True. But this time she's going to Mexico first. Buh bye Emily, have fun. N.Y. Oil Plunges as Hurricane Emily Forecast to Miss Gulf Rigs http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000006&sid=a3Tvyjm5g5m8&refer=home# July 14 (Bloomberg) 14:44pm-- Crude oil in New York fell the most in more than two weeks as Hurricane Emily was forecast to miss Gulf of Mexico platforms and production from the region recovered from the shutdowns Hurricane Dennis caused last week. Emily, the fifth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, will probably come ashore on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, forecasters said. Production in the Gulf rose to 3.6 percent below normal, the Minerals Management Service said. Speculation that Emily might shut platforms prompted some traders to take long positions, or bets prices would rise. ``When the storm appeared it grabbed everybody's attention and they went long on oil,'' said Ed Silliere, vice-president of risk management with Energy Merchant Intermarket Futures LLC in New York. ``Now it looks like Emily will miss the oil-producing region, if it enters the Gulf at all.'' Crude oil for August delivery fell $2.16, or 3.6 percent, to $57.85 a barrel at the 2:30 p.m. close of floor trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. If the contract settles there it will be the biggest decline since June 28. The futures have lost 6.8 percent since touching a record $62.10 a barrel a week ago. Oil is up 41 percent from a year ago. Speculative long positions, or bets prices would rise, outnumbered short positions by 32,758 contracts on the Nymex in the week ended July 5, the Washington-based commission said in its Commitments of Traders report. Net-long positions rose by 10,750 contracts, or 49 percent, from a week earlier. ``There's a lot of speculative length in this market,'' Silliere said. ``The selling started with the change in Emily and that started'' technical selling. Inventories U.S. stocks of distillates, which include heating oil and diesel fuel, rose more than analysts forecast last week, easing concern that supplies might run short in the second half of the year. Oil stockpiles, which fell more than expected, are 7 percent higher than the five-year average, according to Energy Department statistics. ``The increased distillate inventories are helping to push prices down,'' said John Kilduff, vice president of risk management at Fimat USA in New York. Brent crude for August settlement fell 95 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $57.32 a barrel on London's International Petroleum Exchange, where it earlier rose as much as 23 cents. Demand Forecast The International Energy Agency yesterday cut its forecast for demand this year because of slower-than-anticipated growth in the U.S. and China. Oil use in 2005 will increase by 1.9 percent to 83.88 million barrels a day, the Paris-based agency, an adviser on energy to 26 industrialized nations, said in a monthly report. That's 400,000 barrels a day less than estimated in June. ``The demand revisions from the IEA are working their way through the system today,'' Fimat's Kilduff said. Oil prices averaging a record $59.33 this month are doing little to damp demand for refined products such as gasoline and diesel fuel as the U.S. economy improves. Retail spending gained 1.7 percent last month, more than economists had forecast, as price cuts at General Motors fueled spending on automobiles, the U.S. Commerce Department reported. Sales at gasoline filling stations rose 1.9 percent last month, after falling 0.5 percent the previous month, the department said. Sales excluding gasoline and automobiles rose 0.6 percent in June after rising 0.1 percent in May. Retail gasoline prices rose 0.1 cent to a record U.S. average of $2.321 a gallon yesterday, according to AAA, the largest U.S. motoring club. Gasoline for August delivery was down 6.42 cents, or 3.7 percent, to $1.69 a gallon on the Nymex. Emily Upgraded Emily was upgraded to Category 2 on the five-step Saffir- Simpson scale. The storm may halt shipments in countries that supply the U.S. with oil. Venezuela closed eastern ports that ship much of the nation's 1.9 million barrels of oil daily as a precaution yesterday. Emily may hit Mexico's fields in the Gulf, disrupting output. Storms sometimes cross the Yucatan peninsula and then regain strength in the Gulf of Mexico. Most of Mexico's oil output of about 3.4 million barrels a day comes from fields along the Gulf coast between the cities of Ciudad del Carmen in Campeche state and Tampico in Veracruz state. ``Emily looks like it's becoming less and less of a threat'' to U.S. output, said Carl Neill, a consultant with Risk Management Inc. in Chicago. Gulf Production As of 12:30 p.m. New York time, 54,431 barrels of daily oil production remained halted because of Hurricane Dennis, the Minerals Management Service said. The storm had cut 1.44 million barrels of daily production on July 11, 96 percent of normal. Oil-production losses since July 8 are 5.27 million barrels, according to today's report. Gas cuts amounted to 23.2 billion cubic feet. Mexico, the world's fifth-largest oil producer, sends most of its exports of about 1.8 million barrels a day to the U.S., the world's biggest consumer. The hurricane ``may impact Mexican production but it won't be as negative'' as a direct hit on U.S. output, said Craig Pennington, the head energy analyst at Schroders Plc in London. If exports to the U.S. are affected, ``there will be a short- term effect on prices.............................
