Pensacola Beach Blogger

We’re starting to see the outer bands of thunderstorms and winds from Gustav. This quick storm rolled in a few hours ago:

Time to come in from the beach. Red flags indicate that swimming in the Gulf is now prohibited:

We should see most of the action after midnight tonight. I’ll keep updating, so check back!

Every cloud in paradise has a silver lining:

Looks like I’m not the only one out for a walk on the beach:

The rough surf from a few days ago washed up all kinds of shells:

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.

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!