Stupid Hurricanes

[GnomeWizardd]

Damn man I am screwed!

http://www.weather.com/maps/news/atlstorm6/projectedpath_large.html

I am on the east coast directly straight over from lake okechobee maybe 10 miles inland. We are dead center of the storm track!

We wont leave actually we have people camping out at our house for this one.. If there is one house in Port St Lucie that can withstand a storm that big its our house ( me and my dad built it we are both state certified contractors) WE put in so many extras and actaully went above the 130mph wind code and have the 150 mph wind code on our house.

I guess all i am saying is keep me my familly hawk and others in prayer

[Squill]

I hope everything goes alright man. But yeah I live alittle south of Richmond, Va where that stupid Tropical Storm Gaston (I think that's the name) hit yesterday. I was in Richmond when it hit and let me tell you, it was nuts. Streets were flooding like crazy. My normally 20 minute trip took 2-1/2 hours. The downtown area called Shockoe Bottom (which has alot of clubs and restraunts) is a big lake right now. On my trip home I saw about 5-6 cars floating in water. It was just nuts, but I hope that everything goes okay.

[primesuspect]

Good luck, gnome. Hope everything works out okay for you guys :thumbsup:

[bothered]

So is it due Sunday?
I like extreme weather but we never have anything THAT extreme. Good luck with it. Some video if it does arrive would be interesting.

[LIN]

dang. keep safe you guys.


LIN

[RWB]

I don't want to be cuaght with my pants down again, ugh it was so embarrassing the last hurricane that came through.... LOL

hehe, so I've been shopping all day looknig for supplies.

[KingFish]

I hope all goes well.

[Black Hawk]

I'm getting the rain and some winds right now. Pretty normal here except for the panic that the news puts into people. My mom bought like 6 boxes of bottled water and flashlights.

[maxanon]

My thoughts are with you. The only thing is to not go out and check out the scene. The last "disaster" I went through was an ice storm. No power in winter and everything was coated in ice. I went out in my skis and had a blast. Then a huge tree limb snapped on top of this guy taking pictures. One of the eeriest things in the world. He made it, but it was intense.

[GnomeWizardd]

ah its just a hurricane! ive been through them before but never a direct hit. Last hurricane to hit PSL directly was hurricane David before i was born ( i think it hit in 81 )

[maxanon]

Just remember to turn off the rigs.

[GnomeWizardd]

heck they are gonna be disconected and packed in water proof boxes in the back of my parents towncar which will either be in the garage or on the way outta town

[Preacher]

I'm right there with you, Gnome. I started with the ice storms and blizzards in Maine, lived through the earthquakes and Firestorm 2003 in San Diego, and now I get to ride a hurricane out here in Jacksonville. We're looking at evacuating all the aircraft out of NAS Jax as well. I wish everyone on the path well.

[TheGr81]

Hope all goes well for you and everyone over there. I'm not too far from the projected path myself. I'm in Broward county. I'm actually kind of anticipating the storm. Don't get me wrong, I feel bad for all the people and the houses that they destroy, but I've never really been this close to a storm this big. I was a little kid when Andrew came, and we went to a relative's house and I just slept through it.

So they're predicting Cat 4 by the time it hits?

[GnomeWizardd]

its a cat 4 now cat 5 by landfall

[Clutch]

Hope all goes well Gnome. I hate to see it hit anywhere, but I don't want it to move any north and come to the carolinas.

[dragonV8]

Hope all stays well for you folk.

[RWB]

I hope my power doesn't go out again.... that was a nightmare last time, and that wasn't even a month ago!?! LOL

If it does it here, it better hit during the day.... I want to video tape that SOB! Hell yeah! Last time was fun as hell, getting out like a bunch of drunken idiots, to find out we were standing near a tornado not even a football field away, which tore up hundreds of trees and was the sound behind that insanly... scary, sound I heard and I think I mentioned in apost as soon as the power came back.
Scaaaarrryyy. Sounded like a giant playing out in the woods running down smashing every tree in sight, kinda looked like it too!

