Florida

As ya'll know I am not the praying type. But I hope that the folks in Florida get through this one as safe as they can.

I am...and been for all

I hope they all evacuated. This is a big scary suma buck

This is indeed the largest one in a long time-but others have been close, or even more, Cat 5, but slowed a bit by the time they reached shore.

Either way, all of them are fraught with risk. Just sustained wind at 72 MPH is very dangerous.

I would be hauling horses for people right up to the wind just beginning off shore a ways. I always had my quitting point. That way no one became complacent.

So many think when the winds die down they can wander outside . The quiet, ominous eye is an unforgettable experience. That fools almost everyone inexperienced.

The best thing to do is leave.

The only houses I've ever known to stand in stalwart defiance to generations of storms are the old time "conch houses" . Small, thick walled concrete boxes riddled with rebar, tiny windows . Ugly, but effective. They may lose the roof, but the rest stays.

I feel for everything living during this one.

I was just telling the missus yesterday how grand dad's house in Clearwater was built. One story cinder block with real concrete stucco, low roof with no overhang and tile roof. Probably built in the fifties of forties. The kind of house I'd feel comfortable riding one out in.

Unless you have a crystal ball even better than JByrds and know what this storm might do different than the last 8 or 10 I would not reccomend staying no matter how a home was constructed. If yall had 50 or 60 total losses like I did down in Cameron Parish after Rita I'm betting you'd agree.

Lots of ppl drowned in low roof cinder block houses that year when the water line came up above their ceilings.

I'm not scared of much but riding out a Cat 4 or 5 in low country is just asking for it

I agree , Hoss. Those old conch houses did get storm surge in the Keys . The ones inland more , on slightly higher ground didn't.

Either way, losing the roof during that event would never convince me to stay in one !

Didn't say I would stay in that location just that the construction materials would give me more confidence than my current sawmill slat stick house.
I don't trust this one in our summertime popcorn thunderstorms, lol.

Especially when you consider the highest elevation in Pinellas County is only fifty foot and they are calling for possible twenty foot storm surge at landfall.

Wind you can build against water not so much.

I knew what you meant ! I've done that there, made those decisions . Of course, those near to the ocean need to just flat leave , no matter what house they have access to. The real troubles for them are after the storm.

Being stuck in location during one, yes, like you , to be in the strongest build of a house possible is vital.

Warrior my Grandparents house in Clearwater was almost the same thing but I remember red brick.

I would've boarded up, tied down and locked the door a week ago and beat the rush out of town.

JMO, but having a plan well executed and not needing it beats running out in the storm at the last minute.

Exactly.

I've seen people do that, and get stuck in a line of never ending traffic ! As someone mentioned earlier, rots o ruk in an EV .

Coming back to a tangled mess of power lines, flooding, trees down, no power, and varmints crawling all over the place wasn't fun to endure.

Yup, and hope what you left was built stout enough to still be standing when you return.

Yes, but what a mess....ugh....I have more memories of the cleanup and waiting for the power line men , who worked constantly day and night, than the storm itself.

Nowadays , the risk of looters and outright thugs wandering around is much higher, I think, than when I was there. A LOT of local Floridians will take care of that trash in short order also if they wander into the wrong neighborhood.

Mom and Dad were headed to New Orleans when Camille came ashore. They ended up running north through Mississippi through the mess and his stories of that trip, or maybe I vaguely recall it as I was along for the ride just not born yet, were pretty scary to a kid.

But Dad has always been that way. He was standing in the living room getting the last minute updates on the tornado that took the roof off rather than joining mama in the center bathroom. From the time the power went out to the house coming apart he made it ten feet to dive under a table.

I'll be the last one to shelter after the wife and kids but I won't wait that late.

Yup, that area has grown so much in my lifetime. I imagine it's wall to wall subdivisions and strip malls now. I recall nothing but miles and miles of palmetto flatwoods from Ocala until well past Port Richey. My last trip down was built up well above Weeki Watchi and that was in the early nineties.

Hope they're all safe!

On a lighter note....I saw this post and said to the woman... oh ya, lets turn the tv on and watch some idiot in the surf board pose bucking the wind, telling everyone they need to be gone. Sure enough!!!!

Some things never change, racer man, they always do that. Police got to where they just tell them-your risk. Don't come crying for the coast guard when you're drug out to sea...

Ocala is my favourite place in all of FLA. My father was born there. I showed some of the finest horses in the country there.

When I think of palmettos, I think of moccasins and rattlers. And black widows.

A lot has changed there, though ranchers have done a remarkable job in keeping that prime horse country in Ocala the same.

Seems like the whole state is going to be affected by this one.

Them palmetto flats skeered me. We spent three years, 73-76, living in Groveland. Dad had sixty head of mixed cracker/brahma cattle. I ain't never seen a snakier place and I get real nervous not being able to see my feet.

LOL my father built airboats and those big swamp buggies, on tracks or tires. The guys driving them always had the 12 g shottys at the ready.

On Tamiami Trail, Alligator Alley , it's called locally, the big rattlers would stretch almost across the whole road to warm in the mornings.

I liked those Brahmas. They were suited well to that hot humidity.

I knew guys who could snap the heads off snakes with a bullwhip.

Speaking of drug out to sea, once they were done with the drama he said it sucked the water out of Tampa Bay and people shouldn't go picking clams because when it comes back in it'll come in double.

Dad doesn't speak of those years. We moved down to be closer the grandmother, breast cancer. She passed in 73 after the closing on the house but before the move. Dad lost his shirt on cattle due to bang's disease. As he says it took him three years to get back home.

But I remember it well and thoroughly enjoyed being a kid in the old Florida. To this day I dearly love fresh citrus of all types. Every kid should have a kumquat bush right out their front door.

