Florida Panhandle

In Florida, folks say the farther north you go, the closer to the South you get. In the Sunshine State, north is South. And the "Southernmost" place in Florida is the northwest corner, the Florida Panhandle.It's an area where Old South grace and haute kitsch mingle; where beaches of unsurpassed beauty give way to bungee-jumping joints; where the primeval beauty of bayou and forest compete with tattoo parlors.This is not the Florida of the Everglades or Disney World or Miami Beach. It's not even the Florida of sun-baked Yankee retirees, nor is it the multicultured polyglot Florida of Cubans, Haitians and Latin Americans.

Tropical Storm Isaac is gaining strength and organization just south of the Dominican Republic as of Friday morning, and forecasters are still expecting it to follow a northwestern path into the Gulf of Mexico. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph as of 11 a.m. The latest track takes it over eastern Haiti and across Cuba as it heads toward making landfall in the U.S. somewhere between New Orleans and southern Florida. The most likely route as forecast this morning takes the storm to the Florida panhandle, though that isn't until early Wednesday, so it could change again.

MOBILE, Ala. - Fierce winds and torrential rains hammered the Gulf Coast overnight as Hurricane Ivan barreled ashore with a frightening reach that extended to four southern states and threatened widespread destruction by dawn. As many as 2 million people had been evacuated from parts of Florida, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana by late yesterday, leaving towns along 300 miles of coastline all but deserted as streets were turned into rivers, trees were blown down, power was knocked out and homes were wrecked.

The latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center calls for Tropical Storm Isaac to pass by Florida's west coast toward Alabama and Louisiana, but there is disagreement from at least one meteorologist on that. The hurricane center's 2 p.m. update on the storm calls for Isaac to reach hurricane status as it passes by Florida in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday and Tuesday. Forecast tracks, which have left some questions about which side of Florida the storm would pass, have shifted more to the west, with most likely landfall now somewhere between the Florida panhandle and New Orleans.

MILTON, Fla. -- Gun control has never been the most popular of concepts in the Florida Panhandle, and Santa Rosa County is no exception to that rule.So, to protest what they see as recent encroachments by the federal government on a citizen's right to bear arms, the county government here has established a militia and made every able-bodied man, woman and child a member.The action has been ridiculed by gun control groups that say the county measure is based on an erroneous reading of the Constitution.

MIAMI -- A tropical depression drenched Florida for a third day today. Two hurricanes and a tropical wave plowed through the Atlantic. Another tropical wave cruised the Caribbean. And two other systems waited in the wings over Africa.With nature's assembly line working overtime, hurricane forecasters were absorbed by the sheer challenge of monitoring so many storms, by the exhilaration of observing extraordinary phenomena, and -- most of all -- by a universal question:Where are these things headed?

Though it wasn't as nasty as anticipated, Tropical Storm Arlene took a squally swipe at South Florida yesterday and promised more soggy conditions through tomorrow, forecasters said. But the big, messy system is apparently saving its worst for the north Gulf Coast, threatening to strike either dead-on or extremely near Pensacola, much of which Hurricane Ivan left in ruins in September. The storm was forecast to make landfall about 1 p.m. today, after churning through the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, possibly as a hurricane.

PENSACOLA BEACH, Fla. - Protecting her face from a blast of rain and powdery white sand yesterday as she stood by a mound of debris left over from September's Hurricane Ivan, Sandy Irvine wondered aloud whether she can withstand another hurricane season. "It's so terrifying," Irvine said as Tropical Storm Arlene swept ashore. "We knew that when hurricane season came we'd be concerned and paying attention. But we just hoped and prayed that it wouldn't happen here again. We've only just gotten the house repaired and still haven't settled in."

Tropical Storm Isaac is gaining strength and organization just south of the Dominican Republic as of Friday morning, and forecasters are still expecting it to follow a northwestern path into the Gulf of Mexico. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph as of 11 a.m. The latest track takes it over eastern Haiti and across Cuba as it heads toward making landfall in the U.S. somewhere between New Orleans and southern Florida. The most likely route as forecast this morning takes the storm to the Florida panhandle, though that isn't until early Wednesday, so it could change again.

The latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center calls for Tropical Storm Isaac to pass by Florida's west coast toward Alabama and Louisiana, but there is disagreement from at least one meteorologist on that. The hurricane center's 2 p.m. update on the storm calls for Isaac to reach hurricane status as it passes by Florida in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday and Tuesday. Forecast tracks, which have left some questions about which side of Florida the storm would pass, have shifted more to the west, with most likely landfall now somewhere between the Florida panhandle and New Orleans.

