Guys. I am defeated.

I live in South Florida, Palm Beach County. I spent all day putting up my own shutters and those of neighbors and friends. I have just under a full tank in my truck, which would get me to right around the Florida Georgia line, I also have an additional 6 gallons in a jug. I have family in Columbia, South Carolina, so that would be my natural destination.

After considering it all day I decide my son and I are going to evacuate, goal was to leave at 1 AM. I clean up the rest of the yard, get the truck packed, get ready. Get in the truck, drive down the street, flat tire...

There is a nail sticking in one of my rear tires. It's embarrassing to admit, but I have no jack and even still I would not feel comfortable making that drive on a spare. I have no choice but to get a new tire tomorrow and try again for leaving tomorrow night. I see no point in leaving in the day as the roads are packed. I just fear that by tomorrow night it will be too late, I called a few gas stations in Jacksonville all the way up to Savannah and they say that gas is there however it is very limited.

I hate to ask this, and obviously everyone has their priorities, but does any good Samaritan happen to have maybe ten or so gallons of gas to spare for a board brethren? Obviously I would pay for it. Not sure if I will even leave, just remembered I have friends in Fort Myers, so that could be an option as well, in which case I've got plenty of gas to get there and back.

I am hoping for the best and maybe it was just meant to be. You never know with the models however the most recent model has this thing basically hitting my area dead on. If this thing hits us with 185 mph sustained winds, we are done. I wouldn't feel comfortable in my own home.

Hey man I'm no where near you to get you gas but Goodyear down in South Florida can fix that flat tire. We do free flat repairs and I know our South Florida districts are staying open until Friday at least. 

Take a deep breath, you got time, worse case take US1 or 17 up if the highways are jammed. There's still Gas up here just don't panic man.

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Guys. I am defeated.

I live in South Florida, Palm Beach County. I spent all day putting up my own shutters and those of neighbors and friends. I have just under a full tank in my truck, which would get me to right around the Florida Georgia line, I also have an additional 6 gallons in a jug. I have family in Columbia, South Carolina, so that would be my natural destination.

After considering it all day I decide my son and I are going to evacuate, goal was to leave at 1 AM. I clean up the rest of the yard, get the truck packed, get ready. Get in the truck, drive down the street, flat tire...

There is a nail sticking in one of my rear tires. It's embarrassing to admit, but I have no jack and even still I would not feel comfortable making that drive on a spare. I have no choice but to get a new tire tomorrow and try again for leaving tomorrow night. I see no point in leaving in the day as the roads are packed. I just fear that by tomorrow night it will be too late, I called a few gas stations in Jacksonville all the way up to Savannah and they say that gas is there however it is very limited.

I hate to ask this, and obviously everyone has their priorities, but does any good Samaritan happen to have maybe ten or so gallons of gas to spare for a board brethren? Obviously I would pay for it. Not sure if I will even leave, just remembered I have friends in Fort Myers, so that could be an option as well, in which case I've got plenty of gas to get there and back.

I am hoping for the best and maybe it was just meant to be. You never know with the models however the most recent model has this thing basically hitting my area dead on. If this thing hits us with 185 mph sustained winds, we are done. I wouldn't feel comfortable in my own home.

Hey man I'm no where near you to get you gas but Goodyear down in South Florida can fix that flat tire. We do free flat repairs and I know our South Florida districts are staying open until Friday at least. 

Take a deep breath, you got time, worse case take US1 or 17 up if the highways are jammed. There's still Gas up here just don't panic man.

Agreed.  Flat repair at many shops is free. Get the tire plugged and get out of there.  

Gas can be found despite limited supplies at some stations.  Calling stations is pointless as their supply is going to fluctuate based on demand.  Stations are still getting gas, particularly along the interstates and evacuation routes.   You'll be fine.  You may have to sit in line up here, but you'll get gas for now until the storm shuts down transportation.

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Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

My mom just told me we have to "get ready for Irma" because it is covering the whole state. The company our HOA hires for landscaping maintenance recommends moving furniture on the back patio, so she will do that. She also will move stuff to higher shelves in case there is any flooding. (We live in a single-story condo unit.) No rain or wind yet.

Is anyone in central Florida getting the storm yet?

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My mom just told me we have to "get ready for Irma" because it is covering the whole state. The company our HOA hires for landscaping maintenance recommends moving furniture on the back patio, so she will do that. She also will move stuff to higher shelves in case there is any flooding. (We live in a single-story condo unit.) No rain or wind yet.

Is anyone in central Florida getting the storm yet?

Do you get all of your information from mom and this board?  You're on the interwebs. There are sites other than this one, the Broncos, and cat websites where they actually report on weather. You can see exactly where the storm is in real time to find out who is getting weather from Irma.  They even tell you how to prepare for the storm.

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Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

Dear god...

Anyway, I saw a cool idea for protecting patio furniture. The guy was sinking it in his pool. Maybe this is an old trick for pool owners, but I don't have a pool. Or patio furniture. Or a patio.

