Irma

[Mike V. Florida]

Ready for the cat 5.

[Jacksonlll]

Matthew tore hell out of Hilton Head and it was a 2. I cant imagine what a 4 or 5 would do.

[jax55]

Everyone in the path of Irma, please be safe. Our hopes for a change in direction are being sent to you all.

[todd3131]

Mike where are you in Florida? My uncle lives in Naples in his own home I made arrangements to evacuate him if necessary today I am in Iowa and I'm the closest family

[Stretch Cab]

I'm a little north of Palm Beach and will be batting down the hatches so to speak tomorrow. Gas stations out of gas and stores empty. Guess a storm is at least good for business.

[todd3131]

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Please keep us informed about your situation as it changes and if there is anything we can do before or after the storm

[Synchro909]

Originally Posted by todd3131

Please keep us informed about your situation as it changes and if there is anything we can do before or after the storm

Ditto but from this distance, there is probably little we can do materially.
Stay out of the wind and stay high (on high ground!)

[JDupuis]

I'm scheduled to fly to Florida on Monday. Should I cancel?
Jeff

[H. L. Chauvin]

Hi J,

FWIW: From experience, lots to consider, too soon, for landing in Florida on Monday:

Do you have flight insurance paying for later rescheduling a canceled flight?

Flying to which specific part of such a large spread out state like Florida?

Who knows where Irma will be on Monday .... or will be headed on Monday?

With anyone trying to give an "unconditional" Yes or No direct answer ..... for advising you to cancel your flight .... just remember that with "unconditional" advice as early as today ..... 50% of advice to fly could be correct & 50% of advice could be incorrect.

Going to Florida to buy a Model A ....... WOW ..... that's different !!!

[Synchro909]

Just read this on a news site:
"Catastrophic damage will occur: A high percentage of framed homes will be destroyed, with total roof failure and wall collapse. Fallen trees and power poles will isolate residential areas. Power outages will last for weeks to possibly months. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months."
The site said that a Hurricane gets a cat 5 rating when the winds exceed 252 kph. Irma has clocked 295 with stronger gusts.
We will be thinking of you all as you deal with this monster.

[JDupuis]

We are booked into Disney world. I know that it is in land. But Irma is landing on Sunday. They haven't given a timeline of when Irma is going to stop.
I'm still good to go, but my loving Wife is really concerned. She booked the trip; she will be the deciding factor. If we go, I think rain gear will be in fashion. . Jeff

[toms32]

I have two brothers in Florida. One in West Palm and one in Port St Lucie. The One in West Palm has already book a flight Saturday morning to the San Francisco to avoid any problems and my other brother is thinking if he can get out to go to friends in Georgia. Things can obviously change but if you come, and Florida is impacted in the way it is expected they would probably close the park at the very least. Stay safe

[Jeff/Illinois]

Illinois has it's faults like anywhere else, but in the over 60 years I've lived here none of us have ever had to 'get out' to save your life and see thousands of square miles flattened by a storm.

A tornado is bad to be sure but the ones we've ever had anywhere around here are usually F-1's or F-2's where the actual tornado path is far less than a hundred yards wide at best and they are on the ground for maybe a mile or two then lift back up.

I can't begin to imagine a hurricane or a firestorm burning for many many miles we never have anything like that.

In summary, our antique cars are probably safer in the Midwest than Florida or the Gulf states and I'm sure that insurance rates reflect that.

[H. L. Chauvin]

Mr. Dupuis,

Flying in & flying out of Florida is one thing ..... visiting Disney for a few days is definitely a totally different scenario which dictates "strongly" considering a Retrograde Plan.

Even if experiencing the perimeter of a hurricane with your dear wife, please consider that there are strong possibilities that large or small communities could experience the bare "minimum" following conditions:

A. Power Lines Down; hence no electricity, no A/C, no fans, no ice, no gasoline for taxi's or rented cars, plus hotel, banks, store and restaurants closed because electric cash registers not working. No A/C in any restaurant or hotel in any humid coastal southern state is nothing but "total" misery.

