Dear God, Charley’s turned into a helluva storm. Hang tight, guys.
Yikes.
According to what my TV says, the storm is going to go into Matlacha. My Aunt and Uncle have a summer house there. My Uncle is in Ohio, my Aunt evacuated to Lehigh Acres.
I don’t like this.
I was just reading on my building’s elevator news screen that Charley’s upgraded to a category 4. What’s the highest category a hurricane can achieve?
(Stay safe, you guys.)
My good wishes to all the Floridopers.
My sister-in-law and her husband and son live only a few blocks off Tampa Bay. I hope they’re somewhere safe.
A Category 5 like Gilbert and Andrew. Hugo was a 4 too.
Five. Hurricane categories.
Hello from Sunny Florida, folks. Don’t let the news accounts put you off! It’s LOADS of fun being in the direct path of the eye of the storm. The anticipation! The thrills! The chills! Yes, folks, come on down and you, too, can be in the path of a category 4 storm. :rolleyes:
Last I saw, it was supposed to be coming at me (Polk County). So far, just rain and a bit of wind. But south of us, I’ve heard of downed trees and roof-losses already. I hope the new roof we put on last spring is a good one…
I can’t get through to my parents now - the cell phone towers must be down. It came ashore just about 15 miles west of our house, so they probably didn’t get the very strongest winds, but there was probably plenty of storm surge. The News-Press is reporting the roof torn off of Cape Coral Hospital, trees down and power out. I haven’t heard any details about how bad the storm surge was - does anyone know?
My Aunt and Uncle lost their home in Matlacha. That was where Charley made landfall.
{weep}
My Uncle said 15 feet, but that’s not gospel.
I’m sorry to hear about your aunt and uncle’s home. I hope they can find a place to stay. Were they insured?
I just talked to my dad and he said there might not have been much of a surge on Sanibel at all… some woman called into the radio station and said she was standing on the beach and the water barely rose above the high-tide line. If so, that’s good news, but the local media is talking about an eight-foot surge, though they’re not saying where.
We’ve had a couple of good rain bands come through, but the heavy stuff isn’t supposed to hit Orlando(ish) until 9p-10p tonight.
HOOB, I’m so sorry about your aunt and uncle. At least they’re safe.
I’ve got to say I’m a bit relieved that the storm didn’t hit Tampa head-on. I’m just east of Tampa (in Brandon, hello HOOB!) - just some rain and wind here, but nothing too bad at all. Sad to hear that the storm has gotten so bad for others so close to us. I hope everyone is staying safe. Good luck to the folks just east of us!
It’s almost 8pm and in Pasco county (one county north of Tampa) we got nothing. No rain and barely any wind. Looks like on radar I live in the one spot with no rain. It is 73 degrees and I’m enjoying having the windows open and not sweating. Kinda glad I didn’t bust open a bottle of wine for this.
HomeoftheBraves, I’m sorry your aunt and uncle lost their home. 
I hope they have a safe place to stay.
I had a real panic moment this afternoon when my coworker announced that Charley became a category 4 storm. At the time, my parents were right in Charley’s path. My grandmother and her temporary house guests had to evacuate Homosassa and head inland. I just talked to my brother and he said things weren’t too bad up in Inverness – just a little bit of wind and rain. They were really lucky.
Damn. I’m relieved the storm changed direction and passed south of them, but at the same time I feel guilty. It just feels so wrong to be grateful for something that ended up causing serious damage somewhere else.
Aaaaaaah! I’m in Winter Park (NE section of Orlando), and it is 8:48 PM, and the winds are picking up. It’s very scary. My wife and I have heard branches breaking, and we’re both worried about our cars being damaged (not to mention our roof).
My dog is not freaking out, because we’ve medicated her, but she’s following me around, looking apprehensive. Poor Sheila. I’m trying to keep myself occupied, and not think about the weather, but I may need to get offline soon. :wally 
Good luck AlbertRose, I hope the storm has died down enough that it won’t cause much (any) damage.
Last I heard, the storm was right over Orlando. My roomie andI skipped town and headed to her parents’ house in Orange Park (Just south of Jacksonville). It’s quite a doosey. Hopfully our apartment will still be in one piece tomorrow. And I’m going to guess that I’m not going to make it in to work tomorrow. Who’s going to want to go to Steank N Shake at 9am tomorrow - or at all for that matter. I should probably call and let them know that I’m not in Orlando anymore… :rolleyes:
Also, I recieved a message from Bear_Nenno earlier today saying that he was going down to Tampa to play medic. Let’s all hope he gets back in one piece, along with all the rest of us Floridians!
The Red Cross has been geared up for a couple of days on this. They’re starting to get away from sending west coast volunteers to the east coast, instead relying on the close-in people first. But the ERV from the Minneapolis Red Cross left this morning, as did the one from Rochester. Ours is on stand-by.
I hope y’all down there are all right. I was in Homestead for Andrew and do not remember it fondly.