Page 113 - Winterling's Chasing the Wind

Hurricane Center and compared it with wind and barometer reports from coastal
stations, like St. Simons Island, Mayport and Daytona Beach.

On Tuesday, September 8, Dora continued westward around 15 mph closing in from
480 miles off Cape Canaveral to within 150 miles. The storm’s peak winds decreased
slightly from 130 mph to 125 mph. I was reporting the latest information on the storm
hourly with Channel 4, even staying on the air throughout the night into Wednesday.
After broadcasting information about sections of the city that were in danger of serious
flooding, our Program Director, Leonard Mosby, walked by my office and said, “Keep
it brief!” I thought this was strange since we were about to be hit by the strongest
hurricane in the city’s history. I presume he was primarily concerned with
programming and interference with running commercials.

By 11 AM on September 9, the Weather Bureau acknowledged that Dora was headed
towards St. Augustine. Dora was centered 90 miles east-southeast of St. Augustine
with 115 mph winds moving northwest 10 mph.

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