Event Coverage Batten down the hatches ~ A storm is coming.

Looks like the worst storm to come out of the Atlantic, a catagory 5 is taking aim at Florida,Georgia and South Carolina,I sincerely hope Texas is spared from another hard hit. stay safe guys! HRP

 

You as well, Danny !

 

The oceans are truly alive this year. I think there are 4 named storms right now. A rough year for sure. The global warming folks are having a field day.

 

Hold on tight, HRP! Weather's getting wild, tornado reported near me yesterday. Those hurricanes hit you guys first & severe, be safe all.

 

Worrying about my stuff here in Leland NC as well. Seems a lot of storms come right up the coast around here.

 

I just heard Florida,Georgia,South Carolina & North Carolina are already making preparations. HRP

 

I'm in south Florida. Yeah, we're preparing as best as we can. Stores are a madhouse, bottled water, canned food & plywood is a hot commodity around here.

Sure hope Irma busts a hard right turn.

 

Best wishes for a safe passage of these storms to all our fellow rodders in the southeast.

 

Thank God for family. Son in law and family buttoned up our house in Vero Beach today. First time in 20 years they are planning to evacuate. I pray everyone there stays safe.

 

We're in the Florida Pan Handle between Panama City and Destin. The Latest on the Weather Channel has Irma turning slightly to the east. Works for me, we don't need no stinkin hurricanes. Irma is supposedly the most dangerous hurricane in the last 10 years. Y'all stay safe.

Gary

 

My eldest grand daughter and family live in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands and the eye of Irma just about dead centered the island today. She is the manager of a big Marriot Hotel there which has a
"hurricane proof" section where they and hotel staff plus FEMA people rode it out. Son got a call from them late this afternoon, they are all OK, but the whole island is torn all to pieces. They have not been able to venture out of hotel and have no idea if they still have a house to call home or not.

 

Hope for the best, it looks like the whole East coast is in for nasty weather. May all ya'll, families and friends make it thru this safely.

 

I'm prepping up here in NY just in case. Even if we get the sloppy seconds it could be quite a "blow".

 

The Caribbean Islands are really getting pummeled. Years ago I spent time in Trinidad and Grenada, and got to like a lot of what was there. Then a couple years later they had a terrible hurricane in Grenada that ripped about half the roofs off of the houses, historic old buildings etc.
Of course after the storm rips off your roof, you then get torrential rains, so pretty well everything is ruined. And it takes much longer to get repair materials to the Islands, so the long term destruction is very bad.

My brother lives in Florida, we'll see how his house fares.

 

My grandson Matthew is now living in Casselberry,Florida,not too far from Orlando and is a student at Florida Technical College,I talked to him this morning and he said most of the people in that area plan to ride it out. HRP

 

Danny, you be careful!!! It looks like Irma may have Hugo's GPS route!! If so, all of SC and the western half of NC is in for a beating!! I was in Greenville, SC in 1989...I saw 14" I-beam billboard legs bent over at 90 degrees...and that was in Spartanburg!!!

I would LOVE to see Irma make a real hard right and pass between Hatteras and Bermuda, but prognosticators don't expect that to happen! As I told Grandadeo (Lee), everyone in FL, GA, SC, NC, TN and VA please roll your pants up and keep your head down! And keep us posted on your conditions! I'll be hunkered down in eastern NC, hoping for a glancing blow!

 

Brenda & I just finished cleaning up the trees we lost a couple of months ago in a huge storm and I am afraid if the high winds come through here we will be d=faced with the same situation again. HRP

 

I drove over I75 this morning and there was considerable traffic headed north. Headed back over it to go home and it was a parking lot. To many people in a hurry, probably an accident. I see Talladaga Speedway and Atlanta are opening their campgrounds for evacuee's.

 

Closing up our office now in Boca Raton. I'll be hitting the Turnpike in my 2017 ATS-V Caddy Coupe, Elvira, late tonite after I lock down my place. Heading to the Pittsburgh area.

 

I doubt there are too many homes in this country that can ride out a Category 4 or 5 hurricane. Normal homes are not built to withstand that type of wind. If it were me I'd haul ass. Looks as if those of us in the Florida Pan Handle may have dodged a bullet. We'll see.

Gary

 

We're ten miles inland but all that gets us is we don't get the storm surge. I have flood insurance and it was really cheap because we are not in a flood zone. But I expect wind. This storm will cover the whole state so there is nowhere to go in FL to get out of storm. Many mandatory evacuations in coastal communities and many shelters open for those people. Will try to post my status periodically.

 

Be safe people.

 

Frank Carey, just saw on the Weather Channel they said they didn't think the current track will bring hurricane force winds west of Talllahassee. We're about 100 miles west of Tallahassee. Also saw on local TV that lots of south Floridians are heading to the Pan Handle and hotels are providing special rates to evacuees. It might be an option to you. I sure hope they have it right as we are pretty close to the Gulf.

Gary

 

I work for a major facilities maintenance company and all week we have had our network of contractors boarding up and shuttering our customers facilities in Florida, Ga, and SC. Just did the same 2-3 weeks ago with Harvey in S. Texas. The amount of money these major retailers spend at times like this would shock some people. It's pay now or pay later, at a much higher cost. We have spent the last three weeks mostly dealing with hurricane damage prevention. Everyone please stay safe out there!

 

My next door neighbor just passed away. His daughter is up from Tampa. She might lose more than just her dad this week!!

 

Another thing I have noticed that these storms seem to have done is it has diverted the nation's attention from division (racial, political, socio-economic, etc,) and brought us closer together as humans. I hate to sound so insensitive, but these storms might just be what the nation needed. Don't get me wrong...as I said before, I'd love nothing more that Irma taking a hard right and shooting out to sea! And I feel miserable for those devastated by Harvey in TX and LA, but we as a nation (and a world) need to decide to be "humans" instead of black-and-white, Democrat-and-Republican, etc. The more we help our neighbors, the easier it is to see that we have more in common than we have differences.

OP and moderators, please feel free to delete this if it is warranted. I just hope we can all help one another through this storm so it will be easier to "weather the next storm", no matter the source!

Stay safe everyone, and if they say leave, please heed their warning!!!

 

Prayers for your neighbor's family. That's a really tough spot to be in!

 

On a good note Jose seems to be heading out over water, but maybe not good for Bermuda.

 

We have our houses and business shuttered up and are as prepared for the storm as can be. We are due east of Lake Okeechobee and a mile from the ocean. We are on a sand ridge that runs along the east coast of Florida and are 27' above sea level so we shouldn't have any storm surge. Our old house was built in 1938 and has been reinforced over the last 5 year. We are staying right here and riding it out. Will try to post info after the storm passes. David

 

Thanks!!