[CTGirlNoMore]

Originally Posted by FL2MT

Good point, I'd much rather have a dozen threads on CD from folks asking questions than see them having to be rescued (at huge taxpayer expense) during or after a storm because they didn't know what to do.

Plus keep in mind that it's not always the newbies. I lived in Miami during Katrina and Wilma and both times watched lines of hundreds of idiots with their cars lining up at gas stations the day AFTER the storms went through. I guarantee those weren't all people who just moved to Florida, they were locals who thought 'oh it's just a category 1, I don't need to get gas or get a generator or any of that stuff' and when they found themselves with no power, no A/C and the food in the fridge going bad so they suddenly become the ones running all over town trying to find ice or gas or whatever else it may need be.

This happened to my boss's brother. Their mother has lived in FL for 20+ years (maybe even 30+), both my boss and his brother have homes there and vacation there several times a year. They have been through hurricanes there, and the brother moved there permanently 10 years ago. Experienced people.

But when the 2004 storms hit, he was one who was "oh, only Cat 1" and was in line for hours and hours waiting to get gas the day after it hit.


Not always the newcomers.............

[beachmouse]

I noticed earlier that I only had a quarter tank of gas in my car, and am shortly off to top it off while running a few errands. For any new folks reading here, remember that something like 95% of the gas in the state comes in by fuel barge, and a disruption a couple hundred miles down the Intracoastal can result in fuel shortages far away from the storm.

Round here, the gas shortages were just as bad after Katrina as they were after Ivan because the Intracoastal between here and Louisiana refineries was effectively closed to barge traffic for a while to make sure debris was adequately cleared from the channels.

[annerk]

I think I'm going to bring a lawn chair and sit in the bottled water aisle at Publix watching people duke it out over the last bottles of Evian. Cheap date.

Filled my tank a couple days ago and have only driven about eight miles since, not going to top off 1/4 of a gallon.

[THX 1138]

Originally Posted by annerk

I think I'm going to bring a lawn chair and sit in the bottled water aisle at Publix watching people duke it out over the last bottles of Evian. Cheap date.

Filled my tank a couple days ago and have only driven about eight miles since, not going to top off 1/4 of a gallon.

One of my co-workers left early to get gas cans filled, his kids go into withdrawal when they have no power for their electronics gizmos, games and etc. I guess board games like Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit under candlelight is to 19th century?

[hiknapster]

I consider myself to be fairly intelligent person but when I first encountered the possibility of a hurricane I absolutely panicked. I had also been through Hurricane Gloria up in the northeast and thought I knew what to do. I didn't. In Florida it is a different ballgame. This defintely falls under the "there is no such thing as a stupid question" category. Please ask questions. Kind and helpful people will answer them.

Hurricanes are unpredictable and can turn at a moment's notice. It is sometimes a myth that you have days to prepare. When Charley hit in 2004 it pulled a 180 and took Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda, Cape Coral, Captiva, Sanibel and Fort Myers by surprise. And it did it in a couple of hours. It was too late to go anywhere. And if you work, you can't hedge your bets and go well ahead of time. Not if you want to keep your job.

I am ashamed to admit I drank a lot during Charley. I was a nervous wreck. I had a lot of family around me, though, so I guess I didn't have to be firing on all cylinders. In Mexico, you can't buy alcoholic beverages after a certain point, before the storm comes in. Bear that in mind. You do have to have your wits about you. It depends, though. Sometimes the storm will knock out power and there is no work but a direct hit is not a threat. In that case, it is the equivalent of a blizzard party up north!

But watch closely and take it very seriously.

I work with a young whippersnapper that is a Florida native. She says that hurricanes are no big deal. That's because she is never been through a direct hit. Most people don't. The odds are on your side. But all it takes is once.

[sware2cod]

Originally Posted by Sweetbottoms

You start to see all the posts for just a Cat 1 storm.

"Do I put up my shutters"
"How much food should I have stocked"
"Should I evacuate"

Those of us who have been around the block (28 years here now) probably won't even watch the weather channel till it hits and only to watch them try to impress us by standing in the street with 70mph winds telling us how we should never attempt that. Its great to go to the store just to watch you're own live version of Jerry Springer. I think everyone just needs to chill out, we all know the news and weather hype you up (more ratings of course) and the storm either always changes or is a slight rain and wind maker!

Hours before Charlie hit, I saw a home in Punta Gorda that had plywood on all the windows. I thought, "what overkill."

The storm unexpectedly turned and strengthened and the eye went directly over that house. They planned for the worst and hoped for the best. Sometimes this pays off.

[FlyMIA]

The models Firday Morning should be pretty good. NOAA has had their gulfstream jet up in Issac at 45,000ft. They are getting data which they have not gotten yet and this data should be in the 5am models. It seems like Florida as of now may not get such a direct hit besides for the lower keys. The lower keys will probably get a tropical storm. However at the same time its not a good thing really if the models keep tracking west in that it will bring a stronger storm to the other gulf coast states. It is still early and anything in the cone can be hit and those Islands can do crazy things to storms tracks but the cone is only getting bigger on the West and smaller on the east.

Originally Posted by THX 1138

One of my co-workers left early to get gas cans filled, his kids go into withdrawal when they have no power for their electronics gizmos, games and etc. I guess board games like Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit under candlelight is to 19th century?

All the games are on I-pads now!
I agree though, I am young but I am just about the breaking point of technology crazy generation. I saw the internet explode, I did not know how to use a computer at 6 years old, I enjoyed board games and going outside. Its nuts these days.

[hiknapster]

There's activity going on beyond Isaac, as well, and not just the recent storm that recently fired up. There's also another enormous storm just about to pop off the west Africa coast. Things are cooking and a-whirlin.'

[FlyMIA]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

There's activity going on beyond Isaac, as well, and not just the recent storm that recently fired up. There's also another enormous storm just about to pop off the west Africa coast. Things are cooking and a-whirlin.'

Yep, we got a train coming through. Joyce is clearly no threat. The other, who knows way way too early.

[THX 1138]

Originally Posted by FlyMIA

All the games are on I-pads now!
I agree though, I am young but I am just about the breaking point of technology crazy generation. I saw the internet explode, I did not know how to use a computer at 6 years old, I enjoyed board games and going outside. Its nuts these days.

Once the storm clears, there are solar chargers you can buy to charge up the gadgets and your neighbors will thank you since it will be totally green with no generator noise and/or carbon monoxide poisoning.