Quarl,
If Frances comes to town it would major suck, I hope you havent uprighted those trees yet. Hang in there buddy Ive got my fingers crossed. Take care.

Frances please go away.

Chap

Here's an off-topic item to take your mind off the destruction going on around you.


http://members.cox.net/m4_4u/news_report_from_Iraq.wmv


M

That's funny
Very Monty-Python-esque

I think we're outta here early, early Friday morning. We are most likely going to head inland up to Atlanta with the rest of our family and two nurses (and the animals). Should be a fun trip...


Wish us all luck...

This is going to suck major donkey d!cks.....

If you need anything while in atlanta Let us know.

Qarl, take care and be safe.

We are going to fly to Biloxi (already planned gambling weekend). We're flying out of Tampa Saturday morning, if the airport stays open.

We'll see everything Monday around noon, hopefully everything where we have left it.

What's going to make this bad is...

Bigstorm, compared to Charley
Stronger winds compared to Charley
Expected 15-20 hours of hurricane force winds, compared to 2-3 hours of winds with Charley.
Direct hit from the east coast. Central Florida hasn't had a direct hit from the East in the last 100 years or so.

Plus this is only 3 weeks since the last storm, and everyone is still recovering, supplies are low, and there is tons of debris left to be picked up from Charley (cut up trees, roof parts, etc.)

We just spent $$$$$ getting everything fixed from the last storm (roof, replanting trees, cutting up fallen trees, etc.). ... just to turn around and have to do it all again.

I'm majorly depressed right now...

make sure the teener's insurance is current.


Sorry, this sucks man. I've got a good friend in Kissimmee and they're worried, too.

I only just struck me that you guys are talking hurricanes...

Hope you'll all be safe and the damages won't be too bad
Keeping my fingers x-ed for you people out there

cheers,

Jeroen

I just found this thread, I would have posted my woes here, good luck everyone. Qarl, just when Orlando gets their power back, this. . .

I have a 20kw Diesel generator on my truck and I have slept in the back many a night.

Jay

I just got back from a my fishing trip to see Charley's destruction... It was horrendous and only missed the place that we have been staying for the last 20 years by 5 miles... It was odd, hardly any damage and then mass destruction all at once..

We'll be thinking of you guys down there and I'm really sweating this one because my teener is in Orlando getting a full suspension rework at Mark's house(while I'm creating more HP for it). he is right in the path of the storm and already wrote to see how good my insurance is on the car.

any of you guys that have to migrate North, come up our way... The Mountains break those storms up really well!

You are evacuating out of Plant City? I am in Tampa, I didn't think it is that big of a deal.

I mean, it is a big deal, just I didn't think that it is for us.

My mom is down in Boca Raton, just north of Ft. Lauderdale, hopefully it won't hit down there too bad. Good thing for her she has the hurricane windows or whatever, so she has no shutters to put up.

My Dad in Orlando said that they have a mandatory evacuation. They expect Francis to be a VERY dangerous storm. Stay safe everyone living down that way!!

No evacuation for Plant City, we're just leaving for a pre-planned long weekend of gambling in Biloxi.

We've been watching the forecast and there's a possibility of hurricane force winds in Polk county, about 10 mi east of PC. For Charley, we were getting 50 - 60 mph winds.

The winds will be bad, but the storm is expected to slow down and stay over FL for 16 - 24 hr, with rain over 12" and with all of the rain we've gotten in the last 2 - 3 months, it's going to flood....

Het all, Get the heck out of there! Leave your stuff for the Insurance Companies.

Qarl, Take good care of Hunter for us. We'll be thinking of you guy's over the weekend.

This is only projected of course. Charley hooked to the right for reasons unknown. I don't mean to frighten anyone, but if you are in the way of Frances please go elsewhere. Good Luck.


http://www.hurricanetrack.com/Java2/westatl.html

my brother is 4 miles from the coast in fort lauderdale, just bought a house, I hope he enjoyed his 2 months worth of it!

Just wanted to say best wishes to everybody in the path of this monster. I am kind of a weather nut and have been wathcing this one since it was way out in the Atlantic. Could be worse than Andrew if it strengthens before landfall.

