1am update....surprisingly on time considering the large quantities of wine ingested.

This will be short, as I am having trouble typing. Fingers and keys not lining up properly.

Anyhow, we have officially reached Cat 3 status. Omar's eye is basically upon us (a few degrees off latitude/longitude, but who's counting?). The wind is crazy, the students are wet and exhilarated from running in the rain, and I'm nice and toasty on my study lounge couch with a blanket, some knitting, and a (couple of) good movies.

Gotta run now. Seems it's time to make another excursion outside. The mother in me is freakin out a little bit. Smooches to all, don't worry about us kids here on The Rock. I think we'll be just fine! :)

9pm update....once again a bit late due to Mac-n-Cheese emergency.

The hours have just been flying by here at hurricane central....as well as the debris and stray goats!

Latest update from NOAA National Hurricane Center:

REPORTS FROM AN AIR FORCE RESERVE HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT INDICATE MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE INCREASED TO NEAR 105 MPH...170 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. OMAR IS NOW A CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS...AND OMAR IS EXPECTED TO BE A STRONG CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE BY THE TIME IT REACHES THE NORTHERN LEEWARD ISLANDS. ALSO... STRONGER WINDS...ESPECIALLY IN GUSTS...ARE LIKELYOVER ELEVATED TERRAIN.

Latest 5-Day Cone of Deliciousness:

The gang has risen from their afternoon coma-naps and we are now all congregated around the TV in the dorm lounge watching the presidential BS and drinking nicely chilled Merlot (I lost the arguement about chilling Merlot...). Fat Bastard, for those of you who are curious.

Stay tuned....it's coming down to the wire!


....or is that the wires are coming down?

5pm Update....a bit late due to small coma-nap.

Those of you who know me well, know I am a bit obsessive over hurricanes. Thus, look forward to constant vigilance on updates given by NOAA National Hurricane Center.

Currently the storm is still a Cat 1, though it is expected to be a Cat 2 by tonight. Moving a bit faster than this morning, at a nice 15mph. Still aimed a bit north of us, putting us sort of in the NE quadrant if he moves too close. Lots of rain expected, somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 inches. Looking outside the sky is dull and gray; it's been raining off and on for the last few hours.

Unfortunately, as I mentioned before I seem to have misplaced my camera charger and thus cannot re-charge it....which means as of now, no pics. I will see about 'borrowing' some from fellow classmates as they are posted on Facebook.

Until then, here is another fabulous 5-Day Cone:

Click on map for larger size. Feel free to save copies as mementos.

*Hopefully* we will continue to have power/internet here at the dorms throughout the storm fun. I fully intend to be up at 2am as this little baby flies by, and will update as best I can. And yes, mom, I won't do anything [too] stupid. Like go down to the Stairway By The Sea to watch the storm. ;)

Well, actually.....

I've always loved the name Omar.

Today we had our second physio exam. That's enough about that.

Then about 30 minutes into anatomy lab we got the most wonderful news: Hurricane Omar has come to town! I, of course, knew the moment our deans walked into the lab that classes were cancelled, however my fellow classmates were a bit dubious. With our arms elbow deep in horse viscera our freedom was announced and cheers could be heard across campus! And doubly joyous: dog walking has been cancelled tonight and tomorrow AM! I've never seen my classmates chuck intestines into a rubbermaid container faster than we did this morning. Despite the physio exam, today is turning out pretty awesome.

What to do with our entire day? Study? Catch up on laundry? Heck no! We headed down to the store for some snicky snacks, and then off to the port for a visit to Smoke & Booze! Nothing like perusing the variety of options for a nice drinking afternoon at 9:45 AM.

Back to the dorms, a quick KFC lunch, and currently a good card game of Asshole along with rum & cokes. There's talk of poker, chips and all, but we'll see how organized this group gets. I'm feeling a nap, a movie, and some knitting in my future....

As of now, seems the storm will run just north of us, however we will get a chunk of the action. Currently Omar is travelling at about 9 mph and running 85 mph winds. There is talk at NOAA Public Advisory that Omar should strengthen to a Cat 2 by this evening/early morning, and should hit the Northern Leeward Islands around 2 AM.

Some links of interest:

St. Kitts and Nevis Vibes update about Hurricane Omar

NOAA Hurricane Water Vapor Loop

My all-time favorite graphic: The Five-Day Cone.

As a parting thought....having lived in Florida my entire life, it is very interesting to be around so many people who have no idea about things like Heartworm disease, how to make proper sweet iced tea, or HURRICANES! Poor, sad souls. Of course, most of these people who have no idea about hurricanes keep talking to me about snow days....so I guess it's a case of tit-for-tat.

Isn't he gorgeous, isn't he beautiful?!

Dog Walking: Day Three.

Um, yeah. A Tropical Storm has to come to St. Kitts during the week of my dog walking. Crap.

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Please be advised that Tropical Storm Omar (current maximum sustained winds – 40 mph – hence the classification as a tropical storm) is situated about 350 miles to our southwest and is slowly coursing to the northeast at about 2 mph. If this pathway and speed persists, the center of the storm will pass quite near us over the next couple of days. Below, you will find an image of the system and a depiction of the likely path and wind speed as Omar approaches St. Kitts.