WATCHING AND WAITING STILL ON DENNIS

It looks like the first feeder bands of Hurricane Dennis are passing over Central Florida this afternoon, causing some heavy thunderstorms in the area during the past couple of hours. The clouds began gathering quickly about 1:00 PM after a mostly clear, hot, humid day.

Getting off my bus after work, I noticed the gas pumps at the 7-11 on US 98 doing a brisk business. As for the neighbouring Home Depot, they didn't seem any busier than normal for a Friday afternoon. That tells me that most folks aren't too worried about the effects of Dennis on the Lakeland area.

The Orlando Sentinel reports that Attorney General Charlie Crist's office has received an "extraordinary number" of price-gouging complaints related to Dennis' approach, mainly in the Panhandle and related to sharp increases in gas prices. In one instance, a caller complained that a business increased the price of a gallon of gas from $2.18 to $2.89. The toll free number to report such sickening practices is 1-866-966-7226 (1-866-9NO-SCAM). If it's found to be true, the bastards should be locked up and their business shut down.

The advisories suggest that the hurricane will keep far enough away to prevent us feeling it's brunt. There is a wind advisory for tropical storm force winds in the area Saturday and early Sunday, but much of the concern will be regarding rain and the likelyhood of flooding. Many rivers in the area are at or above flood stage already, and the occasionally torrential thunderstorms that come with this type of system will cause problems.

Hope the good folks along the Panhandle areas are getting ready for an exciting weekend...to say the least. This is certainly something they don't need, as many in that region are still trying to recover from Ivan last year.

BTW: The National Hurricane Center says that Dennis is the earliest Catagory 4 storm to develop in the Carribean, and the strongest so early in the season.