Healhustler in Irma bullseye

Looks like Irma is heading for the Tampa area now with big winds and dangerous storm surge. Larry has been hustling the last few days to get Bucky and his house ready, but being on a barrier island he has decided to bug out for higher ground. Keep him in your thoughts.

I have a flight arranged from Houston to Tampa for Tuesday night to check on my boat and see if Larry needs any help, but now I wonder if I will be able to fly into to Tampa that soon after the storm? Will power be restored to the airport? Will I be able to drive my rental car on the roads towards LaBelle?

cardude01 said:

Looks like Irma is heading for the Tampa area now with big winds and dangerous storm surge. Larry has been hustling the last few days to get Bucky and his house ready, but being on a barrier island he has decided to bug out for higher ground. Keep him in your thoughts.

I have a flight arranged from Houston to Tampa for Tuesday night to check on my boat and see if Larry needs any help, but now I wonder if I will be able to fly into to Tampa that soon after the storm? Will power be restored to the airport? Will I be able to drive my rental car on the roads towards LaBelle?

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No way to know. Doesn't look promising for your trip at the moment since winds don't really drop in Tampa until Monday afternoon.

Yeah I made that reservation before things stalled a bit. Seems like almost all other Southwest flights are sold out now however.

cardude01 said:

Yeah I made that reservation before things stalled a bit. Seems like almost all other Southwest flights are sold out now however.

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Yes, with a few million people being shuffled around not likely to be a lot of availability. All those people who left by car will be heading back too and probably all want to come at the same time.

When Sandy hit us, they would not let property owners back on the hard hit barrier islands for over a week (some several weeks) until it was "safe". Man did that make everyone mad! There were miles of backup trying to get back to their property then getting turned around day after day. Many survivors of Sandy said they will never leave again because they were not allowed back.
So, I would not count too heavily on zipping down there in a rental car. Maybe FL is different, but this evacuation looked like Sandy only bigger.

Yeah. Especially since Tampa might take a direct hit. It's a Southwest flight so I can cancel or change it within 24 hours and get a refund.

Wanted to go check on the boat sooner rather than later for insurance purposes, check batteries, etc, but that might not be doable. Guess I could fly into Orlando or maybe FLL?

Edit:: as I was typing this Southwest texted that my flight was canceled. So yeah, it was obviously too soon. Rebooked for the following Monday.

High Wire said:

When Sandy hit us, they would not let property owners back on the hard hit barrier islands for over a week (some several weeks) until it was "safe". Man did that make everyone mad! There were miles of backup trying to get back to their property then getting turned around day after day. Many survivors of Sandy said they will never leave again because they were not allowed back.
So, I would not count too heavily on zipping down there in a rental car. Maybe FL is different, but this evacuation looked like Sandy only bigger.

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Well, typically as I've observed them doing in Galveston before they have two reasons to secure the areas. One is safety if wires down, etc. The other is stealing. Who knows what they'll face. FPL is sure lined up and ready.

In spite of being in an evacuation zone our house does not fit the definition. We don't have a surge worry. Odd how they say surge is what you evacuate for but then you hear the reporters warning people of the winds. Even with our mild hit, I could see our streets out impassible for days. Fortunately, we can get out by water.

We almost feel guilty that we just made homemade Pizza and had a big party. However, there's just nothing to do right now but wait.

Orlando or West Palm Beach might be a better bet for a flight and having rental cars available. If Irma hits Tampa as it is forecast, flying in there and getting a rental would be problematic. You will need to make sure you take food, water and everything else you will need because it might not available in the area you are traveling through and too.

Looks like Orlando is going to get hit but not bad and West Palm will be mostly spared so driving over from the east coast might work. The major east/west roads should be clear to help move supplies and people around BUT if the rain fall amounts happen as forecast, it is likely to flood many roads delaying road clearing.

The Florida DOT website should show which roads are blocked.

Good Luck,
Dan

dannc said:

The Florida DOT website should show which roads are blocked.

