Sumter Landing Storm

[under55]

Most of the Vendor tents lost also.

[rdhdleo]

That was one wicked storm and we are by Lopez! Worst I've seen in awhile. Hope no one was hurt!

[Dave n Sue]

We were there having a great time listening to Scooter. It was very scary!

[travelguy]

what? no scooter tonite?
darn.

[jimnc]

We were there when the storm hit. Hope Scooter and his equipment are alright.
The storm came with almost no warning.

[Bogie Shooter]

We were there when the storm hit. Hope Scooter and his equipment are alright.
The storm came with almost no warning.

Didn't anyone see that big black cloud to the west?

[janmcn]

The 5:00pm news reported a tornado warning had been issued for Marion County. It makes you wonder why this event hadn't been canceled.

[Dreamer61]

Exactly!!






QUOTE=Bogie Shooter;752042]Didn't anyone see that big black cloud to the west?[/QUOTE]

[Bogie Shooter]

We are all adults here, I think, should know enough to not go out to the square when the weather is threatening. Don't ya think?:wine:

[Bosoxfan]

I was driving to work when the storm hit.A tree came down right beside me in the right lane right before the Sumter bridge.Scary stuff as I had to swerve to avoid it

[ilovetv]

Again, I'll say: We need fire sirens blaring when there is a tornado warning, especially during the night when people aren't seeing or hearing radio, t.v. or internet. This is not a new idea. Every city, suburb and small town where we've lived since 1960 did this, but not TV.

Also, I am registered on the sheriff's Code Red list in Marion, Sumter and Lake Counties, to get robo-calls advising of tornado conditions or citings, and several times like today, did not get a call.

Did Marion County actually have a tornado warning? If so, did anyone get a Code Red call?

https://cne.coderedweb.com/Default.aspx?groupid=rnHTO0DAA0lCtQVIGOctEw%3D%3D

[pooh]

My weather radio went off because I have Marion county also included in my programming for alerts....I live in Sumter county. It went off, I put on TV and immediately knew what was going on and the Villages, even the portion in Marion county, was not in an area of concern for this particular storm. They warning was over fairly quickly.

[skip0358]

We were at Red Sauce. a Palm Tree came down an awning came flying by everyone was ushered inside, Several vendors lost tents, the FD showed up to assist and check out the situation. Thank goodness nobody was injured

[Ooper]

I was near one of the vendor booths. Although I was keeping tabs on the rain with the Doppler app on my phone, there was no indication of the wind coming. Shortly after the rain started, the winds came through with enough force to pretty much destroy most of the vendors canopies. The wind was so strong it blew tables across the square, twisted the canopies into piles of twisted metal and even caused one vendors sign to be embedded into a palm tree trunk about 50' away from his booth. I know it is going to take time for many of the vendors time to get back to business as usual. The emergency crews showed up in very short time to treat any injuries but thankfully, nobody was hurt. All that was left was a long wet cleanup.

[TraceyMooreRN]

Drove through right after the storm. We were at Red Lobster, saw the wind and rain and no sign of bad storm there. When we hit Buena Vista near Arnold Palmer--trees down. BIG TREES. Headed to Lake Sumter saw the vendors gathering up what was left of the tents. Lots of people at Red Sauce and City Fire. Fire Dept in the area. Glad no one was hurt.

[Pturner]

I was out doing choirs and when I made my last stop, at Publix in Mulberry Grove, it wasn't raining. The storm hit just as I was finishing at the checkout line. I tried to wait it out for a while, then got the bright idea to go on home. For those of us who decided to leave, a Publix employee loaned us one of those big Publix umbrellas, let us drive up to the curb and he came out with an umbrella to load our cars. Everyone who went before me made out fine.

As I was walking to my car, a gust of wind came and blew my umbrella inside out with the part that was supposed to cover me flying up straight above the shaft. I got thoroughly drenched. My flip flops slid off my feet, so I carried them the rest of the way to the car, walking barefoot on the soaked concrete.