B. Minor Street Flooding & Traffic Jams: Caused by malfunctioning wet electrical wires on cars & cars out of gas .......... not to mention the thousands of Ding Bat onlookers driving by to see what was damaged ..... plus today's modern armed Democrat thugs with hammers looking for glass store fronts with no lights inside the store.

C. Medium Wind Gusts: Umbrellas turn inside out, hats fly off, dangerous flying debris.

D. Store Shelves: Essentials on store shelves are all gone; e.g., no bottle water, no flashlights or batteries, no bread, crackers or cookies, no lamps,no Campbell soup, or anything ready-to-eat.

E. Return flights cancelled, no buses leaving town: Stuck in any tropical storm, large or small, means "Stuck".

Irma could still fool all of us like our famous 1965's Betsy that left the Gulf of Mexico, crossed Florida into the Atlantic, and came right back, and reminded every meteorologist that unexpected weather conditions can change rapidly over night.

Hope this helps.

[CHuDWah]

Originally Posted by Jeff/Illinois

In summary, our antique cars are probably safer in the Midwest than Florida or the Gulf states and I'm sure that insurance rates reflect that.

Yup - dunno about antiques but modern cars are at least double to insure. Course, some of that is due to Florida drivers being the worst in the nation, not to mention all the staged "accidents".

[California Travieso]

Originally Posted by JDupuis

I'm scheduled to fly to Florida on Monday. Should I cancel?
Jeff

Jeff,

It's supposed to hit Florida Sunday morning. They will probably cancel flights for a couple of days after that like they did in Huston.

David Serrano

[SeaSlugs]

Originally Posted by Jeff/Illinois

Illinois has it's faults like anywhere else, but in the over 60 years I've lived here none of us have ever had to 'get out' to save your life and see thousands of square miles flattened by a storm.

A tornado is bad to be sure but the ones we've ever had anywhere around here are usually F-1's or F-2's where the actual tornado path is far less than a hundred yards wide at best and they are on the ground for maybe a mile or two then lift back up.

I can't begin to imagine a hurricane or a firestorm burning for many many miles we never have anything like that.

In summary, our antique cars are probably safer in the Midwest than Florida or the Gulf states and I'm sure that insurance rates reflect that.

yea short of living along rivers that flood every year in IL a tornado is about the only threat. If you live in the hills they usually go right over with very little damage hence why they say leave your car and seek shelter in a low lying ditch BUT NOT culvert pipes...those act like a rocket engine nozzle - same with overpasses...worst places to be yet see hundreds of people seek shelter under them every time...

if your home do what the rest of us midwesterners do and poke your head out and see if you see it like a gopher.

i guess you could count salt as the biggest threat...

[2manycars]

We get a hurricane about every 20 years or so. 1985 was a good one. the famous one is 1938, before weather forecasting warned people.
I am 200 feet above sea level on the top of a hill, so I don't have too much trouble.

[todd3131]

I have been talking to clients and my uncle in Naples today getting him ready to evac if neccesary. I have one client in Orlando that was going to fly out for work on sunday but canceld the trip to stay home with her children and mother. I have a project in Key West that is uncertain what is going to happen and my client in Miami is prepping to head out soon.

They think is is going to hit florida and head north but where the center line is they won't know before friday at the soonest.

I am in the middle of Iowa but have spent most of my day prepping for this thing and this week we are finally getting some of our texas projects back up and running. You have to love a global economy combined with global climate change.

[Mike V. Florida]

Originally Posted by todd3131

Mike where are you in Florida? My uncle lives in Naples in his own home I made arrangements to evacuate him if necessary today I am in Iowa and I'm the closest family

He is on the other side of the state from me this storm is so large there will be no place not affected by it.

[JD 1931]

Plan on staying and now it looks as it is taking more eastern track, prepare and stay safe to all ....

[Jeff/Illinois]

Seaslugs I LIKE that 'I guess salt is the worst damage around Illinois' man that's the truth Thank goodness for beaters. And they hold up a hundred times better than they used to most cars of all makes I see running around here that are even ten years old look pretty good. It's rare to see one rotted out unless it has had poor body work done from a collision with a deer. Deer are more damaging to our cars than tornadoes even!!