The real bummer is that there is still a lot of hurricane season left, looks like one of the worst in years.

Good luck and stay safe.

I'm sitting here looking out the window and it is lovely day.
Tomorrow will be shit.
With Saturday turning to deeper shit.

We're on the west coast but with the size of this thing it will cover the state.

Check it out here...

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/


Paul

great.....I'm supposed to be at DisneyWorld on the 13th......what a way to treat a guest

hope all goes well down there for you guys and gals.....

Once again I have to pray for my parents and grandma in St. Pete. I'll remember the rest of you Floridians as well...

Ain't it the luck ...

My week (weak?) long vacation starts Friday (was plannin' on pulling the interior, remounting the backglass, and installing new carpeting), and much of it will be spent indoors keeping the chimichanga-huahua dog from going airbourne. I'll duct-tape her to the stereo cabinet.

Stock up on the usuals ... food, batteries, lanterns, car/computer mags, etc.

It amazes me when you look at the satellite imagery and it is almost totally clear over the entire state of Florida. In less than 12 hours that will all change.

Good luck to all of you in Florida. This is bad, especially after Charley hit earlier.

We're watching it here in Savannah as well. It's supposed to move west of us, but we're still in the possible path, so you never know. I made hotel reservations in Atlanta just in case we have to evacuate.

Coincidentally, I just read an old novel I bought in a used bookstore by John MacDonald (the Travis McGee series author) titled Condominium, which was based on a massive hurricane strike in the Naples, FL, area. Typical novel with lots of lying, cheating, stealing, sex and destruction, but it did have some pretty good hurricane info. Gave me some things to think about for my next house as far as storm resistance.

We decided to stay put.

Storm weakened slightly and is taking (hopefully) a more Southern course. Winds are expected at 85 mph in Orlando which is better then the 120 mph originally predicted.

Plus, traffic north on the TUrnpike and I-75 is bad and there are worries about gas shortages. Last night the Turnpike was backed up 65 miles from Wildwood (north exit) to Orlando.

We started getting fearful of being "stuck" out on the road with Hunter and no gas... or having Hunter stuck in the van for 12, 16, or 20 hours dealing with traffic.

So we decided to stay put and board up a couple of the more "exposed" windows.

So we shall see if we made the "right" decision.

We are going to stay as well.

We're boarded up and everything is put away outside and it looks like we won't get the worse part of it.

I'm sure we'll lose power and feel some winds though. My dad lives 4 blocks away. He has a 65KW generator that runs off of city natural gas. So we'll probably go there when the power goes.

Gotta have that AC. Good luck everbody...

dr

Be safe guys. This is one slow moving storm. Last time I checked it was moving a whopping 9 miles per hour. Wind and water damge will be huge.

I've got some plywood but I don't know if I'll put it up.

Wait a few hours and see.

Paul

I don't know Paul....I'm thinking that because we are close to the West coast we might be spared the worst. We did purchase water, food and batteries but no sheets of plywood. Lets pray for the safety of everyone in it's path.

It slowed down. 4 MPH and it is only a CAT 2 now.

Should be a lot of rain, and not that much wind damage.

The neighbor had a branch fall earlier, it wasn't very windy out either. There were 6 of them trying to move it, and they couldn't get it up to move it out of the middle of their yard. They got it out of the street somehow though.

I thought they were cutting it down, so it wouldn't fall. Saw a rope tied around it and whatnot. It hit my sisters friends car though... And I saw the break point.

We have the hurricane windows, so I get to watch it.

I'm taking the safe route, the plywood is up and supplies in hand. I've driven thru the areas hit by Charley 3 weeks ago, saw the damage, and said to myself "Let's be cautious". The teener is in the bodyshop, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
T.C.
Frances

I went ahead and put my plywood up. Worked for four hours in the sun. I was about to die!

Also brought two 5 gallons bottles of Z-hills water home from work.

Sunday will be wet.

Paul

TC,
I'm about ready to go into production with my front turn signal covers. I'll keep you informed.

Paul

Hey TC........Is that TC as in TC Davis?