The rain was beating down on me so hard! I was thoroughly drenched from head to toe. The thunder roared and the lighting flashed and I suppose I could have been scared. Instead all I could do was let out a hardly laugh because, well... it was so much fun!

[manaboutown]

It looks to me like it was just another beautiful day in The Villages.

[donb9006]

We are all adults here, I think, should know enough to not go out to the square when the weather is threatening. Don't ya think?:wine:

Some people need a "warning", an official statement, a law, to help them make decisions. Some people don't think too well...they have to be "protected".

[tv2016]

Can anybody in Virginia Trace/Sunset Pointe area tell me what it was like there?

[tv2016]

Bump

[2newyorkers]

Our house was hit by lightening and our weather radio never went off. Luckily we just need to replace a circuit breaker. Strange thing is that our home in NY was also hit by lightening this summer.

[Madelaine Amee]

We are on Glenview, there were three foursomes on the golf course in our area, the sky was absolutely black and they continued playing (but we see that all the time dumb dumb dumb), then the heavens opened and you could not see across the golf course, how they got back to the club house I'll never know. With the rain we had high winds, our back yard is covered in tree branches off the course, clean up day today. After the rain stopped we had thunder and lightening and then it started to rain again. Wild night, and our weather radio did go off to warn us about flooding, nothing else. A typical freak tropical storm.

[TraceyMooreRN]

Called my mom who is in the Sunset Pointe Area- no damage there to see other than some limbs.

[tv2016]

Called my mom who is in the Sunset Pointe Area- no damage there to see other than some limbs.

Good to know. Thanks for sharing.

[Taltarzac725]

Newseum | Today's Front Pages | The Villages Daily Sun (http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/hr.asp?fpVname=FL_VDS&ref_pge=lst)

[Pturner]

Our house was hit by lightening and our weather radio never went off. Luckily we just need to replace a circuit breaker. Strange thing is that our home in NY was also hit by lightening this summer.

Oh my! I'm so glad you weren't injured. Hope you did not have much damage in either place.

[billethkid]

I am one that does not need a second or third party to tell me when danger is apparent/threatening or imminent.

I do not believe it is the responsibility of some automated piece of equipment to alert me to potential threats....sirens for example work as long as one is in it's cone of sound...and it is working as intended.

Weather radio for night time I think is adequate....

I know I certainly do not need to be tuned in to a television station with a weather person in their moment of fame and theatrics about all the impending red graphics and watch boxes with street by street arrival times....ridiculous at best.

The Villages has more people who totally ignore threatening weather while on the golf courses than any place I have ever lived. Maybe they think they are macho when they are in fact acting very, very stupid.

btk

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Amazing how localized Florida weather can be. Im in Silver Lake, about 3 miles from LSL and all we got was a lot of rain. There may have been some wind, but nothing extraodinary.

I unplugged my weather radio. It was going off for every little thing. It was ridiculous being wakened up at 3:00am to read that they temperature had dipped below 32. It would also go off because there were thunderstorms in the "area" of Lake, Marion and Sumter counties, that were capable of producing tornadoes.

Because we live right on the border of those three counties, it was suggested that we have it tuned for all three. The problem is that because we live in the borders of those three counties the outer edges of those three counties are many miles from here. My radio would go off when it was bright and sunny here and we never even got rain.

As far as thunderstorms capable of producing tornadoes, I think that that includes pretty much every thunderstorm.

So, after this thing going of unnecessarily about twenty or so times including several times in the middle of the night, I just unplugged it.

Would I want to know if a tornado was heading into my area? Yes, of course. But, am I going to leave my home and head to a shelter at 3:00 am every time there is a thunderstorm "capable of producing tornadoes" 25 miles from here, or when the temperature dips below freezing? How many of you would?

It's a shame that these radios can't be programmed to be more local and to only go off when there is a real threat. Until then, they are just useless wastes of money promoted by alarmists.

[mulligan]

Just for the record, there are no nearby shelters.