Oh yeah and insurance. Some close friends moved last month from Illinois to Kansas to be near their daughter. He told me 'House insurance is FOUR times more expensive than back home for the same coverage due to all the tornado damage'. Yikes.

You guys down south take care and we all wish the very best for you. The news the other nite said one of the dangers from Houston they are warning folks about is to watch for snakes-alligators- and fire ants floating on the water. That would have to go for Florida too this coming weekend.

[SeaSlugs]

Originally Posted by Jeff/Illinois

Seaslugs I LIKE that 'I guess salt is the worst damage around Illinois' man that's the truth Thank goodness for beaters. And they hold up a hundred times better than they used to most cars of all makes I see running around here that are even ten years old look pretty good. It's rare to see one rotted out unless it has had poor body work done from a collision with a deer. Deer are more damaging to our cars than tornadoes even!!

Oh yeah and insurance. Some close friends moved last month from Illinois to Kansas to be near their daughter. He told me 'House insurance is FOUR times more expensive than back home for the same coverage due to all the tornado damage'. Yikes.

You guys down south take care and we all wish the very best for you. The news the other nite said one of the dangers from Houston they are warning folks about is to watch for snakes-alligators- and fire ants floating on the water. That would have to go for Florida too this coming weekend.

yea i saw videos of the floating balls of fire ants...awful haha. Yea cars seem to hold up pretty nice anymore - full size trucks seem to go to s**t real fast still though. Seen plenty of bubbled paint tailgates, holes in rear bumpers, rear wheel wells and cab corners on less than 10 year old trucks...

[old car guy]

To all my fellow Floridians. Please take heed and be safe. No matter where this monster goes in the state from what's showing we all are going to have some effects. I have been doing this weather thing 65 years and this is the first time I am actually have some fear of survival. Here inTampa were supposed to have wind gusts of 45 to 85 miles per hour. And that depends on the turn the storm makes in the southern tip of fl.
However the east side of Florida is going to have winds of upwards of 155 to 185 miles per hour . If it shags a little too the west that's what I will have here.
What ever the outcome we will survive with the blessing of the big man from above. anyone in Tampa that needs help email me if I can get there I am your man Godspeed to all

[H. L. Chauvin]

FWIW:

It is always sad to see on TV how after a hurricane has caused such terrific damage, that many residents never ever tried to heed the warnings. They never will.

Experience shows that even though today's residents already witnessed hurricane damages on TV in other areas, many will continue to always refuse to leave.

The most dangerous residences are the thousands of light non-structural House Trailers in trailer parks that blow away like empty tin cans on a windy street. House Trailer Manufacturer's Associations have lobbyist to insure that their very cheap structures do not have to meet the more stringent wind loads of Local Building Codes.

Local government officials who have no survival training whatsoever have abandoned their historically working military type FM radios and went to modern cell phones. Water rises, generators at bases of cellphone towers flood and cease to function, and an entire city is without communication for rescuing police, firemen, hospitals, etc. etc.

Many will wait until the last minute, and when they call, all of the neighboring town motels are full and there is no place to go.

Always best to stop to think about family survival, and to carefully plan in advance.

[Licensed to kill]

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I can't even imagine being in a situation where you know it's coming and there is nothing you can really do about it. My heart goes out to all that may and will be affected. About the worst we get is perhaps a forecast of -40 for a week and I can just dress for that and plug the truck in. I just can't imagine. Stay safe out there.

[glenn in camino]

All you Model A people:
GET YOUR CARS AWAY FROM THE PATH OF THE STORM. And get yourself to a safe, dry place on high ground.

[Step-down]

I just rented a car and left Miami at noon Wedesday and drove 26 hours to get out of Miami

[Mike V. Florida]

Originally Posted by Step-down

I just rented a car and left Miami at noon Wedesday and drove 26 hours to get out of Miami

Back to Danbury?

[toms32]

Just heard from one of my brothers in west Palm that both Fort Lauderdale and Miami airports will now close tonight. This means that his flight out tomorrow morning is cancelled and he can not get out. I also understand that Orlando will be in direct sight of IRMA. If that does not change your plans nothing probably will.