Right ! The ebb and flow of those tides during those storms are a living wonder to respect in themselves. It is NOT surfing in California .

Warrior, add mangoes to that list !

Nice area. I have friends in Inverness , FL . They live in a 'horse' community. Think golf community but instead of a golf course they have a big barn with lots of stables in the middle of the community. Keep your horse there or 'borrow' one of the community herd. Trails radiate out from there to the whole area and ajoining riding trails. Nice place. I'm praying they evacuated or stay safe somehow.

Cragar, that is exactly how Ocala is. Id make the rounds in miles on big warmblood jumpers all over the ranch community. Everyone waved to each other. Loved the bluebirds, meadowlarks, and burrowing owls sitting on the fence posts as I rode along.

There are lots of hurricane stalls built, not wood, but out of concrete block with thick sliding wooden doors. Lighting powered by big generators. Those stalls were where I put horses . They would be booked up as soon as a storm was announced .

Knowing horses I'd be hesitant to shut up a horse without sitting out the storm with it. They tend to get spooked to easily.
I'm no bleeding heart but the animals that'll be put out by storms like this kind of gets to you.

Cows on the other hand seem unfazed by storms. We had thirteen head that went through the tornado without a scratch. I'll never figure that one out.

About 20 years ago, I thought about buying my father in law's place at Fort Myers. One reason I didn't was I like winter ice fishing too much. Kind of glad I didn't now.

Our son is in Tampa, texted at 3:00 pm and said everything was ok yet. So were praying it stays that way.

That was the hardest part for me, leaving them. They were totally safe, no windows, lighted, food and water. Big stalls. Like the size of foaling stalls. Ill never forget their eyes and expressions with the wind, dropping barometer that they sensed was a bad thing.

The owners of those places had everyone in contract , there wasnt room or facilities. Believe me, being in those stalls was by far the best when compared to where some of them came from.

But yes. I see the wide eyes and fearful expression, like a little kid, in my mind to this day as I closed those doors and locked them in.

What is it about horses?

Of all the animals I've ever fooled with they seem to be the most like us emotionally.

They have expressions, of course, as dogs and other animals do. That's how good dog people and horsemen can read them and work with them so well.

Their body language speaks volumes to us humans, who are endowed with the intelligence to learn their language , so to speak.

Fear or anger is among the easiest expressions for us humans to see , I think in just about anything .

'Cept pigs...I can't read 'em. I'm afraid of them . But I like them as bacon

Well, wind is hitting the gulf side...

All I can read from pigs is feed me, lol.

Very bad storm, hope everyone makes it thru as best as possible.

Looks like the eye is fully ashore now. I hope it starts to break down quickly now.

Those poor folks have been pounded since daybreak.

Glad we left Lakeland in July. Good timing.

Yup you wouldn't want to be there now Gary.

The rising waters will force all those big snakes up out of the bottoms Sharron. Another reason to not ride one out I say!

I always note that when it rains for days and the ground gets saturated, literally any tree becomes a widow maker with some wind and I'd hate to catch one. No thanks

I'm sitting in Morriston, on the edge of Ocala. It's getting a little windy. Horses are put up in the barn. They were ready to come in. Even my German Shepard puppy is a little on edge and barking at every thing he hears. It's going to be an interesting couple of days, no doubt. We'll be safe, I'm sure. The house I am in is a fortress, with a tile roof. I'm anticipating an extended power outage. We're high and dry. I had a guy come out this spring and quote me for a whole house generator. I passed. I'll be rethinking that one.

Hoss, I know what you mean exactly. Not only big snakes, but other bad and nastys , fire ant bivouacs , and many others that I would erase with a wink.

And you are right about the trees. Any place can have that effect. Your experience in insurance claims should be what anyone here needs to ask you about if they have questions.

I've seen snakes -or as the Aussies say- bad and crawley nasties , try even the nicest of folks in survival.

I know what I'd do with them all in a heartbeat.

Gene. Sounds like you are prepared. So many people don't think of the roof in protection, as the walls and foundation.
Animals know when there is a dire event looming soon. It is up to those who have the discernment to feel and see that.

Yes, rethink the generator. In compliance with your power company.

High and dry is good. Along with water, gas , plenty of fuel, food, batteries, and anything else to help.

I've always....always...stressed the value of a metal roof , or tile, at least, over anything else.

Be safe. Be safe.....

My daughter is hunkered down in Kissimmee, currently.

All those hunkered down now, in following safety measures , will be ok.

I know so many of these counties.

Kissimmee is but one of many of them I am familiar with. Being very careful....all should be ok.

Her observations are that the hurricane is not yet as violent as our wintertime “Taku Winds”. I reminded her that the worst is likely yet to come.

I assume your taku is some sort of straight line wind possible accompanied by snow or rain nearer the coast.

Hurricanes tend to have a three part punch not counting storm surge, localized flooding or spin up tornados. The heavy rains that preceed the eye and continue for the entire duration turn the ground into a sponge. The winds are varying in direction as the eye approaches then passes. You can have heavy constant going in one direction for most of a day just to have it reverse for the rest. This soft ground and one two wind punch plays hob with anything with roots in the ground.
Strange things hurricanes, I've experienced several coming up from the gulf across Birmingham. The last one was Opal. She was a fast mover and was still cat 1 when she got to Birmingham. I was out in that one pulling security on a hotel construction site. Then you get ones like Danny that parked itself over Mobile Bay for a day and blew itself out over south Alabama. Mobile got battered.
Now in Atlanta I'm in somewhat of a sweet spot as most of the gulf ones pass to the north up the appalachians and the atlantic ones are turning hard north as they approach the Georgia coast.
Though we have had one hit the slot that took it straight up Georgia a few years back.