Hurricane Irma

Any idea where he is headed? My in-laws stopped by my house just north of Tampa this morning on their way North. We are planning to stay put at this time. Traffic was terrible on I75 north of us today due to some accidents and the increased traffic. I'd suggest he take some back roads like 41 to avoid the cluster that is going to be I75.

 

Speed is good, get in and get out. Once the wind is over 150 its all the same.

 

I'm watching this prep with trepidation. I've not said anything here, but we got hit and hit hard here in Cabo. Not on the news, no one really knows except the people who live here. TS Lidia was brutal. We we're nailed in the camp with wind, but the rain was the killer. 160 souls and counting so far. Spent this week ferrying out food water and bare necessities to the hardest hit areas.

Be repared to, and please do help if you make it through ok. Especially immediately after. In our case here, this is ongoing, and from a humanitarian perspective simply required for at least another week if not longer. And man ... It sure changes your outlook on people in general.

-jim

 

Good luck Jim, sometimes it sucks to be in a forgotten country. Most of the time life is much better and more simple in a forgotten country

 

True story. Yesterday was truly odd, primarily because I'm now broke buying food for people that might literally die if I don't. The govt is really not much help. I was doling out pasta and Gatorade for about eight hours straight, and starting to feel sick. I've not had a "decent" meal since Saturday, and that was a slice of Costco pizza. Not fun, but banking karma. Hope I live to redeem it.

-jim

 

We do, too, Jim.

 

And according to Chelsea Handler they are pricing them accordingly?

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2017/...over-mistaken-600-percent-price-increase.html

Apparently Delta fixed it though.....leave it to that dope of a comedienne to jump to conclusions.

 

Got to love the earthquake off oaxacaa. Think I'm just going to find a hotel, a tan girl and sleep

 

Jose is tracking behind Irma and due to hit the Caribbean this weekend. Prayers for all.

 

You got a PayPal or something we can help with?

 

Ditto?

 

Sounds like us19 is clear all the way to Tallahassee

 

Ben good luck riding it out. Jim I can send some too.

 

You guys in FL that are staying please check in this weekend... Also if anyone down there needs a place to stay I have a room in North GA.... I will be at Road Atlanta till Sunday Afternoon but will check in....

 

some good news for central FL as of 8am or so Friday, another local news caster, Paul Delegado (South FL is still gonna get hit pretty hard):

"MORNING THOUGHTS. The first light of day shows Irmas has undergone some changes overnight. First off, sustained winds are down to 150 mph. Secondly, Irma is completing an eye wall replacement cycle and the eye continues to widen. The diameter of the eye now is about 45 miles, which is good. Generally speaking, when the eye expands, the storm weakens, while the wind field increases. Think of a figure skater who is spinning. When she pulls her arms in, closer to her body, she spins much faster. When the skater extends her arms away from her body, the spin slows. Same thing with a hurricane, when the eye expands, the storm spins slower. So, weakening is good! The track of Irma is going to be very close, if not on the coast of Cuba. The storms interaction with land will more than likely weaken the storm further. I will be looking for intensity changes very closely. The track forecast has not changed much, nearly all the models are forecasting a storm running up the middle of Florida and the official forecast from the Hurricane Center follows along. We have all seen the incredible photos of the damage in the Caribbean from Irma. Remember, that is CAT 5 damage. The storm is NOT going to be a CAT 5 when it is over central Florida. NOT a CAT 4, probably NOT a CAT 3, more than likely a CAT 2.. While that is certainly no picnic, and there will be damage, the trend towards a "weaker" hurricane is good. We will all get through this. Just do what you are doing. Finish up your preparations and do not stress. It has been a long week! I will keep you posted. www.myfoxhurricane.com "

https://www.facebook.com/paul.dellegattofox/posts/1561563703903294

 

Friends left Clearwater last night and drove to Atlanta airport to fly home. Took 13 hrs.

 

Now scheduled to come right over Deland. I'm guessing this is Karma for me liking too many of Pickled and Dake K's posts.

 

The downside to the wider eye is a wider path of destructive winds, even if the worst winds are not a strong. So you have wind that isn't as severe, but strong winds over a wider area and potentially over a longer period of time. There is still plenty of time for the eye to shrink again before landfall and then you could have both a larger and stronger wind field. Hopefully the expected sheer will keep it from re-strengthening even if the eye-wall shrinks again.

 

This will be similar to 2004 when Charley hit Orlando, this will be a little stronger, but will spend a little more time over land before getting to Orlando than Charley did when it hit Port Charlotte on the SW coast. I moved back to Pittsburgh from Oviedo in May, however my house there is still there for sale (insert jokes here), but empty.