Hurricane Irma- Now a tropical depression

[missnic]

DD is s freshman at Flagler College in St Augustine. She flew home to NJ this morning to wait out storm. Looks like we made the right decision because there is now a mandatory evacuation in downtown st Augustine and for her college

Her dorm is on the lobby level which flooded during Matthew. She out everything up as high as she could and we are hoping for the best!

Poor St Augustine. They got hit hard with Matthew. All of St Augustine is under a mandatory evacuation as of tomorrow morning. I'm just north, in Jax, also in what will be a mandatory evac zone (but we're not in a flood zone, nor anywhere near the coast). We're going to try to ride it out though, depending on tomorrow's updates.

 

[sara_s]

In Boca Raton, not near a flood zone. We're shuttered up and taking our dog and 2 cats to my parents' in West Boca. Riding it out with shutters, plenty of supplies, and a planned safe zone for the most intense parts. Hopefully Irma will continue to be a fast-moving storm.

 

[hereyago]

Everyone stay safe!

 

[BrinkofSunshine]

Going to ride it out in Orlando. My anxiety is out of whack but I'm trying to stay calm.

 

[Shutterbug]

Andrew compared to Irma.

 

[wonder whisper]

We have many friends in Key West and we're expecting to be there in about 30 days. Really hoping for a minimal impact.

Then don't look at the latest Euro model. It show Irma going right up the spine of Florida and hitting the central part of the state (read: Orlando) with cat 3 to cat 4 winds.

 

[Hannahinwonderland]

Trying to stay calm considering that I am not even in Florida, but feeling very worried for my friends there. It's not looking good.

 

[Mirielle]

I have an unattended house in Central FL that I'm a bit concerned about. Guess if it blows away neighbors will call me...when they can.

 

[MillauFr]

Did you see the picture of the reinforced steel cell phone towers in the Islands (forget which one). It was bent in half, made me think of the cranes.

Edit: The tower was in Barbuda.

The cranes are typically braced against a building as it rises. This helps their stability. They also let them spin in the wind here during major storms. Last winter we had several severe storms and watching the 60+ cranes all spin around in Seattle was quite a sight.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

Having never been in a hurricane.....I have a question. For those of you " riding it out" what do you do while the storm is happening? Will you try to watch weather on tv if you have electricity? Do you just sit and wait?

 

[marie1093]

I hate to say this, but after seeing the path that Irma is taking, I've decided to cancel my MNSSHP trip. Was going to fly down from NY on the 14th and go to WDW on the 15th, and fly back the next day...but Orlando looks like it may suffer through catastrophic damage, and even if my flight is not cancelled, the airport may not even be in working order, not to mention WDW. I also have a friend in Ocala who I was planning to share this with and now she doesn't even know if her home will still be standing by Tuesday morning. The situation is just more and more terrifying by the hour and I can no longer defend putting myself in danger if I have the ability to stay safe, especially since I would be traveling of my own free will and there are millions of people who have no choice but to brace for this in their homes and risk losing everything. I know Disney is offering refunds for the Halloween party date that has already been canceled, but what about ones that haven't been so far? Or will I just have to take the loss? I'm beginning to not care...safety comes first. My hotel room (off-location) can be canceled for free with no charge until the day before I leave, and I'm not sure about my JetBlue flight (I have insurance, though). Does anyone have advice? Should I wait another day or two to see if Irma moves again or even what happens when it hits Central Florida? Or should I just cancel now and see what I can do in terms of getting my money back? My thoughts and prayers are with everyone in the path...please stay safe.

 

[pearlieq]

We're in a high rise in Tampa in evacuation zone A, so we're probably going to have to bug out if it doesn't turn significantly. We have a hotel reservation about 45 minutes inland where we will hunker down and ride out the storm. There's very little chance of flooding there and it's a 3 story hotel so hopefully it will stand up tolerably well to the high winds. We have pets so we have limited options for sheltering. I was very grateful to get a room!

We considered Atlanta, but it seems safer to stay more local rather than spending 8+ hours on the road in questionable conditions, especially with the cats. We also considered Orlando, but we were able to find a place closer that should be about the same, storm conditions-wise, so we figured closer was better. We're stocked with water, food, gas, and supplies, so we should be able to get through it OK. I'm not expecting it to be fun, but it's the price we pay for living in FL.

Best wishes to all!!!

 

[pearlieq]

Will you try to watch weather on tv if you have electricity? Do you just sit and wait?

That's the plan! TV and devices as long as we have power and signal, and then we'll break out the books and deck of cards. Maybe try to make friends with the other evacuees. Maybe I'll finally learn how to crochet like I always wanted...

