CigDaze

Severe Weather Alert from the National Weather Service

...CHARLOTTE-CITRUS-DE SOTO-HARDEE-HERNANDO-HIGHLANDS-HILLSBOROUGH-LEE- LEVY-MANATEE-PASCO-PINELLAS-POLK-SARASOTA-SUMTER- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ZEPHYRHILLS...WINTER HAVEN...VENICE... TAMPA...SPRING HILL...SEBRING...SARASOTA...PUNTA GORDA... PORT CHARLOTTE...NEW PORT RICHEY...LAKELAND...INVERNESS... FORT MYERS...CLEARWATER...CHIEFLAND...CAPE CORAL...BROOKSVILLE... BRANDON...BRADENTON...BARTOW AND ARCADIA. 351 AM EST WED JAN 22 2003
...FREEZE WATCH... ...WIND CHILL WATCH...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A FREEZE AND WIND CHILL WATCH FOR ALL OF WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WHICH INCLUDES LEVY...CITRUS...SUMTER...HERNANDO...PASCO...PINELL AS... HILLSBOROUGH...MANATEE...POLK...HARDEE...DESOTO... HIGHLANDS... SARASOTA...CHARLOTTE AND LEE COUNTIES FOR THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY MORNING.

A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL USHER IN SOME OF THE COLDEST TEMPERATURES SO FAR THIS SEASON FOR THURSDAY NIGHT AND EARLY FRIDAY...LASTING INTO THE UPCOMING WEEKEND. BY DAYBREAK FRIDAY RECORD COLD TEMPERATURES ARE LIKELY ACROSS WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WITH READINGS EXPECTED TO RANGE FROM THE TEENS TO NEAR 20 ACROSS THE NATURE COAST...TO THE 20S TO NEAR 30 ACROSS THE WEST CENTRAL PENINSULA...AND AROUND 30 DEGREES OVER CHARLOTTE AND LEE COUNTIES. IN ADDITION DAY-TIME HIGH TEMPERATURES ON FRIDAY ARE ONLY EXPECTED TO BE IN THE 40S.

STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS AROUND 20 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS WILL MAKE FOR VERY LOW WIND CHILL VALUES AS WELL THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY MORNING. READINGS BY FRIDAY MORNING WILL RANGE FROM THE SINGLE DIGITS OVER THE NORTH...TEENS CENTRAL...AND 20S FAR SOUTH.

ALL RESIDENTS OF WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA SHOULD TAKE PRECAUTIONS TO MINIMIZE THE AFFECTS OF THESE COLD TEMPERATURES. AGRICULTURAL INTERESTS SHOULD BE PREPARED TO TAKE PROTECTIVE ACTIONS FOR PLANTS AND LIVE STOCK. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS FOR ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS AND OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS LATER TODAY OR TONIGHT.

A FREEZE WATCH IS ISSUED FOR THE POTENTIAL OF A WIDESPREAD AND DAMAGING FREEZE WITHIN 48 HOURS. DURING THE FREEZE PERIOD... TEMPERATURES MAY REMAIN BELOW 32 DEGREES FOR MORE THAN 8 HOURS.

CigDaze

I don't know guys....That's pretty damn cold!

Should I winterize??

BODYSHOT1

..great!...we land Saturday in Ft.Myers for a week....

CigDaze

Not to worry...This will be mostly gone by Saturday and it should be in the upper 50's. Sunday will be in the 60's.
It's only one night luckily.

Dean Ferry

BD,
I just dropped a work light, (60 Watt) in the bilge about 2 weeks ago and I think that should be good to go. My boat sits on the lift in the dock, and the H2O temp is still in the 50-60 Deg. range and that does alot to keep the temps from going too LOW! I also have my battery charger on, it gives off a little heat.
Can you drop a work light in your bilge?
MD

CigDaze

Thanks Dean, that was my first instinct too, but I'm afraid that I can't get power to the boat.

I'm wondering how long will a block retain heat? If I warm it up at night to full operating temp, will it last? My engine compartment is pretty well insulated. Luckily, with 496 winterizing is not too difficult, but I'd still rather not go down there on a cold night.

ChrisK

Damn I was wondering the same thing... Should I winterize mine? Im not on the west coast.. and I can get power to the boat, so I think a worklight is getting dropped into the bilge tonight when I gat home.... DAMN I tought it was getting cold!

boatfreak

We were down in Key Largo over the weekend and on Saturday it was 48-50 not one ray of sun all day and strong winds. It was nasty.

Magicfloat

Baja, you should be ok,takes more than what your getting to do any damage. But for peace of mind,why not do it?You can drain a 496 in about 5 seconds per engine.

Kohldog

You guys are a bunch of wusses!

That's nothing, Check out the forecast for Minneapolis!