Just when you thought it was safe to go outside again, Hurricane Frances roared into Florida. Just three weeks after Hurricane Charley devastated our area, Frances paid us a visit and wreaked further damage. Sarah and I once again survived the hurricane unscathed, but it was another unforgettable experience.
Hurriance Frances was a very different experience than Hurricane Charley was. First of all, everyone took her much more seriously. We'd learned our lesson after underestimating Charley. Several days before her arrival, windows were being boarded up, store supplies were being depleted, and everyone was anxiously watching her path.	Watching Frances' path
Satellite image showing Frances' enormous size	There were several differences that distinguished Frances from Charley. She was much, much larger in size than Charley... about the size of the state of Texas. And she was very slow moving. Charley traveled at about 25 miles an hour; Frances moved at 5 - 7 miles an hour.
Charley tore into Orlando, racing through and causing havoc, and an hour later he was finished. Hurricane Frances took her sweet old time. Although she had downgraded from a Category 4 storm to a Category 2 storm by the time she reached us, she still spent more than 24 hours pounding us with her 75+ miles per hour winds and torrentials rains.	Slow-moving Frances approaches Florida
Monkey watches out for Frances	Sarah and I never felt the same sense of panic as we did when Charley came through. Frances never felt as intense. We never felt the need to hide ourselves away in a secure spot in our apartment. She just seemed to stroll through town, dousing us with heavy rains and strong wind gusts.
We started to feel her effects the afternoon of Friday, September 3rd, as the first band of storms began to roll through. Saturday morning, around 8:30am, our electricity went out, this time without any accompanying explosions or electricity arcs, unlike Charley. Almost exactly 24 hours later, miraculously, our power came back on (with Charley, we were without power for three days). Sunday afternoon, we were still experiencing heavy rains and winds as Frances' last bands of storms passed through.	Click below to see video of our Hurricane Frances experience Lower Quality Video (823kb) Higher Quality Video (6.8mb)
A flooded road blocks our way	It wasn't until the storm had passed and we ventured out again that we really were aware of Frances' strength and the devastation she had caused. More trees had toppled, flooded roads blocked the path, roofs had blown off structures... Frances had definitely made her mark.
I never thought that I would experience a hurricane, and here I've been through two already. Sarah and I observed how each hurricane seems to take on its own personality, as if it were some malevolent creature and not a force of nature. Charley was intense and fierce. On the other hand, Frances was slow and deliberate.	Hurricane Frances left everyone a little lost
Hurricane Ivan's potential approach	Even before we could begin to relax and Florida could lick its wounds, the meteorologists began to talk about Ivan, another strong hurricane forming in the Atlantic. According to the experts, Ivan could very likely be on a path for Central Florida!
We are keeping our fingers crossed and watching Ivan closely, praying that we are not hit by our third major hurricane in less than 6 weeks! The snowstorms back in Ohio don't seem so bad anymore!
Posted: 9/10/04