Most the video tape was bad cuase it hit at night :( But I'll be more prepared this time around, and I'll be out there with my camera when the **** hits the fan ;D

[muddocktor]

Good luck Gnome and the rest of you in Florida. I'm also keeping a close eye out on the track of this one too as it's following pretty close to the same path as Andrew and it started in almost the exact same spot as Andrew also.

BTW, if any of you want to track these bastards on your computer, one of the local TV channels here has a good, free tracking program you can download here (http://www.katc.com/global/Story.asp?s=1890695) . After you install it, just go to the drop-down menu and you can get live updates online, so you don't have to manually enter them in. You can also compare past storm tracks too, which is neat. :thumbsup:

[S_Wilson]

Good luck to you guys down there, seems like you've had a tough year.

Frances is looking pretty mean
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2004/images/frances083104-1215z.jpg

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ftp/graphics/AT06/refresh/AL0604W5%2BGIF/311513W5.gif

[Black Hawk]

Well the thing passed here some hrs ago and we only got like 2-3 rainshowers and no wind. Media made it seem like we were gonna get tropical storm winds and crap.

[GnomeWizardd]

your Lucky as you can see why by this image. I am already starting to batten down the hatches! I ma busting out the digi cam to take pics of all my **** just in case but ill do that after work today

BTW that dot should be over to the right a hair more since i am literally 10 min from the beach

[RWB]

WHat?!... Damnit, 2AM isn't day time!!! It's all the forecasters fault, time to write up a not so nice email and have them forecast this beast during the day!

I feel like I shoul go buy some 10,000W Lights or borrow some from the film students and have those garing in the night so I can video tape this thing.

[GnomeWizardd]

2am its still offshore by the time orlando get anything worth seeing it will be semi light

[TheGr81]

I just watched a few minutes of the news and for tomorrow and Friday...
Broward schools closed
Regular mass transit services will cease
Broward government offices closed
Shelters are OPEN
Officials have declared a state of emergency

For now that means... Five day weekend! w00t!! :celebrate

We're still not in the clear though. They still down't know exactly where the storm's gonna go... But they say it's bigger than Andrew.

Is the same happening where you are, Gnome??

[GnomeWizardd]

hell yea! BUT I GOT CALLED IN BY MY FATHERS WORK AND SPENT 10 HRS IN THE HOT SUN ( damn caps lock ) putting shutters on houses out in tradition ( aka where i work to but not for hanover homes ) and damn i am beat. just got home and i am now putting shutters on my house and going to bed later.


Everybody is putting up shutters and leaving We are staying. It looks like its gonna hit in vero beach or melborne which are 45 to 60 miles north. I pray it does. This is gonna be a close one. but i am confident our house can handle 150 mph winds without a problem

[Nomad]

...

[muddocktor]

I hate to hear that it looks like Melborne will take the direct hit; my wife's cousin lives there. :eek2: And just remember, Gnome, if the winds are steady at 140-150 mph, you will have gusts up to around 175-180 mph also, plus spawned tornado's too once it hits the beach. You all be careful and if this storm gets much stronger, you might want to consider hauling ass or at least going to a stonger structure than your home, though that's no sure thing either.

[TheGr81]

We're too far south to get anything that bad I think. We may get hurricane force winds but nothing too strong. We're not going anywhere unless the storm suddenly turns for south broward.

[Clutch]

.

[KingFish]

Haul ass, don't take a chance. A storm of that size will devastate everything in its path. Good luck to ya.

[Missileman]

I'm with Gnome. Been out cutting down trees blown over by Charley. Now we're gonna get hit harder and my roof is still a mess from the last one.

I am on the Southeast side of Orlando so I'm dead ceter of the projected eye track AGAIN. They're still projecting for us to have 12-14 hours of winds with the eye having a sustained 120MPH when it gets here. I gotta go find some plywood tomorrow and then I'm as ready as I can be I guess. Had a tractor trailer load of debris hauled out of my place today so at least it won't be blowing around and destroying more stuff. Just hope what's left of the roof can hold on. I'm gonna send my wife and the animals to the shelters for this one. House is still kinda banged up and I don't want them here if it comes apart.