Crude prices drop as hurricane Emily threat fades Kevin Morrison Last updated: July 19 2005 13:22 London Time http://news.ft.com/cms/s/00119bba-f847-11d9-8fc8-00000e2511c8.html Oil prices extended their declines on Tuesday after Hurricane Emily, which halted most of Mexico’s oil output on Monday, lost strength. IPE Brent for September delivery slipped seven cents to $56.92 a barrel in early afternoon London trade, extending the 59 cents decline from the previous session. August West Texas Intermediate eased 12 cents to $57.20 a barrel, extending the 80 cents fall from Tuesday. The August WTI contract expires at the end of trading on Wednesday. September WTI slipped 10 cents to $58.32 a barrel, furthering the 81 cents slide from the previous session. Reuters reported that Hurricane Emily, which slammed into the Yucatan Peninsula on Monday, halted all oil exports from Mexico, the world’s ninth-largest producer, and froze most of the nation’s 3.44m barrels a day of production. Mexico’s state oil monopoly Pemex said it would start restoring output on Wednesday and expected to resume full production by Friday. The National Hurricane Center downgraded the hurricane from Category four to Category one. It warned on Tuesday that it could regain strength over the next 24 hours, but forecasters have predicted it would probably steer clear of most US and oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico......................
Emily expected to clip southern Texas 1:16 P.M. ET 7/19/2005 South Hurricane Emily will storm ashore tonight, probably just south of Brownsville, Texas, along the coast of northeast Mexico..........................
The ups and downs caused by Emily. Today, up. Or it so seems in the morning. Update 6: Crude Oil Prices Rise on Hurricane Fears 07.20.2005, 10:42 AM http://www.forbes.com/business/commerce/feeds/ap/2005/07/20/ap2148377.html Crude oil futures moved higher Wednesday on lingering concerns about production disruptions in Mexico as Hurricane Emily slammed into Mexico's northeastern coastline and after a U.S. warning of possible terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia. Prices also rose on expectations that the weekly U.S. petroleum supply report to be released Wednesday would show a decline in crude stocks. Prices stayed fairly steady for much of the day before the start of floor trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, reflecting the belief that Emily would do little damage and the belief that heating oil and diesel stocks would remaining high. But they swung upward after the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh urged American citizens to keep a low profile because of possible planning for a strike by terrorists in the world's leading oil producer. Light, sweet crude was up 69 cents at $58.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange by afternoon in Europe. The August contract was to expire at the end of floor trading in New York. The September contract, which begins Thursday, was 63 cents higher at $59.32 a barrel. Heating oil rose by more than 2 cents to $1.65505 a gallon while gasoline jumped nearly 2 cents to $1.7030, reflecting expectations that the U.S. figures would reveal further draws. On London's International Petroleum Exchange, September Brent crude futures traded at $58.16 a barrel, up 80 cents. Since Sunday, Hurricane Emily has forced Mexican state monopoly oil producer Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, to suspend daily production of nearly 3 million barrels of oil, 80 percent of which is exported to the U.S. market. "Traders' worry over the impact of Hurricane Emily on Mexican oil production in the Gulf of Mexico has not dissipated," said oil analyst Victor Shum of energy consultants Purvin & Gertz in Singapore. It was unclear when Mexican production would resume, but Pemex said Tuesday that staff and contractors were to report for work Wednesday on the Bay of Campeche, an area in the southern Gulf that is home to some of the company's most productive oil fields. The petroleum industry in the Gulf, which normally produces 547.5 million barrels of oil and 3.65 trillion cubic feet of gas a year, has endured three straight weeks of interruptions. The U.S. Energy Department's petroleum snapshot, to be released later Wednesday, was expected to show lower crude supplies in the wake of the young hurricane season. U.S. authorities said Hurricane Dennis, which hit the Gulf Coast earlier this month, interrupted the production of 5.29 million barrels of oil and 23.3 billion cubic feet of gas. While this year's storms have not caused any