Pensacola Beach Blogger

Fay is gone, dropping a measly .25 inches of rain on Pensacola Beach. It appears to be very difficult to forecast weather for this area, as we were expecting up to 20 inches of rain from this. My neighbors put their hurricane shutters up! But as you can see, everything is back to normal, with a bright, sunny, 84 degree day:

The gulf is a little churned up. Today is a Yellow Flag Day on Pensacola Beach:

It is a little hazy, but otherwise a nice day. Can you see the Pensacola Beach Pier in the distance?

Live music at Flounders today. Business as usual on Pensacola Beach!

Fay is upon us. Although you wouldn’t think so from looking out the window. It is getting windy, with winds around 30-40 mph, with gusts as high as 45 mph. But since it is coming from the northwest, it doesn’t affect the beach much:

The beach is void of people today, in all directions:

You can see how calm it is. If anything, there are small waves moving away from the shore.

Looks like we have quite the day ahead of us, be the looks of this:

Stay tuned. I’ll post updates throughout the day and weekend.

After a few fair-weather days on Pensacola Beach, it looks like Tropical Storm Fay is finally moving in from the east.

No rain yet, but you can see the clouds approaching from the east.

Check back for updated pics of all the rain and winds!

He’s watching over the Santa Rosa Sound.

Just checked the tropical weather report, and I don’t like the looks of where Tropical Storm Fay is heading. Here are the latest computer models.

Lets just hope this doesn’t turn into Hurricane Fay anytime soon.

Bob Sikes Bridge, otherwise known as the Pensacola Beach Bridge, is the only way on or off the island by car right now. The toll is one dollar far a car, but you only have to pay when coming on to the island.

This picture was taken from a dock in the Santa Rosa Sound.

Check out the clouds!

Found this little ghost crab on my walk on the beach the other day.

If you’re gonna try ghost crab hunting, you have to be quick! These guys run at speeds of 10 mph! They also will hide in their holes when they get too close:

Some other fun facts about ghost crabs:

• They can see 360 degrees with their eyes that stick out from their head, but they can not see directly up. They burrow and hide in the sand during the day to protect themselves from birds.
• Ghost crab tunnels are about four feet deep!
• When the sun begins to set, these crabs run to the water to have the water flow over their gills.
• Ghost crabs hibernate in the winter, and store enough oxygen in sacs near their gills to be able to sleep for six months.

It has been a stormy few days here on Pensacola Beach.

Storms like this usually get the waves on the beach going. We’ve had a few red-flag days here on the island.

At last.. the sun shines though:

The band Mass Kunfuzion will be performing at the pavilion near the Pensacola Beach Pier tonight for Bands on the Beach.

Check out their website or their setlist to see what kind of music to expect. Looks like a good mix!

Remember, the show starts at 7pm. Hopefully we won’t get rained out. See you out there!

Keep off the dunes! You’ve probably seen that sign a few places around Pensacola Beach. The dunes protect residents and visitors from storm surges, and most of all, from drifting sand. The sea oats planted all over the dunes help fight erosion, and walking on the dunes doesn’t help this cause. The root structures (more accurately, rhizomes), help hold the dunes together, and walking on them could uproot or damage the plants.

So please remember the ecological reason for these plants and mostly man-made dunes, and use the walkways when visiting the beach.