Hurricane Irma

[Kesephist]

I respectfully suggest that the Ants North of the above predicted Georgia/South Carolina landfall get battened down NOW. Soon as I get the predicted winds stats, I will post them here.

K

Update 1: Irma will, according to weather.com, come on shore in the Georgia/South Carolina border area Monday night as a Catagory 2 hurricane, with winds of 110 mph, moving N at 15 mph.

Update 2: Irma will, according to weather.com, come on shore in the Georgia/South Carolina border area late Monday night as a Catagory 1 hurricane, with winds of 85 mph, moving N at 15 mph.

Update 3: Irma will, according to weather.com, come on shore in the Georgia/South Carolina border area late Monday night as an estimated Catagory 1 hurricane, with winds of 85 mph, moving N at 15 mph.

From what I can tell, the combination of tearing up Dominica and making that large northerly course change are what will break Irma up. Unfortunately, these are all PROJECTIONS... technically, Irma could just as easily keep trucking west and hit the Gulf, refueling with all that warmer water there. Rather hope not....



I shall post updates as they are available.

Heaven with you.

K

[RedJohn]

Hopefully, you guys are all prepped for this and not running in the stores at the last minute. Praying for this one to go away, but I am pessimistic on the results of said prayers.

[Stg1swret]

This is not the only problem headed that way, this is just the starter. To those in the way of Irma, keep an eye out for Jose which is a trailer storm which is following the heavy hitter. Current models do not show Jose hitting the U.S., but those models are based on current weather conditions. One can only hope those models hold true.

[bacpacker]

On the current prediction I expect to see heavy rain and gusty winds fro what's left of Irma. Flash flooding will be our biggest threat. Luckily our house is on a hill. Just stay home and ride it out should it come to that.

[Stg1swret]

The latest track for Irma has it traveling Right up the middle of Florida. I contacted my daughter who lives in St Augustine, to see what her plans were. She is hunkering down, says I-95 is packed with evacuees. She is well prepped, and expects that by the time Irma gets that far north it will be down to a Cat2. She and her kids have removed everything from the yard, have the hurricane shutters ready to install, and enough food to feed her family and the neighbors for week if need be. We have set up a comms schedule, will be texting rather then using the phone. Since she is a nurse, she has put herself on the county emergency response volunteers list if needed. Now for her it is hurry up and wait time.

[bacpacker]

I have 2 friends that live near Savannah Ga and they have both bugged out. And yes I95 is packed to the gills and creeping along.
Cousin in Jacksonville lives in an RV. They packed up and headed to Mississippi once the track of Irma became more clear. Prayers to all the folks on the road and the ones riding this storm out.

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

Sorry brother I guess we kinda moved all this stuff over to another thread, but we are all on target and tracking. Way to jump on the wagon though we need the sources we can get. "BZ"!

[Kesephist]

One thing I do not get... why in the hell didn't the incoming highway get blocked down down to 1 or two lanes for supplies, and use the remaining ones as outgoing in order to help get people out? I mean what... is normalcy bias THAT bad down there?

I don"t own a car, so I'm screwed in such a case. But had I one, it would have been a truck. First sign that evac was necessary, I would have been tanking the thing up to the gills AND enough cans for a complete fill-up. THEN getting a hold of a state map and figuring all the little secondary roads to get the hell out of Dodge, if I hadn't already. Vital papers inside the drivers seat, week's worth of food in the passenger foot area, about 5-6 Thermoses of Navy grade coffee, in a milk crate, belted in to the passenger side seat, Weather radio plugged into the cigarette lighter and 100mph taped to the dash, and maybe some other accessories best not mentioned.

Chief, you and the Stig have seen these monsters up close and personal. They can be dealt with, provided the Rule of the Seven P's is obeyed. The people that tossed their vehicles in to the medians when they ran out of gas, didn't.

K

[Stg1swret]

The Highway to and from the Keys is only 2 lanes in each direction. It isn;t until you get to the mainland that it opens up. They, I assume, kept the south bound lanes open for deliveries of fuel and such, and also to allow emergency vehicles to travel that way.

I've seen my share of these storms, and a few Nor'easters at sea and in port. Biggest thing to remember is to stay cool under pressure and rely on your training and what you know. We always did a de-brief and a lessons learned session after each event. There is always something new to learn.

What surprised me is Carnival Cruises took their crews and family out to sea towards Bermuda. Getting out of port was a good idea, but they may now have to contend with Jose. A cruise ship is not designed like a man of war, it has a lot of sail area for high winds to catch, and isn't designed for high speed runs and maneuvering.

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

Kese, I understand your reasoning, but like STG1 said above. It takes a bit of experience, a cool head, lessons learned, etc. Me I would have stayed regardless. We thought about moving back to FL but it wasn't the weather that kept us from going back. It's how they've ruined the state, people, politics, population and all around BS. There's nothing really there for us but memories, family and friends. We've been through many a hurricane and storm. What I would like to do is get back there and do a little surfing after the storm, the immediate days after provide some of the best surf......ah the good ol days.

Now that the storm is petering out, AND EVERYONE HAS LEFT. it looks like easy pickins for looters. Think of all the "millions" who have left their homes................yup.