I heard on the news tonight that Tampa hasn’t had a direct hit by a hurricane and almost 100 years. I thought Charlie was pretty damn close?
That sucks Brian, but better safe than sorry. I’m 5 miles from the East Coast so we’ve never had to evacuate here.
gentleman, I am about as ready as I can be. Work has closed down until at least Thursday they are saying. Dang, I get to work on the 73 some more. Just going to suck without power to run lights and ac in the shop. Hope it peters out before it hits land. John, we been cooking cajun red beans along with a big pot of cabbage soup, and drinking beer. cheers my friend! Hope for the best....... Fernando
Ok, so I decided to swing into a little action today. Just ran out and filled the Suburban and made arrangements with the ex to pick up my son and bring him to Zephyrhills for a few days, if the path remains the same tomorrow. That beast is great for mildly flooded roads. Also filled up my extra gas cans and will check the generator in a little bit. Only one local station had gas, so I had to wait in line for a while. At least people were being clam and civilized with each other. And no guys... I still have not fixed the heater hose from the BG trip. Seems to like the Tennessee water.
I boarded up several windows today… did all the big ones, will decide tomorrow if I need to keep going or stop. Those 4x8 sheets of plywood get heavy after a while.. arms feel like noodles. Thankfully I have a fresh case of corona on standby for tomorrow.
You want those generators to keep the fridge and freezer going. I have a 6500 in the FL house. Here in NY I have a 20KW cummings auto switch. You definitely don't want to be without power when the temps are below freezing. Pipes will burst and then your really in trouble.
every time I hear the name Ian or pronounced (eean) either way, I think of Jethro Tull, Mr Anderson. Awesome music! I'll have to play his music tomorrow during the storm.
For the most part, we are hoping to keep the refrigerators and the fans on. I don’t have a window unit AC at this time. Might snatch one up in the next day or so.
To my Florida Buds... Rich, you're cracking me up! "And no, I still haven't fixed the heater hose." You go young Johnson! That beast of a truck keeps on going. And it sounds like you are ready for some puddle hopping. Nice! Fernando, Cajun red beans, yes! Cabbage soup, NO!!! Beer, yes!!! Play with your car more, yes! Darren, You always have it figured out. If you have an Ollies over there, they were selling window shakers for a cheap price. Steve, I hope your trip doesn't get messed up. It probably will though. Sorry Ryan, I didn't get to meet you this summer, but my son did. You are correct. Those 4 X 8 sheets of plywood get REAL heavy!!! To all of you over on the west coast, you have my thoughts and prayers that you, and your families, all stay safe, and you only have tree branches to clean up. At least it "sounds like" it's going to weaken as it get closer. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you all.
Charlie was predicted to make landfall around Tampa IIRC, but took an unexpected quick right turn and hit Sanibel/Captiva and made landfall around Port Charlotte or Punta Gorda. Cantore and crew were set-up at a place next to our rental on Sanibel, and folklore has it that when a local weatherman saw the turn first, Cantore and crew quickly abandoned-ship and ran inland to Ft Myers, leaving their equipment behind. Charlie was much smaller than Ian, and a quick mover, but still was devastating. Hopefully somehow Ian's impact will be less than predicted.
I live in western Pinellas County, the chunk of dirt that makes up Tampa Bay, almost at the western point. Wheelz, George N and I live within 2 miles of each other. My house is as ready as it can be with 175MPH windows and 24 ga metal roof. I have enough generator to run my frig, TV (with outside antenna), microwave, fans. I have a Miller Bobcat that ran my entire house during Irma but it was very noisy and generated a lot of heat so I decided to skip that. The best case for this storm will be like Irma, worst case Charlie, it probably going to be more like Charlie. I was in Port Charlotte August 16th, a day after Charlie hit in 2004 , I'm pretty sure that's what I'm going to wake up to Thursday, total nuclear devastation. My 10,000 sq ft warehouse/shop is 5 miles to the east which houses a business I formerly owned and 10 antique cars including 3 show cars that belong to a customer. Autozone lost 7 stores on rte 41 during Charlie, those buildings are of the same construction as mine which concerns me. I am not too concerned about my families safety since my house is ready. I am concerned about my neighbors who don't have the right windows and non-metal roofs (I learned a lot from Charlie), I'm sure I'll be picking people out of the rubble on Thursday. Unless Ian takes a radical turn, this is going to be real bad! The Tampa Bay area has 10X the population of Port Charlotte. Sorry to be a party pooper.
