Hurricane newbies & The Villages newbies. Just visiting. Help!

[Tamsin]

Hello everyone!

We are renting in Lake Sumpter Landing area. We have never been in a hurricane before and this is our first visit to the Villages.

Please be kind if these questions are ridiculous.

1. Do we have to worry about the life threatening storm surge the news is reporting? Will our neighborhood flood?
2. Should we drive to the Orlando area and get a hotel room in a high rise building?
3. If we stay here, what should we do to prepare?

Thanks for any help you can give!

[Bogie Shooter]

Hello everyone!

We are renting in Lake Sumpter Landing area. We have never been in a hurricane before and this is our first visit to the Villages.

Please be kind if these questions are ridiculous.

1. Do we have to worry about the life threatening storm surge the news is reporting? Will our neighborhood flood?
2. Should we drive to the Orlando area and get a hotel room in a high rise building?
3. If we stay here, what should we do to prepare?

Thanks for any help you can give!

No storm surge here.
Look at this thread, discount the silly posts. Some good suggestions there.

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/weather-talk-515/hurricane-watch-sumter-county-343706/

Don’t panic!

Plan just like we did when a lake effect storm was coming off of Lake Erie.
A former Lewiston resident.

[LuvNH]

I think we ALL feel for you, but follow Bogie and don't panic, you can be scared because it is a scary thing and with the TV weather people blaring it out all day it's enough to drive you over the top. TV homes are well built and seem able to withstand a hurricane when it comes inland. It will be noisy, very noisy and you will hear stuff blowing around outside. You have probably heard about the hurricane sounding like a freight train, well it does, but other than very minor damage to homes you should be fine and think of the story you have to tell the relatives when you get back home!

[Papa_lecki]

Hello everyone!

We are renting in Lake Sumpter Landing area. We have never been in a hurricane before and this is our first visit to the Villages.

Please be kind if these questions are ridiculous.

1. Do we have to worry about the life threatening storm surge the news is reporting? Will our neighborhood flood?
2. Should we drive to the Orlando area and get a hotel room in a high rise building?
3. If we stay here, what should we do to prepare?

Thanks for any help you can give!

You’ll be fine. It will rain a lot on wednesday, and it will be windy. It’s actually fun.
Make sure you get some extra food for wed - more than likely, you won’t lose electricity.
Thursday will be beautiful, with lots of palms branches on the ground.

[rustyp]

No different than an airplane safety. Remove your glasses and put your head between your legs. Now you're guaranteed not to see what is about to happen.

[Randall55]

Hello everyone!

We are renting in Lake Sumpter Landing area. We have never been in a hurricane before and this is our first visit to the Villages.

Please be kind if these questions are ridiculous.

1. Do we have to worry about the life threatening storm surge the news is reporting? Will our neighborhood flood?
2. Should we drive to the Orlando area and get a hotel room in a high rise building?
3. If we stay here, what should we do to prepare?

Thanks for any help you can give! No surge. The Villages is not close enough to the ocean. Drive to Orlando? Your call. If you feel you will be safer then do so. However, storm tracks change and you may find yourself worse off.

There are other threads on this forum which give advice on how to prepare.

Make sure the home you are renting does not have anything in the yard that can turn into a projectile and shatter your windows. Bring all those items indoors.

Have gas in your tank. Shortage of gas can happen.

You may want to purchase some flashlights or other light source. Your call. If electricity goes out, you will be thankful you have light.

During the storm, do not go outside for any reason. If you hear strange noises, do not go outside to see what it is. That noise can be something that may kill you. Curiosity has killed many people. I have seen it.

Good luck and don't panic.

[Bjeanj]

In addition to the above, you will see much much rain. Lower tunnels could get clogged and flood, so even after the storm, do NOT drive a golf cart through. The Villages is well-designed and the many retention ponds should handle most of the water. Hunker down inside and you should be fine.

Remember, after the storm it may take a day for service staff (restaurants, stores) to be back to work. They have to deal with the aftermath, also.

