How bad do hurricanes suck? (Tampa, Clearwater: hotel, homes, schools)

[Maggi07]

Originally Posted by FloridaKash

Thanks, no you got me a bit worried. lol. I live in Pinellas and my address is designated as no-flood. Should I still be concerned about getting flooded? How do they decide on this designation?

Sorry! Just pay attention to what's coming, that's all.

If it's a cat 5 I wouldn't trust anything anywhere in Pinellas not to flood. In a 1 or 2 you're probably fine. In a 4, you could possibly end up on your own little island, which isn't really a good thing.

They base the evac zones on the height of the land and the distance to the water. Remember, on top of water, you have to think about wind too.

Also remember you could possibly go your entire life and not have a direct hit from a storm. Pack up your emergency kit so you're ready and just enjoy life.

[starwins]

Sorry to break the news...but everything eventually meets its end. Just stay further inland if you want to protect yourself and your family. There's no way in predicting the weather, but you can plan ahead to be safe.

Statically, you are more likely to meet your death from a heart attack than a natural disaster to put things into perspective.

[912]

Originally Posted by On-da-Beach

ah yes... another Florida = Hurricanes thread...

I'll prefer this weather to ANYTHING up north where I hear everything is better.

Hurricanes strike all along the coast from Maine to South America so to focus on Florida makes no sense to me. Hugo passed through the panhandle and dumped more rain on Chicago than Florida a couple of years ago.

Make no mistake, hurricanes can be devastating, but to worry about a potential seems foolish to me. I worry more about the other drivers on the road since one of them is more likely to have a negative impact on my life than the weather.

but that's just me...

I agree with everything that you said, except....

Hugo hit South Carolina in 1989. It never hit Florida...or Chicago.

[LoveTheHyatt]

Originally Posted by 912

I agree with everything that you said, except....

Hugo hit South Carolina in 1989. It never hit Florida...or Chicago.

I think we may be talking about Hurricane Ike. It hit Cincinnati (and all of Ohio) pretty hard.

Effects of Hurricane Ike in inland North America - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[mary54mi]

We moved here, 10miles inland from Tampa Bay. We figured we get early warning to evacuate in hurricaine season, where in Michigan, where we moved from, we got tornados that did not warn at all. We can still enjoy the pristine Gulf waters, with an just under an hours drive.
We also bought hurricaine shutters for our home even though the neighbors laughed at it "cuz we never get hit" was all they had to say.

[912]

Originally Posted by LoveTheHyatt

I think we may be talking about Hurricane Ike. It hit Cincinnati (and all of Ohio) pretty hard.

Effects of Hurricane Ike in inland North America - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ike hit Texas, not Florida. He may be referring to Ivan?

[GreenieTA]

Thanks, guys. I appreciate all your honest input. Some may think "worrying about hurricanes [or any natural disaster] is silly" but, people who've never had any experience, don't know what to expect! We're comfortable with what we're used to! Thanks, again!

[LKJ1988]

Originally Posted by 1coolcustomer

A Cat 2-3 hurricane hit the Bay area directly back in 1985, Elena. It completely knocked down Indian Rocks fishing pier and did major damage throughout the Bay area but mostly on the Pinellas Gulf side. Also the Pinellas coastal area would do virtually nothing to protect Tampa in the event of a major hurrican direct hit.

Some forecast models have the entire downtown Tampa area under up to 20 feet of water in the event of a major direct hit. We've been very lucky but even a Vegas 25 cent slot will spit out a million bucks every great once in awhile.

Not so buddy. It sat well offshore in the middle grounds well over 100 miles away from Tampa. Never even made landfall in the Tampa area. We just got some strong southwest winds about 60mph out of that system.

Better check up on some facts.

[On-da-Beach]

Originally Posted by 912

I agree with everything that you said, except....

Hugo hit South Carolina in 1989. It never hit Florida...or Chicago.

I stand corrected...thanks!

was it Ike that skirted the panhandle then turned north and swamped the Mississippi Valley up into Chi-town?

[CTGirlNoMore]

My aunt and uncle live in central FL and I know they got a bit of damage with the storms that hit in 2004. Granted nothing like any coast people, but from what they say it was pretty bad.

I don't say this to freak you out and I know smack central FL may not get hit as hard as the coasts, but I also don't think anyone can say it's totally safe.