It’s a longstanding tradition for those of us at Fox 10; Thanksgiving lunch.  We all gathered into the news studio, which became the Fox 10 Dining Room for a few hours, as we shared a great meal and lots of laughs, as you can tell by the pictures.

I spent a great morning at Mary G. Montgomery High School, getting students ready for the upcoming season of HiQ.  It’s an academic quiz competition that I’ve hosted for the past twenty-something years, along with producer Julie Harper and equipment managers Wendell Lewis and Joe Mills.  The 4 of us travel to 15 high schools in Mobile and Baldwin counties during the first few months of each year, doing our best to promote academic excellence.

As I told the students during this morning’s orientation session, I think they are academic stars who deserve the same respect as outstanding football or basketball players. 

The HiQ team members are all great kids; bright, eager and friendly.  Their faculty advisors deserve a lot of the credit for channelling that energy into achievement.  In fact, at least one faculty adviser this year used to be a HiQ team member. 

The 2010 season begins in January.  I’ll be posting stories on the matches here on fox10tv.com–and instant score updates on Twitter.  Just send me an invite @Bob_Grip .

Ken Burns got me thinking about veterans, Veterans’ Day, and one veteran in particular.

When I talked to him about his series, The War, he told me he wanted to tell the story of World War II from “the bottom up”. There were millions of those stories about the War, but now, veterans of that war are dying at a rate of 1,000 per day.

My dad.

Like so many other veterans, my Dad (pictured left) didn’t talk about his experiences much. He was drafted at the age of 32, he served as a rifleman in northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes and Central Europe, he nearly got killed at least once, and he came back home. Perhaps he felt his story wasn’t unique because WWII touched everyone. If you weren’t fighting, you were home working in a defense plant, trying to figure out how to get to work on your rationed gasoline.

My Dad served in Europe with the 94th Division (you can see the insignia on his helmet). When I was little, I would ask him to tell me another story about “the war”. At the time, I really didn’t know what “the war” was, but I knew it was an important part of his life.

He told me about a friend of his, Paul Hart, who was shot to death by a Nazi sniper while next to my Dad.

I learned that my Dad earned his Purple Heart on the front lines when a bullet clipped off the bottom of his ear. Luckily, someone had asked him a question and he turned to head to reply. That question saved his life.

I heard about a friend of his from the French resistance, who managed to survive the war only to die in a motorcycle accident in Algeria.

He told me about the Russian soldiers for whom he served as a translator when they were liberated from Nazi POW camps. He feared that they were no better off returning to the Soviet Union to face an uncertain fate.

I heard stories about frostbite, marching until your boots rotted and fell apart.

But the best story involved being on a train with others who were injured. The Paymaster was walking through the cars, distributing pay envelopes, asking the names of the soldiers. “Grip”, my father said. “Get out of here”, said the Paymaster. “I just paid you in the other car”. My Dad replied with language he cleaned up for my young ears at the time and said, “No, I haven’t been in another car”. The Paymaster told him, “Well, I just paid a fellow named Grip in the other car.” At that point, my father whistled. In my family, we had a whistle that all of us recognized. I can’t describe it, but I remember the seven notes.

When my Dad heard the whistle returned, he hobbled to the next car to find one of his brothers, whom he hadn’t seen since they were both sent off to war. Neither knew the other one had been injured.

I’m glad my Dad shared those stories with me. “Taps” has sounded for him, and so many other veterans. As Ken Burns discovered, there are still some who remember those days of sacrifice. Learn their stories now, before “Taps” is played again.

My favorite status update so far on Twitter:

The late season tropical event named Ida made a direct hit on our section of the Gulf Coast, but the effects were relatively minor. Ida peaked as a category II Hurricane with 100mph winds as it entered the southern Gulf of Mexico on Sunday around noon. Ida steadily weakened throughout Sunday night and Monday as she raced towards the northern Gulf Coast. Strong s’west wind shear and cooler waters took the punch out of this system as it gained latitude.

Tropical storm force winds, with some impressive gusts, were recorded by most the coastal reporting stations across our area. The peak wind speed was a 62 mph gust reported at Alabama Port. The winds were most intense between 9pm and midnight as Ida neared the coast with 60-65 mph sustained winds. Most of the intense winds stayed just offshore. This tropical storm weakened steadily in the early morning hours on Tuesday. Winds were reduced to 50 mph at 3 am. And, we saw winds of 45mph by 6am as the system drifted over Mobile Bay. Ida was classified as extra-tropical by 9am as it stalled near Foley, AL.