[2newyorkers]

If you are from Westhampton Beach you prepare just as if you are on Long island. Put away all loose outside furnishes and anything that would easily blow away. Fill your gas tank in car and cart. Have flashlights/ candles/ solar lights ready.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

no need to leave, just enjoy the storm as a true florida experience, but when its really windy and raining, just stay inside, too easy to get hit with flying debris. .

The path looked like it is moving slightly away from TV, so just treat it like a winter storm or a big rain and wind storm. .

good luck,

[Kelevision]

Hello everyone!

We are renting in Lake Sumpter Landing area. We have never been in a hurricane before and this is our first visit to the Villages.

Please be kind if these questions are ridiculous.

1. Do we have to worry about the life threatening storm surge the news is reporting? Will our neighborhood flood?
2. Should we drive to the Orlando area and get a hotel room in a high rise building?
3. If we stay here, what should we do to prepare?

Thanks for any help you can give!
Hi,
1. No and no
2. No
3. Nothing, just get some food and possibly cook or something indoors Wednesday although the temp will be nice and not as hot. Enjoy!

[cjrjck]

Models are starting to shift north on this storm. May not be that bad but keep an eye on the further updates. What I've seen personally from hurricanes is unbelievable damage from storm surge (Mississippi due to Katrina), flooding (mostly due to low lying areas and rain but sometimes connected to storm surge), and power loss mostly due to fallen trees and power lines. Here we don't have to worry about storm surge and most of TV is well above sea level so no New Orleans like flooding here. Can get some short term flooding though. Orlando did last year. Most of TV has few large trees, especially pine trees which are very susceptible to wind and most of the utilities are underground. Of course, at some point along their path from the source utilities could be vulnerable. All this means is that long term flooding and power outages are less likely. Think days and not weeks. So the biggest threat is wind either from the hurricane or any tornadoes that are associated with it. Structures around here are built well so they should handle lower level storms without much damage. I have left town to escape hurricanes. I got trapped on the Georgia coast one year because I rode out a hurricane that grazed the coast. Pine trees fell everywhere knocking down power lines. I lost almost 20 trees in my 1.5 acre lot. County would not let anyone leave their homes for days as it was too dangerous. Took 3 days to clean up the mess and restore limited power. Hot and miserable experience. Could happen here but won't last as long because there are far fewer trees and most of the power poles are the tall tower structures.

[MrFlorida]

I don't know about Lake Sumpter, but Lake Sumter should be ok.

[NotGolfer]

ALL of the above suggestions AND stop feeding on the 24/7 "news". We've been here 14 yrs, experienced Irma so just use common sense and stay put. Now, deep breathes!!

[Stu from NYC]

Run Forrest Run. In all seriousness stay indoors for the worst of it and just in case keep water and canned goods on hand.

[Rwirish]

There is no such place as Lake Sumpter. Are you in Lake Sumter?

Get ready to run.

[mlmarr]

Thank you for helping others with common sense, it takes a village ..

[msilagy]

Start by getting SUMTER spelled correctly = no P. You'll be fine - many people panic! I would say tornadoes spawned off this hurricane is a concern. Other than that nothing major will happen from the hurricane - it slows down over land.

[G.R.I.T.S.]

Know Your Zone Find Your Zone | Florida Storms (https://floridastorms.org/evacuate/)

[defrey12]

Hello everyone!

We are renting in Lake Sumpter Landing area. We have never been in a hurricane before and this is our first visit to the Villages.

Please be kind if these questions are ridiculous.

1. Do we have to worry about the life threatening storm surge the news is reporting? Will our neighborhood flood?
2. Should we drive to the Orlando area and get a hotel room in a high rise building?
3. If we stay here, what should we do to prepare?

Thanks for any help you can give!

Sorry, that’s just yankee dumb. Look at a map. Surge is a function of the gulf/ocean. Do we live on the ocean/gulf?

