions that it could make a turn and head north. But three days are a long time in the weather world."

Cuba was cleaning up and drying out from the pounding it took from Isidore last week. The storm dumped more than 2 feet of rain on Cuba and slammed the island nation's western coast with a storm surge of 8 to 12 feet.

All hurricane warnings for Cuba had been discontinued Sunday.

Kyle becomes tropical storm

Meanwhile, Kyle, which had been a subtropical storm in the east of Bermuda, was reclassified as a true tropical storm Sunday.

At 5 p.m. EDT Sunday, the storm was about 875 miles east of Bermuda and nearly stationary. Forecasters expected little movement over the next 24 hours. Kyle's top winds were about 45 mph.

A subtropical storm is one that begins in mid latitude, fueled by a combination of warm and cool air systems interacting with the Gulf Stream and by the heat of the water over which the storm travels.

Once such a storm crosses into the tropics, it generally loses its subtropical characteristics and become a full-fledged tropical storm.

The National Hurricane Center has extended its naming conventions to subtropical storms for the first time this year.

By TERESA BRAINE

.c The Associated Press

MERIDA, Mexico (Sept. 23, 2002) - Hurricane Isidore dove into the Yucatan Peninsula, leaving hundreds of thousands of people huddled in darkness early Monday as howling winds ripped up trees, tore away rooftops and blocked highways.

The storm moved southwest over land and was downgraded to a tropical storm, with maximum sustained winds weakened to 70 mph. At 8 a.m. EDT, Isidore was 60 miles south of Merida and heading south at about 5 mph.

The National Hurricane Center said Isidore was expected to head west and back over water, where it would likely regain strength and again become a hurricane on Tuesday. It could eventually turn north - possibly toward the U.S. Gulf coast. Residents of coastal Louisiana towns started heading north as forecasters predicted the storm could hit the Gulf Coast this week.

In Mexico, Yucatan Gov. Patricio Patron said that because of ravaged communications, officials had little immediate information about damage or possible deaths. Telephone service was disrupted and roads were blocked. Flying bits of wood and metal made it perilous to venture outdoors.

''This is a disaster. We don't have enough information, and we don't have enough communication,'' Patron told The Associated Press early Monday between meetings with disaster officials.

After causing heavy flooding in western Cuba, Isidore ran along the Yucatan shore with 125 mph winds and fearsome waves on Sunday as officials tried to evacuate approximately 70,000 people from coastal communities.

It veered suddenly inland to the southwest in the late afternoon. While its center barely avoided Merida, Yucatan's state capital with 800,000 residents, winds and sheets of rain shattered windows, downed trees and power lines and even collapsed the balconies of elegant old houses.

Nearly all the city was left without power.

Local radio stations reported four people were killed in traffic accidents, but it wasn't clear if the deaths were related to the storm. Most radio and television stations were off the air.

Classes were canceled statewide as many schools were turned into temporary shelters.

Winds howled over toppled branches piling up in Merida's main plaza as residents huddled in darkened homes, hotels and public buildings. The winds were strong enough to ring church bells throughout the city.

The state oil monopoly, Petroleos Mexicanos, evacuated more than 8,000 workers from drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, leaving skeleton crews aboard.

Isidore dumped 12 to 20 inches of rain on the sparsely populated northern coastline and caused havoc with phone and power services across the peninsula. At the coastal town of Progreso, coast guard officials said they had received reports of destroyed homes.

Far to the south, Nicaraguan officials said outer bands of rain associated with Isidore caused flooding that killed two people and forced the evacuation of others.

Isidore downgraded to tropical storm

But U.S. Gulf Coast residents urged to prepare

Monday, September 23, 2002 Posted: 11:50 AM EDT

Isidore leaves its mark in Puerto Progress, Mexico.

At 11 a.m. EDT Monday

Latitude: 20.1 degrees north

Longitude: 89.5 degrees west

Position: Over land about 55 miles south of Merida, Mexico.

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Isidore was downgraded to a tropical storm Monday after hitting Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, but the storm was expected to regain hurricane strength after moving back out to sea.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Isidore's winds dropped to about 65 mph as the system drifted eastward.