major damage to the offshore producing and refining facilities in the Gulf of Mexico, traders fear a repeat of the damage caused by last year's Hurricane Ivan, which resulted in the loss of nearly 44 million barrels of oil production between September 2004 and February 2005....................... But then where's the fun if there's no downs? July 20 (Bloomberg) 15:21 EST http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000081&sid=aBuEV4qxkf_4&refer=australia -- Crude oil prices fell, erasing earlier gains....................... Next week's U.S. inventory report may show a drop in imports after Hurricane Emily forced the shutdown this week of 2.95 million barrels a day of Mexican production, or 86 percent, for at least three days. Emily missed rigs and refineries in the U.S. part of the Gulf. ``The crude draws were not as large as expected, and with Hurricane Emily petering out that could be negative for prices,'' said Michael Fitzpatrick, vice president of energy risk management with Fimat USA in New York. The U.S. receives 17 percent, or 1.7 million barrels a day, of its total daily oil imports of about 10 million barrels from Mexico, the world's fifth-largest oil producer. Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, as Mexico's state-owned oil monopoly is known, said in a statement yesterday that platform crews would start returning to rigs in the Campeche Sound today after the evacuation of more than 15,000 workers. Operations will return to normal by July 22, the company said two days ago.....................
The season is heating up. Franklin is here. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationw...ul22,1,7145959.story?coll=la-headlines-nation IN BRIEF / FLORIDA Hurricane Season's 6th Storm Forms From Times Wire Reports The busy Atlantic hurricane season marked its sixth tropical storm when Franklin formed near the northern Bahamas. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said the birth of Franklin marked the earliest appearance by the sixth storm of the season in recorded history. The previous earliest date for six storms was Aug. 4, 1933............
This could be worst hurricane season since the 21 storms of 1933 http://www.newsday.com/news/nationw...6371.story?coll=ny-leadnationalnews-headlines July 26, 2005 With seven named storms emerging in less than eight weeks, the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season is flirting with becoming the most active ever. At this pace, 22 systems would form by Nov. 30, which would surpass the record of 21 set in 1933........................
Looks like we're getting a break. No major storms seen in US Gulf, Atlantic this week Mon Aug 1, 2005 5:17 PM ET http://today.reuters.com/investing/...01305214_RTRIDST_0_ENERGY-HURRICANES-WEEK.XML NEW YORK, Aug 1 (Reuters) - None of the "tropical waves" in the Atlantic or Caribbean on Monday were likely to develop into tropical storms or hurricanes, which would grant a lull in record activity in the first two months of the hurricane season, forecasters said. Storms and hurricanes so far this year have caused billions of dollars in damage and have shut in around 10 million barrels of U.S. and Mexican crude oil production. "Right now there are none out there that are well-developed," said James Franklin, hurricane specialist with the National Hurricane Center in Miami. He added that none of the current tropical waves will become tropical storms. Each year between 80 and 100 tropical waves are generated in the Atlantic and Caribbean, according to NHC. On average, six of those become hurricanes, two of which become major hurricanes with winds of at least 110 mph. With a record-breaking seven named storms in June and July, the hurricane season enters its normal peak with expectations of continued higher-than-normal activity. "We're just now entering into what would be the peak of the season," said Franklin, "I don't think there is any reason to think we will not have an active peak of the season as well. We just happen to be in a short break right now," Franklin said. A tropical storm has winds of at least 39 mph and hurricanes have winds of at least 74 mph. Crude oil and petroleum product prices are boosted when hurricanes go into the production-rich Gulf and the refinery-rich Gulf Coast states of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Of the seven named storms so far this year, five -- Hurricanes Dennis and Emily and Tropical Storms Arlene, Cindy, and Gert -- curtailed U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil production or Mexican oil exports. The National Oceanograp....................
