Splashy Ventures/Gulfport Florida Vacation Rentals

12/13/2022

The good news: Tampa International Airport’s Name the Flamingo contest has been wildly popular! TPA received more than 65,000 entries from people worldwide eager to name the Airport’s famous 21-foot sculpture in the Main Terminal.Because of the high volume of entries, however, TPA’s judges nee...

11/23/2022

The battle is getting real. Turkey Day wants the spotlight

Holiday drama along the Tangerine Greenway.

11/22/2022

Enchant Christmas is set to return to Tropicana Field this November complete with a massive holiday maze, and skating rink.

11/12/2022

09/23/2022

Fall in Florida. Breathtaking…

08/23/2022

08/25/2021

The latest news on Sunken Gardens was all sunshine and roses as the enduring 4th Street botanical gardens and tourist attraction announced new grants and donations, a historic renovation, and a path to not needing subsidies for the first time. Sunken Gardens had three items on the agenda at Thursday...

07/04/2021

Fingers crossed everyone

Overnight Elsa Update:
1. Sleep? It's overrated. Here are a few thoughts on Elsa.
2. The storm continues to weaken even though it had a "blow up" of convection. The pressure continues to rise, now at 1007 MB. Water is pretty warm out there though, so we'll see how she fares before making landfall on Sunday in Cuba.
3. New models out. The Euro completely obliterates Elsa after Cuba while the GFS weakens it considerably, but the GFS predicts a small flare-up as it moves up the West coast of Florida.
4. I would expect the NHC to continue to predict the weakening of Elsa over the next 24 hours. If it DOES redevelop, it seems with significant shear in the Gulf, there won't be much.
5. Heavy rains are still likely with some coastal flooding possible along the immediate path of the storm. However, I gotta tell you, if the models are even close to accurate, there won't be much of Elsa left once it emerges past Cuba.
6. Timing is still Monday for SW Florida and Tuesday for Central Florida, including the Bay Area.
7. Rule #7. Nothing to freak out about here. We try to avoid getting too high or too low when tracking tropical systems. Hype is common these days, but you won't find it here. Our goal is always to give you the facts as we see them, with a bit of hope mixed in. In weather, things are rarely clear-cut. And in my opinion, focusing on worst-case scenarios is not only inaccurate, it's also irresponsible. Quite often, things DO work out. Nothing wrong with being the glass is half full kinda guy. Have a great 4th!

07/02/2021

To get sandbags or wait? Definitely not up for another Eta! Although a few repairs from “her” are unfinished so…

Hurricane Elsa thoughts:
1. Well that escalated quickly, didn't it? In spite of the very fast forward speed, Elsa found a burst of energy and intensified into a minimal hurricane. Still, the storm is not very organized as it continues to race WNW. Fast storms are usually not prone to rapid development.
2. Where do we go from here? No changes from yesterday. The key to whether or not Elsa will impact Florida is about 36 hours away. Late on Saturday, the storm will reach the edge of the ridge that is driving it. When this happens, Elsa will slow down and start to turn.
3. What does that mean? At that point, if the Euro is right, that turn will take Elsa over the mountainous parts of Hispaniola and pretty much kills the storm. (New model runs can change this scenario, of course). The GFS keeps Elsa going more West without brushing land until it reaches Cuba. We just won't know until that turn occurs. The NHC says itself, "this is a low confidence forecast regarding track".
4. Bottom line. This is very important. Even if Elsa "splits the needle" and stays South of the Islands and North of Jamaica, it will still eventually hit Cuba. This will weaken it. That's exactly why the NHC keeps Elsa at a Tropical Storm after passing Cuba and approaches Florida.
5. So, here's where we are. Look at the margin of error in the map posted. It's several hundred miles east and west of Florida. Any tropical system has its worst winds within about 20 or 30 miles from the center. In spite of the scary map, this is by no means set in stone. And even if this plays out exactly as shown, (which is unlikely), that's a Tropical Storm moving through the area, not a hurricane. Many of us remember ETA, so we won't dismiss a tropical storm, but this setup is very different from ETA. Not desirable, but we've certainly seen worse.
6. What do we do now? Well, if you haven't put together hurricane supplies, now is the time. Because we both know a lot of folks have waited to do so. We may, or may not, need them, but at least we'll be ready in case Elsa impacts us directly.
7. Lastly, Rule #7. This is NOT "freak out" time. This is the time to do what you need to prepare yourself in case Elsa comes calling. But at the end of the day, let's deal with facts, not hype. This track is a LONG way from being locked down.