[delima2000]

We live in Mira Mesa and boy did did we get the rain and the winds. Was so bad that we couldn't see across the street. Large branches from our tree were falling all over the place. The winds seem to come in waves. Our power blinked twice but no outages. The t v news did say it was coming to the villages. At first the path was north of us but then the wind shifted and was told it was heading to the villages but no tornado warning for us I have my alert set for Sumter county instead of lake since we live so close to Sumter and lake is so large that most of the time it doesn't effect us.

[buggyone]

Just for the record, there are no nearby shelters.

I am sure he meant to an interior room with no windows when he said shelter - not a community shelter.

[Bogie Shooter]

I am one that does not need a second or third party to tell me when danger is apparent/threatening or imminent.

I do not believe it is the responsibility of some automated piece of equipment to alert me to potential threats....sirens for example work as long as one is in it's cone of sound...and it is working as intended.

Weather radio for night time I think is adequate....

I know I certainly do not need to be tuned in to a television station with a weather person in their moment of fame and theatrics about all the impending red graphics and watch boxes with street by street arrival times....ridiculous at best.

The Villages has more people who totally ignore threatening weather while on the golf courses than any place I have ever lived. Maybe they think they are macho when they are in fact acting very, very stupid.

btk

I agree.
Good post as usual.

[DAWN MARIE]

I was at LSL last night and this storm came fast. I had run six miles earlier that afternoon and other than just gray skies got nothing. So my friend and I made a decision after checking the radar first to go see Scooter thinking it would be ok for the 90 minutes we planned on being there. It looked like there was a system to the north that could maybe at worse clip us but otherwise looked clear.

We had no indication of any warnings and headed for the square. About an hour or so later we got nailed. Four of us huddled under the gazebo overhang and got battered by the wind and rain. Drenched to the core. We had front row to the square destruction right in front of our eyes. We thought we were either witnessing a tornado or a micro burst. We were basically trapped in that position realizing we were on the wrong side of the stage taking the brunt of the storm so after a good 10 minutes or so of this quickly ran to the other side of the gazebo in the pouring rain with thunder and lightening all around us. Being on the stage would have been useless. Even Scooter hightailed it off the stage. No protection up there and everything on the stage was drenched with big puddles on the floor.

I definitely think had this been a tornado we'd be talking loss of lives here. There needs to be some warning system for us up at the squares. Unless you have the net on your phone and are tied to it you'd have no idea. We were dancing the whole time and other than seeing dark clouds heading our way (thinking rain) we had no idea and would have left had we known what was coming.

[Bosoxfan]

I am one that does not need a second or third party to tell me when danger is apparent/threatening or imminent.

I do not believe it is the responsibility of some automated piece of equipment to alert me to potential threats....sirens for example work as long as one is in it's cone of sound...and it is working as intended.

Weather radio for night time I think is adequate....

I know I certainly do not need to be tuned in to a television station with a weather person in their moment of fame and theatrics about all the impending red graphics and watch boxes with street by street arrival times....ridiculous at best.

The Villages has more people who totally ignore threatening weather while on the golf courses than any place I have ever lived. Maybe they think they are macho when they are in fact acting very, very stupid.

btk

Wow...I guess you told us:bigbow:

[buggyone]

"Four of us huddled under the gazebo overhang and got battered by the wind and rain."

There are restaurants and stores just across the street you could have ran to or even The Villages Sales Office right across the street. Standing outside in the wind and rain for what you believe could have been a tornado coming leaves one to wonder.

As for warning people at the square, doesn't sudden high wind and rain lend itself to a a warning to get the heck off the square and into a building? The Villages Sales Office was still open at 6 pm when the storm hit and is a huge and a safe building.

[DAWN MARIE]

"Four of us huddled under the gazebo overhang and got battered by the wind and rain."

There are restaurants and stores just across the street you could have ran to or even The Villages Sales Office right across the street. Standing outside in the wind and rain for what you believe could have been a tornado coming leaves one to wonder.

As for warning people at the square, doesn't sudden high wind and rain lend itself to a a warning to get the heck off the square and into a building? The Villages Sales Office was still open at 6 pm when the storm hit and is a huge and a safe building.