The peak of the season is coming. NOAA Adds Five Major Hurricanes to 2005 Atlantic Forecast http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2005/2005-08-04-01.asp MIAMI, Florida, August 4, 2005 (ENS) - Residents of the East coast and Gulf coasts of the United States, still recovering from the effects of last year's four record breaking hurricanes, are in for another stormy season. The National Hurricane Center has increased the number of storms predicted in its 2005 Atlantic hurricane season outlook. Officials with the specialized hurricane service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said Tuesday an additional 11 to 14 tropical storms are expected from August through November. Of these seven to nine will become hurricanes, including three to five major hurricanes, forecasters warn. "Although we have already seen a record setting seven tropical storms during June and July, much of the season’s activity is still to come," said Gerry Bell, lead meteorologist on NOAA’s Atlantic Hurricane Seasonal Outlook. In total, this season is likely to yield 18 to 21 tropical storms, with nine to 11 becoming hurricanes, including five to seven major hurricanes.............
Just in, here's one more way to lose your house to a hurricane, or to make it back of course. Futures Traders Chase Hurricane Landfalls: Miami or Boca Raton? http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000082&sid=aMV7GG44m4x8&refer=canada Aug. 12 (Bloomberg) -- The next time the National Hurricane Center in Miami names a tropical storm system in the Atlantic Ocean or Caribbean Sea, scientists around the globe may be able to profit from forecasting where it will hit the U.S. mainland. That's the concept behind the Hurricane Futures Market, an online trading network where meteorologists will be able to buy and sell contracts representing stretches of shoreline from Texas to Maine. Contracts covering the area where the storm first crosses the coast pay out $1. The market was developed by three University of Miami professors who are investigating why the public's expectations for hurricane landfalls sometimes differ from the center's forecasts. Trading, initially among academics and weather specialists, is set to begin during a season that may yield an above-average number of storms and hurricanes. ``We're trying to improve the overall hurricane warning problem,'' says David Letson, 43, an associate professor of marine affairs who thought up the market while sitting in his home on the barrier island of Key Biscayne, off Miami, during last year's hurricane season. Letson says he was toggling between the Web sites of the National Hurricane Center and the Iowa Electronic Markets' U.S. presidential futures market when the idea was born. Letson teamed up with meteorology professor David Nolan, 36, and economics professor David Kelly, 38. The University of Iowa in Iowa City agreed to host the market alongside others that trade contracts on potential Nobel Prize winners and economic indicators. Contracts Once the next storm is named, traders will be able to choose from 10 contracts. Eight cover zones either on the U.S. eastern coastline or Gulf of Mexico shores, depending on the forecast track. The other two represent a storm that dies at sea or one that crosses from the Atlantic into the Gulf, or vice versa. As the storm veers closer to a certain zone, the price of the related contract probably will rise while those of the others fall. Once the storm hits the coast, the contract covering the landfall pays out $1. ``You have to have money involved because, without it, people don't have the same level of motivation to gather information,'' Nolan says. The Miami professors say that studying fluctuations in the contracts' value may help understand why people don't always heed National Hurricane Center alerts -- and sometimes turn out to be right. In November 2001, most Florida Keys residents ignored evacuation orders as Hurricane Michelle barreled toward them. Michelle veered off toward the Bahamas instead. `Whisper Number' One reason, Nolan says, may be that people act on information obtained elsewhere, whether from local television or other weather sites. While it doesn't pretend to predict storm tracks at sea, the market may yield a ``whisper number'' akin to investors' expectations of company earnings, Nolan says. ``It's conceivable, if it works perfectly, that our market would actually make accurate predictions,'' Nolan says. Officials at the National Hurricane Center aren't so sure the market will contribute to the study of storms. ``We have enough information here to gag a horse,'' says Max Mayfield, the center's director since 2000. The center uses satellite imagery, radar, and observations from Air Force jets and its own aircraft, which climb to 43,000 feet (13,100 meters) and release slow-falling instruments called dropsondes into the climatologic fray. Forecasting Intensity ``We measure temperature, humidity and wind every half- second,'' says Mayfield, 56, who started at the center as a marine forecaster in 1972. ``We do a lot more than forecast a track. We forecast intensity, which is extremely important to emergency task force officials.'' The Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Aug. 9 told University of Iowa officials they'd have to restrict hurricane futures trading to a ``private market'' of invited experts. The Miami professors say they will invite fellow academics, weather specialists and re-insurers from around the world to participate. Trading may open to the general public in the future, says Forrest Nelson, a University of Iowa economics professor who helps run Iowa Electronic Markets, where access to trading in some contracts isn't restricted. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has said it won't act to limit participation or otherwise regulate those markets. More than 1,100 individuals traded on the Iowa Electronic Markets in 2004, with presidential futures the most active contracts, according to market data. On an average day leading up to the election, 21,680 such contracts worth $5,572 were traded. That rose to 45,171 contracts worth $11,458 on Nov. 1, the day before the election. More Storms The current hurricane season promises to give meteorologists plenty to study. Officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Camp Springs, Maryland, forecast as many as 14 tropical storms, including seven to nine hurricanes, will form from August to the end of November. There have been nine named storms already this season, including Irene, which was upgraded from a depression on Aug. 10. A typical hurricane season from June through November produces about 10 tropical storms, six hurricanes, of which two or three are major. ``It will give us more storms to look at,'' Letson said. ``But as a coastal resident, if there are no other storms this season, that would be fine with us, too.''
It's Irene already? And it looks like she's gonna miss too, just like the last three. Hurricane Irene Heads Out to Sea http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/15/AR2005081500161.html The Associated Press Monday, August 15, 2005; 11:14 AM MIAMI -- A slightly stronger Hurricane Irene spun toward the northern Atlantic Monday but posed no threat to land, forecasters said. Irene, classified as a Category 1 hurricane with top sustained winds of 85 mph, was moving northeast at 12 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Goodbye Irene. So far August has been quite uneventful. But then again until I got hit last year I thought it was uneventful too. We'll see. Hurricane Irene Continues to Weaken http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5216268,00.html Wednesday August 17, 2005 5:01 PM MIAMI (AP) - Hurricane Irene continued weakening Wednesday as it headed northeastward across the north Atlantic, far from land. The storm had top sustained wind near 75 mph, down from 85 mph earlier in the day, and was moving toward the east-northeast at about 12 mph, the National Hurricane Center. It was a threat only to shipping. At 11 a.m. EDT, the storm was centered about 720 miles south-southwest of Cape Race, Newfoundland, or 1,000 miles east of Norfolk, Va. It was expected to turn gradually toward the northeast and weaken to tropical storm strength within the next 24 hours as it moves toward the colder water of the north Atlantic, the hurricane center said...............
Damn these people. Can't they let us enjoy a moment of peace? Experts predict upsurge in activity as Atlantic Hurricane Season peaks Thursday, August 18, 2005 http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/2005/08/18/upsurge.shtml BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CDERA): If hurricane researchers and forecasters are correct then the current lull in hurricane activity in the Atlantic Ocean should soon give way, opening the flood gates to the Cape Verde season. Historically the 60-day period between August 15 and October 15 is regarded as the peak of the annual Atlantic Ocean Hurricane Season when the most intense activity occurs. According to the latest updated forecast, the rest of the season should see about another 10 storms being formed of which three have been forecast to make landfall in the Lesser Antilles. In its August update for the season, the forecast team of Professor Mark Saunders and Dr Adam Lea of the Benfield Hazard Research Centre at the University College of London, has increased the numbers for this season to 22 storms, 11 hurricanes, and seven major hurricanes. The numbers follow the trending from Professor Bill Gray of the Colorado State University, the United States Government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Meteorological Institute of Cuba. What sets the four forecast apart is that the Benfield Hazard Research Centre has including a landfall forecast for the Lesser Antilles. The Centre says that the Caribbean can expect three storms, two hurricanes, and one major hurricane to make landfall somewhere from Anguilla in the north to Trinidad in the south. Already, one hurricane – Hurricane Emily -made landfall in Grenada. Professor Gray in his forecast has predicted 20 storms, 10 hurricanes, and six major hurricanes in total. NOAA’s prediction is for 18 to 21 storms, nine to 11 hurricanes, and five to seven major hurricanes. The Meteorological Institute of Cuba predicts 20 storms, nine hurricanes, and no major hurricanes.