Maybe we will all get lucky and she will turn north some more - I wish !!!

[KingFish]

Hopefully this won't be a repeat of Andrew that came across Florida and then hit Lousyana.

[entropy]

...

[GnomeWizardd]

hey Missleman come down to My house in Port St Lucie! Luckaly its projected a bit north of where it was earlier today. IF it hit melborne we will get 120 sustained. Hell erin hit and it was 85 mph sustained and that was actaullly quite fun. BUT i dont think ill be out playing in this one. Ill make sure my digi cam is clean and fully charged for teh pixors. IF i loose power for days Ill get ahold of Kanezfan and let him post an update of my status. BTW keep Hawk and overload in your prayers too they live not even 5 min from me

[Cyclonite]

/me joins in the fun!

[TheGr81]

/me is too lazy to grab a fesh copy of the map

EDIT: Actually slightly west of there... Shouldn't Florida's east coast be under topical storm/hurricane watches by now?

[Clutch]

haha, maybe we should just get one big map and everyone add in where they live at.

[KingFish]

I was thinking the same thing Clutch. I don't have the motivation to do such a project though.

KF

[Crazy Joe]

http://www.pinetar.org/images/storm.bmp

We should be good... All the members of S-M that are in the path will be in our thoughts and prayers...

[GnomeWizardd]

Gr81 looks like they shifted the forcast to land underneath St Lucie and above broward. BUT the worst of the storm is on your side.

[TheGr81]

Gr81 looks like they shifted the forcast to land underneath St Lucie and above broward. BUT the worst of the storm is on your side.
Yeah I saw that when I woke up this morning. Channel 10 is showing only hurricane stuff now. We're getting everything ready and put away. We have put down most of the shutters already. Still got lots more to do... We're not taking any stupid chances here.

We've all considered leaving the house, but really there's nowhere to go. The shelters are packed and most places won't accept our pets, and we're NOT ABOUT to leave them alone. My friend (ThehandofGod here) wants to go to a shelter. We think we'll be fine though. My room's gonna be the hideout if things get too bad. :) My mom is really afraid though. She thinks the storm is gonna come really close.

I feel really bad for the people not too far from here though, in the mobile homes... :(

My dad just got into an accident on the way to his job to pick up some stuff. No one is hurt, thank god. How much worse is this gonna get?! :mean:

So... How is everyone else's day? ;D

EDIT: My dad just got back home. The van's pretty banged up in front. Still runs, but the front right part of the hood is all messed up, the light's out. I wish I had a camera. I don't know how much my dad would appreciate that though...

[RWB]

Looks like I am driving back to Texas today sometime... gonna pack up my important stuff, get the hell outta dodge. This Hurricane is waaaay worse than Charlie, and will last alot longer too. Hell, it's the size of Florida!

Anyways, I am signing off, packing up, and getting my ass back to Texas where Hurricanes aren't as big of a deal as it is here ;)

That is, of course.... if I don't die a horrible death in an Accident. Wouldn't that be an irony? ;D

Anyways, I'll post again when I get the chance. It'll be a straight drive, no stops... can't get my loot stolen. CYA!

[muddocktor]

Have a good trip, RWB. Glad to hear you are clearing out! :thumbsup:

[GnomeWizardd]

Damn I just got home from work. I installed another 25 houses of shutters today and now its time to go in the attic nad start the strapping. the house isnt more than 2 years old and built to withstand 150 mph winds so i think we will be ok butstill I am gonna stick hurricanes straps on everything i can!

[bothered]

Best of luck you guys, We over here can only imagine what it must be like to go through a hurricane.

[TheGr81]

This will be my biggest storm yet. I'm getting pretty nervous. It still looks like you guys up near the lake will get the worst of it, even though the latest predictions bring the storm much more south than a day ago.

I'm almost positive we'll be fine. Hope you guys make it out ok.

[Rot Katze]

I just hope it doesn't go right into the gulf and obliviate the gulf coast..no one here is prepared for a storm like that..sheesh..it's been years since one like that

[TheGr81]

The storm weakened a bit. 125 mph sustained 150 gusts That makes it Cat 3 right now but they expect it go restrengthen before it hits though.

