If you read my post I said. Perhaps, some friends and relatives went to the Villages BEFORE mandatory evacuations. This is allowed.

I lived in the St Pete area, Clearwater Beach, to be precise. If you do not believe we were policed off that causeway, then you are highly mistaken.

Maybe your friends took a route that did not need to be policed, maybe they left at an earlier time, maybe they snuck around it, maybe they showed officers your address and they were permitted to go through, maybe there wasn't enough manpower to enforce, maybe they ignored the warnings, a lot of MAYBES!

However, I assure you. Mandatory evacuations are well-organized. If they were not, people would be panicking,, highways would be bumper to bumper traffic, and without direction some people, not knowing better, would drive right into the storm.

I have been evacuated off the beach many times. If you choose to believe or not believe me, that choice is yours. All I ask is that you not insinuate that I have an imagination that runs over time. You do not know me, what I have experienced, or my mentality, to make such accusations. I could easily rip into your post as you have done to mine. I do not feel the need to do so. I ask for the same respect in return.

For official local (county) weather information, go to the website of the the National Weather Service. Type in your location and your local NWS forecast office will come up. For Sumter County, it is the NWS Tampa Bay office. For Lake County, it is NWS Melbourne office.

What you ask is on the NWS local office website.

DURING the mandatory evacuation, AFTER it was announced, and NO roadblocks. Different people, different roads, different experiences, that’s to be expected.

If I post something clearly wrong or make a broad generalization that just isn’t true then please let me know (though you might need to get in line - I have a few “friends” who keep me straight)

I understand. No hard feelings.

Can we not go and buy out all the water.
Save it for the people who have wells. Here in The Villages we rarely lose power and if we did the water still works. People who use wells will be without water if they lose power.
Be Kind

Not to belittle the danger of a hurricane BUT, we live in a bubble that seems to have the luck of being mostly bypassed or skirted by the most severe portions of the storms. One positive aspect of hysterical storm warnings is that the local businesses do great business. I've had lawn furniture in my birdcage that didn't even move when a hurricane went over us a few years ago. I have seen a couple trees down and a few homes that had some missing roof shingles. I have to admit that I did fill the tub up with water "just in case" in prep for one of the storms. The worse storm we have had here (since moving here) I sat up all night watching the news on TV to see how long before I would lose cable. Never lost my cable service and finally went to be at 7am when the storm had passed and move on North. Not shrugging the danger off, just not getting hysterical either. There's always that one time when it really could be a disaster. Kind of like the one time you really need to have that seat belt on to save your life. If you live in Florida or the Carolinas, it's probably good to be prepared for a storm or two.

Good ?. On the bright side this storm will probably hit the least populated part of Florida. Damages can be high as building construction is less wind resistant than buildings on the coast.

They will be buying gas and other necessities which could create a short term shortage of some items. Could also fill up hotels in TV.

Hurricanes/weather were the last thing the developers thought about. They liked an abundance of cheap land.

Citizens will remain. At this rate they might be the only company left.

Storm Proof
 

We may get high winds once in a while, but the real killer storm surge will never reach us.

You would not think you live in a bubble if you lived near Mallory Country Club Feb 2 2007.

We live in Sumter. Lake and Marion Counties are less than 1/2 mile away. Someone had to draw a line. Lake has a hurricane watch and Sumter has a hurricane warning. Some counties are 40 miles wide and that 40 miles can make a huge difference.

We have been in TV since 2007, so not first rodeo. The tornado that did damage to Mallory, went directly through our property, build had not started, So no damage since not even lumber had been dropped yet.

We were here for Irma

It just the nonstop info, over and over. Guessing there are some who need drilling of info, in case they forget 10 minutes ago.

Our northern home had multiple destructive tornadoes every summer. We had damage, daughter lost part of her house, and most of their neighborhood was leveled, you deal with it, I just don’t obsess over it.

Not like I can change the outcome of what ever happens, or maybe I can put out a Hedge of Protection around our house, like Mary did for her family on Young Sheldon.

We haven’t ever lost power in TV at any of our homes, WiFi got zapped by lightning, just took the box next day and back up and running. We have WiFi in our car, during acts of weather, company doesn’t charge for the hours used.

Why? South of 44 has the same flood prevention designs as the areas from 466 down to 44...

Won’t be at our Village’s home until a few days after this storm passes, but was there for both Irma and Ian. The worst part about those storms was that the sports pools and golf courses get closed. The pools open within a couple days, after the storm debris is removed from the water, but the golf courses can be closed for a long time, especially Evans Prairie, Belle Glade, and the Palms at Hacienda Hills : (

The developer thought very long and hard about the ability to move water, to keep your house dry.

