Our Florida Friends----Hurricane Irma

[tfcrew]

Can't remember who all is in Fla.. esp the Ft Meyers/Naples area [Gator? & who else?] Let's hope they are all in a safe place..................

[BillyB]

There are a few members here that live in Florida. Hopefully Gator will not be swimming with the dolphins. Over 5.5 million people evacuated. There is bumper to bumper traffic on the highways. Hard to evacuate. Also a third of the gas stations have run out of gas.

[tfcrew]

Since Irma showed up...we hear nothing about Harvey anymore.
The next storm on the named list is ...would you believe Lee?

[BdHvA]

Since Irma showed up...we hear nothing about Harvey anymore.
The next storm on the named list is ...would you believe Lee?

If it is Lee, it might be banned in the South. Of course if after Lee comes Oswald than the conspiracy oriented population will have a field day (week).

To those who suffered from Harvey fortitude and prayers for those who face Irma. But prayers will not save you if you are not proactive regarding Irma.

[tfcrew]

.. after Lee comes Oswald 

After Lee comes Marina [though the N is silent]

http://www.almanac.com/content/list-names-2017-hurricane-season

[tfcrew]

[BdHvA]

Most of the live aboards in Simpson Bay, St. Maarten head south in June/July. One friend always stayed in Simpson Bay and road out the hurricanes by driving his vessel deep into the mangrove swamps.

We have not heard from him since just before Irma crossed St. Maarten.

[GQBlues]

CNN reporting about Hurricane Irma in Cuba

http://www.instagram.com/p/BY4F2vABraA/

[msmob]

Eduard is in SW Florida..


Last I heard - he and his family were in a shelter

No news, yet

I expect comms are down and hope their home is not damaged

[BillyB]

Irma isn't a hurricane anymore. She's weak and rated down to a tropical storm.

[rw_recruiter]

I live in Boca but obviously out of town for the storm. Friends told me many power lines down, and a large number of trees uprooted.

[wallm]

Hopefully people get back on their feet quick. I lived through hurricane Sandy in 2012. We didn't have power for 9 days. We had gas and I slept near the fireplace for warmth, was able to cook and take hot showers. If we lost gas too, I was prepared to live off emergency supplies for 3 months. Had my dog with me and didn't abandon her like some losers did in Florida this past week. No looting as i recall. Hopefully people prepare for future emergencies.

[GQBlues]

...No looting as i recall. Hopefully people...

http://www.local10.com/weather/hurricane-irma/looters-caught-by-local-10-cameras-arrested-by-fort-lauderdale-police

...and they wonder why their lot is perpetually stigmatized. Even in the most tragic of times, the urge never escapes many of these folks.

You can't blame 'poverty' (or the *scars of slavery*), not if you consider the type of vehicles these idiots are loading their loot in...

[/i]

[wallm]

Losers. Their character shows through. This is why I am prepared with a Sig 320 and a Remington 870.

[GQBlues]

Losers. Their character shows through. This is why I am prepared with a Sig 320 and a Remington 870.

Many of them are. Just Like Maurice and his brother Marvin:

But, as always, it'll never make MSM news.

[msmob]

Ed's pronounced himself 'safe '  ))

[tfcrew]

There are a few members here that live in Florida. Hopefully Gator will not be swimming with the dolphins. Over 5.5 million people evacuated. There is bumper to bumper traffic on the highways. Hard to evacuate. Also a third of the gas stations have run out of gas.

Gatornados ...and then what happened to all those snakes down in the Glades?
The creature most worried about in Houston is the mosquito.
Charleston is flooded...

http://abcnews.go.com/US/irma-leaves-dead-florida-37-dead-caribbean-millions/story?id=49758372

 

[SANDRO43]

I live in Boca but obviously out of town for the storm.

Back in 1990 I worked for 2 months at IBM's Research Lab then in Boca, residing at the Seagate Hotel on South Ocean Blvd., Delray Beach:

 

I understand this neighbourhood was spared the worst, being on the east coast?

Friends told me many power lines down

It was my first visit to the US, and I was surprised at seeing most power lines stringed overhead rather than buried underground, particularly in this weather-sensitive area . No wonder many get wrenched off in heavy winds .

[Anotherkiwi]

I understand this neighbourhood was spared the worst, being on the east coast?

Storm surge is pretty bad, whichever side of the peninsula you're on, but could have been so much worse.  If the track had been just a few miles west, Tampa and St Petersburg would now be submerged.  If it had travelled up the east coast of the peninsula, Miami, Palm Beach, Charleston, etc. would also be completely under water, instead of "just" having severe flooding.

It was my first visit to the US, and I was surprised at seeing most power lines stringed overhead rather than buried underground, particularly in this weather-sensitive area . No wonder many get wrenched off in heavy winds .

"Stringed?"  Sandro, wash your mouth out with soap!

It's "strung."

[rw_recruiter]

Back in 1990 I worked for 2 months at IBM's Research Lab then in Boca, residing at the Seagate Hotel on South Ocean Blvd., Delray Beach.

I understand this neighbourhood was spared the worst, being on the east coast?
It was my first visit to the US, and I was surprised at seeing most power lines stringed overhead rather than buried underground, particularly in this weather-sensitive area . No wonder many get wrenched off in heavy winds .