[entropy]

Go run downtown in a cape, and if anyone asks what the hell you're doing, tell them the high winds make it an opportune time to learn to fly. :)

(btw - you suck for getting out of school ;D our first day was Wednesday, and I already almost fell asleep in History ;D)

[CB]

Go run downtown in a cape, and if anyone asks what the hell you're doing, tell them the high winds make it an opportune time to learn to fly. :)

(btw - you suck for getting out of school ;D our first day was Wednesday, and I already almost fell asleep in History ;D)


Almost?! I slept through every day of history (even in college) and still passed...

The trick is to learn to listen to a lecture and sleep at the same time...

[DOSMAN]

I'll bet these guys are having fun.

[TheGr81]

I'll bet these guys are having fun.
Now that the storm's been downgraded to a catergory 3, maybe that's all it'll be worth. Maybe I should go outside and see if it keeps me from walking too quickly when it finally does get here. I thought this storm was gonna be something to worry about... :grumble: :shakehead

[GnomeWizardd]

hell i was just outside mowing hte lawn before the first band hits. Got a coupll 30 mph gust but thank God its down to 115 right now maybe less before it hits open water. I pray it weakens alot before it hits open water and starts to regroup.

[Preacher]

Almost?! I slept through every day of history (even in college) and still passed...

The trick is to learn to listen to a lecture and sleep at the same time...

My history teacher was ex-military and would throw erasers at people who fell asleep. Narcolepsy was actually really rare in his class, because he was a phenomenal teacher.

[Flintstone]

We've got the first of the 50-60 MPH bands coming ashore here in Jupiter as I type. I'm hoping the DSL survives at least till tomorrow and the power stays along with it. But, here in what's called Jupiter Farms, a squirrel on the phone lines takes out my DSL. I bought a 5.5 KW generator and wired my well pump, refrigerator and coffee pot to it so when the power does go out, we can still get by. Anyone have any experience with a/c generators and UPS's with computers? Is it an ok thing to do?

Flint

[Cyclonite]

I've never had any experiance with it, but I'd assume it would be better to have a UPS than not with a generator. It'll protect from any nasty power fluctuations. I could be wrong, so someone please correct me if I am, but that's my logic.

[GnomeWizardd]

IF you are gonna use the pc with a gen you must have a ups or else ur psu will fry because of power fluxes.

[Hawk]

Good luck to everyone in the path. We're battened down here. House looks like a fortress with steel shutters all round. Waiting it out now.

[GnomeWizardd]

Heck i was just outside Its not even really touching us just yet

[KingFish]

It's the proverbial "calm before the storm"

[RWB]

Well, I am in Texas getting drunk with my dad and neighbors... just thought I'd let ya'll know.

My new naive roomate(he's also my cousin) decided to stay, cuase "it's not gonna be that bad" as if he even got a trinkle of rain from Charlie... heh, it seems that there is always something crazy with my roomates, if theya ren't making jokes about killing babies... they have to always be right.

Anyways, after one LONELY drive to Texas, I am here safe with my PC. My little brother is having a ball playing with my little game I built, and it is great seeing him again. ;)

[GnomeWizardd]

its falling apart! YAY!!!!! 105 !!!

[muddocktor]

The only bad thing happening with it now is that it has slowed it's forward motion down to just 8 mph last time I saw on tv. That means you folks in Florida will get a hell of a lot of rain out of Frances. The Weather Channel was talking about 15-30 inches of rain out of it if it continues moving slowly. I really hope that doesn't happen as that much rain at once can also cause widespread damage due to flooding.

[TheGr81]

To tell you the truth I am quite bored with this storm. It needs to make landfall and LEAVE ALREADY! It sucks. The satellite's out so all we get is the kind of channels that you grab out of the air, and all that's on those channels is news and weather advisories and crap like that. The A/C is broke now so with all the shutters down this house has become really hot. I just want it all to end!! So far all we felt is gusts of like 30 and the power was out for a couple hours. This sucks. We're all as prepared as we're gonna be. I just wanna get to the aftermath part. There won't be much in between I can tell now...

