[ricki]

Gustav has lost some strength over night down to 125 mph but could regain even stronger winds on Monday before landfall. They are also predicting a bad storm surge at present, 18 to 25 ft.. Hope the reality is much lower.

Feeder bands will likely rake over Florida for today dragging dangerous squall lines inside them. The holes between squalls may be larger today in some areas. Then again if the bands fragment later on the clear holes between squalls could shrink. There currently is a nasty feeder band being ripped SE to NW across South Florida and will likely make its way up and across Tampa and further north later on. There is another feeder band forming behind it to the south and to follow raking counter-clockwise across Florida as the center of Gustav tracks to the NW. The bands may continue to form and cross Florida while Gustav is still around.

So, challenging to dangerous conditions in many areas of Florida today, don't get into trouble in this one. There's going to be a high gust range of 10 to 15 kts. perhaps more even outside of squalls. Having the right sized kite up and being comfortable with it is key if you are going to ride in some of the clear holes. There are ten foot swells predicted for the west coast, big for that area, right? New kiters should sit this one out and even experienced ones if they aren't up for the hassles of gusty conditions, big seas in some areas and avoiding squalls.

Definitely don't want more readily avoidable injuries or bad press!