Irma now / Jose later

[DDGator]

Hey guys,

Currently riding out Irma about 40 miles west of the center of the hurricane.  Weather here is getting very sketchy.  Rain is in sheets, the wind is absolutely howling, and the electricity is flickering.  So far so good ... Hopefully we dodged a really big bullet in West Central Florida because this storm weakened so much in the last 8 hours.

Duane

[MikeInTexas]

Hang in there.  Hope all turns out safe and sound for you and your family.


.

[ECR]

How's things going Duane?

[DDGator]

We did fine, thanks.  My house is built to take hurricane force winds.  We lost power for 17 hours but thankfully it is back.

Pinellas County is recovering slowly.  Most people still have no power.  Traffic lights are mostly out.  Yesterday a lot of roads were blocked by downed trees and utility lines.  Only a couple gas stations open because they don’t have power to run the pumps.

Tampa International just opened at 10am this morning and I am on the first flight out right now for work.  We were the only plane on the ground at TIA.  More flights resuming soon.

The biggest problem has been connectivity.  My AT&T cell phone has been nearly useless.  I can get some text messages out, but no real data to speak of and voice calling is intermittent.  This is part of the post-hurricane preparedness that is really frustrating.

However — the good news is that most people had minimal serious damage.  The flooding was minimal because of the path and direction of the storm.  The “reverse” storm surge nearly emptied Tampa Bay, which gave the rain somewhere to go.  Most serious damage was the result of fallen trees.

I learned a lot from this experience and will prep a little differently next time, and give some thought to leaving if it is going to be a Cat 2 or better.

[MikeInTexas]

That is good news Duane.

Hopefully they will fix the power grid, I understand it's a soup sandwich in FL and has been that way for a while.

[backupr9]

My wife and I left Amelia Island last Thursday, a day before the mandatory evacuation.  Ended up on back roads through SC and GA, but made it finally to Knoxville, TN.  Have now gotten back to Columbia SC (wife is mobility challenged, so we can usually only drive about 5-6 hours comfortably) and will return home tomorrow.  Storm surge in JAX was pretty bad, but Amelia was pretty much OK.  Friends who stayed said my house appears intact, but I won't know about the interior until tomorrow.  One son rode it out near Orlando, lost his roof and scared the beJesus out of him and the dogs...he will never stay again, which is what about half of our friends who stayed have now said.  If you can afford a week away in a motel or with friends, why not leave early and be safe...truly you cannot do anything to change the result by staying.

[tracker]

Great to hear, John; I was wondering how your family fared during Irma. Thanks for telling us about the situation as you know it. A friend of mine lives in North Hampton in Jax and he went to Columbia. He is home now with minimal damage.

[MRC]

Good to hear John, hope your home and possessions are OK and secure.

Your comment on leaving is what my Son-in-Law said.  He stayed for one and it was horrible.  He would get the car packed and leave a day ahead and take off at 2:00 A.M. in the morning and drive right out.

He always made a vacation out of it and the kids thought it was fun.  They were lucky and never experienced much damage.

Anybody heard from Norm?

[tracker]

The key element is to leave ahead of time and/or when very few are on the road. If I had waited a day later during Rita it would have been clean and green on the road. During Harvey I was much better off staying home rather than leaving for several reasons. This was different because it was all rain and little wind, which enabled us to maintain power. Every situation is different. Additionally, a large part of New Orleans is below msl, which is a huge factor in flooding potential.