Just wanted to wish those in the path of the latest FL hurricane well. Please keep us posted on how you are all doing. Be safe and take care!

According to Joanna, Tony is so busy running around checking everything, locking everything down and acting like a maniac...while she's just relaxing and kicked back sipping her wine!! That's our Tony! He's protecting his snake hole! He even has a hurricane tracker...Joanna isn't the least bit concerned!

Lots of good hurricane info can be found here. I have been tracking Charley as my girlfriend is honeymooning on Grand Cayman this week. :eek:

Living in a hurricane area myself, I am wishing everyone in Florida my best during the next 2 days. Having been through a few myself, I can tell you, they are not fun - even if it is only a tropical storm. (Houston - 2001 - 17 inches of rain from Allison). The city has just finally recovered from that mess.
So you all do what you have to do to stay safe & dry & hopefully both B & C will weaken before they strike.

Absolutely - best of luck to everyone in the panhandle.

Masaki

Good luck everyone...

R

Cruise passengers should be aware that some Miami - N.York flights have been cancelled today. The edge of the storm is expected to pass here in the early evening and through the night with heavy rain tomorrow. Flying out of Miami and Ft.Laud. will be tricky. Suggest making alternative arrangements.

CNN just said that they've ordered the evacuation of Tampa!
Here are a couple more sites:
National Hurricane Center
and
Navy Hurricane site
Good luck to all...

They have just ordered evacuation of Sarasota Barrier Islands (Casey Key, Siesta Key and Longboat Key) and mainland coastal areas. We are still fine - we only need to leave if the storm is predicted to be category 3 or more.

Of course all of the supermarkets are swamped with shoppers stocking up. We're doing all the normal preparations. I put the lanai furniture into the pool - so it won't blow away! We try to make sure there's nothing loose that can take flight when the wind gets strong.

With luck, the worse part will probably be losing electricity for a while - that we can deal with, we pray there isn't too much wind damage.

Thanks for all of your good wishes!

Everyone, please keep us updated as the day goes on! I will keep my fingers crossed.

We just put the lanai furniture into the pool too. Then brought in all the potted plants and palms from outdoors into the living room. After about 20 minutes we walked thru the living room and it sounded like a symphony of bugs! It didn't even occur to me that I could be bringing in half the insects in the yard. Now we're running around the house, trying to catch and deport them to the great outdoors again!

Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your neighbors! Keep us posted! If all of our good thoughts work you won't even lose power!

Putting the lanai furniture in the pool - what a good thought! Amazing what we midwesterners don't have to deal with.

Keeping my fingers crossed for all of you in the path of nasty weather!

Stay safe!

Well, in all this bad news....a ray of sunshine! Our roof is done...the workmen are taking down the scaffolding and removing the last cut tiles from the roof! Without the storm they might have been there for 3 or 4 more days but they worked overtime for the last 2! So now at least we don't have to worry about roof tiles crashing into our neighbor's windows.

Lawn furniture in the pool? Wow, that never would have even crossed my mind. Smart, that. Good thing your roof is finished, M. Hang tough Foridians....

R

From Florida's east coast, we send the west coast our best wishes. Stay safe and dry!

Margo,

What's the latest re: evacuation? Reports are becoming a little more dire. Have a friend in San Antonio FL who e-mailed me they were evacuating. Also have Older sister near Hilton Head who is saying ??? Called me an "Old F--- last night" when I called to offer refuge!!

Kathy...yes, the forecast is a bit more dire...but there is also an alternate storm projection - we're waiting until 11 PM to see if there is any change. When they raised the forecast to a Category 3 we started to worry a little more, but it's been more than 80 years since a major storm has come through here so people are a little skeptical. All of the news stations have interrupted programming since noon today to give us the latest!

I'll keep reporting as long as we have cable...my laptop will last a few more hours after the power goes out, but I won't have any internet if things get bad. Hopefully I can give you a first person report all the while!

Right now they are telling people in coastal zone 1, 2 and 3 to evaculate, but to go to friends or hotels. The shelters are very no frills. And this evening on the news they filmed an Carnival ship leaving Tampa to go to safer waters.

We went out for dinner - everyone in the restaurant was talking about what they were going to do, but obviously none of us were leaving yet.

I hope your friend and sister will be fine!

Good Luck Margo!!!

Margo,

Great news that your roof is now in place. Hopefully, it stays in place.

Is the city of Dunedin (sp?) affected by all this? I have a nephew that lives there?

Good luck, Margo. Stay safe!

Wishing you well, Margo and Tom; stay safe!

