Hurricane Ian

SilverSage

Resident Crone
Ian is headed my way. Even if it hits north of us, we are on the 'dirty' side. Worst case scenario is a surge up Tampa Bay. Many folks think that Tampa Bay is a city. Actually the city is Tampa, and Tampa Bay is big body of water off the Gulf of Mexico. I live on the south side of Tampa Bay. I can ride my bike to the Bay. If Ian makes landfall anywhere in the area, it will be devastating for folks further up the Bay. Even if it makes landfall just north of here, there will be a huge storm surge here. The closer Ian gets, the tighter the forecasts gets. Right now it doesn't look good for this area.

I have lived in this area for 35 years, and it's the first time I am really scared. Keep us all in your thoughts.
 

lilbopeep

🌹🐰 Still trying to get it right.
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You two and your neighbors will be in my thoughts and prayers.

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QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Kathy, please keep us posted when you can. Sending positive energies to you!

Lee

P.S. Is it feasible to leave and go somewhere away from the storm track?
 

Doc

Administrator
Staff member
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Yes I would sure be worried if I was down there. I love that area and have a few friends living there. I hope you can prepare and if necessary head out of there for safety. Take care and above all stay safe. Hope to hear from you soon after the storm has passed through.
 

Johnny West

Well-known member
Ian is headed my way. Even if it hits north of us, we are on the 'dirty' side. Worst case scenario is a surge up Tampa Bay. Many folks think that Tampa Bay is a city. Actually the city is Tampa, and Tampa Bay is big body of water off the Gulf of Mexico. I live on the south side of Tampa Bay. I can ride my bike to the Bay. If Ian makes landfall anywhere in the area, it will be devastating for folks further up the Bay. Even if it makes landfall just north of here, there will be a huge storm surge here. The closer Ian gets, the tighter the forecasts gets. Right now it doesn't look good for this area.

I have lived in this area for 35 years, and it's the first time I am really scared. Keep us all in your thoughts.
I certainly will. My bud in Miami has been quiet so imagine he is busy with some prep. He is the financial guy for Miami Lexus so you know they are busy.
 

medtran49

Well-known member
Gold Site Supporter
Actually, we on the east coast, miami, fort lauderdale and the palm beaches, are just going to get some nasty weather unless Ian takes a drastic unexpected turn. It's the area where Kathy lives that is going to take a beating whether the eye comes ashore in her area or comes in further north. It's just a matter of degree at this point unfortunately.

Our DD and DGDs are about 2 hours south of Kathy so they have been busy.

We are getting the very far outer eastern bands of rain already here tonight and i believe Tampa is already getting some stormy weather as well from the news reports here.
 
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SilverSage

Resident Crone
Spent yesterday afternoon putting up hurricane shutters. Our neighbor is out of town, so we started theirs, too. Still have one side of their house to finish today. We have gas for the generator. It's not a huge one, but it will save the food in my refrigerator. Have plenty of cash on hand for afterward. (Bank and credit card networks may be down). Picked up refiles of the dog medicine. Got all 3 propane tanks filled.

Today we are making sure we have all the flashlights working and all electronics are charged. Tubs & jugs are filled with fresh water. Need to finish bringing in the rest of the furniture and plants on the lanai. Some of the early rain bands are already starting to move through - they are telling us to have all prep done by mid-day today.

Hurrucanes are not a point or a line, they are an area - this one is 400 miles wide, so even though it may veer one direction or another, the impact will be major. We all know better than to look at the center line of the cone, but that doesn't make it any less unsettling when that center line goes right over your house.
 

medtran49

Well-known member
Gold Site Supporter
It has been raining here all night, from a light to heavy rain. We are now under a tornado watch for the next 8 hours.

The best place to get information is NOAA hurricane center. The news stations get their tracks and maps from there. It has just about any info you could want, from actual satellite images to projected tracks and wind speeds to rainfall amounts.

Storm surge is going to be a huge problem on the west coast, with an expected 10 feet of water being pushed ahead of the storm. On the east coast in the Miami area and the Keys, flooding is going to be an issue because of the expected rain amounts plus we are experiencing what is called King tides right now, which cause flooding even on bright sunny days in some coastal areas so......

We are projected to get 30-50 MPH winds. Our girls and Kathy are in the area projected to get up to 90+ MPH winds. Our DD went through Hurricane Andrew with us. At that time, we lived about 2 hours north of where the eye made landfall and where the utter devestation occurred. It was a very long and scary night hearing the wind scream and the shutters groan and feeling the doors vibrate from the wind.
 

medtran49

Well-known member
Gold Site Supporter
Winds around center are now at 120 MPH and it is expected to get stronger. The projected impact point has also shifted south of Tampa, with the county our girls live in being 1 of the 3 where the center is expected to land.
 
