Miami News

[StingRay]

Just cruising around seeing what's being put up as news, found this:
Lightning Knocks Out Miami Doppler Radar

Colleges Come To Rescue



POSTED: 9:04 pm EDT September 1, 2004


MIAMI -- The National Weather Service Miami Doppler radar is out of commission after being damaged by lightning.

The radar is important to forecasters, especially with Hurricane Frances on the way, but two colleges have come to the NWS' rescue.

Texas A & M and the University of Oklahoma are lending the Miami weather service office two portable Doppler radar units that are usually used for tracking tornadoes.

The weather service said that the Doppler may be repaired as early as Thursday, but there is no guarantee.

The NWS also uses the radar from Key West, but if they can't get the Miami Doppler radar fixed, they will undoubtedly be glad to have the portable units as the bands of weather with Frances begin to reach the South Florida coast.

Copyright 2004 by Local10.com (mianews@local10.com). All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[StingRay]

Hurricane Frances Closures, Cancellations

Be sure to check and refresh this page for the latest closure and cancellations.

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport will be closed at 10 a.m. Friday. If you are flying between now and then, you are asked to call your airline to confirm your flight's departure time.

Schools, Universities

School has been canceled today and Friday in Miami-Beach, Broward, Monroe, and Palm Beach counties.

Miami-Dade public school officials said teachers and support personnel are still required to report to work on today. Officials said they will meet to make a decision about whether to have school employees report Friday.

Broward County officials said all schools in the county will be closed today and Friday so that they can be used as shelters. Several Broward shelters will be open at 2 p.m. Thursday. To see a list of available shelters, click here (http://www.local10.com/weather/3699555/detail.html). The Broward County school district information hotline number is (754) 321-0321.

All Catholic schools in Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties will be closed today and Friday.

Bethune-Cookman College is closing Thursday.

The campus of Florida Atlantic University will close Thursday at 1 p.m.

The season opener between Florida International University and Jacksonville that was scheduled for Thursday night has been canceled.

A decision on the Florida State-Miami game scheduled this weekend in the Orange Bowl will not be made until later today.

Grandview Preparatory School is closed Thursday and Friday, as is Florida Christian School.

Classes at the University of Miami's Coral Gables and Virginia Key campuses will be canceled Thursday.

Nova Southeastern University canceled classes from today through Monday at its Davie, North Miami Beach, and East campuses, and at the Oceanographic Center and Student Education Centers in Kendall, West Palm Beach and Daytona.

All schools in Brevard and Volusia counties will also be closed Thursday and Friday.

Government Offices, Services, More

Officials declared a state of emergency in Broward County giving them the ability to mobilize their resources in case Frances does have a major impact on the county.

There is no trash pickup in Broward County until further notice. Miami-Dade has discontinued pick up of bulk items, but will continue regular trash pick up until the weather worsens.

Port Everglades closed at 8:00 a.m. this morning to all vessel traffic including cargo and cruise ships.

Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport is open at the moment but may be closed later today. Travelers are encouraged to contact their airlines for specific information.

At 5 a.m. today, all Broward government offices will be closed, including parks and recreation offices and facilities and libraries. Regular mass transit service in Broward County is cancelled today and Friday.

Miami-Dade County circuit and county courts will be open today and closed Friday.

All Tri-Rail service is suspended today and Friday.

Pembroke Pines parks, senior centers and charter schools will be closed today and Friday.

All government offices and facilities will also be closed today and Friday.

All Palm Beach County government offices will be closed.

Caribbean Cruises

Carnival Cruise Lines canceled a three-day Bahamian cruise from Miami on Friday and changed the itinerary of a three-day Bahamian cruise Thursday from Port Canaveral, leaving it out at sea. The cruise line's phone number is (800) CARNIVAL.

Royal Caribbean International was changing itineraries for several of its ships to avoid the storm.

Norwegian Cruise Line's ship Dawn will now be calling in Freeport, Bahamas, instead of Nassau today before heading back to New York.

Copyright 2004 by Local10.com (mianews@local10.com). All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[StingRay]

Miami-Dade County Changes Hurricane Evacuation Zones



Miami-Dade County Evacuation Zones:




Zone A (Red Zone) Miami Beach, Virginia Key, Key Biscayne and all islands lying within Biscayne Bay including the municipalities of Golden Beach, Sunny Isles Beach, Bal Harbor, Bay Harbor Islands, Indian Creek Village, Surfside, North Bay Village, City of Miami Beach and the island portions of the City of Miami. (Note: That area west of the L-31N levee known as the 8-and-A-Half-Square Mile Area is ordered to evacuate because of its inaccessibility to rescue vehicles following a major storm.)

Zone B (Yellow Zone) All areas of mainland Miami-Dade County lying (north to south) east of Biscayne Boulevard, Brickell Avenue, S. Miami Avenue, South Bayshore Drive, Main Highway, Ingraham Highway, Old Cutler Road, the Florida Turnpike south to U.S. 1 to State Road 9336 [SW 344 Street (Palm Drive), SW 192 Avenue (Tower Road) and Ingram Highway] south to Everglades National Park. The only exception to this pattern is a small area east of Old Cutler Road, west of SW 67 Avenue and north of SW 152 Street that is not in the evacuation zone.

Zone C (Green Zone) The area of Miami-Dade County west of Zone B and a line defined by SW 152 Street (Coral Reef Drive) at Old Cutler Road going west to U.S. 1, then south to SW 184 Street (Eureka Drive), then west to SW 127 Avenue (Burr Road), then south to U.S. 1 to SW 312 Street (Campbell Drive or Homestead's NW 8 Street), then west to Everglades National Park.





Copyright 2004 by Local10.com (mianews@local10.com). All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[ticka1]

Several more from the Miami area
*WPLG-TV www.click10.com (http://www.click10.com)
*WTVJ-TV www.nbc6.net (http://www.nbc6.net)
*WSVN-TV www.wsvn.com (http://www.wsvn.com)
* = live tv for broadband users