Being a resident of miami, I have to say hurricanes are a bitch to have to deal with every year but so far this season has been uneventful.(talking just about south florida)
Perhaps that's why they are still talking about Dennis (it's already up to I, as in Irene). Maybe I've picked the wrong year to start a thread like this? But then again it's only half way through and it's still expected to be a record breaking season. Hurricane damage to blimps in Keys curtails radar, TV Marti broadcasts http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news...0,3268905.story?coll=orl-news-headlines-state MIAMI -- Hurricane Dennis had an unexpected side effect when it swept through last month: It battered blimps that carry the U.S government's TV Marti broadcasts to Cuba, and radars that spot drug-smuggling planes and boats. The Miami-based TV Marti, which broadcasts shows opposing Cuban President Fidel Castro, has had its programming dropped to about eight hours per week from 311/2 hours per week since Dennis hit July 9.............
TS Jose already broke a record. I think it was earliest date for the formation of the 11th named storm, or something of the sort.
Katrina formed, a tropical storm that could become a hurricane. The media finally has another hurricane story. It's been a while, since Dennis. South Florida Under Hurricane Watch http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2005/08/24/national/a083234D38.DTL (08-24) 09:46 PDT MIAMI, (AP) -- Tropical Storm Katrina formed Wednesday morning in the Bahamas and could strengthen to a hurricane before hitting Florida later this week, the National Hurricane Center said. A 150-mile stretch of coast from Vero Beach to Florida City was under a hurricane watch, meaning hurricane conditions were possible by early Friday. The storm is expected to slowly cross the state and could dump a foot of rain or more in spots before heading into the Gulf of Mexico. Eric Blake, a hurricane center meteorologist, said people in the watch area should consider putting up hurricane shutters, particularly in coastal and exposed areas. Storm surge flooding of 3 to 5 feet topped by battering waves is expected. He said all residents should stock up on hurricanes supplies such as water, batteries and generator fuel.
Tropical Storm Becomes a Hurricane as it Nears Florida Coast http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/25/n...&en=b51a754655111b6b&ei=5094&partner=homepage Katrina became a hurricane Thursday, dumping steady rains, kicking up the surf and blowing gusty winds ashore as it crept toward an overnight landfall on Florida's densely populated southeast coast, the Associated Press reported................
It's going to be a wet weekend here in SW Florida. Our first rain band hit around 2pm and the wind has been steady all day, but the downpours should be arriving anytime now.
Stay inside people!!!!!!!!!! Hurricane Katrina Lands in Fla., Killing 2 http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050826/ap_on_re_us/tropical_weather FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. 10:00 PM EST- Hurricane Katrina churned through Florida's densely populated southeastern coast Thursday with sustained winds of 80 mph and lashing rain. Two people were killed by falling trees. ADVERTISEMENT The storm strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane just before it made landfall along the Miami-Dade and Broward county line between Hallandale Beach and North Miami Beach. Weather officials said flooding was the main concern as the storm dropped a foot of rain or more in some spots. Rain fell in horizontal sheets, seas were estimated at 15 feet and blew gusts of up to 92 mph, toppling trees and street signs. Florida Power & Light said more than 412,000 customers were without electricity. Late Thursday, Katrina was centered in northwest Miami-Dade County, heading west at 6 mph. An estimated 5.9 million Florida residents were in Katrina's projected path. The storm proved fatal for two people who ignored warnings to stay inside until the worst was over. A man in his 20s in Fort Lauderdale was crushed by a falling tree as he sat alone in his car, while a pedestrian was killed by a falling tree in the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Plantation. "The message needs to be very clear. It's not a good night to be out driving around,"