This seems like over the top for people living in central Florida. Agree a good plan for living on the coasts.

You are correct and we got a ton of rain as everywhere in TV was flooded to some degree.

Right, thanks to the weather people who make them all sound like Armageddon.

When it passed to the west of us it may very well have been of tropical storm intensity. The winds were on the border between a tropical storm and cat1. It is really of no consequence.

Where do I begin... Been in Florida 30 yrs... Lost my home with Hurricane Andrew 1992, CAT 5, that was Miami. Hurricane Season for Florida is June 1st to Nov 1st. Florida's serious Hurricane's usually happen in Late July through Mid Sept. They come up from Africa and either travel Up the Florida East Coast, or the Gulf. Southern Florida is the section that gets clipped, (IF) it comes close. Now Central Florida, is where we live, I came here to get out of the Hurricane's... majority of homes, 99.9% don't have hurricane shutters because (if) we are in the path, by the time it crosses over land to get here, it downsizes considerably, to just messy, windy but not high winds, and lots of rain. You would move your potted plants inward and lani chairs.. anything that is mobile. Now to relax you , Hopefully, if EVER its life threatening, we would get news of going to a designated Shelter (local)... we are not near water, so no problem with high water . There is a big difference in Home Insurance because we are not in the High Destruction zone from Hurricanes. My homeowners insurance decreased by $2000 a year, my friends were paying $7,000 for homeowners insurance.(in Miami). Now, a Category 1 and 2, can lift some roof tiles, some fences will come down, tree limbs.... its the Category 3, 4 and 5 that you need to take more seriously. We haven't lost power of phones, because most lines are underground. However, always, during the Hurricane Season, have a pantry back up for water, food (non perishable items) meds, pet food, TP, as well as flash lights etc. I rotate my stock as the season ends. If anything, in Central Florida your biggest issue is SINKHOLE... WE do have a few but not bad. So always plan for the worst and hope for the best. I had the Village Daily Sun do a news report 2-3 years ago on me , with what I went through and how to prepare for any up coming storms. I'll post if I can be talented enough computer wise. Also, keep important papers in a plastic bag, if ever you need to find them they will all be together. Make sure cell phone is charged ...

When the water gets above your ankles, you can assume the course is closed……even if there is no sign.
Being on a closed course is trespassing………I read that somewhere.😈

I was glued to the news when the eye of Irma passed over us around 3 a.m. After the eye passed the wind appeared to change direction. We were worried about the water level from the lake behind our house. It was amazing afterward that although the debris field of mostly palm fronds was enormous, damage was minimal.

Love the fear! Make sure you stay in front of the television and believe everything they tell you!

How to prepare for a Hurricane
 

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this is from the Villages Daily News, they did an interview of my experience with Hurricane Andrew and I also, went into how to prepare for Hurricane Season .... CLICK ON LOG INTO FACEBOOK" and the News report will come up.

Media just going from one panic to another, foolish people.

I agree with Bogie, as usual.

Bring all your loose items in from outside. (patio furniture, etc.) Don't panic. The newer homes in The Villages are built to updated hurricane standards. Just prepare to hunker down for a day or so. Keep an eye on local news to see IF and WHERE evacuations are recommended or required. (Typically just on the coast and in low areas unless it's a Category 3 or higher.)

OK, let us review the facts.

1) There is a hurricane south of the Dominican Republic.
2) It is forecasted to move to the northwest and decrease in intensity to a tropical storm as it passes over Cuba.
3) It is forecasted to move into the Gulf and move northward off the west coast of Florida eventually making landfall. Current forecasts keep it at tropical storm intensity.
4) The cone of uncertainty is large and, starting Tuesday morning, nearly all of FL has the potential to be impacted.
5) You should be prepared with food and water and other supplies. This is good advice for all of the hurricane season.
6) You should continue to monitor the forecasts, which are updated several times per day.

Oh stop. It is legitimate for new people to wonder what are the usual preparations for a named storm.

Most people who have lived in Florida for five years or so would not think to evacuate The Villages. We don't have storm shutters here. We usually fare pretty well. The huge oak tree next to Laurel Manor Rec Center did fall during H. Irma. It is wise to have food that can be eaten without refrigeration or heat and to have enough clean water during Hurricane season here in central Florida, although The Villages usually do not have prolonged power outages. (In Irma the older sections did lose power and did have flooding)

The old saying..."You can hide from wind, but you need to run from water". The Villages flooded their own golf courses with their immense pumping system in order to keep homes safe from flooding, during Hurricane Irma.

I had a house in Key Largo for 14 years and people there worried less about hurricanes than they do here. Irma was a Cat 5, as bad as they get, the eye passed very close to The Villages and yet it was just a bad storm here. There is an extremely high probability that Irma will be the worst hurricane that this area will see in any of our lifetimes. In Key Largo we had good reasons to worry. There was no land to weaken the hurricanes and the ocean storm surge could be as bad or worse than the winds. So relax, grab a good book and expect some wind and rain.