I'm ready to go with my gen .... will run the house like nothing is amiss. Only problem is it weighs 450lbs when full of gas (16 gallon tank) and burns 1.5 gallons an hour. I connect it to the power panel with a 50 amp cable. I have 40 gallons of gas here that is easily accessible and then another 38 that will be harder to get (but not impossible) out of the cars. I figure I can go a week running it for a couple hours on and a couple hours off during the day. I think after this storm I'm going to look for something that is better on gas and also duel fuel.
I've got food,water,12.5 kw generator,,gas, diesel fuel, son's skid steer and tractor and chain saws. Don't want to use them. Hoping for the best. Hope all of my Florida friends stay safe.
Hang in there guys! Stay safe and look out for the less prepared (including those who are mentally unprepared-I’m sure we’ll hear some sad stories from bad decisions.) North Georgia is expecting a fair amount of rain and some wind, nothing like y’all are expecting. If anyone needs an empty field or a cold beer, I’m outside Atlanta. Patrick
Morning Ryan and Mike. Ryan, that's what I do, running the generator for a few hours at a time. I figure as long as the refrigerator is cold, I'm good. I get tired of hearing that droning noise in the background. I'm guessing today will be the last day for getting prepared.
One sister, BIL and kids are in Punta Gorda, within eyeshot of the Peace River. Thankfully, the predicted storm surge from Charlie never happened, but the wind damage was incredibly bad. My sister and kids rode out Charlie at her SIL's 2 blocks over, because their house is 2-story, which is very unusual for SW FLA. The house they stayed in suffered more damage than their 2-story one. BIL was a Captain in the FD, so he was on call and unable to check on the families once the power went out, but they did finally send crews to check on the families. About 2 miles down the road on RT 17 in Cleveland, Hydro-E-Lectric took a direct hit and were wiped out. It was bad. 50 years of collecting used convertible top parts for classic vehicles gone in an instant. Fortunately they opened up a temporary location with what was left, rebuilt in the same location, and are still with us. The heat was a killer after Charlie. No power, no AC, no clothes washer, lots of sweaty clothes. My other sister, in Bradenton at the time, made daily laundry trips for them, which was a big help. They lived out of their camper for a while, which they hitched to their truck before the storm, and that whole package didn't end up where it started but luckily it stayed upright.
Everytime they say the big one is coming I spend days and hundreds getting ready. Then it does not happen and Im conflicted/ relieved and disappointed. Glad cause nothing got messed up but sad cause I did not get to see how well all my prep work would hold up in real time conditions. This storm is starting to look like that. Being 50+ miles inland from the coast, storm surge is not a concern. I live in the middle of the woods so for the most part wind wont really do much either. Lots of clean up from all the dead branches that water oaks will shed, maybe a pushed over tree. Hate it when we lose a healthy tree. Im as set as can be and now its just wait and see.
That sounds like a pretty scary time for your sister and family Bob. Sure am glad they made it through it all. Living in a camper... I think it was Hurricane Francis. I know it just sat out there, just off shore for days. My wife and youngest son went to my sister's in Pensacola. Let the party begin!!! It was either the 2nd or 3rd day without electric. Fortunately we already had a big generator because we did a lot of primitive camping. For 2 days it was just high tropical storm winds and rain as the feeder bands came through. Characters... Me and my oldest son, neighbor John and his wife, John's friends Jay and Trish. They were new transplants and had never been in a hurricane. We rode go-karts, we tried to fly a kite, we lit off fireworks. We literally had a cop parked outside our house till the hurricane winds showed up. (He was cool and just basically laughed at us.) So the second night... We all go to bed. Jay and Trish are sleeping in my youngest son's room. I wander at night. Yes, I'm a sleep walker. The story I heard the next morning... Jay told me I crawled into bed with him and Trish. He said he yelled at me and said, "John, go back to your room!" I said to him, "Shhh! You're going to wake Trish!" My son apparently had a giant Buzz Lightyear under his bed. With all 3 of us in bed I guess one of Buzz Lightyear's buttons got pushed, and Buzz Lightyear yelled out, "To infinity and beyond." Jay said that startled me and I went to my room. After the hurricane passed we all slept in the camper. The A/C was soooooo nice. Boy could I go on and on with that hurricane's stories!