Storm tide values averaged 3-4 feet above predicted tide levels, and most coastal flooding was relatively minor. Power outages were spotty. And most areas saw 3-5” of rain with minor street flooding reported. All in all, there were just a few limbs to pick up and some leaves to rake for most Gulf Coast residents.

Rain totals from the NWS Mobile

ALBERTA,AL (C)           3.06      ANDALUSIA,AL(C)          --

ATMORE,AL (C)            5.41      BEATRICE,AL(C)           --

BAY MINETTE,AL (C)       4.00      BIG CREEK LAKE,AL(D)     --

BARRY STEAM,AL (D)         --      BROOKLEY,AL (A)        2.86

BLACKWATER RIV,AL(D)     2.86      BOGUE HOMO,MS(D)       3.04

BUCKATUNNA,MS(C)         3.10      BUCKATUNNA CK,MS(D)      --

BREWTON-MURDER CK,AL(D)  4.14      BAKER,FL (D)             --

BREWTON,AL(C)            5.50      BAYOU LA BATRE,AL (D)    --

BUTLER,AL(C)               --      BEAUMONT,MS (C)          --

CHATOM,AL(C)               --      CRESTVIEW,FL(A)        4.39

CENTURY,FL(D)            1.66      CLAIBORNE,AL (D)       0.00

COFFEEVILLE,AL (D)         --      CODEN,AL (C)           3.90

CRESTVIEW,FL (D)         3.73      DAUPHIN ISLAND,AL (C)  2.65

DOTHAN,AL (A)            1.16      DESTIN,FL(A)           2.21

EVERGREEN,AL(C)          3.35      EVERGREEN,AL (D)       3.16 (MURDER CK)

EVERGREEN,AL(A)          3.55      FAIRHOPE,AL(C)         3.02

FOWL RIVER,AL(D)           --

FISH RIVER,AL(D)         3.05      GEORGIANNA,AL(C)         --

GREENVILLE,AL(C)         3.15      HIGHLAND HOME,AL(C)      --

HURLBURT FLD,FL(A)       1.91      JACKSON,AL(C)          2.50

LEAKESVILLE,MS(D)        0.00

MCLAIN,MS(D)             2.38      MILTON,FL(D)           4.15

MILLIGAN,FL(D)           3.55      MILLERS FERRY,AL(D)    0.95

MOLINO,FL(D)             3.97      MERRILL,MS(D)          2.79

MELVIN,AL(C)               --      MAGNOLIA RIVER,AL(D)   4.22

MOSSEY HEAD,FL(D)        3.81      NEW AUGUSTA,MS(D)      3.25

NICEVILLE,FL(C)          3.10      POINT CADET,MS(D)        --

PCOLA-11ML CRK,FL(D)     4.88      PINE APPLE,AL(C)         --

RIVER FALLS,AL(D)        2.10      ROBERTSDALE,AL(C)      3.53

RUNNELSTOWN,MS(D)        3.29

SHOAL RIVER,FL(D)        3.73

SNOW HILL,AL(D)            --      SPRING HILL,AL (D)       --

THOMASVILLE,AL(C)        3.49      VESTRY-RED CK,MS(D)      --

WIGGINS,MS(D)            1.60      WIGGINS,FLNT CK,MS(C)    --

WALLACE,AL(C)            4.15      WAYNESBORO,MS(C)       4.05

WHATLEY,AL(C)              --

Tropical Storm Ida continues to head our way… The center of Ida is located at 29.5 North and 88.8 West.  Maximum sustained winds are at 60mph. The system is moving to the North at 10 mph. A decrease in forward speed, and a turn to the n’east is expected tonight. Ida is gradual becoming extratopical.

The weakening trend will continue throughout tonight as Ida tracks over cooler waters in the  northern Gulf, and moves ashore. 4-6 inches of rain is expected, especially tonight. Also, we will see tides 4-5 feet above normal along the coast. High tide will occur near daybreak Tuesday. Winds gusting to tropical storm force are expected tonight and Tuesday morning.  So far, tides have been running 2-3 feet above normal, as of midnight tonight.

Winds have gusted as high as 62 mph at Alabama Port. We have seen sustained winds over tropical storm force at many locations in our area.

Here it is, November 9 and we’re having to deal with tropical weather!

As our Chief Meterologist Jason Smith was explaining during an afternoon meeting in the newsroom, this is an extraordinary event.  When the temperature in the Gulf starts dropping, it robs tropical systems of the energy they need to thrive and survive.  That’s what is happening, but it will still leave us with a lot of rain and high wind especially Monday night into Tuesday morning.

BTW, we’ll be offering extended coverage tonight.  Our 5 p.m. newscast will stretch until 6:30.  The 9 p.m. newscast will go until 10:30.

It’s been fun watching certain “out of town” media come to town and try to become instant experts.  I just watched a live interview with Dr. “Saron” Hollinger of the Baldwin County school system. 

It made me think of a reporter who was dropped into Mobile as Katrina approached, doing a live broadcast in front of the U.S.S. Alabama.  She said, “The ship behind me has decided to wait it out, and remain docked here”.   That’s true.  It didn’t move .

Ida is now a tropical storm. The center of Ida is located at 27.5 North and 88.4 West.  Maximum sustained winds are at 70mph. The system is moving to the NNW at 18 mph. The weakening trend will continue throughout today as Ida tracks over cooler waters in the central and northern Gulf. The system will also encounter stronger wind shear today. 

Quite a bit of rain is expected on today, tonight, and Tuesday. Also, we will see tides 3-6 feet above normal along the coast by tonight, with tropical storm force winds. We will see spotty power outages, along with limbs and debris on the roads. Travel tonight is not advised.

This center is now poorly organized as it is racing our way. With the 18 mph forward speed, and the center located about 180 miles south of Dauphin Island as of 1 pm, we may see landfall just before midnight tonight. The computer models hint at landfall in Mobile County or Baldwin County, as a strong tropical storm.

Tropical Storm Ida is entering the southern Gulf of Mexico. The center of  Ida is located at 26.6 North and 88.3 West. Winds have now decreased to 70 mph. The system is moving NNW at 17 mph and the central pressure is 996 mb.

 A surface high pressure center off the Carolina Coast will combine with Ida to produce strong pressure gradient force winds across our area, especially along the coast. A gale warning is in effect from Monday afternoon until late Tuesday.

Ida is being steered by a mid to upper level trough over the western Gulf and a mid to upper level ridge over the eastern Gulf and northern Caribbean. As it’s moving North the storm is falling apart and it’s pushing the main convection well ahead of the center of circuulation. That means the worst weather will be occuring today.

Across our area, we expect quite a bit of rain, especially on Monday afternoon. We will see tides above normal along the coast in the range of 4-6 ft., with winds to tropical storm force on Monday and Tuesday morning. Conditions will improve later Tuesday as Ida weakens further and tracks north and east of our area.

Hurricane Ida

Hurricane Ida is currently located near the Yucatan Channel and is entering the southern Gulf of Mexico. The center of  Ida is located at 21.2 North and 86.0 West. Winds are at 90 mph. The system is moving n’west at 10 mph and the central pressure is 983 mb. The hurricane force wind field is very small with Ida. However, tropical storm force winds extend 140 miles from the center.

A hurricane watch is in effect from Grande Isle , LA to the MS/AL border. This includes Jackson County, MS in our viewing area. A surface high pressure center off the Carolina Coast will combine with Ida to produce strong pressure gradient force winds across our area, especially along the coast. A gale warning is in effect from Monday afternoon until late Tuesday.

Ida is being steered by a mid to upper level trough over the western Gulf and a mid to upper level ridge over the eastern Gulf and northern Caribbean. The forecast track is now a little faster and the models are in agreement that this system will pass very close to our area on Tuesday. Some strengthening is expected today, and then a weakening trend will begin on Monday. Ida will be tracking over cooler waters in the central and northern Gulf. The system will also encounter stronger wind shear on Monday and Tuesday. We expect Ida to transition into an extra-tropical low as it reaches the northern Gulf Coast.

Across our area, we expect quite a bit of rain, especially on Monday afternoon and Tuesday. We will see tides above normal along the coast, with winds to tropical storm force on Monday night and Tuesday. Conditions will improve of Wednesday as Ida weakens further and tracks north and east of our area.