[fl boomer]

I lived on the East Coast of Florida during all the hurricanes in 2004, and I have a few suggestions for a "just in case" scenario. Clean out your freezer and throw away all that frozen food that you'll probably never use this week. Trying to get the smell out of a freezer after no power for several days is very difficult. Clean out your refrigerator too.

MAKE ICE!! You can buy the plastic Blue Ice containers that you freeze & use in your coolers or even put water in metal pans & freeze it. I keep several of the Blue Ice packs on hand, & only put them in the freezer during Hurricane season. You can use these to keep your food frozen longer. I like ice in my drinks, so put ice cubes in freezer bags. They won't last as long if the power goes off, but there's nothing better than an ice cold drink when it's hot & you don't have power.

Cell phones may not work, nor your home phone if it is connected to you internet/tv provider. A land line phone works best so you can connect to friends and relatives to let them know you're OK.

If you have a bath tub, put water in it in case you don't have water available. It can be used for flushing toilets, etc. Of course, most of the homes in TV do not have these.

Ladies, remember, if there is no power, then your hair dryer, flat iron, curling iron, etc. will not work!

Remove any furniture lawn ornaments, etc that you have on your porch, open lanai, etc. & put in your garage or house.

Lower your flag pole or remove your flag....in a strong wind, it will be in tatters.

Check any of the Hurricane Preparedness sites for additional information.

Let's hope we get "lucky"