Worried about Ivan now too!

[tuckerkeys]

weather.com and the weather channel both show it as a more southerly storm...........ivan is even going to effect aruba, which almost never gets storms b/c it is so south! i'd be more concerned if i lived in the keys....

somewhere i read that a pressure gradient in the gulf MAY push it towards FL, like charley, but if it does stay south, then it would skirt around that pressure and be on the left side of it, therefore becoming a threat to Mexico and TX....seems as if the weather channel is changing the forecast every couple of hrs..... we are still going on friday though. i have a feeling everything will be ok....

 

[GADISNEYGIRL]

We are leaving on 9/14, when (if it were to turn and head into FL) Ivan would likely hit. We have family/friends all over FL, and just suffered lots of wind damage from Frances ourselves (middle GA), and I say ENOUGH already with these landfalls! DH is checking Ivan's projected path every 3 hours, and of course it is different every time.

There is so much to consider...FL definitely could use the tourism $$, but I don't want to pay money to slosh around in the rain and/or sit in our room. And, as others have mentioned, there is the problem of gas and other supplies. FL residents have much more need of those things than we do. Plus, I would feel bad expecting CMs to "entertain" us and make our stay "magical" when who knows what is going on in their personal life! Every time we've called CRO lately DH has inquired about the CM's experiences with Charley and Frances. So far they have all said just minor things, debris, etc...but this has to be hard, psychologically!

Guess all we can do is keep praying that it will stay to the south. I certainly don't want it to cause damage for anyone, but FL needs a break!

Pixie Dust to everyone!

 

[lucy_love_]

hi

im due to fly from the uk to mco on mon 13th sep. i have seen lots of projected paths for ivan now, some hitting florida and some missing it, but im still panicking. its really awful for the people of florida. i read somewhere that someone had to book into a hotel while frances passed as it was safer. lets all hope it loses strength. this is my first wdw trip.

be safe everyone.

love

lucy

 

[blowinbubbles]

Originally posted by tnkrbell
I cant believe this!!! I just checked the latest on Ivan look!!

Yep, pointed directly at *MY* house! And I promise ya, if Ivan is a Cat 4 or 5, I'm taking my kids and gettin' the heck outta dodge! I live way too close to the coast for comfort!

 

[susy]

I know, I know... I already cancelled.... We were supposed to go tomorrow. There are all kinds of things to consider.... What if we are up there and can't get back? What about gas shortages, etc? I feel better,actually, now that I did it-well, I actually just postponed things....

 

[erinch]

this is not a flame--but could I point out, for those who are yearning for Ivan to stay further south....

I have a good friend who is married to a baseball player from the Dominican Republic. I don't think I'd ever given much thought to the Caribbean countries before--but now am seeing it through her eyes.

It is a great grief to anyone with family in these countries that the weather channels and all the rest of us tend to act as if the hurricane's impact only exists for us in the States. Whereever Ivan goes, unless he weakens, someone's lives will be ruined. I so much wish our mantras would be "weaken...weaken" not "go someplace else"

 

[jwfla422]

No flame here...erinch...I understand. Always seems like these tiny islands in the carribean get destroyed by these storms. Not only are the islands so small (the eye of the storms are bigger than the islands), but half of these people live in huts so just a nasty thunderstorm could blow away their home. And, as for air conditioning, they normally don't live with it. It is sad but it is reality.

WE wish these storms would not affect anyone, really. BUT, as someone just weathering Hurricane Frances here in South FLorida I keep thanking our lucky stars that we just came out with no damage.

Yes, there are inconveniences like not being able to buy perishables for a few days, but we are lucky enough to have our lives, our home, our electricity and our phones. And we forget how lucky we are to have these things everyday until some misfortunate act of god happens. Some of those are so much less fortunate.

When it comes to Mother Nature someone always seems to lose out. We only WISH these disasters would weaken or go somewhere it wouldn't effect anyone but it's an unfortunate twist of reality that someones good so many times ends up being someone elses bad

If we get another severe hurricane in Florida this season our homeowners insurance will go through the roof leaving MANY without insurance. (we're already bound to have an increase because of the 2 storms we've had). Insurance is already high that many can't afford it (which was related to the aftermath of Andrew some 12 years ago)!

 

[mommyseven]

It's headed for my house, too.

We are actually leaving for Disney on Saturday am. and will be there until Tuesday (quick trip). It looks like we'll be heading home just before it hits us. I'm not so much worried about the vacation, but I am worried about my ability to get back home. My daughter will be housesitting, but she doesn't know how to work the generators. And, I'm worried about my furkids.

We've been agonizing over deciding what to do.

 

[kimmie]

The weird thing is, now I have the national hurricane center in my favorites!

I know exactly when they update things too!

Looks like the latest tracking has it out in the Gulf off the coast of Florida Monday morning.

As someone else said, I hope it just fizzles out. Not a reality, but I can hope, right?

 

[Pigsty333]

Well, we moved here a year ago to get away from all the winter weather in NY. We weathered Charley with minor damage, Frances gave us some leaks in our window and into our garage, still no phone service. We lost power for a couple of days. Thank god I didn't listen to my husband and bought a generator, batteries, special lights. He thought I had spent too many, but he has been proud when we were the only ones with power and hooked some of our neighbors' refrigerators.

If Ivan comes this way, as it looks closer to us at 5:00 PM on 9/8, I will probably try to get a room in Disney and stay there with my kids. I need a break. The last two hurricanes I took in two families with kids and I ended up with a total household of 17 people for over a week. This time we decided to get a hotel. Lets see what happens.

We thank you for your prayers. However, there are still a lot of people who need help.

Check out the American Red Cross website or www.wftv.com which is a better local channel. Their weather guy is excellent and has been on the money. He went on the air 3 hrs. before the national weather center and said Charley was going to hit Orlando directly and he was on the money with Frances.

Take care and whenever you come, enjoy your stay in Florida and remember that this is unusual weather for us.

 

[Pigsty333]

Hurricane Frances Recovery Drive
Come out and lend a helping hand when your Central Florida neighbors need it the most. WFTV's Hurricane Frances Recovery Drive will be held at the TD Waterhouse Centre on Friday, September 10th from 7:00am until 5:00pm. The drop-off area is located on the South Side of the TD Waterhouse Centre.

The Central Florida Blood Bank will accept your much needed blood donations. Second Harvest Food Bank and the Salvation Army will accept your non-perishable food, and you can also donate to the SPCA.

Specific Needs:

Second Harvest/Salvation Army
Non-parishable food items, ready to eat food, fruit, juice, gatorade, peanut butter, jelly, soups & stew (pop-top cans), canned meats, ravioli, beans, rice, cereal, snack (chips, cookies & energy bars).

We DO NOT need:
Water, baby food, clothing and ice.

Second Harvest, Salvation Army and The Red Cross also need financial contributions.

For more information about Second Harvest Food Bank, or to donate online, visit www.foodbankcentralflorida.org.

For more information about The Salvation Army, or to donate online, visit www.salvationarmyorlando.org. You can also reach them by phone at 1-800-SAL-ARMY.

SPCA
The SPCA DOES NOT currently need any more pet food donations, but they DO need Cat Litter. However, the SPCA is in dire need of Money Donations so that they can purchase medical supplies. Due to the loss of power, they have lost much of their stock. The SPCA would prefer Money Donations instead of cat litter, since they can buy the litter at a discounted rate.

Florida's Blood Centers
You can also help out by donating blood at one of the on-site Blood Buses.

Date(s):
2004 Sep: 10

Location: Downtown Orlando

Venue: TD Waterhouse Centre

Contact Phone: 407-841-9000

Time Info: 7:00am - 5:00pm

Price Info: Donations

 

[safetymom]

http://www.tampabays10.com/
Is another great station to watch. Their weatherman D. Fletcher is great.

Tom Terry on www.wftv.com was very accurate with the storms that hit Orlando.

No hype on their part just the facts.

 

[Princessmom2]

Originally posted by FSUMARCHIEF
Dan, could you post a link to the site where we can see those maps? I've been to the noaa site, and either I haven't looked in the right place, or this is from something else. I would love to be able to follow the models like that. Thanks Dan!

I'm not Dan, but I have been looking for this site since the beginning of hurricane season and finally found it!

www.wunderground.com

click on the correct hurricane and hit Computer models. It is very interesting to see what the models predict each day. Unfortunately, at this time, the forecast is not looking good for central FL, but it changes daily. And they really don't know at this time what Ivan will do past the next few hours. You just have to sit and wait. We have beautiful beaches and great weather, but you have to deal with hurricanes in August, September and October, some years more than others. (And we always hope we don't have to deal with them!)

Cathy

 

[rocketralph]

It's still way to early to tell where Ivan is going.

 

[DMRick]

Here is another one we like. Click on the map on the left about halfway down and it will get bigger with projections.

http://flhurricane.com/index3.php

I know they said that FL has never been hit with a hurricane that has been within 100 miles of where this one started..but I think it's not looking so good.

 

[DMRick]

This is a great (although very, very sad) slide show on the hurricane season this year. Some pics that really sum it up. There is singing, so you can either listen to the music or turn it down. The impact is the same IMO.

http://www.silverforkmedia.com/hurricane2004.html

 

[tnkrbell]

Well now I am so scared again!! Ivan has moved closer to florida and is a catagory 5!!!! Frances was only a 2 and I cant even imagine a 5!!!

 

[WDW LifeLong Fan]

Originally posted by tnkrbell
Well now I am so scared again!! Ivan has moved closer to florida and is a catagory 5!!!! Frances was only a 2 and I cant even imagine a 5!!!

Pixie Dust and Prayers AGAIN!

Good Luck.

 

[dpic]

Here's one of the main sites I've looked at--other than the National Weather Service. This gives a lot of maps and info. One thing of note--the probability path has changed many times over the past few days. Hopefully, it will keep adjusting and fizzle and die somewhere in the Atlantic.

Tons of PD to anyone in its path...

http://www.crownweather.com/tropical.html

 

[tnkrbell]

Hopefully, it will keep adjusting and fizzle and die somewhere in the Atlantic.

I sure do agree!! Oh please let it adjust and fizzle!!!