I think half of Boca worked for IBM in the 90's   
The layoffs dropped home values there substantially. City is booming again.

Yes, I am not there in person, but basically downed power lines, trees, fences, water damages, the normal we experience from hurricanes.

Us locals are still scratching our heads at the overhead power lines so you are not alone. But maybe to do with the water tables here. Or laziness and infrastructure costs by FPL. They have a monopoly on electric in South Florida.

[SANDRO43]

"Stringed?"  Sandro, wash your mouth out with soap! It's "strung."

Guilty as charged . However, is the violin a 4-strung instrument ?

[treadmilldude]

Ed's pronounced himself 'safe '  ))

Moby, this is great news!! I was thinking about Ed and worrying about his and his family's safety. Eduard has 2 really beautiful kids. I was very worried about Ed.

Do you happen to have any idea about Gator's status, Moby? I have thought a lot about him as well.

Thank you for the update Moby. Let's all continue to keep Texans and Floridians and East Coast Americans in our thoughts and prayers. Scary times right now.

[tfcrew]

There are videos of looting....



Price gouging sucks....

[Anotherkiwi]

Guilty as charged . However, is the violin a 4-strung instrument ?

Sandro, we're discussing the ENGLISH language - you know, the one where 99% of everything is irregular! 

[Gator]

Preparation

I worked three days preparing for the bitch's arrival:  throwing pool furniture into the pool, filling tubs with water (for toilet flushing), stocking food and water, precooking a few meals, cleaning the outside of anything that could cause a problem (e.g., removing garden hoses to prevent them whipping against the house), parking a second car on the street away from trees, etc. etc. 

Wife's Reaction
 
My wife is an artist, not a scientist.  In the week before the storm, every 6 hours the weather experts would present their predictions and each time the storm shifted closer to Tampa.     That trend  and the general news coverage (especially the menacing graphics in a blood red color of the circling storm patterns) made my wife very nervous, as in real tears.    She did not believe my opinion that maybe Irma will miss us because  predictions usually are wrong.   I suggested she evacuate on Wednesday; on Friday she and her children (also nervous) and son-in-law and son-in-law's mother, and two dogs and four cats left for South Carolina (drove all night in traffic) to visit friends. 


Facing the Storm Alone

I stayed in Tampa.

My wife is more clairvoyant or sensible than me because after she evacuated the storm kept shifting towards Tampa. I live away from the Gulf so the surge would not affect me.  Still, I knew this would not be Sunday stroll in the park because of the wind.

I played golf Saturday (calm before the storm), did my final preparation, and waited.  Damn, I forgot to bring in two decorative shutters so in the early wind and rain I went up a ladder to disconnect them. 

Irma arrived around midnight.   One needs to stay away from rooms with windows facing the wind, yet the wind direction will change and at midnight one can not see what is happening.  Tornadoes are possible.  Hopefully no broken windows from flying coconuts.    Not to worry, I have tourniquets and needle and thread at the ready (just kidding about the needle and thread yet I had wound dressing and duct tape in a first aid kit to avoid bleeding out).

I watched the news and the advance of Irma.  Everyone had expected Irma to go up the coast, which would have placed me in the more dangerous quadrant.  Fortunately for most of Florida, after making landfall on the mainland around Naples, Irma's eye deteriorated quickly due to wind shear and lost some of its punch by moving over land. The storm wobbled and went 20 miles east of me, placing me in the less windy quadrant.  As an example of the deterioration of wind,  gusts were measured at 142 mph in Naples. 91 mph near St. Petersburg, and 78 mph in Tampa.

In summary, I survived without incident.  The electrical power was up all night, even though the lights would flicker now and then (the benefit of living in a vast area with underground utilities).  There were many power outages in the older areas around Tampa Bay, and many areas today still do not have power. September 22 is the expected date for restoring power to all.
 

The Keys
 
While I consider myself fortunate, many of my fellow Floridians were not so lucky.  One of my friends lives near Key West on Big Pine Key.  Irma hit the adjacent key, a few miles west of her, placing her house in the direct path of the strongest winds and surge.     Three days passed before first responders reach her Key.  My friend had evacuated. Many residents stayed  behind and bodies are now being discovered.  The people who reside in the Keys are different from the average American.  They have a keen sense for adventure and a drifter's mentality, and the Keys are the end of the line for those who could not find a place to settle further north in America.   


 

Remarkable Facts about Irma

Size of  Wind Field

The velocity of the core winds declined yet  the wind field expanded remarkably.  Tropical storm winds are defined as 39-73 mph.  As Irma marched north, the tropical storm force wind field measured almost 400 miles to the northeast and over 100 miles to the southwest.  That is 500 miles across, hence problems on the Atlantic coast. 


Storm Surge

Instead of a storm surge the sea retreated in Tampa ahead of the storm.  The east wind blew water out of Tampa Bay such that people were walking on the muddy base of the bay hundreds of yards from the normal shoreline..  The scene resembled the beaches in Thailand just ahead of the tsunami.  The water surge eventually occurred as the wind direction changed, fortunately much lower than predicted.
 
 
Rate of Precipitation

Rainfall rates in some intense areas east of Tampa measured over 8 inches per hours on a sustained basis.