At 11 a.m. EDT, Isidore's center was located about 55 miles south of Merida, Mexico. A tropical storm warning is in effect along the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula from Cabo Catoche to Veracruz.

Isidore is pounding parts of eastern Mexico with expected rainfall amounts of 10 to 20 inches. In addition, a storm surge of 4 to 6 feet above normal is expected to bring flooding along the coast.

Forecaster Michael Formosa at the National Hurricane Center said Isidore is expected to regain strength once the storm gets out in the Gulf of Mexico. The storm is expected to turn eventually west, then northwest and head for the U.S. Gulf Coast.

"It's hard to say what the storm will do once it gets back out over water, but coastal residents in Texas and Louisiana should monitor Isidore's progress," Formosa said.

Coastal towns were keeping an eye on the storm.

"We already met as early as Thursday to kind of review our preparatory plans and make sure everything was ready, just in case," said Lake Charles, Louisiana, Mayor Randy Roach. "We're going to meet again [Monday] and monitor the reports we get overnight.

"Whenever [a hurricane] enters the gulf, we always begin our preparations, and we always are ready to evacuate whenever we need to," Roach said.

Kyle becomes tropical storm

Meanwhile, Kyle, which had been a subtropical storm east Bermuda, was reclassified as a true tropical storm Sunday.

At 11 a.m. EDT Monday, the storm was about 870 miles east of Bermuda and drifting toward the south-southwest near 6 mph. Forecasters expected this motion to continue over the next 24 hours. Kyle's top winds were about 40 mph, with little change in strength expected Monday.

A subtropical storm is one that begins in midlatitude, fueled by a combination of warm and cool air systems interacting with the Gulf Stream and by the heat of the water over which the storm travels.

Once such a storm crosses into the tropics, it generally loses its subtropical characteristics and become a full-fledged tropical storm.

The National Hurricane Center has extended its naming conventions to subtropical storms for the first time this year.

Isidore may be hurricane again

Hurricane watch on Gulf Coast is likely later Tuesday

Tuesday, September 24, 2002 Posted: 11:11 AM EDT

Paul Hlavaty takes his fishing boat out of the water to protect it from storm surge in Corpus Christi, Texas, in case of Tropical Storm Isidore's arrival there.

Tropical Storm Isidore

At 5 a.m. EDT Tuesday

Latitude: 21.3 degrees north

Longitude: 89.7 degrees west

Position: About 20 miles north of Merida, Mexico

Tropical Storm Kyle

At 5 a.m. EDT Tuesday

Latitude: 30.8 degrees north

Longitude: 50.7 degrees west

Position: 830 miles east of Bermuda

Tropical Storm Lili

At 5 a.m. EDT Tuesday

Latitude: 13.0 degrees north

Longitude: 64.5 degrees west

Position: 510 miles southeast of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Tropical Storm Isidore, still battering the Yucatan Peninsula, is expected to return to hurricane status as it moves north and is likely to bring its strongest winds and heaviest rain to the United States' Gulf Coast by Thursday morning, the National Hurricane Center said Tuesday.

However, Isidore "will be a minimal hurricane, a far cry from the Category 3 or almost 4 it was a few days ago," meteorologist Michael Formosa told CNN

Formosa says he expects winds of about 75 mph in a relatively small radius of about 30 miles.

But he said a much larger area -- a radius of about 200 miles -- will experience tropical storm force winds of between 40 and 75 mph.

The storm could also bring as much as 10 inches of rain.

Much of the southeast coast of Texas is already under a coastal flood warning. Parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle are under coastal flood watches.

Forecasters said a hurricane watch is likely for the Gulf Coast later Tuesday.

As of 8 a.m. EDT, the National Hurricane Center said the storm was about 50 miles northwest of Merida, Mexico, with winds of 50 mph. It was heading northwest at about 9 mph.

Formosa expects it will take the storm two days to work its way across the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. As it does, he said, the storm should continue to regain strength.

Three days' supplies urged

Max Mayfield, deputy director of the National Hurricane Center, urged residents of the Gulf Coast to have at least three days of supplies on hand.

From New Orleans to Mobile people have been boarding up homes, buying canned food and supplies such as batteries.

Navy ships, commercial ships and oil rigs "are moving out of the way," Formosa said.