Good Luck,
Dan

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Florida also have a website, https://fl511.com/

A lot of information there. In the state you can even dial 511. And they'll send you alerts if you wish. For example, current alert showing the Sunshine Skyway Bridge is closed due to high winds. It is the bridge from St. Pete across the Tampa Bay toward Bradenton. With it closed you'd have to go through Tampa turning 10-15 miles into 50 to 60 miles.

Got a flight going into Lauderdale, but earliest I could get was 9/18. Roads should be cleaned by then maybe. And maybe power will be back on.

cardude01 said:

Got a flight going into Lauderdale, but earliest I could get was 9/18. Roads should be cleaned by then maybe. And maybe power will be back on.

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That's about the time I am hoping I can get back down there. Currently living on the boat in Ct.
Right now our house in New Port Richey is in the bulls eye. Will probably start driving back on the weekend.

So I got a text from Larry last night finally. He evac'd to a friend's house that's hopefully sturdy enough he said. After working his butt off securing his condos and Bucky for days, he didn't feel comfortable with the possibility of a big surge and waves that could possibly cover Longboat Key. I've been there and the elevation is not super high so I agree.

Hopefully he will chime in and give us some updates.

If the predicted surge actually happens , lots of cars will go under water and a rental will be hard to find.

With all the electronics in modern cars , even shock absorbers can be electronic ,
I wonder how many of these underwater cars will ever run again?

Being in the car biz, I can say from experience that flooded cars are a nightmare. They can be dried out, but they are never "right" after being flooded because of all the electronics. Window motors and locks begin to fail, bad connections everywhere due to corrosion, bad ECU connections and corroded wires caused strange drivability problems that were a bitch to run down and fix.

Back in 1998 we had a big flood in the town where I had the car dealership, and I got extra greedy and decided I would make lots of money doing flooded car insurance claim work. I created an entirely new group of people who hated me after that fiasco. [emoji30]

my boat is docked marathon Boathouse Marina Coral Lagoon oceanside
car at sisters winter home Cudjoe
i am in michigan in a dither
i'd like to be in the keys soonest
all advice appreciated
thanks, Mike

Scot Free is in the water at Progressive Marine in St. Petersburg. Originally was gonna stay on the boat as the path was up the East Coast. As the track shifted west thought I would be good as the power of the storm would diminish as it headed north up the spine of Florida. But when it moved to the west coast it was time to think again. Now we are the bulls eye for landfall.
The boat is secured to a floating dock. I have fifteen lines out to the dock, pilings, an oak tree, a concrete post and a stern anchor on the other side of the channel.
I was lucky enough to have become friends with a local and am at an apartment where the ground floor is 47' above sea level and the apartment is on the second floor. I brought all the perishables and frozen food off the boat. I also emptied my safe of all the paperwork and my gun.
Not much more I can do now but wait for the storm to hit sometime just after midnight.

Best of luck. Sounds like you are as prepared as you could possibly be. Healhustler's boat is out on Longboat Key so let's hope it makes it through OK. Don't think he is on a floating dock however.

Yeah, you're gonna get it, a lot of us are going to get it. I did all I can do with line geometry to absorb surge, but now my canal is getting surge from Sarasota Bay first and later over the berm from the Gulf. I dunno, my guess is the wind and double surge is just too much. 1st floor of residence probably too. I actually removed the sand bags from the garage door before I left, knowing all they would do is hold water in. I'm so physically and emotionally exhausted from these last two days of prep (probably for nothing) that I welcome the growing numbness as the storm approaches. I literally had to heave the cats into their carriers and am staying in a friends home (abandoned) about five miles inland. If the center hits here, well... Best of luck to our ofher TF members on the Gulf Coast. Just think of all the bragging rights you're going to have when you can tell 'em you lost her (or maybe even saved her) in Irma. Do you think that after Harvey and Irma, we'll actually know what's important?

I lost my sailboat from Katrina. This is like deja vu all over again.

healhustler said:

I'm so physically and emotionally exhausted from these last two days of prep (probably for nothing) that I welcome the growing numbness as the storm approaches.

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Wifey B: I feel so for all you on the west coast and those in the keys. Although the cone thingies always showed it possible and Euro leaned your way, everybody just kept talking Keys and Miami and the east coast.

We're all sort of numb because it's like we're in a protective cocoon and outside of what little we can see from our home, we only know what it going on by storm chasers and television. We just know a lot of people are going through a lot of bad stuff and we'll have no idea what until it's all over. 60+ mph winds and 80+ mph gusts and we feel so lucky and just sort of blind to them knowing what's going on the west coast.

It's weird to see side by side Miami and Fort Myers and they look the same. Problem is knowing the west coast is going to worsen so. Well, think I'll watch a movie and snack while the world outside crumbles. Maybe that's the worst part that all any of us can do is wait.

cardude01 said:

Got a flight going into Lauderdale, but earliest I could get was 9/18. Roads should be cleaned by then maybe. And maybe power will be back on.

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Remember that the area of Florida you would be traveling through is going to get 6-15 inches of rain. That is a huge amount of water that will take quite awhile to drain. Having the coastlines, especially on the west coast, getting up to 10-15 feet of storm surge is not going to hurry up the drainage. Much of that water will drain south and there are only a few east/west roads south of, and around, the lake.

The area in the south center part of the state is swamp, or nearly swamp, and all of that rain really has no place to go but up. The roads in those areas ain't that far up.

I would make sure the roads are open to get you from FLL to the west coast before you get on the plane.

Good luck,
Dan

The storm at this moment seems to be coming apart. Pressure going up. Eye beginning to get ragged. Currently headed north. LBK could end up on left (weaker) side. If it continues north toward Arcadia, it might weaken further. Surge could be less. Hope maybe.

healhustler said:

The storm at this moment seems to be coming apart. Pressure going up. Eye beginning to get ragged. Currently headed north. LBK could end up on left (weaker) side. If it continues north toward Arcadia, it might weaken further. Surge could be less. Hope maybe.

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Well, by it turning into land, it's weakening itself now. As long as it stays over land it should continue to do so. Naples was hammered but that should be the worst now.

We haven't seen much of the Keys but the other places so far appear to have survived better than our worst fears. There is one reporter driving around in the keys now and checking bridges. A lot of debris but nothing horrible so far. A trailer park with a bit of damage.

It's definitely not over yet but preliminary it looks nothing like the Caribbean received, perhaps it's long stay over Cuba saving us. Also, nothing so far like Andrew with neighborhoods destroyed. Again, we've seen very little so far but if what we've seen so far is the worst, it will be an incredible relief. What we're seeing is certainly massive, but hopefully we avoid the destruction it could have been.

I've got to add one off topic thing and that is as we think of all those in the Caribbean, lets not forget over 90 lives lost to the earthquake in Mexico.

I need to add that to those who have suffered huge losses there is no relief in the fact that overall it wasn't as bad as it could have been. There will be those who have lost everything.

BandB said:

I need to add that to those who have suffered huge losses there is no relief in the fact that overall it wasn't as bad as it could have been. There will be those who have lost everything.

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Thank you...

Winds on Longboat Key down to 55 mph. At about 10 PM Sunday the bottom half of the storm just dried up. The center went through Arcadia (about 30 miles east) just like Donna did in the 60s. The surge won't be a big deal now, but the storm rotation pushed the water out of Sarasota Bay and my canal nearly emptied. Now it wii fill again but I may have damage. The worry and wait should end sometime tomorrow if they let us back on the key. Best of luck to the guys in St. Pete and Tampa Bay. Surge shouldn't be an issue.

Let us know when you get back on the island. Damage assessment. Etc.

Good luck to you with all the cleanup. I'm still picking crap up from Harvey.

lucky

huge bullet (bomb) dodged....if it had stayed just offshore west Fl. which was a predicton....raking the west coast, at cat 3-4... that; would have been devastation...80 knot gusts from the east thru north NW in tampa area...west central Fl is ok.. Dunedin Municipal Marina next to Clearwater is fine....!....but down by Naples, Ft Meyers and Cape Coral...nothing good...
has anyone heard from Panacea?....