[bowlingal]

it's Lake Sumter please....NO P. You lived in Westhampton Beach on LI? And you never experienced a hurricane before? Strange

[ColtsFan]

Well, you made it through the hurricane.....Wednesday morning. We hardly ever get much from the hurricanes. That is why so many people move from living near the beaches to here. At our house, we only got 1/2 inch rain and hardly any wind. Hope you are enjoying your visit. Hope the weather gets better for your visit.

[PVR]

If you heard the train noise it is at tornado. Go to a totally enclosed area with no windows

[MandoMan]

Hello everyone!

We are renting in Lake Sumpter Landing area. We have never been in a hurricane before and this is our first visit to the Villages.

Please be kind if these questions are ridiculous.

1. Do we have to worry about the life threatening storm surge the news is reporting? Will our neighborhood flood?
2. Should we drive to the Orlando area and get a hotel room in a high rise building?
3. If we stay here, what should we do to prepare?

Thanks for any help you can give!

Laughing. Understand that TV weather reports make things seem as far bad as possible. They are alarmist. They report the worst possible effects to keep you anxious and watching. For more accurate weather, go to Weather Underground online and search for The Villages. The current forecast is that we will get about ONE INCH of rain over the next 24 hours from this storm, with winds of 25-35 mph.

The ocean is, what, sixty miles west of us? No storm surges. When Hurricane Irma dropped 12” of rain, no houses in The Villages were flooded, due to the outstanding engineering for run-off control.

Before the storm, don’t rush to the store and buy huge amounts of water and toilet paper. You aren’t likely to need it. Just keep some on hand. Do fill the car with gas, in case there are supply problems between here and Tampa for a few days. Don’t buy a generator. You won’t need it. If a hurricane goes over, stay inside in a room with no windows, like one of your bathrooms. But it won’t. After it passes, stay in your house for a day, ideally, to give the grounds department time to pick up palm fronds off the streets.

[jrref]

Also remember if you had to worry about storm surge here in the villages in the center of the state where you would have to go on your roof waiting to be picked up by helicopter, it would be all over for Florida because the rest of the state would be under water.

[ehonour]

Sad to see that FOUR people saw fit to correct the OP's spelling, as if that mattered to the issue. Cut some slack, folks.

And by now, you've seen what the outer bands of a hurricane are like. Exhilarating weather, a bit windy, some rain. No need for the panic spread by the 24/7 news.

I've been through two dozen hurricanes, and only one was worth doing a lot of prep. That one was in Pensacola, 120mph overhead in the eye wall. Yes, it took weeks of cleanup afterwards—but we were completely safe through it. Because we're 100 miles inland from either direction, the odds of anything major here in The Villages is extremely low.

If the wind where you are isn't going to be above about 90mph, then just bring in the loose objects, stock some water, ride it through and enjoy it.

[cswett5234]

[QUOTE=ehonour;2251264]Sad to see that FOUR people saw fit to correct the OP's spelling, as if that mattered to the issue. Cut some slack, folks.]

Agreed! back off the spell checkers! Yes, my Mom just called me from Spanish Springs and said it is sunny, but windy...all is fine...stand down...

[Lancer]

I don't know about Lake Sumpter, but Lake Sumter should be ok.

Always one in the crowd to correct the spelling of Sumter.

[jimjamuser]

Hello everyone!

We are renting in Lake Sumpter Landing area. We have never been in a hurricane before and this is our first visit to the Villages.

Please be kind if these questions are ridiculous.

1. Do we have to worry about the life threatening storm surge the news is reporting? Will our neighborhood flood?
2. Should we drive to the Orlando area and get a hotel room in a high rise building?
3. If we stay here, what should we do to prepare?

Thanks for any help you can give!
Nice dog. By now you know that almost no action needed to be done for this hurricane. The hurricanes the last 2 summers have been strong because the water surrounding Florida has been record HOT. That record heat is likely to keep getting worse for at least the next 7 years. If you plan on being a snowbird and have 2 homes (one up north) then Florida is OK and The Villages has a lot of activities.
.........But, with only one home, I would recommend looking at Tn or the Carolinas, where you could have a much more comfortable summer and likely it would be less expensive there.

