Irma -- taking the toll

Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.
I’m no hurricane prognosticator, but from that radar image (13:30 PDT) it looks like Irma is going to have to take a pretty sharp right, pretty quick to hit the west coast of Florida… is it possible it is gonna miss?

Anything is possible dave. It might miss a direct hit of the Florida peninsula but even then the storm is so large that all of Florida will still be "hit". Last time I looked at the maps it was heading for the West Coast of Florida but that was late this A.M.

Hurricanes also experience what is called "wobble" which makes it difficult to forecast with 100% accuracy the actual track it will take. You have a very good idea but a wobble can take it off at an angle.

I only hope that all the people on the highways get off the road and find shelter now. An automobile is not what you want to be in to ride this thing out.
 
My mother in Sarasota is hunkered down on a cot in a rated shelter. I expect her condo to be damaged so already have booked her flight north before the cell towers go down. Even if the towers all survived they couldn't handle the expected surge in traffic.

Flight is scheduled as a short hop first as I expect the first flights out won't be able to refuel in Florida.
 
Flight is scheduled as a short hop first as I expect the first flights out won't be able to refuel in Florida.

Exactly, one charter guy told me that to pick up some folks on the West Coast of Florida they also had to have another plane "tanker" the jetfuel as none of the APO's could guarantee availability. The price was astronomical.

No one wants their G5 or Challenger sitting on the ground with winds even half of what is anticipated.

A Hawker 800 -- well they'll probably let it sit there!
 
I think the storm surge with this one will be devastating. Most people don't really understand the consequences of this until it happens, the power of the ocean is unrelenting. Hopefully all our friends and family will fare well. Lets not forget Texas as well who are still recovering from Harvey.
 
Administrator
Joined 2004
Paid Member
I am very worried, I have a number of friends beside Mike as well as family who are in the path of this storm.

My only aunt died suddenly at the beginning of this week and my parents (dad 91, mom 85) both with health issues have been temporarily displaced by the storm - I am keeping my fingers crossed that damage on Hilton Head is minimal.
 
Great hurricane coverage on NBC2 in Fort Myers:

YouTube

Since the hurricane is moving slower than projected the tide timing won't be quite as synchronized with the storm surge. Also the track is currently moving slightly to the East. Bad for Marco Island and Naples, but potentially Fort Myers damage gets downgraded from biblical to extremely bad.
 
I am very worried, I have a number of friends beside Mike as well as family who are in the path of this storm.

My only aunt died suddenly at the beginning of this week and my parents (dad 91, mom 85) both with health issues have been temporarily displaced by the storm - I am keeping my fingers crossed that damage on Hilton Head is minimal.

Sorry for all your issues, will miss you in Oct.
 
Administrator
Joined 2004
Paid Member
We left town yesterday (near Ft Myers) and all was closed, all was boarded up. The only place open was a small liquor store apparent selling booze in spite of the city ban.

Heading north wasn't bad until Tampa, then the traffic jams started. We got off the major highway to get gas, which was a 30 minute wait in line. Everyone was polite, patient and helpful, despite the long wait. We headed up the older roads and had them almost to ourselves, other than a lot of police and a convoy of gas trucks headed south. We also saw several southbound convoys of ambulances. Another thing we had not seen before was all the billboards with their canvas removed from the framed and rolled up at the bottom. In safe keeping against the wind.

We stacked up everything in the house up high to try to keep then out of the storm surge flood. If it doesn't go over a foot, almost everything will stay dry. Up to 3 feet and a lot of it will be OK, but not all. The problem is that when the walls get wet, they mold - and that's going to be a big problem.

The eye of the storm should be over our neighborhood in a few hours. No idea how long it will be before we know the damage at home and when we can return.
 
I live in San Juan, PR and Irma hit the north with winds of up to 90 mph only because we were lucky in that the eye was north of the island for 45 miles or so and the strong winds were at the north of the eye. Nevertheless we got pounding rain and as I write this there are still 300,000 households without electricity. I got my electricity last night. The eye diameter was compact, like 30 miles or so and the 185 mph winds were tightly wound to the eye wall, like in a tornado. Luckily Florida is not getting that kind of wind force. Some of the leeward islands like St. Marteen -half French and half Dutch-, Barbuda, Tortola-British- got a direct eye hit with 185 mph winds and it was devastating. Presently the the UBC, IBC require a 145 mph wind design for Puerto Rico and I believe for Florida also which I am sure that will be upgraded in the near future.
 
Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.