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I read a great tip yesterday. If you're evacuating, when you come back, you will want to know if the food in your freezer thawed out and re-froze, or if it stayed frozen. So, take a plastic cup, and put a couple of inches of water in it, and freeze it. Then put a quarter on top. Put it in your freezer. If you come home, and the quarter is frozen under the ice, then you know that the electricity was off long enough for everything in the freezer to get warm enough to thaw out. Then you know to throw out your frozen meat or anything else that may have gone bad.

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Do you get all of your information from mom and this board?  You're on the interwebs. There are sites other than this one, the Broncos, and cat websites where they actually report on weather. You can see exactly where the storm is in real time to find out who is getting weather from Irma.  They even tell you how to prepare for the storm.

I guess you missed it. I also get information about Irma from AOL.

Mom called the contractor who is overseeing condo renovations to ask him when someone will come back here. He lives in Ocala and told her because gas is quickly running out they don't want to drive to Gainesville (45 minutes on a normal day) until after Irma passes.

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So it's mom, AOL (1995 is back!), This board, the Broncos board, and cat websites. You should be perfectly fine then. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

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Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

Do you get all of your information from mom and this board?  You're on the interwebs. There are sites other than this one, the Broncos, and cat websites where they actually report on weather. You can see exactly where the storm is in real time to find out who is getting weather from Irma.  They even tell you how to prepare for the storm.

I guess you missed it. I also get information about Irma from AOL.

Mom called the contractor who is overseeing condo renovations to ask him when someone will come back here. He lives in Ocala and told her because gas is quickly running out they don't want to drive to Gainesville (45 minutes on a normal day) until after Irma passes.

Didn't AOL tell you Irma won't be to FL until Sunday?

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IT WAS ALWAYS THE JAGS

So it's mom, AOL (1995 is back!), This board, the Broncos board, and cat websites.  You should be perfectly fine then.  Nothing could possibly go wrong.

I don't go to any Broncos board or cat websites. I also don't have AOL software anymore, just AOL mail.

One more thing I rely on for weather updates is my neighbor's cat. He knows before I do when it will start raining and quickly goes home.

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Oh my god. I'm going to get banned again, I just know it.

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IT WAS ALWAYS THE JAGS

So it's mom, AOL (1995 is back!), This board, the Broncos board, and cat websites.  You should be perfectly fine then.  Nothing could possibly go wrong.

One more thing I rely on for weather updates is my neighbor's cat. He knows before I do when it will start raining and quickly goes home.

This made me laugh so hard I almost lost my coffee.

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Oh my god. I'm going to get banned again, I just know it.

Don't do it. It's not worth it.   We all need to stay on so we can check in and tell each other how miserable we are riding out Irma like we did last year with Matthew. Lol

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My big concern is the water.  My yard floods when there is a strong thunderstorm.  This is earlier this summer after a bad thunderstorm.  So if we get a lot of water, I'm really concerned that I'm screwed.  And living on the 'old side' of Fruit Cove, I have some of the old, huge, oaks.  

We went to Mills field to get our free 20 sandbags, but in all honesty I don't think they'll do a damn thing since I have four doors exposed to the outside.  The sandbags were a fiasco.  They were supposed to be open 8:00 - 5:00.  The truck got there at about 8:45, but he said the guy with the bags wouldn't be there until 10:00.  There could definitely be some trouble a-brewing there.  I'm planning on  going back soon, but I'm really hesitant.

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So it's mom, AOL (1995 is back!), This board, the Broncos board, and cat websites.  You should be perfectly fine then.  Nothing could possibly go wrong.

I don't go to any Broncos board or cat websites. I also don't have AOL software anymore, just AOL mail.

One more thing I rely on for weather updates is my neighbor's cat. He knows before I do when it will start raining and quickly goes home.

Keep us posted on the cats whereabouts.  We all need to know as soon as possible if it takes cover.

I'll forego NOAA or any supposedly credible weather sites and just wait for the cat alert.  I'd recommend everyone bookmark this thread if they want to live.

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Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

Oh my god. I'm going to get banned again, I just know it.

You must... resist.. temptation...

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Oh my god. I'm going to get banned again, I just know it.

There just aren't words...

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Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

In case anyone is actually NOT monitoring the NOAA site:

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics...k#contents

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So, here's my question. I have a place I can go to that is a couple of states north, not on the coast.

What would you say is the last window of opportunity to bug out from Jacksonville? Saturday?

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There's no way out of Jax. I95, I10 is a gridlocked from South Floridians. All hotels are booked. Rest areas are packed. I will be wearing my PFD and getting reading to get on the roof when the river overflows. I will wrap a rope around my chimney and hang on for dear life.

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My big concern is the water.  My yard floods when there is a strong thunderstorm.  This is earlier this summer after a bad thunderstorm.  So if we get a lot of water, I'm really concerned that I'm screwed.  And living on the 'old side' of Fruit Cove, I have some of the old, huge, oaks.  

We went to Mills field to get our free 20 sandbags, but in all honesty I don't think they'll do a damn thing since I have four doors exposed to the outside.  The sandbags were a fiasco.  They were supposed to be open 8:00 - 5:00.  The truck got there at about 8:45, but he said the guy with the bags wouldn't be there until 10:00.  There could definitely be some trouble a-brewing there.  I'm planning on  going back soon, but I'm really hesitant.

Goodness! How was your yard last year during/after Matthew? That should give you some idea as to what to do.

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