Easy to say now from behind your computer.... we had no idea about any tornado when it started. If you read what I read...I said we had NO IDEA. It wasn't until the wind whipped up as it did we wondered if we were in one.

When it happened at first it was fine. It started like usual. Rain only. We did what we've done in the past ran to the dry safe spot that is near us. When a passing storm comes we have a niche right there that is usually dry and safe. It quickly turned bad and we had no choice but to stay put. I've stood in that same spot tons of times and have felt quite safe. The rain stops and we resume dancing. This was different. As soon as there was a lull which took about 15-20 minutes we ran to the sales office area.

The warning would have made a bid difference had we known. By the time the storm hit it was too late. This came quickly with no warning.

[graciegirl]

Easy to say now from behind your computer.... we had no idea about any tornado when it started. If you read what I read...I said we had NO IDEA. It wasn't until the wind whipped up as it did we wondered if we were in one.

When it happened at first it was fine. It started like usual. Rain only. We did what we've done in the past ran to the dry safe spot that is near us. When a passing storm comes we have a niche right there that is usually dry and safe. It quickly turned bad and we had no choice but to stay put. I've stood in that same spot tons of times and have felt quite safe. The rain stops and we resume dancing. This was different. As soon as there was a lull which took about 15-20 minutes we ran to the sales office area.

The warning would have made a bid difference had we known. By the time the storm hit it was too late. This came quickly with no warning.


I am off campus, but it appears you weathered the storm no worse for wear. Good.

[Ooper]

There are restaurants and stores just across the street you could have ran to or even The Villages Sales Office right across the street. Standing outside in the wind and rain for what you believe could have been a tornado coming leaves one to wonder.

As for warning people at the square, doesn't sudden high wind and rain lend itself to a a warning to get the heck off the square and into a building? The Villages Sales Office was still open at 6 pm when the storm hit and is a huge and a safe building.

I agree with Dawn Marie, THERE WAS NO WARNING! It happened and within seconds, the square was a total mess. If you weren't there, you would have no idea. Like she says, easy to preach from behind your computer. Don't say these people at the square are stupid. They did what they had to do. Remember, this wind was strong enough to toss metal objects clear across the square and impale tree trunks. Let's just be thankful that nobody was hurt instead of making like you'd have done something else.

[graciegirl]

Was anyone hurt?

[Ooper]

Not that I saw. The emergency crews were there shortly after it happened, checking to make sure everybody was all OK and to help where they could in cleaning up. I think there were about 3 emergency vehicles there.

[Gongy]

You can all say what you want about last night...unless you were there you have no clue what really happened!
I would be the first one to make the comments about stupid, careless, not paying attention, clueless people. I always check my back, never enter a building without looking for a different exit if need be, that is who I am and always will be.
BUT, I was there last night. My phone gives warnings, and I never received any until after this all happened. The sky was grey, not black and actually there was some breaks of blue also. We were dancing and with no thunder or lightening it started to rain very lightly. Within 45 seconds the rain went from light to heavy and then within 30 more seconds everything was flying. All the chairs, all the vendors tents, all of their products that they sell, palm fronds, whatever wasn't fastened down was flying. Remember, it took under a minute and a half before this went from normal to insane. Many elderly, many grandchildren, some people in wheelchairs, very easy for you to sit behind your computer and state the obvious as to what everyone should have done.
I'm very thankful that no one killed last night from either flying objects or just fear.

[skip0358]

We were at Red Sauce outside. It tore an awning off the building and sent it down the road. The wind and rain came within seconds.

[DAWN MARIE]

You can all say what you want about last night...unless you were there you have no clue what really happened!
I would be the first one to make the comments about stupid, careless, not paying attention, clueless people. I always check my back, never enter a building without looking for a different exit if need be, that is who I am and always will be.
BUT, I was there last night. My phone gives warnings, and I never received any until after this all happened. The sky was grey, not black and actually there was some breaks of blue also. We were dancing and with no thunder or lightening it started to rain very lightly. Within 45 seconds the rain went from light to heavy and then within 30 more seconds everything was flying. All the chairs, all the vendors tents, all of their products that they sell, palm fronds, whatever wasn't fastened down was flying. Remember, it took under a minute and a half before this went from normal to insane. Many elderly, many grandchildren, some people in wheelchairs, very easy for you to sit behind your computer and state the obvious as to what everyone should have done.
I'm very thankful that no one killed last night from either flying objects or just fear.

