Yes, this is a Q Win. But we are family and now a lot of Florida pedes are facing a potentially dangerous storm. Some are new Floridians and have no idea of how evacuations work here or may need other help from us experienced Floridians.
So I thought we could do a check-in post here and we can move to another Win to support each other, if needed. I lost my old home at Weather Underground when they got bought by Weather Channel so it would be nice to have a bunch of y’all to chat with.
Right now, TropicalTidbits.com is the best online site outside of the National Hurricane Center. Levi has been hurricane forecasting for many years and is excellent. You can see the Euro and GFS models there also.
So if you are a Floridian and are facing the roller coaster of the next five days, go ahead and say hi!
Hi! Tampa area temporary transplant here. Can you make any recommendations where one evacuates to that avoids riding the roller coaster?
The best tip I have is: If you are going to leave, leave days in advance. Do not wait until the day of/hours before the storm hits. If you wait, you will be stuck in traffic when the storm hits bc there are only so many roads in/out of FL if you aren't familiar with backroad routes. Also depending on the severity of the approaching storm some areas have been known to shut down roads/bridges beforehand.
Exactly this! I rode out Irma in my home in Sarasota. Every road was gridlocked heading North and every gas station was out of gas. People were stuck on the road and would have been better off staying home when they tried to flee at the last minute. Grocery stores also emptied out in hours.
We live in Holly Hill which is next to Daytona Beach, the only thing that concerns me is the Halifax river (intercoastal waterway) flooding due to heavy rains and or storm surge. We are only 2 blocks from the river and it's pretty low lying streets here prone to flooding. We rent half of a duplex and our landlord while being a good guy is Not the most attentive when it comes to Urgent issues. We have a shower, no tub to store water in should we lose power, planning on getting more water this weekend for flushing and for drinking water should it become necessary. All in all I'm not overly concerned about this or any other storms as we lived in Alaska for 7+years and have dealt with hurricane force winds for days at a time as well as rain for the entire month of September. No, what scares me is earthquakes and never-ending tremors as those you have no warning for. I should ask what about reptiles getting into your home to escape rising waters from flooding?
I’m fortunate to live in one of the highest spots in Sarasota. My property was also built up about 6 feet over all the neighbors. Flooding isn’t a big concern for me and I feel very blessed for that!