I’ll second the non-spoilable food. I was in Raleigh during Fran (1996). We were 10 days without power or water (!) and for several days couldn’t even walk out of my neighborhood (flooding with downed power lines in the water, plus those huge old oak trees lying everywhere). Potatoes on the grill were our main meal for awhile.
frances has really grown size wise, she is really spreading out. it seems like no matter where she comes inland, this storm will be felt a long way out from the eye.
the track they are showing through florida is rather close to the '28 hurricane. that storm came ashore around palm beach and headed to lake okeechobee. it came in at a 4 and hit the lake at a 3. 2 storm surges, one from the ocean and one from the lake. the storm then went to jacksonville and hit there at a cat 1. it stayed a cat 1 past richmond virginia, almost to the west virginia border. it went past toronto as a tropical storm.
no matter how far inland you are, or where you are on the east coast, prepare a bit. hurricanes don’t stop on a dime, they take a long time to slow down. this storm will do damage in AND out of florida. get some batteries, fill up some containers with water, think about where you and your pets can “hole up.”
My best friend was going to move this weekend; notice the use of the past tense.
So, they’ve already started cancelling school. Any chance we in Hillsborough County will get a 4 day weekend?
Does anyone here remember Hurricane Elena (I was 11)? Didn’t she visit on Labor Day weekend too?
I remember Elena, but I’m terrible with time, dates, etc, so I don’t know. It could have been Labor Day weekend, but it seemed later than that. I know I didn’t have to work, go to school, just stayed home for about 3-4 days drinking beer and making whoopie. I think I’m about 11 or 12 years older than you. Elena came from the other side, of course, sat off the Suncoast for sometime, then decided to move on up north. If Frances does hit our side of the peninsula I hope she’s lost some of her strength by then. It will certainly rain a lot (more than the last couple of days… inconceivable!)
Hurricane trivia question of the day: What is the highest* named storm there ever was and what year was it?
*Like Alice, Bertha, Camille, etc…
elena hit sept. 1st and 2nd '85 along ms, al, and nw fl. she was a “cape verde” and a cat. 3 when she made land fall. she did have a good time in the gulf leading weather people on a merry chase before making land fall. as with frances, there was a very large strike zone with elena.
hhhhmmm, trivia question, i’m thinking roxanne… off to check the archives.
So, she must have been splashing the Bay area well before Labor Day weekend, then, if she made landfall on Sept 1st. What’s a “Cape Verde”?
cape verde storms are ones that come off of africa and go around/pass by the cape verde islands. these storms have a long time to strengthen and pack a big punch when they hit land. some of the storms will just wander the atlantic and never hit land because of the distance between the cape verde islands and the caribean islands.
well, '95 was the year of roxanne, the name was retired and replaced (with rebekah)… but it seems we got up to tanya that year. so, on the trivia question i’m going with tanya in '95.
there is a hurricane called " the labo(u)r day hurricane" from 1935. a cat. 5 that hit the keys. it went from a cat 1 to a 5 in about 36 hours.
Yes, that would have been my house 
My birthday was the 20th of last month- the same day we got power back, a week after Charlie. ivylass, I feel your pain.
I’ll be holed up at a big old house in Oviedo with some friends and their parents, just like last time- except this time I’m bringing wine and breakfast cereal instead of beer and…er… more beer.
Oh, and my MusiCooler- a holdall/duffel bag cooler which converts to a regular bag, and also happens to have an AM/FM radio built in!
It was the only thing keeping us sane in our non-air conditioned, non-not-leaking house after the storm last time around.
That bitch has got Cat-5 written all over her. This is going to be ugly, DAMN!!!
Well, this is certainly reassuring. :rolleyes:
I would suggest that the next major innovation be better weather forecasting!
I dunno. If I read that chart correctly, I’d say there is a 1-in-3 chance the storm will hit the coast, & glance off to sea again, & about a 2-in-3 chance it will plow right through Florida.
Since hurricanes have been known to double back on their own track, I’d say that it is a fair prediction.
Oh, crap. Just…crap. I don’t wanna do this again! Offices are shut down tomorrow. Our dog has a vet appointment to get some tranquilizers. I’m getting ready to close up the house with the cats in it (mulitple litterboxes and lots of food and water) and take the dogs with me out to the prison where my husband works. That place can withstand just about anything. I will probably be offline for a while before and after the storm, so won’t be able to check in with you guys. I will try to call galen ubal after the storm to let him know I’m okay and see how he is, up there in Ocala.
Not only is this storm twice the size of Charley, it’s twice the size of Andrew.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&u=/ap/hurricane_frances_florida&printer=1
There’s nowhere in Florida you can go to escape this storm. If you haven’t gotten anywhere yet, stay put and hang on.
Shit.
Actually, I take that back. I am not part of a qualified emergency response team. If they tell you to get, get.
Just check in here so we know you’re okay.
I wish my Sister had the smaerts to grab my Niece & her hubby & split for Tennessee.
My Brother, too.
They keep talking about “sitting it out”. :smack:
Fortunately, they live in Orlando, inland.
Anybody know what’s going on in Melbourne? My Sister and Dad are there but I haven’t been able to get through to them.
Good luck everyone. I’m a Cracker now living in Chicago, but I went through a number of hurricanes growing up in Jacksonville. It was fun as a kid, at least for a while.
5que, I live in Orlando, but I’d imagine they are preparing, especially in light of possible water problems. Here is a link to the City of Melbourne’s advisory page.
Our office is closing at four today and closed tomorrow. We are heading home to finish putting up the storm panels, clean up a little more and pack our bags. I have reservations is Troy, Alabama and Marietta, Georgia so I have options. We are leaving ASAP, probably in the very wee hours after we catch a few winks. I hafta get hubby to light a fire under the in-laws if they want to tag along. I read that there would be 74 mph winds at the coast by midmorning tomorrow.
I am so outta here!
Tupug, you have my cell #, if you have phone service please call and check in when you have a break.
Everybody go outside, face east and blow real hard.
Yeah, I know… perverts :eek:
Safe travelling, Heppie.
My SO is travelling up from Orlando today. He said traffic was at a standstill on the Turnpike. That was a few hours ago. It took him an hour and a half just to go the 43 miles to get to 75. Looks like everyone is trying to get out early. I can’t imagine how long it’s going to take for those coming up from further south.
Nasty, nasty, nasty…
I work at a hotel here in Ocala, in case that’s not clear; we’ve been sold out for the last three days for the weekend. So has the rest of Ocala - in fact, as of yesterday, the closest hotel room was Pensacola or Atlanta.
So it you’re a Floridoper, save yourselves some time and aggravation and go as far north as you can handle, or stay in a shelter - there’s just no place to put you folks here.
I’ll be going into work tomorrow afternoon, and staying for the duration - the boss has got cots set up for employees who volunteer to stay. Not my idea of a fun weekend, but at least the hotel is newer than the duplex I live in - and it isn’t underneath about eight live oak trees, either.
Stay safe, folks - get your supplies, find a shelter, and ride it out.