AMEN! That's exactly right.

[Bogie Shooter]

Could it be possible that if the storm came up so quickly, that even if there were sirens on every corner......there would not have been time for the siren button pusher to be alerted?

[Ooper]

could it be possible that if the storm came up so quickly, that even if there were sirens on every corner......there would not have been time for the siren button pusher to be alerted?

absolutely!

[DAWN MARIE]

Not that I saw. The emergency crews were there shortly after it happened, checking to make sure everybody was all OK and to help where they could in cleaning up. I think there were about 3 emergency vehicles there.

So where were you hiding out? I saw exactly the same as you. I saw some under the bar hut overhangs on the lake side. That's where the rescue vehicles stopped. I was wondering if anyone was hurt at first but didn't see anyone carried out or being treated. We made our run for the Sales Office about the time the rescue vehicles showed up.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Just for the record, there are no nearby shelters.

Even better. Buy one of these radios and have it go off because of every little blip on the radar and then when there is a real threat there's no where to go anyway. And there are people who will tell you how these radios can save your life.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

I am sure he meant to an interior room with no windows when he said shelter - not a community shelter.

No, I meant a shelter. I don't have an interior room with no windows. How many homes have that?

[Ooper]

So where were you hiding out? I saw exactly the same as you. I saw some under the bar hut overhangs on the lake side. That's where the rescue vehicles stopped. I was wondering if anyone was hurt at first but didn't see anyone carried out or being treated. We made our run for the Sales Office about the time the rescue vehicles showed up.

I didn't hide out. I was already drenched so I said what the heck and helped a couple of the vendors across from Ambrosia rescue as much of what was left of their businesses.

[Bosoxfan]

No, I meant a shelter. I don't have an interior room with no windows. How many homes have that?
There are no windows in our master closet & it's big enough

[Pbsett]

Some of the vendors were hurt pretty badly besides losing all their merchandise.
Per the fire department 70 to 80 mile an hour winds and The Daily Sun makes lite of the entire evening.

[graciegirl]

Some of the vendors were hurt pretty badly besides losing all their merchandise.
Per the fire department 70 to 80 mile an hour winds and The Daily Sun makes lite of the entire evening.

Do you mean physically injured?

[Bogie Shooter]

Some of the vendors were hurt pretty badly besides losing all their merchandise.
Per the fire department 70 to 80 mile an hour winds and The Daily Sun makes lite of the entire evening.

70-80 MPH winds? Doppler radar showed gusts of 59 MPH.
What did the fire department use to measure the wind? Was this published somewhere?

[graciegirl]

70-80 MPH winds? Doppler radar showed gusts of 59 MPH.
What did the fire department use to measure the wind? Was this published somewhere?


Bogie.

You know as well as I do that it was Gary Morse's fault. He should harness the winds.:wave:

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Could it be possible that if the storm came up so quickly, that even if there were sirens on every corner......there would not have been time for the siren button pusher to be alerted?

Sounds like that's exactly what happened.

[Bogie Shooter]

Sounds like that's exactly what happened.

Doc, there are no sirens..........................

[ilovetv]

You know-it-alls can snort and mock all you want, but the people of Joplin, Missouri won't be mocking the siren warning system they have.

And by the way, not all tornados appear in a matter of 30-60 seconds like people here are describing the wind strike last night at the square.

Joplin, Missouri (CNN) --

".....Every day in cities and towns across the Midwest, the routine test of an emergency system intended to save lives often gets ignored.

But after Sunday, no one in this college town of 50,000 is likely to dismiss a siren's call again.