[KingFish]

At least your internet is working

[GnomeWizardd]

surprising since its SAT internet

[keto]

Some reading while you wait it out, tho this comes a little late for some of you:

We're about to enter the peak of the hurricane season. Any day now,
you're going to turn on the TV and see a weather person pointing to some
radar blob out in the Atlantic Ocean and making two basic meteorological
points:
(1) There is no need to panic.
(2) We could all be killed.

Yes, hurricane season is an exciting time to be in Florida. If you're
new to the area, you're probably wondering what you need to do to
prepare for the possibility that we'll get hit by "the big one." Based
on our experiences, we recommend that you follow this simple three-step
hurricane preparedness plan:

STEP 1.
Buy enough food and bottled water to last your family for at least three
days

STEP 2.
Put these supplies into your car.

STEP 3.
Drive to Nebraska and remain there until Halloween. Unfortunately,
statistics show that most people will not follow this sensible plan.
Most people will foolishly stay here in Florida. We'll start with one of
the most important hurricane preparedness items:

HOMEOWNERS' INSURANCE:
If you own a home, you must have hurricane insurance. Fortunately, this
insurance is cheap and easy to get, as long as your home meets two basic
requirements:
(1) It is reasonably well-built, and
(2) It is located in Nebraska.

Unfortunately, if your home is located in Florida, or any other area
that might actually be hit by a hurricane, most insurance companies
would prefer not to sell you hurricane insurance, because then they
might be required to pay YOU money, and that is certainly not why they
got into the insurance business in the first place. So you'll have to
scrounge around for an insurance company which will charge you an annual
premium roughly equal to the replacement value of your house. At any
moment, this company can drop you like used dental floss. Since
Hurricane Andrew, I have had an estimated 27 different home-insurance
companies. This week, I'm covered by the Bob and Big Stan Insurance
Company, under a policy which states that, in addition to my premium,
Bob and Big Stan are entitled, on demand, to my kidneys.

SHUTTERS:
Your house should have hurricane shutters on all the windows, all the
doors, and -- if it's a major hurricane -- all the toilets. There are
several types of shutters, with advantages and disadvantages:

Plywood shutters: The advantage is that, because you make them yourself,
they're cheap. The disadvantage is that, because you make them yourself,
they will fall off.

Sheet-metal shutters: The advantage is that these work well, once you
get them all up. The disadvantage is that once you get them all up, your
hands will be useless bleeding stumps, and it will be December.

Roll-down shutters: The advantages are that they're very easy to use,
and will definitely protect your house. The disadvantage is that you
will have to sell your house to pay for them.

Hurricane-proof windows: These are the newest wrinkle in hurricane
protection: They look like ordinary windows, but they can withstand
hurricane winds! You can be sure of this, because the salesman says so.
He lives in Nebraska.

Hurricane Proofing Your Property:
As the hurricane approaches, check your yard for movable objects like
barbecue grills, planters, patio furniture, visiting relatives, etc..
You should, as a precaution, throw these items into your swimming pool
(if you don't have a swimming pool, you should have one built
immediately). Otherwise, the hurricane winds will turn these objects
into deadly missiles.

EVACUATION ROUTE:
If you live in a low-lying area, you should have an evacuation route
planned out. (To determine whether you live in a low-lying area, look at
your driver's license; if it says "Florida," you live in a low-lying
area).

The purpose of having an evacuation route is to avoid being trapped in
your home when a major storm hits. Instead, you will be trapped in a
gigantic traffic jam several miles from your home, along with two
hundred thousand other evacuees. So, as a bonus, you will not be lonely.

HURRICANE SUPPLIES:
If you don't evacuate, you will need a mess of supplies. Do not buy them
now! Florida tradition requires that you wait until the last possible
minute, then go to the supermarket and get into vicious fights with
strangers over who gets the last can of SPAM.

In addition to food and water, you will need the following supplies:

23 flashlights At least $167 worth of batteries that turn out, when the
power goes off, to be the wrong size for the flashlights.