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Sass Muffin

Coffee Queen ☕
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This post was made this evening on my hometown's Facebook discussion group.
They knew it was going to get bad in Ft Myers.


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medtran49

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Gold Site Supporter
Ok, I have to vent. There is someone on another forum whining because she probably won't be able to go on vacation in a month in the area where Ian hit.

Another person was being thankful that Ian was only a Cat 3 when it hit. Not quite sure where he got that info, but he was wrong, it was a 5.

The below is what I wrote in response.

"Ian was a 5 when it hit. There were 155 MPH sustained winds around the eye. Hurricane strength drops fairly quickly once it hits large size portions of land as opposed to islands, though high mountains like those in some of the islands will deplete strength. By the time it crosses Florida, it will be a 1 at best or maybe a tropical storm.

Our DD and DGDs are in the area where the eye passed, Charlotte Harbor, Port Charlotte, North Punta Gorda area. It was still pretty nasty a couple of hours ago where DD and DGDs are when i got the last text . Cell service is in and out, which is normal when a major hurricane passes through an area. When the last one to hit our area passed through, we were only able to text on cells for a week or so.

It was really bad over there. Local news stations weren't showing video from that area, just north and south of there, I.e. Northport and Fort Myers respectively.

I fully expect the area to look like Punta Gorda did when Hurricane Charlie passed through years ago, which was a weaker and much smaller storm and a fast moving one. Ian slowed down to 8 MPH when it hit land. Charlie was moving along at 20 MPH. Charlie devestated Punta Gorda. Craig's brother was alive then and lived there. We went over to help him salvage what he could right after the storm. It was as bad over there from Charlie as it was when Andrew hit South Dade County. Concrete brick buildings were just gone in lots of places .

Storm surge was really bad from Ian. Water was up close to second stories in some areas per local news videos. There was video of a Naples fire station. The fire engine trucks had water half way up the doors.

People's homes and lives have been destroyed. I doubt the vast majority in the hardest hit areas will be worried about tourists coming for a vacation for months.

By the way, Ian is following Charlie's track almost exactly. It will exit Florida around Daytona Beach, which is what Charlie did. We happened to be in Daytona Beach when Charlie went through attending and exhibiting at a trade show. It still wasn't pleasant at a Cat 1 and most of our fellow attendees made butts out of themselves partying and getting drunk, and going outside as the hurricane passed over us."

People just don't get it. Tornados are bad, but they are over and done within seconds to minutes. Hurricanes last for HOURS and also spawn tornados. Ian is about 450 miles in diameter. It pretty much covers the State of Florida. Hurricane Andrew did encompass Florida. Even small hurricanes cover 1/4 or more of the state.

Over a million people are without electricity and will be for a while. I just don't get people making light of hurricanes.
 

Johnny West

Well-known member
Ok, I have to vent. There is someone on another forum whining because she probably won't be able to go on vacation in a month in the area where Ian hit.

Another person was being thankful that Ian was only a Cat 3 when it hit. Not quite sure where he got that info, but he was wrong, it was a 5.

The below is what I wrote in response.

"Ian was a 5 when it hit. There were 155 MPH sustained winds around the eye. Hurricane strength drops fairly quickly once it hits large size portions of land as opposed to islands, though high mountains like those in some of the islands will deplete strength. By the time it crosses Florida, it will be a 1 at best or maybe a tropical storm.

Our DD and DGDs are in the area where the eye passed, Charlotte Harbor, Port Charlotte, North Punta Gorda area. It was still pretty nasty a couple of hours ago where DD and DGDs are when i got the last text . Cell service is in and out, which is normal when a major hurricane passes through an area. When the last one to hit our area passed through, we were only able to text on cells for a week or so.

It was really bad over there. Local news stations weren't showing video from that area, just north and south of there, I.e. Northport and Fort Myers respectively.

I fully expect the area to look like Punta Gorda did when Hurricane Charlie passed through years ago, which was a weaker and much smaller storm and a fast moving one. Ian slowed down to 8 MPH when it hit land. Charlie was moving along at 20 MPH. Charlie devestated Punta Gorda. Craig's brother was alive then and lived there. We went over to help him salvage what he could right after the storm. It was as bad over there from Charlie as it was when Andrew hit South Dade County. Concrete brick buildings were just gone in lots of places .

Storm surge was really bad from Ian. Water was up close to second stories in some areas per local news videos. There was video of a Naples fire station. The fire engine trucks had water half way up the doors.