Oh, and stress eating. Lots and lots of therapeutic kettle chips and cookies.

 

[Chernabog#1fan]

Having never been in a hurricane.....I have a question. For those of you " riding it out" what do you do while the storm is happening? Will you try to watch weather on tv if you have electricity? Do you just sit and wait?

Sit in a bathroom or other enclosed place and wait. This one has me more nervous though.

 

[Hannahinwonderland]

I hate to say this, but after seeing the path that Irma is taking, I've decided to cancel my MNSSHP trip. Was going to fly down from NY on the 14th and go to WDW on the 15th, and fly back the next day...but Orlando looks like it may suffer through catastrophic damage, and even if my flight is not cancelled, the airport may not even be in working order, not to mention WDW. I also have a friend in Ocala who I was planning to share this with and now she doesn't even know if her home will still be standing by Tuesday morning. The situation is just more and more terrifying by the hour and I can no longer defend putting myself in danger if I have the ability to stay safe, especially since I would be traveling of my own free will and there are millions of people who have no choice but to brace for this in their homes and risk losing everything. I know Disney is offering refunds for the Halloween party date that has already been canceled, but what about ones that haven't been so far? Or will I just have to take the loss? I'm beginning to not care...safety comes first. My hotel room (off-location) can be canceled for free with no charge until the day before I leave, and I'm not sure about my JetBlue flight (I have insurance, though). Does anyone have advice? Should I wait another day or two to see if Irma moves again or even what happens when it hits Central Florida? Or should I just cancel now and see what I can do in terms of getting my money back? My thoughts and prayers are with everyone in the path...please stay safe.

I would just cancel now. I think Disney will refund you. If not, safety comes first.

 

[gotomu212]

I hate to say this, but after seeing the path that Irma is taking, I've decided to cancel my MNSSHP trip. Was going to fly down from NY on the 14th and go to WDW on the 15th, and fly back the next day...but Orlando looks like it may suffer through catastrophic damage, and even if my flight is not cancelled, the airport may not even be in working order, not to mention WDW. I also have a friend in Ocala who I was planning to share this with and now she doesn't even know if her home will still be standing by Tuesday morning. The situation is just more and more terrifying by the hour and I can no longer defend putting myself in danger if I have the ability to stay safe, especially since I would be traveling of my own free will and there are millions of people who have no choice but to brace for this in their homes and risk losing everything. I know Disney is offering refunds for the Halloween party date that has already been canceled, but what about ones that haven't been so far? Or will I just have to take the loss? I'm beginning to not care...safety comes first. My hotel room (off-location) can be canceled for free with no charge until the day before I leave, and I'm not sure about my JetBlue flight (I have insurance, though). Does anyone have advice? Should I wait another day or two to see if Irma moves again or even what happens when it hits Central Florida? Or should I just cancel now and see what I can do in terms of getting my money back? My thoughts and prayers are with everyone in the path...please stay safe.

If it were me I wouldn't cancel quite yet. You still have almost a week, this is a pretty fast hurricane (it's suppose to be in GA by Monday), and it could be a very very bad storm for Orlando, but it could also shift/fall apart quickly over land. Hurricanes are so incredibly hard to nail down- some unexpectedly strengthen and wobble, some stay right on track, some hit land and just fizzle.

If you can cancel the hotel up until the 13th and have insurance on the flight you really have nothing to lose by waiting through the weekend. Worst cause you still cancel.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

Good luck to all in Florida, I will be praying for you.

Does not look like path has changed.

 

[nd5056]

I don't recall seeing Hurricane projected path aligned this way...

 

[Shutterbug]

From NHC.
Maximum sustained winds are near 150 mph (240 km/h) with higher
gusts. Irma is a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson
Hurricane Wind Scale. Some fluctuations in intensity are likely
during the next day or two, but Irma is forecast to remain a
powerful category 4 hurricane as it approaches Florida.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 70 miles (110 km) from
the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 185
miles (295 km).

 

[kidshop]

Having never been in a hurricane.....I have a question. For those of you " riding it out" what do you do while the storm is happening? Will you try to watch weather on tv if you have electricity? Do you just sit and wait?

I rode out Ivan, which hit late at night/overnight. We had a generator and watched the news until it went out. We were about 10 miles inland so I know my friend sat on the back porch and watched some, but I went to bed with my 2 young kids. The sound of the howling wind for hours I will never forget! The sound is terrifying and relentless. Fortunately, most of the damage was downed trees and loss of electricity. My house was about 4 miles inland, and fared better than my host! Our power lines are buried and it never went out. Hers was out for a week.