[Topspinmo]

I don't know about Lake Sumpter, but Lake Sumter should be ok.


Formerly known as cherry lake. :throwtomatoes:

[Topspinmo]

Nice dog. By now you know that almost no action needed to be done for this hurricane. The hurricanes the last 2 summers have been strong because the water surrounding Florida has been record HOT. That record heat is likely to keep getting worse for at least the next 7 years. If you plan on being a snowbird and have 2 homes (one up north) then Florida is OK and The Villages has a lot of activities.
.........But, with only one home, I would recommend looking at Tn or the Carolinas, where you could have a much more comfortable summer and likely it would be less expensive there.

I been here 9 years and summers are always hot in mid 90’s. IMO the humidity bothers me more than temperature and closer to equator.

[Stu from NYC]

Nice dog. By now you know that almost no action needed to be done for this hurricane. The hurricanes the last 2 summers have been strong because the water surrounding Florida has been record HOT. That record heat is likely to keep getting worse for at least the next 7 years. If you plan on being a snowbird and have 2 homes (one up north) then Florida is OK and The Villages has a lot of activities.
.........But, with only one home, I would recommend looking at Tn or the Carolinas, where you could have a much more comfortable summer and likely it would be less expensive there.

Can we quote you on the 7 years?

[MrFlorida]

Always one in the crowd to correct the spelling of Sumter.

Well, if you don't know where you are. Somebody has to tell you.

[rjm1cc]

Hello everyone!

We are renting in Lake Sumpter Landing area. We have never been in a hurricane before and this is our first visit to the Villages.

Please be kind if these questions are ridiculous.

1. Do we have to worry about the life threatening storm surge the news is reporting? Will our neighborhood flood?
2. Should we drive to the Orlando area and get a hotel room in a high rise building?
3. If we stay here, what should we do to prepare?

Thanks for any help you can give!

As you can see you are ok.
We are inland so that helps.
When you have settled on a home ask the neighbors around about flooding from rain etc. Also google the past history. There can be very local problems you want to avoid.
Plan on losings electric for a few hours to a couple of days. This could happen any place you live.

[Tamsin]

Thank you to those who responded with helpful info and with a dose of empathy and kindness. Your answers were appreciated.

[Ross]

SUMTER not Sumpter

[Bill14564]

SUMTER not Sumpter

All caps? I thought it was Sumter (with lower case, as stated in several previous posts)

[nn0wheremann]

Hello everyone!

We are renting in Lake Sumpter Landing area. We have never been in a hurricane before and this is our first visit to the Villages.

Please be kind if these questions are ridiculous.

1. Do we have to worry about the life threatening storm surge the news is reporting? Will our neighborhood flood?
2. Should we drive to the Orlando area and get a hotel room in a high rise building?
3. If we stay here, what should we do to prepare?

Thanks for any help you can give!
No storm surge, you are 75 miles from the shore. You are more likely to get injured in an Orlando crime than to get injured by weather in The Villages. A storm spawned a tornado in 2005. A few houses were damaged. Nothing before or since.

Drinking water, some canned food, and a full tank of gas if you really are worried.

[Bogie Shooter]

I don't know about Lake Sumpter, but Lake Sumter should be ok.

There is no such place as Lake Sumpter. Are you in Lake Sumter?

Get ready to run.

Start by getting SUMTER spelled correctly = no P. You'll be fine - many people panic! I would say tornadoes spawned off this hurricane is a concern. Other than that nothing major will happen from the hurricane - it slows down over land.

it's Lake Sumter please....NO P. You lived in Westhampton Beach on LI? And you never experienced a hurricane before? Strange

Well, if you don't know where you are. Somebody has to tell you.

SUMTER not Sumpter

All caps? I thought it was Sumter (with lower case, as stated in several previous posts)

:1rotfl::1rotfl: