Ian
 

UPDATED PIC Opinions are like………

Now tracking further west. Hope that continues!

Little too soon to post where or where not the cone goes. As of 7pm looks like south end of Florida is not in the cone. Very different than the pic you posted. Sadly some will look at this post and melt down with fear.

I seem to remember in the Fall of 2004 four of these were aimed right at Palm Harbor, FL.

4 hurricanes in 6 weeks? It happened to one state in 2004. | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

We got some horizontal rain from Charlie but that was it.

However, we did move to the Villages in the Summer of 2005.

I think it was Highway 19 and all its traffic fatalities for me though. How a stretch of US-19 in Florida became the deadliest road for pedestrians - Vox

They can't predict todays weather, never mind a week out.

Oh yeah! Media has created a climate (no pun intended) where every little glitch on the radar is blown up into Armageddon being just around the corner. Not saying that people should NOT be concerned about Ian and take sensible precautions but a drive around TV, particularly in the "historic" section, will show that homes that are little more than mobile homes have been here for well over 30 years and are still standing...as are the large trees near them.

My kids razz me about being a "prepper" but after seeing the madhouse that the Wal-mart on 441 was yesterday afternoon--well, I'm glad I am. Saw some of the people at Wal-mart seeming to be on the verge of panic; one guy (appeared to be close to my age) actually ran by me to get whatever it was he needed to get all costs. We're set for two solid weeks at least, as long as the roof doesn't blow off: new generator, canned goods that can be eaten without heating, plenty of drinking water, radio and flashlight w/plenty of spare batteries, camp stove, enough TP and paper towels to last for a month at least, etc. etc.

Not overconfident, but as prepared as we can be.

Fortunately, I still have plenty of Covid toilet paper left over.

We put up a sign in front of our house hurricanes not wanted.

1. you don't need to BUY bottled water for hurricane prep. The water from your tap is potable, even if it tastes lousy. You can clean and re-use soda bottles, plastic milk containers, and water bottles you already have and use. You can also fill zip-locks with water and stick them in the freezer. In addition, if you have a cat and buy litter by the jug, you can clean those jugs out and fill them with water to use for washing and for the toilet if for whatever reason there's a water-use restriction.
2. If you have a charcoal or wood grill, or even a newspaper grill, you don't need to stock up on propane for cooking. As long as you keep charcoal dry, it'll be useful indefinitely.
3. You should already have plenty of batteries from last year - or the year before - or the year before - or the year before. Those things are supposedly good for up to 10 years - don't trust that and assume they're only good for 5 years. You should already have plenty. If you don't, then don't get upset that the store is out. You should've made sure you had what you needed before hurricane season even started. This is Central Florida - home of random power outages that can last anywhere from a few seconds to a day.
4. Gas in your car is more important than gas in your golf cart. You can always siphon from your car if needed. And your car should have USB ports or lighter USB chargers in them so you can keep your cell phone (and rechargable hearing aids) charged even when the power goes out. If the line's too long for you to deal with getting 4-5 gallons in your golf cart, don't panic. As long as your CAR tank is full, you're good for at least a week.
5. Solar power isn't just for heating pools. My calculator runs on solar power, it has no actual battery. You can have solar lights to illuminate your yard - in an emergency, you can bring them into the house at night - they'll illuminate your house for at least a couple of hours while you gather what you need to evacuate or to prepare for bed during power outages. No need to look for matches to light candles, with those things.

Nice post, very useful info for those who may be in harms way.

Anyone who's spent most of their lives in New England is at least SOMEWHAT of a prepper by the time they retire to Florida. Hurricanes are just a part of our life. The only thing we don't have down here, that we did have up north, are basements. That makes hurricanes scarier to us. But when I lived outside Boston, I lived in a walk-up apartment over a bodega, next door to the fire department. During one of the big hurricanes, I did what we were told to do: open up ALL the windows and doors, except the bathroom (which had no window). Secure all drawers with masking tape, put away any loose anything in cabinets and cupboards and secure THEM with masking tape. Put the cat, the litterbox, food and water in the bathroom.

Then I went next door and watched the hurricane pass by from the safety of the brick fire department. When it passed, I went back home and saw that one of the curtains had ripped off the curtainrod, another one was in tatters, and one of the chairs for the kitchen table had flown across the room and was on its side with a broken leg.

That's it. Everything else was fine (including the cat who was traumatized but got over it). Part of the roof of the building had been shorn off, but that was the next floor up. I had some water damage on the ceiling from where it poured in from the hole in the top floor, but nothing the landlord couldn't fix with some scraping and spackle.

We were out of power for two days. At that time, I didn't drink milk, and lived mostly on ramen noodles and hotdogs anyway because I was an idiot college student with a miraculous digestive system typical of idiot college students. So I did fine in the food department.

Marathon on 466a ran out of gas.
:ohdear:
Tanker was sitting there, not unloading yet.
:MOJE_whot:

Here’s hoping Ian dies to a tropical storm that doesn’t spawn tornadoes, but it’s unlikely. I understand that your home is manufactured and I hope there is quick refuge in sturdy buildings for everyone with these homes if the tornado warning sounds.:pray:

Drive by Marathon on 44, everyone lined up for one pump. But it seems Marathons run out quite often anyway. All other stations in 301 had gas and no lines.

I think I will go out and do something more accurate than hurricane forecast media mania......

I am going out to measure passing clouds to see if they will fit.

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