Hunkering down

[GeneralGamer]

I posted this here cause you are my fellow Captains!

As you may have guessed, I'm in South Florida in Palm Beach County. So if I'm away in the next few days it's probably internet. I will try to do some pics and videos during the storm. Hopefully I can post them on my channel.

I'll see if I can get a video on Cold Waters. Watch for it later today. All the work is done around the house, and I'm ready.

All ,I can say to Irma is "SEND IT bi#ch" :Kaleun_Cheers:

Anyone else in the storm path be safe, don't panic and just be prepared. My thoughts and best wishes are with you. Jokes aside this is a huge monster, and nothing to ignore, but we will not let it win. :ping:

Thanks to all of you here for allowing me to share in your passion the games. Remember always try to make the best of a bad situation. Expect the worst and hope for the best.

Your friend Salty!!! :yeah:

[Wiz33]

be safe and hope your internet stay up!

[-Pv-]

Leaving to the Atlanta area or further N is the "safe" and smart thing to do. There is no where safe in Florida.
Nearly the whole state will be under water, even the structures which survive the Cat 4 winds. Irma will be sucking up a lot of hot energy and water in the day it spends passing by Andros Island in the Bahamas (water there is 90+ F.)
This storm dwarfs Andrew (the most destructive Florida hurricane in US history destroying or damaging 185,000 structures and costing nearly 27 BILLION dollars) because of its geographical size, storm surge and rain content. It will not quickly fizzle out hitting the coast.
-Pv-

[GeneralGamer]

Leaving to the Atlanta area or further N is the "safe" and smart thing to do. There is no where safe in Florida.
Nearly the whole state will be under water, even the structures which survive the Cat 4 winds. Irma will be sucking up a lot of hot energy and water in the day it spends passing by Andros Island in the Bahamas (water there is 90+ F.)
This storm dwarfs Andrew (the most destructive Florida hurricane in US history destroying or damaging 185,000 structures and costing nearly 27 BILLION dollars) because of its geographical size, storm surge and rain content. It will not quickly fizzle out hitting the coast.
-Pv-


Prepare don't panic. This storm is a wind event, not a rain event. Watch this video all the way thru for some good honest info on the hurricane. All Florida will NOT be underwater. That's bad info to spread panic. :hmmm: Florida has the WORLD"S best canal and water system to get rid of any possible floods. If you live west of I95 it's much safer. We live close to Darci.

Say safe on your trip as I95 and the expressway are parking lots. Where I live it would take 7 hours to reach the Florida Georgia border on a normal day. So with the jams now it might be 2 days lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dutCnwSw9Y :up: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dutCnwSw9Y)

[-Pv-]

Andrew passed through S Florida then went out to sea. This one will track all the way up the majority of the state spending a day and half doing so. Harvey proved people cannot build drainage systems capable of handling this much destruction, especially when the drainage has no where to go.

I concede you appear to live right in the center of the state with an average elevation of ~130 feet. Hope your home doesn't get the roof torn off. The higher the elevation, the closer you are to the more destructive wind speeds.
-Pv-

[GeneralGamer]

Thanks for you're concern I won't debate this however. I'll just say that Andrew was 30 years ago. Many regulations in home construction, canal drainage, etc. have improved greatly since then.

But we can't predict the damage yet. We can only hope for the best. :up:

[Onkel Neal]

I posted this here cause you are my fellow Captains!

As you may have guessed, I'm in South Florida in Palm Beach County. So if I'm away in the next few days it's probably internet. I will try to do some pics and videos during the storm. Hopefully I can post them on my channel.

I'll see if I can get a video on Cold Waters. Watch for it later today. All the work is done around the house, and I'm ready.

All ,I can say to Irma is "SEND IT bi#ch" :Kaleun_Cheers:

Anyone else in the storm path be safe, don't panic and just be prepared. My thoughts and best wishes are with you. Jokes aside this is a huge monster, and nothing to ignore, but we will not let it win. :ping:

Thanks to all of you here for allowing me to share in your passion the games. Remember always try to make the best of a bad situation. Expect the worst and hope for the best.

Your friend Salty!!! :yeah:

Good luck, Salty, please keep us posted on your status.

[GeneralGamer]

Thanks!

I believe we are all good! We will get 80mph winds but that's nothing to worry about. Sorry I haven't put up a video lately but I will try today. I've been messing with the UI for hours. But that's a long story. We lost cable (just now) but still have internet. I appreciate your thoughts!!!

Stay Salty!!! lol

:Kaleun_Cheers:

[-Pv-]

12:49 Eastern:
Key West Metar showing currently gusting to 40 knots (46 MPH) with 120 knots (138 MPH) predicted in the TAF:
KNQX 091645Z 03030G40KT 6000 VCTS SCT010CB BKN030 OVC050 31/27 A2991

Decoded textual weather for KNQX

Wind: 030 at 30 knots gusting to 40
Visibility: 3.7 SM (6000 m)
Clouds: Scattered at 1000 feet
Temperature: 31.0C
Dewpoint: 27.0C
Precipitation: Moderate rain
Altimeter: 1013 mb (29.91 inches)
Thunderstorms in the vicinity

TAF:
KNQX 0915/1015 01020G30KT 9999 VCTS BKN020 OVC050 540009 QNH2975INS BECMG 0916/0918 03030G40KT 6000 VCTS SHRA SCT010CB BKN030 OVC050 540009 540909 QNH2948INS TEMPO 0918/0923 01035G45KT 0800 TSRA BR SCT005CB BKN010 OVC030 BECMG 1001/1003 01060G70KT 0800 TSRA SCT005 BKN010CB OVC050 540009 540909 QNH2932INS BECMG 1005/1007 01065G85KT 0400 +TSRA BKN005CB OVC010 540009 540909 QNH2958INS BECMG 1009/1011 VRB100G120KT 0200 +TSRA BKN005CB OVC010 540009 540909 QNH2932INS AUTOMATED SENSOR METWATCH 0915 TIL 1310 T34/0922Z T28/1009Z FN00178

Rain accumulations in some areas could be up to 1 ft or more.
-Pv-

[-Pv-]

Miami Beach live stream cam:
http://video.foxnews.com/v/5570389397001/?#sp=watch-live

Key West live stream:
http://video.foxnews.com/v/5570375506001/?#sp=watch-live
Current Key West:
https://www.wunderground.com/weather/us/fl/KEYW

8:30 EDT Sat:
over 75,000 without power out of the 6.4 mil or so in the evacuation zones as tornadoes form. Over 5 million expected to lose power. Some for days.
Over 75,000 people now in 385 shelters with late comers standing in line to get in as more shelters are activated. There is no shortage of potential shelters, but limited volunteers to manage them. There comes a point where the shelters in active storm areas have to close to protect the people inside.
Irma is twice the geographical size (roughly 1/3 of Texas) of Andrew which killed 40 people in Florida in 1992.
Tampa was last hit in 1921 with a population of 10,000, now 3 million. Add to that evacuees from the S part of the state.
-Pv-

[-Pv-]

1:30PM EDT Sunday
Irma hits keys as Cat4 predicted to remain hurricane strength over N Florida as it follows up the W coast picking up warm moisture as it goes.
Flooding begins in Miami under 130 MPH winds which previously killed 28 people in the Caribbean.
Storm will hit Tampa by the end of the day moving at 9 MPH with a 6PM curfew. Hurricane force winds will stretch up to 90 miles from the eye and tropical storm winds up to 220 miles. FL is 158 miles wide the widest part of the ocean peninsula. Warnings of tornadoes for next 36 hours with 6 mobile homes destroyed so far with two confirmed touch downs. 1.5 mil people have lost power in the first few hours of crossing the Keys. Of the 6.4 million people in FL affected by the path, 127,000 are in shelters at this time.
As people focused on whether the eye would hit the W or E coast and juggled their travels accordingly, they lost sight of the physical size of the storm which has hurricane damage potential across the entire state for the duration of its travel.
-Pv-

[-Pv-]

2:51 PM EDT
Cat 3 with 120 MPH winds as the eye approaches Naples.
FEMA sets up rumor control page to offset misinformation being spread on social media. Numerous scams are being perpetrated including what happened in Texas with fake inspectors and first responders with no official ID looting people's homes. Email scams asking for money. Official relief agencies will not contact you through social media or email asking for money. They rely on SSL web site donation (HTTPS) and checks made out to the official charity.
Scams: not to individuals or modified charity names. Robo calls telling people their flood insurance is over due and to pay through a fishing web site, etc.
https://www.fema.gov/hurricane-irma-rumor-control
-Pv-

[-Pv-]

4:58PM EDT
Irma cat 2 110 MPH winds now over mainland Marco Island FL.
-Pv-

[-Pv-]

8:00 EDT Cat 2 105 MPH nearing central FL coast after leaving Naples.
Heavy flooding in Miami. W inland storm surge is expected after eye passes.
The eye low pressure sucked water out to see in many areas, but that water is expected to return in a rush.
-Pv-

[-Pv-]

8PM EDT Irma eye is about even with Lake Okeechobee as cat 2 100 MPH, going N at 14 MPH, now expected to leave the state as a tropical storm.
-Pv-

[-Pv-]

12AM EDT
Roughly 3.3 million out of 7 million customers without power as storm continues to advance on Tampa. The storm surge at Key Largo totaled six feet. Cat 2 and 100 MPH winds. Seven Million people in Florida were asked to evacuate (1/3 of the population.) The storm center should leave FL Monday late afternoon while 1/2 of Florida is still in tropical storm conditions (39 - 75 MPH winds) and continued heavy rain, thunderstorms and tornadoes.
Three inches of rain has fallen in NE Florida and flash flood warnings are in effect there.

Orlando is next arriving there between 2-4AM local time.
Six inches of rain has fallen so far in some areas.
18 mobile homes near Canaveral Space Center destroyed by tornadoes.
Brickell Avenue in Miami is submerged while the C9 canal is near maximum.
Edgewater neighborhood is under water.
-Pv-

[-Pv-]

1:00PM EDT Mon
Crossing into Georgia as Tropical Storm 44-65 MPH while Thunder Storm conditions encompass a four state area and most of Florida 415 miles wide. 28 arrests for looting.
4.2 million without power. 77 million spent so far including 7,000 National Guard and over 400 shelters. Clearing roads and restoring power (11,000 utility workers) will slow the initial cleanup and rescue effort. Pre-staged necessities are in place to distribute (including motor fuel) as soon as it's safe to do so with 1 million gallons of water, 11 million meals in 67 trailers and 700 cases of baby supplies. Wide spread storm conditions may be in effect for days.
Storm surge at Virgina Key, in Biscayne Bay, was close to 4 feet above normal tides Sunday afternoon. At Naples, in the Gulf of Mexico, storm surge topped 4 feet above normal tides early Sunday evening.
Over 10 inches of flooding shut down a stretch of U.S. 1 in Ft. Pierce, Florida, Sunday, with water reportedly into at least one home and parked cars flooded.
Flash flood emergency declared for downtown Jacksonville as St Johns river exceeded previous records during a 5 foot storm surge where twenty seven inches of rain fell in 24 hours with another two ft expected. As of 4:40 PM Mon, 32 knot gusts remain.

Flooding has begun in Georgia.
Storm surge and flooding expected well past mid South Carolina.
Atlanta where a lot of evacuees escaped will also be affected.
Storm surges if occurring at high tide will produce:
Tampa Bay- 4-6 feet
Ochlockonee River on the panhandle- 4 to 6 feetSouth Santee Beach in South Carolina- 4-6 ft
St. Johns River- 3 to 5 feet

Some areas could get up to 20 inches of additional rain fall.
Northern Florida Peninsula: 3 to 6 additional inches, with storm totals of 8 to 15 inches.
Central Florida Panhandle: 2 to 4 additional inches.

Power outages from tropical storm-force winds are expected to spread as far north as the Tennessee Valley Monday and Monday night.

Over all, the time the storm spent raking Cuba prevented it from arriving as a cat 5 storm.

-Pv-

[-Pv-]

By noon Eastern Monday, both Jacksonville and Charleston are experiencing record flooding and storm surge. Warnings continue untill 10P Eastern. Total deaths so far, 44.
-Pv-

[GeneralGamer]

Well I can't give you stats, and you probably have seen many more weather channel reports than I have. But I can give you my perspective.

Being on the east coast we didn't get the worst of the storm, however it was enough. We were shuttered in, lost all power and listened on a radio for the storm's path and waiting seemingly forever for it to pass. Constant swirling winds. No flooding but we were in the 12 to 3 o'clock location of the storm, which has the tornadic activity, in the outer bands. That's were a lot of bad things can happen. Many trees uprooted, property damage,and lots of large debris flying around.

We many tornado's on the ground. In our area 6 at one time. One passed 200 yards to our east. You could hear it ( yes a freight train) and the emergency warnings, but not see a thing because of the wind and rain.

To give you an idea, we do have a cell tower pole which is about 6 feet across at the base and 150 ft tall. All utility poles down here are huge. Cars hit them and get totaled, but the poles hardly get a scratch. But about 100 feet up this pole had 2 huge dents and holes in it from being hit by, (I can only guess) a palm tree. This had to be from the tornado passing by. There were transformers blowing up near us as well. You see it happen on TV but what you can't experience it the loud eerie noise it makes. Like a bomb exploding slowly, shaking the ground and walls of your home.

What some people don't realize is when the wind gets over 30-50MPH in a hurricane all outside services stop. No fire, police, ambulances will answer any calls, due to the unpredictability of the storms. So your on your own. It becomes a very small space you are living in.

So the experience was intense, but we are safe, and we just got power back after two days. FPL ( Florida Power and Light) are professionals with hurricanes for sure. Hats off to all the first responders as well.

Obviously we made it through and it's time to catch up. Thanks for your thoughts during this time. :ping:

[-Pv-]

Thankful to read the news GG.

13 mil Floridians without power. 1.5 mil Georgians. 180,000 still in shelters and Keys residents are prevented from going home as 42 bridges are being inspected. Critical supplies to the keys are dangerously low as major warships are being dispatched there to help supply and rescue. When residents are allowed in, the supply of essentials will be further taxed with the highway bridges there providing the only land supply route. Authorities are trying to make sure the bridges can take the wait of clogged traffic sitting on them for hours.
-Pv-

[Wiz33]

Welcome back!!!