Bleach. (No, I don't know what the bleach is for. NOBODY knows what the
bleach is for, but it's traditional, so GET some!)

A 55-gallon drum of underarm deodorant.

A big knife that you can strap to your leg. (This will be useless in a
hurricane, but it looks cool.)

A large quantity of raw chicken, to placate the alligators. (Ask anybody
who went through Andrew: after the hurricane, there WILL be irate
alligators.)

$35,000 in cash or diamonds so that, after the hurricane passes, you can
buy a generator from a man with no discernible teeth.

Of course these are just basic precautions. As the hurricane draws near,
it is vitally important that you keep abreast of the situation by
turning on your television and watching TV reporters in rain slickers
stand right next to the ocean and tell you over and over how vitally
important it is for everybody to stay away from the ocean.

Good luck, and remember: It's great living in Paradise !!

[S_Wilson]

Well, out here in beautiful Grand Junction, CO since about 3PM we have had numerous thunderstorms with winds gusts up to 40 MPH, lightning, thunder, Hail (looks more like sleet) and all of 1/8" of rain which is almost enough to cause street flooding, lol.

That is considered a major weather event for this area. :rolleyes:

[TheGr81]

Replying in the order they came...
At least your internet is working
Bah, the storm hasn't even hit yet.
surprising since its SAT internet
Nope. The tv is satellite. DSL internet.
Some reading while you wait it out, tho this comes a little late for some of you

.....

Good luck, and remember: It's great living in Paradise !!
;D So funny, yet so much of it is true! ;D
Well, out here in beautiful Grand Junction, CO since about 3PM we have had numerous thunderstorms with winds gusts up to 40 MPH, lightning, thunder, Hail (looks more like sleet) and all of 1/8" of rain which is almost enough to cause street flooding, lol.

That is considered a major weather event for this area. :rolleyes:
Pfft, wimps! :rolleyes:

[Hawk]

90-100 mph winds with heavy rain. (Port St Lucie, Fl.) Closer to the east coast than Gnome. 12-14 hrs more of heavy storm to go. Very slow moving storm. Powers going out- off & on. So, If I stop posting, you'll know why. Hang onto the lightpole Gnomey!

[Missileman]

Well all the boards are in place and everything is tied down. We already have power outages here in Orlando and gusts hitting in the 60's. Gonna make for a LONG weekend since they say it will be Sunday night before we get cleared.

Better go take a nap I guess before it gets BAD :)

[GnomeWizardd]

yea hawk is around 4 mile closer to the ocean than I. Tis getting nasty really quick. I was just outsideand I almost got picked up off the ground. YES i took pics. there is already a couple houses under construction destroyed. ITs all good tho I just wish this thing would move faster!

[GnomeWizardd]

http://www.weatherunderground.com/radar/radblast.asp?ID=MLB


check it out!

[GnomeWizardd]

here are 2 pics of a house across the marsh under construction. It has a poured tie beam and still is destroyed and then the house across the street

[Jimborae]

Keep your head down & stay safe Gnome, looks like it's getting nasty.

[TheGr81]

:thumbsdow

LAME!!!

Nothing really signifigant over here. I heard a few transformers blow like a block away. So I guess I'll turn my comp back off now. So much for folding...

[Rot Katze]

Wonderful.

The projected path goes straight at Pensacola...looks like we're in trouble here.

I live on the water too :(

[Cyclonite]

The storm won't freaking move! We're getting sustained winds of about 15-20 mph here with gusts up to 30-35 mph. And the damn thing is going so freaking slow!

[Clutch]

Yea, it really sucks that it is just sitting around beating on you guys. I really hope all goes well for you, stay safe and stay out of the storm.

[Cyclonite]

Well, the storms almost here. Tampa, where my apartment is, is getting hit fairly hard, but it's headed my way here in Spring Hill.

The power is out to many houses in Spring Hill already. A main line got taken down about 5 or 6 hours ago. We lost power about an hour later.

/me hugs generator.

Amazingly our satellite dish is still up and we have a signal. So, I've been able to keep up with the reports. I got super bored, so I decided to see if our DSL connection was still working. It obviously is!