[Jeff/Illinois]

Originally Posted by Step-down

I just rented a car and left Miami at noon Wedesday and drove 26 hours to get out of Miami

From what I saw on The Weather Channel last nite you must have made all of 10 miles

They showed people running out of gas on the Interstate, LONG lines of cars trying to get gasoline at the gas station, and police cars escorting gasoline tanker trucks. Looked like Mad Max over Thunderdome

Also on the news were stories of bottled water at $4 a bottle and some guy was hawking a plane ticket out of Miami for $10,288.

People at their finest. The reason I live in a rural farm area, away from crowds and people.

[al's28/33]

May God watch over and protect you all!! prayers that Irma will turn away.

[H. L. Chauvin]

FWIW:

Just like in powerful Betsy, Katrina, and the many others, uninterrupted interstate evacuation routes are so few that in some particular areas, traffic slows to almost a halt.

Next cars run out of gas in slow moving traffic and have to be pushed to the side of the congested highways where departing families are stranded in the middle of nowhere.

If large convoys of gasoline fuel trucks were dispatched immediately, lots more residents could still have fuel to safely evacuate where lots of more intense misery and danger could be avoided.

"Never" covered in our News are the hard core looters already thinking about where to look for the tons of very, very expensive .... both legal and illegal drugs .... located in all of our large U.S. cities today.

Cell phones and I-pads for serious hoodlum looters ..... these minor items are just mere bagatelle items and lagniappe items for amateur type looters.

Just like in any major crisis, in military combat, or in war ..... one sees either the very best coming out of an individual .... or .... one sees the very worse coming out of an individual at times like this ..... we are most blessed to be in this country where we have along history of helping one another at times like this.

Let us hope & pray for our wonderful neighbors.

[JDupuis]

Jetblue just left a message that our flight Monday is cancelled. Disney has refunded our tickets, so We're staying home.
That doesn't stop my wife, now we are headed over the border to New York state on Monday any way.
Jeff

[mhsprecher]

Originally Posted by JDupuis

Jetblue just left a message that our flight Monday is cancelled. Disney has refunded our tickets, so We're staying home.
That doesn't stop my wife, now we are headed over the border to New York state on Monday any way.
Jeff

Florida's loss is New York's gain!

[mhsprecher]

I was amazed at the destruction caused by Andrew. It looked like a big lawnmower went over some areas.

My sister-in-law is a nurse in North Miami Beach and she is working during the storm. Some people just can't leave for a variety of reasons.

[Mike V. Florida]

Made it through pretty much ok. I'm at work tonight. I have no water at home, that's the reason to fill up bathtubs and such.

[TerryH]

My brother lives in Davie, east of Ft. Lauderdale, and they got off pretty easy, without much damage, except power is still off. Would have been very different if it had been further east.

[Mike V. Florida]

Originally Posted by TerryH

My brother lives in Davie, east of Ft. Lauderdale, and they got off pretty easy, without much damage, except power is still off. Would have been very different if it had been further east.

Davie is two towns north of me.

[Bob-A]

The eye of Irma supposedly sailed right over us hear in Hernando County, FL. Lot's of wind and rain, but thankfully, no flooding in my neighbor hood. The wind did topple over a good size pine tree in our back yard. It missed my workshop (and parking for
my '31 deluxe roadster) by about 6 ft. All in all, I thank God for sparing us of any real damage, like with our health.

Bob-A

[JaxFLG8r]

I am a Floridian, born and raised here, as was my father, grandfather, great grandfather, and Great great grandfather. We expect Tropical Storms and hurricanes here, but have luckily dodged them recently. Lots of us in Florida were impacted by Hurricane Irma. The storm truly went from South to North, the entire 400 plus miles from Key West to the FL/GA border.

[Mike V. Florida]

Originally Posted by JD 1931

Plan on staying and now it looks as it is taking more eastern track, prepare and stay safe to all ....

How did you make out since it did go up the west coast.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

I'm SO GLAD I live here, most of the LEFT COAST Hurricanes FIZZLE out down near Mexico.
But, a few years ago, my Daughter, Cindy, experienced a TORNADO, by her workplace, in South San Francisco!!!---VERY RARE!
Bill W.