Snow day

Or, if you prefer, in the words of the 6 year old hodo-son, an "underwear day". Since the schools and many businesses are closed today, there isn't much to do except watch the storm and catch up on sleep.

Ernesto made landfall in south Florida in extreme southwestern Miami-Dade county overnight. Nearly zero strengthening occurred during the day yesterday when Ernesto moved from Cuba toward south Florida. This resulted in a weaker than forecast storm at landfall, and a weaker storm when he arrives here in Melbourne later today. Nothing wrong with that.

At 8 AM, Ernesto was found 50 miles ESE of Naples. Maximum sustained winds are now down to 40 MPH. Central pressure is about 1001 MB. Ernesto may be downgraded to a tropical depression prior to exiting the state somewhere between Daytona and Melbourne overnight Thursday. Strengthening back into a hurricane prior to landfall in the Carolinas Thursday evening is possible.

Looking outside right now, it appears to be a nice but overcast day right now. I've collected about an inch of rain since midnight; we'll probably see 3-6 inches before this is over. The worst of the storm won't be here until after lunch time, ending around midnight tonight. Expected winds are in the 25-35 MPH sustained, with gusts to 50 MPH.