Formosa said people who live closest to the coast may need to move inland when the storm arrives. "Listen to the local authorities," he said.

Isidore was a Category 3 hurricane when it slammed Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, forcing at least 70,000 people from their homes -- including entire villages. About 800,000 people lost phone and power lines.

The storm has been blamed for at least two deaths in Mexico.

Very heavy rains continue to fall on the Yucatan Peninsula and other portions of Mexico as well as northern Guatemala and Belize. Forecasters predict between 10 to 15 additional inches of rain.

Kyle and Lili over water

At 5 a.m. EDT Tuesday, the center of Tropical Storm Lili was about 510 miles southeast of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. With sustained winds of 60 mph, Lili was moving west at 20 mph and was expected to emerge over the eastern Caribbean Sea on Tuesday.

Gusts of winds from Lili of up to 75 mph battered parts of Barbados on Monday, knocking down trees and damaging homes.

"A neighbor's roof came through my bedroom and hit me on my head," 17-year-old Chavar Jones said.

Forecasters described Lili as growing more organized and predict the storm will turn into a hurricane in 36 hours or less. One prediction model puts Lili just south of Jamaica in 72 hours.

Tropical Storm Kyle is described as being a threat only to shipping interests and other boats in the Atlantic.

At 5 a.m., Kyle was 830 miles east of Bermuda, moving toward the southwest at near 6 mph while packing sustained winds of near 50 mph. Some strengthening is expected over the next 24 hours.

By ALAN SAYRE

.c The Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (Sept. 24, 2002) - Cajun fishing towns cleared out, Navy ships steamed out for the open sea and inland hotels began filling up as Tropical Storm Isidore strengthened Tuesday and headed toward the Gulf Coast.

The storm, which left two people dead and 300,000 homeless in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, moved back over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and was expected to hit Louisiana or Mississippi with hurricane force as early as Wednesday night.

Emergency officials in Florida were watching another tropical storm, Lili, which has killed three people in the Caribbean and could strike the southern part of the state over the weekend.

At 5 p.m. EDT, Isidore was about 550 miles south of New Orleans and heading north at around 7 mph. Its sustained winds, which had fallen to well below hurricane strength of 74 mph as the storm moved over land, rose to 60 mph and were expected to strengthen.

Ahead of the storm, bands of rain lashed parts of the Gulf Coast.

The forecast track put the eye of the storm over rural Terrebonne Parish, southeast of New Orleans, early Thursday. Storm advisories stretched from Jefferson and Orange counties in Texas to Destin, Fla.

Grand Isle, an island resort south of New Orleans that has just one two-lane escape route, was placed under a mandatory evacuation order at midday Tuesday. Many of the town's 1,500 residents were already on their way out.

''We're leaving. I'm getting my boat ready now,'' said Leland McMaster, general manager at Poche's Cabins and Apartments.

In Terrebonne Parish, vulnerable coastal towns including Chauvin, Grand Caillou and Theriot were ordered evacuated. Officials expected an exodus of about 2,000 people.

While early projections indicated Isidore could come ashore as a Category 4 storm with 155 mph winds, Tuesday's forecasts were for a less powerful Category 1 hurricane - with wind in excess of 80 mph.

Still, ships pulled out of the Naval Station at Pascagoula, Miss., for safer waters, and hotels north of coastal areas were swamped with reservations.

''We've been having to turn people away,'' said Denise Sullivan at the front desk of the Ramada Inn in Jackson, Miss.

Officials along the Texas coast were battling Isidore-caused swells of 12 feet, and expected them to grow as the storm approaches. On South Padre Island, overnight tides swamped an emergency sand wall and water rushed onto streets.

New Orleans, the nation's biggest city with a low point below sea level, prepared for heavy rain by closing flood walls, putting all pumping stations in full operation, sandbagging roads near the water and even asking hospitals to delay elective surgeries.

Mayor Ray Nagin said he was not ready to order or recommend evacuations.

''You need to be thinking about hunkering down and riding this out,'' said Terry Tullier, chief of the city's emergency preparedness office.

The city's normally raucous French Quarter was soggy and sedate on Tuesday, but folks in the Big Easy took the ominous weather in stride.

''If it keeps up raining like this, we'll be flooded inside before long,'' said Shaun Hall, the doorman at Pat O'Brien's Bar. ''I don't think we'll close for that, though. We'll just take our shoes off.''

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Lili had killed at least three people and ripped the roofs off homes in St. Vincent, Barbados and St. Lucia. At 5 p.m. EDT, Lili was about 415 miles south-southeast of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.

The storm was expected to become a hurricane and could eventually hit south Florida if it follows forecast tracks to Cuba and the Bahamas.

Louie Fernandez, spokesman for Miami-Dade County's Office of Emergency Management, said plans are in place on issues ranging from evacuation needs and transportation to lowering of water levels in area canals and closing schools.

By THERESA BRAINE

.c The Associated Press

MERIDA, Mexico (Sept. 24, 2002) - Hurricane Isidore smashed houses, leveled trees and flooded streets, killing two people and leaving another 300,000 homeless before weakening into a tropical depression over the Yucatan Peninsula.

After stalling in an area scattered with colonial cities, Mayan ruins and nature reserves, the storm was moving northwest at about 9 mph Tuesday morning. Isidore re-entered the Gulf of Mexico and could land somewhere on the Texas or Louisiana coast, according to long-range forecasts from the National Hurricane Center.

High seas were expected all across Louisiana's low-lying coast because of the sprawl of the huge weather system. Coastal flood advisories were posted from south Texas to Bay St. Louis, Miss.

At 8 a.m. EDT, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said Isidore's center was located about 50 miles north-northwest of Merida.

Meanwhile, another powerful storm caused damage hundreds of miles to the east. Packing 60 mph winds, Tropical Storm Lili toppled trees and damaged about 140 homes in Barbados.

At 5 a.m. EDT, Lili was about 510 miles southeast of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and moving west at about 20 mph.

Lili could become a hurricane - with sustained winds of 74 mph or more - after it passes the Windward Islands and moves into the Caribbean Sea, said Richard Pasch, a hurricane specialist at the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

''It could be approaching hurricane strength in a day or two,'' he said.

Isidore had much higher winds when it pounded the Yucatan's ecological reserves and ruins, including the Mayan city of Chichen Itza. But the extent of the damage to the popular tourist spots was unclear, as downed power and telephone lines cut off communication to much of the region.

A security guard was electrocuted because of flooding at the Merida airport and another person was killed in a storm-related car crash on a highway outside the Yucatan state capital. Isidore also caused heavy rains in Guatemala, where officials said two people drowned when they tried to cross a rain-swollen river.

President Vicente Fox toured Merida and the surrounding area, where Isidore ripped roofs and colonial-style balconies off houses, uprooted trees and smashed power lines.

''Really there is a lot, a lot of problems and very extensive damage,'' said Fox, who was wearing a cowboy hat to protect him from a steady rain. ''We will do all that we can to help and we will do it as fast as we can.''

Federal authorities said the storm left 300,000 people homeless and that most of those who lost their homes were crowded into emergency shelters. Authorities declared 45 communities disaster areas and made available $500,000 to help residents rebuild.

Inside a gymnasium that had been converted into a shelter, close to 1,000 people slept on blankets and thin padding spread out on floors designed for basketball courts. The storm had shattered windows near the gym's roof, allowing cold wind and rain to pour into the building.

Milling around outside the gym, 45-year-old Bernarda Naal said she wanted to head back to her home in the coastal village of Chuburna - but that authorities said the area still wasn't safe.

''We want to go home and see what happened to our houses,'' said Naal, adding with an ironic laugh, ''I want to see if I still have a house.''

Rodrigo Lopez estimated that Isidore did $8,000 worth of damage to his Lincoln and Land Rover dealership - even though all the cars were safely parked in an underground garage. ''The furniture, the computers, the communication system, it's all gone,'' said Lopez, surveying the dealership's three smashed display windows. ''It's very sad.''

Mexico's state oil monopoly, Petroleos Mexicanos, evacuated more than 8,000 workers from drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.

In Campeche, another state capital near where Isidore was swirling, waves crashed over the city's 16th century seawall and began to flood streets.

Workers chopped up dozens of fallen trees and cleared away water-logged debris. Authorities said the Gulf Coast island of Isla Arena had been all but covered by storm surge, but that its residents had already been evacuated.