People's homes and lives have been destroyed. I doubt the vast majority in the hardest hit areas will be worried about tourists coming for a vacation for months.

By the way, Ian is following Charlie's track almost exactly. It will exit Florida around Daytona Beach, which is what Charlie did. We happened to be in Daytona Beach when Charlie went through attending and exhibiting at a trade show. It still wasn't pleasant at a Cat 1 and most of our fellow attendees made butts out of themselves partying and getting drunk, and going outside as the hurricane passed over us."

People just don't get it. Tornados are bad, but they are over and done within seconds to minutes. Hurricanes last for HOURS and also spawn tornados. Ian is about 450 miles in diameter. It pretty much covers the State of Florida. Hurricane Andrew did encompass Florida. Even small hurricanes cover 1/4 or more of the state.

Over a million people are without electricity and will be for a while. I just don't get people making light of hurricanes.
Thank you for that.
 
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Sass Muffin

Coffee Queen ☕
Gold Site Supporter
Ok, I have to vent. There is someone on another forum whining because she probably won't be able to go on vacation in a month in the area where Ian hit.
Oh yeah, I saw that and finally understand who and what you are talking about.
She has a time share and is not a local.
I'm glad I don't post on that forum any longer.
Most were here at one time anyway.
I don't think she ever was.
 

medtran49

Well-known member
Gold Site Supporter
Finally heard from our girls today. Only 1 out of 5 people in household had cell service. They are okay and no major damage to house but a hellacious mess to clean up.

We were still getting wind gusts today, woke us up several times during night. Had to go to Miami today on interstate and they should have put out small car advisories. Had to keep both hands tightly on wheel and didn't dare use cruise control in case I needed to slow down quickly.
 

medtran49

Well-known member
Gold Site Supporter
I hope 'Sage and her wife are ok.
There is a good chance they don't have cell service, see above. I doubt they have power. Our girls don't. There are 2.6 million households in the area without power and it will be weeks before it is back as infrastructure has been destroyed. When Andrew hit, even though we were around 2 hours drive north of the worst, it was 3 weeks before we got power back.
 

SilverSage

Resident Crone
I'm back up! Power, Cell, internet were all intermittent. Power came back this morning, but internet this afternoon. Cell was in and out. We came through it relatively unscathed. Some trees down in the neighborhood - some roof tiles blown off - that kind of stuff. As you all know, Ian took a turn east in the last day and we were spared the brunt of it. What came through here was "only" a Cat1 - winds in the upper 70's. We spent the day doing yard cleanup (lots of branches down). The pond behind us is really high, but not enough to threaten our house.

Karen, I'm glad to hear your daughters are safe. Lives are what matters. Stuff can be replaced. We all have too much stuff anyhow. Give them your biggest hug when you see them.

We were only inconvenienced - much better off than the folks in Lee and Charlotte Counties. We are being asked to conserve water usage (especially toilet flushing) because power was off to the treatment plants for a while and they are struggling to catch up. We are being asked to stay off the roads while they clear the obstructions and repair the power lines. These things are just petty compared to what others are dealing with. I'm just grateful that we dodged that bullet, but still concerned for friends in Ft Myers that we haven't been able to reach. They won't have power for a while, but usually they manage to get cell service working faster.

One thing that came out of this is that I really came to appreciate what a great neighborhood I live in, and how wonderful my neighbors are. The community FB page was filled with people offering help with hurricane preps and people needing help. People all over our HOA were helping each other prepare. My nextdoor neighbors were out of town, so I called tham and told them I'd get their hurricane shutters up if she would give me the access code to her garage. Then, after doing ours, Judy was in pain (after all, she turned 80 last week), so I asked for someone to help me with the neighbor's. Someone, whom I had never met before, showed up in 30 minutes to help me help them. This morning, I couldn't reach my office to let them know I couldn't keep my client appointments today. Another neighbor had cell service and called the office for me. Midday, a couple friends showed up with a 3rd person, whom we had never met, and took down our shutters for us. People all over were running errands, taking peoples' cars for gas, helping with shutters, etc. Just a lot of good stuff.

Karen, I saw that same post on DC and had to take my hands off the keyboard! Such self absorbed crap! People are dead. People are homeless. Places of employment are gone. Their personal lives and memories are destroyed. But I want to know if I can still come to Ft Myers for my vacation? Really? I was inconvenienced - that's minor stuff. My life is still intact. My home was spared. Vacation? Really?
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
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Great post, Kathy!

I'm feeling quite curmudgeon-y these days, and your penultimate paragraph restored some of my faith in humanity.

Lee
 
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