Stay safe guys! (crossing my fingers that this will all "blow over" without incident) (sorry for the pun)

Masaki

Denise:

The costal areas of Dunedin are in the evacuation zone, but I just heard a report about a shelter area in Dunedin so obviously some places are high enough to be considered safe from the storm surge.

I was looking at the map and wondering about Barbara - looks like Oldsmar in one of the areas ordered to evacuate. Earlier today, she mentioned getting the house ready.

More than 1 million residents and tourists have been ordered to move out of harms way. Fortunately they staged the orders from the coastal areas out so that there wouldn't be too many traffic bottlenecks.

I have't heard from the The Sheik & Erika, Gretchen & George or Claudia M. I'm sure they're all preparing.

All the local news stations have been reporting information non-stop since noon. We haven't had a dangerous storm for so long they are worried that we won't take the forcast seriously. I think they have now managed to get our attention.

When I woke up at 3 am they were telling us the tropical rains and winds would begin in the next hour so I've been doing some last minute checking around the pool - too dark to do anything else.

The actual hurricane force winds are predicted to be here late today - not a very good day for us - first Friday the 13th I've ever worried about!

I'll keep the reports coming if I can...right now it's so calm it's hard to believe anything is going to happen.

Yikes...just heard the first thunder clap - spoke too soon!

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Our first feederband has arrived - the power went out for a few minutes - but now it's back on.

EEEEK!

Very worried about you all.

Please be cautious and stay safe.

Bob and Frances

I'm worried for you all too. I do hope that if they say "get out", that you'll "get out". I'm always stunned by the interviews with people who are staying, and riding the storm out. What on earth would be the reason for that? Property protection, maybe? I would opt for longevity of life!

Take care, and let all of us on LCT know how things are progressing, and how you're doing.

Charlene

This does look ominous for all of you in central & northern Florida. Stay as safe as you can. We are pulling for you. All the best, Anne

It's almost 7 am - the sky is lightening - looks like the beginning of a beautiful day - I took my dogs for a good walk because who knows when we'll be able to go out again. It's so calm it's hard to believe a storm is coming.

I lowered the pool in anticipation of the predicted rain. It would be awful to be flooded by our own pool! Then I fill the tub with water - for flushing toilets etc. (I guess - never done this before!) They just announced that the Home Depots would close at 8 am - last chance at plywood!

The scarey thing is one of the news station told us to take photos/video of our homes and possessions to document pre-storm conditions - so I'm going out to take a pic of my new roof - let's hope it lasts longer than 24 hours! I'm really trying to keep a sense of humor - right now that's the best approach!

We are high and dry for now! Hopefully I'll be writing more later!

Gracious - if you can let us know how things are going. Most importantly - take care of yourselves and stay safe!

Margo, I will keep you in my thoughts today. I hope everything just "blows over"

I am not familar with waiting out a hurricane but I have plenty of tornado experience. Make sure your outdoor grill has enough propane incase you lose your electricity. Comes in handy to cook with and to make tea and coffee.

Good luck, my dear friend!

Margo,

Good luck to you! We certainly know what it's like when one of those awful storms has you directly in it's sights. Although, we on the east coast, are not exempt the effects of the storm ( heavy rain, wind, and chance of tornados) you will take the brunt of Charley.

Again, good luck, and God willing, stay safe!!

Betty

Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.
Take care!
Miriam

Double post

Just saw that it's going to be upgraded to a Category Four with 145mph winds!!! :ohmy: Hope Margo evacuates and wish that we would hear from her!

Kathy:

I'm still here....it's too late to go now, we've put our essentials in a "safe" room (interior closet). The upgrade just happened and we were told we could not go onto public roads after 1 PM.

We're just praying now that we will be on the fringes of the eye.

Hi guys, Margo the latest is that it may hit below you, they are saying Ft. Myers. It is directly west of us right now, very windy, some trees are down. Last night we got a few of the feeder bands, not too bad. But I know this is nerve wracking for you. Hope you are all boarded up....and staying inside!! You are in our thoughts and prayers.

Margo, and the rest of our SW Coast friends, stay safe!

We just picked up my mother in law and brought her to our house. Staying in now to avoid tornadoes. I guess we are supposed to stay off roads after 2:00pm. Supposedly we are actually supposed to now have hurricane force winds, will wait and see.

Pat and Mike, did you evacuate?

Let us know how things are going.

marc and arlene

Latest from s. fl....145 mi. winds, upgrading to a 4. Biggest to make landfall since 92 (Andrew). Still projected for Ft. Myers/Port Charlotte area.
We are west of Ft. Lauderdale, couple miles from Alligator Ally (to Naples). Weather here is typical stormy summer s. FL....very windy.
SW FL....stay away from your windows!

Please...all of you affected, stay safe and keep us posted!!