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Stormy Weather

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#12
C C Offline
(Sep 22, 2022 10:33 PM)Secular Sanity Wrote: Power back. Quality time with girlfriend and reports of exciting adventures. No damage to home. Roads out and the golf course is now a lake. Tennis courts are swimming pools. Didn’t get an ice chest or power bank for iPhone as suggested. Was able to sneak power from a facility with a generator (Keurig coffee pot in truck on girlfriend’s lap with extension cord  Big Grin ). Live and learn.

Good to hear (about the home not damaged). Puerto Rico: your destination for tropical adventure and keeping survivalist skills honed...
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#14
Yazata Offline
Hurricane Ian has just passed over Cuba, is strengthening and (given the uncertainty in the models) is headed straight for Tampa Bay as a (currently) category 3. The State of Florida has declared a state of emergency, widespread evacuations are underway, and the roads out are jammed. The Tampa/St. Petersburg Intl. airport closes down at 5 PM tonight and is still jammed.

There's fear that the storm might stall out over Tampa for as much as 12 hours at hurricane strength, driving massive storm surge and dumping massive amounts of rain. So flooding is almost a certainty. It's looking like by this time tomorrow, it could be bad.

Florida emergency officials are running around making preparations like their hair is on fire.


[Image: 161142_5day_cone_no_line_and_wind.png]
[Image: 161142_5day_cone_no_line_and_wind.png]




[Image: 161142_peak_surge.png]
[Image: 161142_peak_surge.png]

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#15
Yazata Offline
Track appears to have shifted south a bit so that Tampa/St. Petersburg is no longer in the bullseye. It looks like it's now projected to come ashore to the south closer to Fort Meyers.

There are reports of flooding in Key West. Ian is currently just north of the Dry Tortugas, far enough west that Key West isn't getting hurricane force winds, but the combination of storm surge, rain and tropical storm force winds are hitting this little city hard.

And word is trickling in that Cuba's rickety electrical grid has totally collapsed and the entire island is blacked out.

Naval Air Station Key West and McDill Air Force Base in Tampa have been evacuated. 5,000 Florida National Guardsmen have been activated with high-wheeled vehicles, boats and helicopters. 2,000 additional National Guardsmen from adjoining states are mobilized to help.
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#17
Leigha Offline
Hmm, I posted something this week and accidentally deleted it, meant to edit it. Oh well.

I live 30-40 miles inland from Tampa Bay area and it's really windy and steady rain...I'm not in a flood prone zone, so my area didn't need to evacuate. The lake in my backyard has risen substantially since earlier this morning, and these are just bands. I think my area should get a CAT 1 storm, according to the tracker, but they didn't expect it to hit the shoreline, even if it is slightly south now, as a CAT 5. I still have electricity...so that's good. The problem with this storm is it's slow moving, so it's going to be chaotic like this through tomorrow. Sad There are tornado warnings in Orlando and south Florida.

If you're the praying kind, we could use some prayers and good thoughts here in Florida.

As a side bar, the uncertainty of storms is huge. It's not an exact science, because you're at the mercy of limited technology. So, I thought this storm was hitting head on in Tampa Bay area (as the news outlets were projecting), but it's moved to Sarasota/Ft Myers, and sadly, many people evacuated Tampa area to Ft Myers. I can't imagine what they may be feeling.

If you live in a hurricane prone area, you get these warnings A LOT. Over a CAT 1 or 2. The news networks go into full panic mode and gas stations run out of gas, grocery store shelves are bare, etc...and more often than not, your area doesn't have nearly the rainfall or wind damage that they predicted. But, the closer you are to the ocean and rivers, etc...you'll deal with storm surge. I'm sharing all this to say, that many people stay put, even in mandatory evac areas, because they feel that the news ''will get it wrong,'' again. It's a tough call sometimes, because evacuating is a horrible experience unto itself, but better safe than sorry.

Wind has really picked up, but...my local news channel just stated that there will be gusts of 75 mph winds here in my county and 50-60 mph sustained for 24-36 hours. In the scheme of things, that's not terrible, but gusts of wind can take down trees, etc.

There's no thunder or lightning, though.
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#18
Yazata Offline
Hi Leigha my friend -

You are definitely in my thoughts, along with your fellow Floridians.

Regarding not believing all the hype, I saw video earlier of a small number of people at the beach out swimming in the crazy waves. Surfers or something, who probably figured it wouldn't be that bad and was a good chance for some excitement. I hope that they are still alive.

Don't let the street sharks eat you:

https://twitter.com/US_Stormwatch/status...1104817152
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#19
Leigha Offline
(Sep 28, 2022 09:14 PM)Yazata Wrote: Hi Leigha my friend -

You are definitely in my thoughts, along with your fellow Floridians.
Thank you, Yazata! Much appreciated.

Quote:Regarding not believing all the hype, I saw video earlier of a small number of people at the beach out swimming in the crazy waves. Surfers or something, who probably figured it wouldn't be that bad and was a good chance for some excitement. I hope that they are still alive.
lol This is always a thing down here...hurricane parties and such. Rolleyes

I learned a new weather phrase today - ''reverse storm surge.'' https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topsto...r-AA12modS
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#20
Leigha Offline
The wind has picked up again and the rain is consistent and coming down harder. There are waves in the lake!

Still have electricity and the internet. It’s pretty awful in Ft. Myers/Sarasota area though - winds at 125-140 mph now. There are people who didn’t evacuate in Zone A of these areas and the water is up to the roof in some neighborhoods. Ugh, they can’t send first responders out when the wind is this strong. It’s going to be a long two days. This thing is crawling across the state at 8 mph.
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