PENSACOLA BEACH, Fla. - Protecting her face from a blast of rain and powdery white sand yesterday as she stood by a mound of debris left over from September's Hurricane Ivan, Sandy Irvine wondered aloud whether she can withstand another hurricane season. "It's so terrifying," Irvine said as Tropical Storm Arlene swept ashore. "We knew that when hurricane season came we'd be concerned and paying attention. But we just hoped and prayed that it wouldn't happen here again. We've only just gotten the house repaired and still haven't settled in."

Though it wasn't as nasty as anticipated, Tropical Storm Arlene took a squally swipe at South Florida yesterday and promised more soggy conditions through tomorrow, forecasters said. But the big, messy system is apparently saving its worst for the north Gulf Coast, threatening to strike either dead-on or extremely near Pensacola, much of which Hurricane Ivan left in ruins in September. The storm was forecast to make landfall about 1 p.m. today, after churning through the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, possibly as a hurricane.

PENSACOLA, Fla. - The Florida Panhandle - an endless vista of deep, lonely forests and clean beaches - is usually a pleasant place, but Hurricane Ivan introduced danger, uncertainty and astonishing disarray. Even something as simple as a drive from Mobile, Ala., to the far side of Pensacola - usually a straight 70-mile dash down Interstate 10 - became an eight-hour crawl through a minefield of severed power lines, splintered trees and debris in the aftermath of the violent storm. The interstate was not an option on Thursday night.

MOBILE, Ala. - Fierce winds and torrential rains hammered the Gulf Coast overnight as Hurricane Ivan barreled ashore with a frightening reach that extended to four southern states and threatened widespread destruction by dawn. As many as 2 million people had been evacuated from parts of Florida, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana by late yesterday, leaving towns along 300 miles of coastline all but deserted as streets were turned into rivers, trees were blown down, power was knocked out and homes were wrecked.

PENSACOLA, Fla. - Anxious residents across the Gulf Coast packed their bags and scrambled to protect their homes from powerful Hurricane Ivan yesterday as its path edged westward, potentially sparing much of storm-stalked Florida while threatening cities from Mobile, Ala., to New Orleans. The storm weakened slightly as it moved across the Gulf of Mexico, with its winds slowing to about 140 mph from an earlier high of 160 mph. Forecasters said Ivan, reduced to a Category 4 hurricane, could hit near the Alabama-Mississippi state line late tonight or early tomorrow.

Florida's tee box is its Panhandle. If you look at the state as a big ol' dogleg beginning in Pensacola and sweeping right down toward Miami, then the Panhandle is where you would be teeing off.Not many people I know ever think of the Panhandle as a Florida golf destination. A gulf destination, maybe, someplace to go for sun and sand along the Gulf of Mexico. The Panhandle is very similar to the Jersey Shore or Maryland's Eastern Shore. It's a family summer vacation spot for the locals at reasonable prices.

PENSACOLA, Fla. - Anxious residents across the Gulf Coast packed their bags and scrambled to protect their homes from powerful Hurricane Ivan yesterday as its path edged westward, potentially sparing much of storm-stalked Florida while threatening cities from Mobile, Ala., to New Orleans. The storm weakened slightly as it moved across the Gulf of Mexico, with its winds slowing to about 140 mph from an earlier high of 160 mph. Forecasters said Ivan, reduced to a Category 4 hurricane, could hit near the Alabama-Mississippi state line late tonight or early tomorrow.

PENSACOLA, Fla. - The Florida Panhandle - an endless vista of deep, lonely forests and clean beaches - is usually a pleasant place, but Hurricane Ivan introduced danger, uncertainty and astonishing disarray. Even something as simple as a drive from Mobile, Ala., to the far side of Pensacola - usually a straight 70-mile dash down Interstate 10 - became an eight-hour crawl through a minefield of severed power lines, splintered trees and debris in the aftermath of the violent storm. The interstate was not an option on Thursday night.

MIAMI -- A tropical depression drenched Florida for a third day today. Two hurricanes and a tropical wave plowed through the Atlantic. Another tropical wave cruised the Caribbean. And two other systems waited in the wings over Africa.With nature's assembly line working overtime, hurricane forecasters were absorbed by the sheer challenge of monitoring so many storms, by the exhilaration of observing extraordinary phenomena, and -- most of all -- by a universal question:Where are these things headed?

In Florida, folks say the farther north you go, the closer to the South you get. In the Sunshine State, north is South. And the "Southernmost" place in Florida is the northwest corner, the Florida Panhandle.It's an area where Old South grace and haute kitsch mingle; where beaches of unsurpassed beauty give way to bungee-jumping joints; where the primeval beauty of bayou and forest compete with tattoo parlors.This is not the Florida of the Everglades or Disney World or Miami Beach. It's not even the Florida of sun-baked Yankee retirees, nor is it the multicultured polyglot Florida of Cubans, Haitians and Latin Americans.