Last hurricane, tunnels were flooded, our pond was up by 15-20 feet, it crested the top but never did it reach our home. Why because they ran every sprinkler on every common area, and every golf course to remove as quickly as possible the water, before it reached homes. Courses were flooded but not our home.

Been here for over 60 years. Please remember when and if the traffic lights go out they become a four-way stop sign.

Did you buy one of those lots by mail order in 1963?


Harold Schwartz, a Michigan businessman, began selling land tracts via mail order in The Villages area in the 1960s. He and his business partner, Al Tarrson, were forced to close this aspect of the business following the implementation of a 1968 federal law banning real estate sales by mail order

TROPICAL STORM IDALIA

Rain forecast looks fairly reasonable at 2-4 inches at the moment,

TROPICAL STORM IDALIA

Wind looks somewhere between 40-70 mph, the bands are narrow and the map is small. .

This joke is getting old, as it has been told for many years..

Good One, Hahahaha! :a20:

Brilliantly engineered the removal of water to prevent floods. My hat is off to the engineers who designed this system.

A hurricane party is for those riding out a hurricane - i.e. might as well get drunk and have a good time before you die in the hurricane NOT to celebrate the fact that it either passed you by or you survived it. There is absolutely NO celebrating someone else's misfortune, so nothing really inappropriate happening.

The correct word is not cautious, but ALARMIST. They will always make things sound much worse than they are. They will show you videos of the worst place in town, not the average.The goal of TV news—and weather—is to keep you watching, as that’s what establishes what they can charge advertisers. I recommend the online site Weather Underground, which is less alarmist than The Weather Channel and posts the government weather forecasts.

I am amazed at how many people run to Walmart/Publix to load up on groceries when a hurricane warning is announced here. Wondering . . . do they want more food to spoil should we lose power? Are they going to cook a Thanksgiving meal? Will they drink 27 gallons of water/day? We are only affected for about 2-3 days. And gas, are they expecting to drive to the Keys, to Memphis? I don't get it. Why and how have Americans become so self indulged? Why would a couple need 5 cases of water which ... in turn ... would leave the shelves empty for the next couple? Human nature amazes me.

Many people in the Villages eat out every night. They buy food because their cupboards are empty. Some people are hosting family/relatives who had to evacuate from the coast. Some people recognize there will be some damage in TV and buy food for a couple of days and stay home until everything is cleared. Some people are kind and take care of neighbors who are ill, disabled, or for whatever reason are unable to take care of themselves. Americans I know are not self-indulged. Instead they come together when the community needs help.

Gas is important if the storm suddenly makes an unexpected shift and it is obvious it is coming at you. This happens often! If it does, you now have a small window of time to get out of Dodge. Depending on the damage/flooding, you may not be able to return for a few days. Gas is also used for generators. Some of the generators being used are in hospitals, fire stations, stores, etc. etc. Shortage on gas is possible.

Think your right, make things sound worse so people keep the news on and worry with the result the news station gets higher ratings and makes more money.

As of 2 pm today (Tuesday), it looks like we are going to dodge the bullet.

I hope we get SOME rain. Seems like lately every time the forecast rain, it passes over us and we get a sprinkle IF any at all. Oh well, I better go out and do some yard work, just in case.

Yes, and you can suction gas out of car tank into generator if needed.

Not really. All modern cars have baffles to prevent siphoning.

Word is, Jim Cantore headed to Cedar Key. If true, WHAT WAS HE THINKING!

I have the equipment (very narrow hose) to bypass that feature on my car but it depends on what type of anti-siphon you have in yours. The cart tank is easy.

What Hurricane
 

A better nomenclature: Hurricane Nothingburger

here maybe, the storm surge being higher than IRMA will result in a lot of damage to existing structures. . the height of the water is just mind boggling.

but the storm has made landfall, big event. . :blahblahblah:
so back to regularly scheduled activities today and for the rest of the week.

This was my first time ever under hurricane warning - interesting to have watched how the weather channel and local news reported this over the previous days. As a newbie, I didn’t know what to expect, but trusted what others here in TV told me, who have been down this road countless times. In my short time here, I’ve seen “regular” storms with more impact than what we ended up with here in Sumter County.

So still waiting on the hurricane.

Thank goodness this was fast moving…Should have been here for Michael and Irma.. we have 68 DVDs…it wasn’t enough :girlneener: