I'm in Port Orange which is just below Daytona Beach. Pretty sure I'm about 24-32 hours away from having no power, internet, or cell phone service. Got water today, prepped my parents house, full tank of gas, grille, propane, a cooler, bunch of ice in my fridge. 4 Sliding glass doors and 1 window in my townhouse. Luckily 2 of them sliders are behind a fence and the the other two are on a second story far from any trees. I plan to document some of the storm, maybe podcast it take lots of pictures. Should be a good time, the hurricanes of 04 were some of my favorite times of my life.
One thing in particular that caught my attention in the last 30 minutes that illustrates the seriousness of Hurricane Matthew is that Orlando, which is around 50 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, has an official Hurricane Warning.
Quote:Exactly this. There was flash flooding in Jamaica from this storm caused by the outer bands well over 100 miles from the eyewall. Depending on the size of the eye and how close to the coast it is, that could be a serious issue for inland folks.
And thank you for your concern, D6. Hurricanes are no joke and should be taken seriously. I know I don't mess around with them. I would rather be prepared for nothing than unprepared for anything. The Army may have taught me to work harder than smarter-LOL- but they also taught me to be prepared for anything.
Well said, americus.
One of the reasons why many people didn't heed the warnings of Hurricane / Super Storm Sandy in 2012 is because many Hurricanes weren't as catastrophic as predicted. That likely was the case with Hurricane Katrina back in 2005. It's best to prepare for the worst case forecasts and then hope and pray for the best.
Quote:I'm in Port Orange which is just below Daytona Beach. Pretty sure I'm about 24-32 hours away from having no power, internet, or cell phone service. Got water today, prepped my parents house, full tank of gas, grille, propane, a cooler, bunch of ice in my fridge. 4 Sliding glass doors and 1 window in my townhouse. Luckily 2 of them sliders are behind a fence and the the other two are on a second story far from any trees. I plan to document some of the storm, maybe podcast it take lots of pictures. Should be a good time, the hurricanes of 04 were some of my favorite times of my life.
2004 hurricanes were awesome, pitch black at night, no power for 1, 2 days. Like, urban camping.
Quote:Thank you.
So my parents live in Columbia, South Carolina. They're 100 miles inland so they shouldn't get much. I figure this would be a good excuse for my son and I to and visit them for a few days. So after boarding up the house I get the car packed, dogs, my son, guns, food, clothes, etc. Stop at a gas station to check my tire pressure and realize they're out of gas. Thinking ahead I call a few stations in Daytona, which is about where I would need to fill up. Everyone of them is out of gas! Guess we will be staying here and riding out this storm 
Just crazy though, it was obviously a concern because I made the call but I did not expect it.
When looking at various websites during Wednesday, I noticed that some stores in Florida were already w/o food and supplies. I can well imagine the shortages today ( Thursday ).
I hope you and others relatively close to the storm have found safe shelter. Most likely hotel rooms that are noticeably inland in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina will be hard to come by in the coming days.
Quote:Be safe everyone, it's almost game time.
We don't care about the Cardinals and 49ers. What game is it almost time for?
Quote:So to all you folks in the Jax area.
Is Clay County inland enough to avoid flooding? My parents live in Middleburg, and I'm worried about them.
I am in Alachua County, 90 minutes south of Jacksonville. I heard Matthew is coming to central Florida and schools will be canceled Friday, but have no idea how much damage to expect in Gainesville.
Quote:One thing in particular that caught my attention in the last 30 minutes that illustrates the seriousness of Hurricane Matthew is that Orlando, which is around 50 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, has an official Hurricane Warning.
My sister, a breast oncologist at UF, was scheduled to attend a Breast Cancer Awareness event in Orlando this week. Matthew canceled it.
When Hermine was here, my power was out 16 hours. I had to eat cold pasta for lunch. But nothing will ever top Hurricane Sandy meeting me on a cruise.
Quote:My sister, a breast oncologist at UF, was scheduled to attend a Breast Cancer Awareness event in Orlando this week. Matthew canceled it.
When Hermine was here, my power was out 16 hours. I had to eat cold pasta for lunch. But nothing will ever top Hurricane Sandy meeting me on a cruise.
I believe that Central Florida University already postponed their scheduled football game until November. It's definitely a good decision for all events anywhere near this Hurricane to be cancelled.
If I recall correctly, Hurricane/ Super Storm Sandy had the 2nd most extensive $ amount damage of any Hurricane in U.S. history, with only Hurricane Katrina ahead on the dubious list. I'm surprised the Cruise ship company you used even decided to have the ship go remotely close to Sandy. I certainly wouldn't blame you in the least if you decided never to go on another ocean cruise again.
Quote:I believe that Central Florida University already postponed their scheduled football game until November. It's definitely a good decision for all events anywhere near this Hurricane to be cancelled.
If I recall correctly, Hurricane/ Super Storm Sandy had the 2nd most extensive $ amount damage of any Hurricane in U.S. history, with only Hurricane Katrina ahead on the dubious list. I'm surprised the Cruise ship company you used even decided to have the ship go remotely close to Sandy. I certainly wouldn't blame you in the least if you decided never to go on another ocean cruise again.
Carnival tracked the storm very carefully. It was not supposed to hit Nassau, the scheduled port of call, before the last Thursday in October - embarkation day. While entering the check-in line I got a letter stating the itinerary had been changed to Key West because the Nassau port closed that morning. For safety reasons, the ship was reduced to half speed from Key West to Port Canaveral so we debarked 12 hours late and they canceled the next cruise. A lot of passengers got sick, but fortunately I had no problems with it.
What I will never do again is take cruises that are kid magnets. In late October, kids should not be sitting in hot tubs while their parents drink wine on a ship that runs the same two itineraries all year. Give me an upscale ship that caters more to couples, seniors, and people like us if you want to see me happy on a small four-deck ship.
Of course I don't have to worry about any ships now. My next trip is an organized tour from Rome to Venice. Unfortunately that means I will miss a lot of football because Mom refused to buy a TV show recorder.
Back on topic, can Matthew affect the Gators game Saturday? It seems like every week there is a weather delay somewhere.
I've been a Floridian to long, I just don't care. It's never that bad I got water and food for days but I'm not leaving my double wide.
Should this hurricane's first name be Clay?
Quote:I've been a Floridian to long, I just don't care. It's never that bad I got water and food for days but I'm not leaving my double wide.
Reading about some of the wind speeds I think your double wide might be leaving you.
Welp, the upper range of the storm surge puts water into my house. I prepped the exterior last night, looks like I'm going to spend the morning moving all the important stuff upstairs then we're headed West to higher ground. Godspeed ya'll.
Quote:Reading about some of the wind speeds I think your double wide might be leaving you.
That's why it's always important to use the safety chains when towing.
WE ALL GONNA DYES...
Stay safe folks!
Quote:Welp, the upper range of the storm surge puts water into my house. I prepped the exterior last night, looks like I'm going to spend the morning moving all the important stuff upstairs then we're headed West to higher ground. Godspeed ya'll.
Stay safe and dry, bud.
Looking at weather.com they are saying this could be the most worrisome hurricane to come up the east coast of FL in quite some time. They've said to make your preparations and evacuation plans NOW. They've stressed it several times just in one article from this morning.
Nhc.noaa.gov is a good site to look at for the non-biased information. They just report the facts.
Yes, stay safe everyone. Hope you all make it out without any damages or prolonged outtages of power.
A few things on the positive side.
1. Florida is to the left of the predicted storm track. The strongest winds are to the right of the storm track, since the forward motion is added to the circulation speed there.
2. At 8AM Nassau was 30 miles from the center, and the sustained winds at that time were "only" 50mph. That implies that the winds are only really high close to the center, and that the storm is relatively compact. That's good news for people inland.
All this assumes that the hurricane stays on it's present predicted track. If it veers further left then things will get much worse.
I've been through several hurricanes. After Francis we were without power for nearly two weeks. That's no fun.