In the middle of a clear, sunny afternoon, the deadliest recorded tornado in U.S. history spun up over Joplin. Within a matter of minutes, it leveled entire blocks, smashing miles of homes to splinters.....

"......Conventional time, counted in minutes, stopped at 5:17 p.m., when the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Joplin, triggering the city's sirens.

They had 24 minutes before touchdown, before the tornado would be on top of them....."

They had 24 minutes to escape the twister - CNN.com (http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/05/26/joplin.tornado.minutes/index.html)

[redwitch]

My daughter asked me to pick up my grandson at his day care in Bellview. I left Olive Garden to little rain. By the time I was on 301, I was holding on to the steering wheel with both hands, white knuckled (and I am a seriously confident driver). Those of us who had to be on the road for whatever reason were driving under 20 MPH and many had their emergency flashers going as they drove. There was no warning the rain would come down in such torrents. If I could have found a place to safely pull over, I would have done so. The last time I was caught in something this frightening it was a sandstorm going down Highway 5 (very flat highway) in California. Went from miles of visibility to zero in seconds -- same thing with this storm.

There is no way anyone could have been warned what was coming. I think we all expected the typical Florida 30-minute downpour, but nothing like what we got.

[jblum315]

If I'd been home I would have sheltered in my laundry room or one of the master closets, but I was out in a car with 3 other people and scared.

[senior citizen]

you can all say what you want about last night...unless you were there you have no clue what really happened!
I would be the first one to make the comments about stupid, careless, not paying attention, clueless people. I always check my back, never enter a building without looking for a different exit if need be, that is who i am and always will be.
But, i was there last night. My phone gives warnings, and i never received any until after this all happened. The sky was grey, not black and actually there was some breaks of blue also. We were dancing and with no thunder or lightening it started to rain very lightly. Within 45 seconds the rain went from light to heavy and then within 30 more seconds everything was flying. All the chairs, all the vendors tents, all of their products that they sell, palm fronds, whatever wasn't fastened down was flying. Remember, it took under a minute and a half before this went from normal to insane. Many elderly, many grandchildren, some people in wheelchairs, very easy for you to sit behind your computer and state the obvious as to what everyone should have done.
I'm very thankful that no one killed last night from either flying objects or just fear.

Amen.
Great post.

[senior citizen]

I am one that does not need a second or third party to tell me when danger is apparent/threatening or imminent.

I do not believe it is the responsibility of some automated piece of equipment to alert me to potential threats....sirens for example work as long as one is in it's cone of sound...and it is working as intended.

Weather radio for night time I think is adequate....

I know I certainly do not need to be tuned in to a television station with a weather person in their moment of fame and theatrics about all the impending red graphics and watch boxes with street by street arrival times....ridiculous at best.

The Villages has more people who totally ignore threatening weather while on the golf courses than any place I have ever lived. Maybe they think they are macho when they are in fact acting very, very stupid.

btk

GREAT POST......COMMON SENSE SHOULD PREVAIL....
Read below:

Florida is the lightening capital of the world.

Florida leads the nation in deaths caused by lightning. The reasons for that are straightforward � Florida has both a high population and typically a large amount of lightning.

It is a steady, methodical killer � in fact it kills far more people than any other source in its category. Far too often, however, people ignore it and become complacent. It won�t happen to them, they think. And while hurricanes make the news, lightning continues on as the leading cause of weather related deaths in Florida.

When thunder is heard and lightning is visible, many experts recommend that people seek shelter inside of a home or vehicle. Trees and bodies of water � even canals � are considered dangerous. The "right time" is problematic as most lightning strikes occur in the month of July � a time when school is out and more people are out of doors.

Lightning is powerful enough to defy conventional wisdom. Experts say that rubber soled shoes or rubber car tires will not protect you from a strike. The metal body of a vehicle, however, will provide protection � assuming, of course, that you are not in contact with the metal. Being inside a home or building is considered the safest of all.