So far, everything is going well. The worst is still to come, but it's not going to be nearly as bad as many others got it.

I hope everyone is okay! Keep us posted. :)

[Black Hawk]

It's not gonna get any easier

http://www.tormenta.net/_uploads/files/storms/stormtrack.jpg

[TheGr81]

omg... I underestimated a cat 2 storm. This sucks. Our transformer blew and our neighbor was kind enough to let us "borrow" some power. I don't know how long we will be out, 'cause I know fpl have bigger things to worry about.

Post back in a bit.

[muddocktor]

What's making it all the worse for you guys is the slow movement of that damn storm. Usually they just blow through in 5-7 hours but this one is just taking it's sweet time moving out. I kind of figured that you all will have widespread power outages for a while; with all the rain and wind I imagine that a whole bunch of power poles will be down. On a side note, I saw about half a dozen bucket trucks sitting at a gas station around New Iberia today. I imagine they are getting everything together to send Florida some help.

[Cyclonite]

This is agonizing. Our house hasn't had any damage, but this storm just WILL NOT go away. Power has been out for 22 hours now, and my dad is currently out hunting for gas for the generator. We're getting hit with the back end of Frances right now, and it sucks. I *hope* they close my school tomorrow, because I don't even know if I'll be able to get back to Tampa tonight.

Grrrr!

Still hope everyone is safe.

[GnomeWizardd]

Ok I just got power and man I hugged the fpl guy outfront. OMg it was hell 120 mph gust and lots of damage around 5 min east. dang this storm blew! pics to come later. PLUS i got pics of the national guard tracks and humvees

[TheGr81]

We're still stuck borrowing power from neighbors. At least they're good. We saw a couple FP&L trucks go by a few hours ago but still no power. I'm afraid I'll come back home from school tomorrow to a dark house at 3 in the afternoon. We put a nice dent in the crap out in our yard but there's still the impossible task of mowing the lawn. We let it grow a little too long and now the mower chokes even when the grass is dry. Frances did a nice job of feeding it, and now there's plenty of sunshine. :shakehead

I lost two large wu's when the power went out, and I don't want to be folding on borrowed power. My production is zero until the power comes back. :banghead:

[Cyclonite]

Well, I just drove back from Spring Hill to Tampa. Ran through a couple areas of road that were obviously submerged a few hours before I went through. Thank god they weren't too deep when I went by.

Apparently, Folwer Ave, a main road, between 15th St. and 22nd St. is completely flooded. They had to evacuate an assisted living facility. They took all of those people over to the USF Sun Dome, whish is acting as a shelter.

We have power at my apartment complex. I think that only came back a few hours ago.

This hurricane/tropical storm was just horribly slow. It was painful to just watch/listen to the news and see/hear that it's hardly moving. I hope you guys getting hit with it right now are doing alright.

/me breathes sigh of relief now that the storm is over for him.

Oh, they cancelled classes tomorrow at my university. Yay! Gives me more time to complete that homework that was supposed to be due tomorrow. :)

[Hawk]

Hurricane Frances=
Winds were clocked at 110 with gusts up to 130. Tornadoes galore! Lots of major damage. Houses, mobile homes torn open. Large massive tree's uprooted, shattered and scattered all over. Had a neighbors backporch roof ripped loose, rolled down the street, crashed into our house, flipped up on our roof 2-3 times and came to rest in the front yard. Our area (Port St. Lucie) still has over 10,000 without power as of 9/16.04. All together- Treasure coast counties still have around 70,000-80,000 thousand without power. Electrical crews are from almost every state in the US and Canada.
Thnx to our friends in Canada & US for coming to our aid.
People on the gulf coast side are being pounded by IVAN now. And it's a little stronger than Francis was. Many deaths coming from Ivan. And now we're watching Jeanne coming right up the shute for south fla. When the storms travel that route right over the islands on a WNW line, it's time for south Fla to keep a close eye on it. Don't take those shutters down!

[bothered]

I keep saying it but, best of luck guys. Keep safe.