With that in mind, however, the National Weather Service states that no place is absolutely safe from lightning. The NWS suggests staying away from electrical appliances and plumbing fixtures as lightning can travel a great distance through wiring or metal plumbing. They also recommend against using corded telephones or computers connected to telephone lines and electrical outlets.

The NWS suggests that Floridians follow the "30/30 Rule" to safeguard against becoming a victim of lightning. According to their research, lightning can strike more than 10 miles away from the center of a thunderstorm � a distance beyond the audible range of thunder. Therefore, if you do hear thunder, you are in striking range of lightning. The 30/30 Rule states that if the "flash to bang" time - from seeing lightning to hearing the thunderclap - is 30 seconds or less seek shelter immediately � and remain sheltered until 30 minutes after the last thunder clap
.
That rule, however, is of limited use should a thunderstorm form overhead.

Lightning is one of Florida�s greatest silent killers and while you may not be able to completely ensure the safety of your home, you can take steps to ensure your personal safety � and to avoid becoming the next victim.

[senior citizen]

No, I meant a shelter. I don't have an interior room with no windows. How many homes have that?

The designer home we rented in the month of November had two large walk in closets across the hallway from each other. No windows.

Perfect place to seek shelter. They were very large closets, so it would not feel claustrophobic to take shelter in them, if need be.

Once in the past, someone suggested keeping a small mattress or two inside the closet for further protection......like in a true tornado...to cover one's body..........

I thought that was a good suggestion. Better safe than sorry.

[Villages Kahuna]

I had just emptied my rain gage before that storm came through. When I looked the next morning, we had gotten 3-1/2 inches of rain. As I recall, that storm blew through in only about an hour.

That was a gully-washer of the first order.

[Villages Kahuna]

At a recent neighborhood club meeting, one of the WVLG weathermen made a presentation. When he asked for questions, someone asked, "If you're out on the golf course, see black clouds, see lightning in the distance and hear thunder, when should you stop playing?"

His answer? "Let's see, you're asking whether when you hear and see an approaching thunder and lightning storm whether you should continue to stand out in an open field and hold a stick with a metal end on it up in the air? You must be kidding, of course."

[looneycat]

Weather radio for night time I think is adequate....

I know I certainly do not need to be tuned in to a television station with a weather person in their moment of fame and theatrics about all the impending red graphics and watch boxes with street by street arrival times....ridiculous at best.

btk

actually the prudent thing IS to turn on the tv when the weather radio goes off to see if you are in imminent danger....not to do so could be foolish and dangerous....but due to the theatrics you may want to do so with the sound off!

[SusanOfWoodbury]

I was driving that evening from Woodbury to St Tim's Church. Palm leaves; branches and lots of water on the road. From Buena Vista and El Camino Reel.. I had to laugh when the daily newspaper reported 19 miles an hour winds! The winds were like 30-40 miles per hour. I have been leaving in the villages for a year and have never seen a storm this bad...

[jblum315]

Just for the record, there are no nearby shelters.

Wrong. There is a shelter on Powell Road not far from the Pinellas Library.

[kittygilchrist]

I believe JB refers to the Community/Recreation Center on Powell Road.
Community Center - The City of Wildwood, Florida (http://www.wildwood-fl.gov/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7B908C83F7-2E61-469C-9B9B-3FB4D14FB11D%7D)
I've been in this building....not sure what the codes are for building a shelter, but I am eyeing the roof design with skepticism.

[mulligan]

If you notice the sign says "City of Wildwood" . The only areas of TV included in the "City of Wildwood " are the commercial areas at Brownwood.

[Ooper]

I was driving that evening from Woodbury to St Tim's Church. Palm leaves; branches and lots of water on the road. From Buena Vista and El Camino Reel.. I had to laugh when the daily newspaper reported 19 miles an hour winds! The winds were like 30-40 miles per hour. I have been leaving in the villages for a year and have never seen a storm this bad...

Actually, I don't think 30-40 mph winds will uproot and blow down 8-10" diameter trees either as was the case Tuesday night after the storm on Buena Vista that was partially blocked near Palmer. It was laughable how the Daily Sun made light of the storm.:1rotfl: