Deverill Posted October 20, 2005 Posted October 20, 2005 Well, we made it to the end of the alphabet for named storms. Let's hope this one only finishes the alphabet and not finish anyone or their homes. It's interesting that almost all of Key West is boarded up and closed when the storm is around 400 miles away, not expected until Sunday, and there are only tourist evacs ordered at this time. They're not even ordering locals out until 6-9AM tomorrow. I guess everyone is just tired of this hurricane stuff and just locked up and left... no questions asked. So what do you do? Hope it hits someone else? No way! I just hope and pray that it becomes as weak as possible and that everyone near it pays attention and does what they should to stay safe and sound. By the way, anyone know where we can get about 100,000,000 pounds of dry ice we can drop in the ocean to cool it off? Quote
TCH-Thomas Posted October 20, 2005 Posted October 20, 2005 Be safe everyone that is affected. As for ice...North or southpole, which ever is closest? Quote
MikeJ Posted October 20, 2005 Posted October 20, 2005 Get everyone to face east and blow as hard as they can. Maybe you can turn it back. Quote
stevevan Posted October 21, 2005 Posted October 21, 2005 Well, I'm at home in the panhandle this weekend and gonna watch it SAFELY from here. Although it IS supposed to get downright chilly sunday morning...mid 40's. (I hear all the snickers. ) By the way, anyone know where we can get about 100,000,000 pounds of dry ice we can drop in the ocean to cool it off? I was listening to the satellite radio on the way home today and Fox News interviewed a gentleman from Palm Beach I believe. He said he had an invention that would help the hurricane implode itself. Apparently it's a type of absorbant that when dispersed over regular (rain) water, it turns into a gel, then falls into the ocean, where it will not harm plant or animal life and dissolves over about a week. The idea is to spray it into only one quarter of the storm and then basically the storm would turn on itself. The goal is to weaken it enough so the destructive properties are gone, but the beneficial rain is not. Funny thing is the scientists are about 50-50 split on the idea. So who knows? Quote
Deverill Posted October 24, 2005 Author Posted October 24, 2005 Well, the winds have begun... probably about 40-45 mph gusts so far with steady at 25-30. I'm not worried about this one since it looks like it is fast and likely north of us but we could get some of that front-right winds everyone talks about. The power is blinking off and on for a second at a time already so I don't know when that will go. I have read about the hurricane foam idea but to me the guy sounds like a crack-pot. I read one article about it that said it would take a plane flying through the hurricane with an unmanagable amount of the stuff to work. I guess the lesson is "It's not nice to fool mother nature" (how many remember that old commercial!?) I'm safe and I think the Keys will just get a buncha wind -- everyone in central & south Florida need to keep an eye out and be as safe as possible and don't take uneccesary risks. The funniest thing was the guy on the Weather Channel talking about how he's standing on a sidewalk and there was a small hill behind him and the water would be way up on that... he was standing on a little slab of concrete where the bank meets the water UNDER the seven-mile bridge. Of course it's gonna flood - you're standing under the freaking bridge you moron!!! Hilarious. Quote
curtis Posted October 24, 2005 Posted October 24, 2005 Good luck Jim. Keep your head down just in case mother nature decides to pull some tricks of its own. Quote
Samrc Posted October 24, 2005 Posted October 24, 2005 (edited) Central Florida is feeling the storm and it hasn't come on shore yet! Wilma is a strong Cat 3 storm now and very W I D E. Gracious, this thing is covering the entire peninsula of Florida. We've had rains for hours and lots of tornados. Not usually up at 4:30 am but could not sleep through the wind gusts here in the Orange County area. We were supposed to be clear...storm was supposed to stay south of us but it has changed course to veer a bit further north. Theme parks are scheduled to be closed, all schools are closed and the airport is reporting DELAYS, call ahead. Surprise! Watching news reports of the keys. Typical shots of palm fronds blowing in the wind and the generic weather goof standing in the rain, arms outstretched showing how strong the wind is blowing him. In Key West the weather goof is kneeling on the ground because he can no longer stand up. With the keys in the NorthEast quadrant of the storm, they got hit by a wall of rain and wind. The storm has moved north of them so the keys are now on the back side of the storm. The worst should be over for them and weather should slowly calm down for them. Jim, Check in when you can!! Wilma is picking up speed. Hope it will move through quickly. (commercial music: zoom zoom zoom.....) Edited October 24, 2005 by Samrc Quote
stevevan Posted October 24, 2005 Posted October 24, 2005 If it's any comfort, last night as the sun was going down, the rays reflected off the clouds from the storm...very beautiful sight. On the down side, I'll be heading to Jacksonville later today. Think I'll wait as long as I can! Stay safe you guys! Quote
Deverill Posted October 27, 2005 Author Posted October 27, 2005 Just got access... had to come to work to get online. There are no phones at my house and no cellphone signal. Power came back Wednesday morning. My house is on stilts so it was fine and the wind didn't hurt it. I did have to make a mid-storm adjustment to the shutters but it's all good. The storm was pretty much over, we thought, and the canal started rising. That was unusual but it seemed like a small thing. Pretty soon the surge came in from the other side of the island and crested over the street so in comes a virtual river of water and within 15 minutes we were waist deep in water. The good news is that the important things are safe (all the people) but I did lose my car - the thing fried. It's a pain in the butt trying to figure how to get another good (non-wet) one from the mainland... but that's another small thing. No one died here as far as we can tell and there are no reports of serious injury so we were blessed in spite of the loss of nearly every car in the lower keys. Quote
TCH-Rob Posted October 27, 2005 Posted October 27, 2005 Jim, I am glad you made it through safe. Sorry about the death of your car. Where can I send flowers? Have you thought about hot sauce as a revival method? Quote
stevevan Posted October 28, 2005 Posted October 28, 2005 Glad to hear you're ok. I've read several reports about the damage at the airport (and the other airports in S. FLorida.) Not sure when (or if) they're gonna send me down for any repair work. Sorry to hear about your car. Think it might be a little late for the hot sauce, tho'! Quote
Deverill Posted November 3, 2005 Author Posted November 3, 2005 Yeah, the hot sauce is good for things you're going to eat, but that car is not going to be very tasty with all the mold and mildew. The recovery is progressing but is slow... piles of debris on the roadsides, trashed cars everywhere, the phone is barely working and no DSL for maybe 2-3 weeks, my cell is getting no signal... and I'm one of the lucky ones. Some had 4 feet of water in their homes so the devastation is widespread. Thanks for the concern and I'm trying to find ways to be around here much more often. By the way, what's the low-graphic version of the forums? Quote
Deverill Posted November 3, 2005 Author Posted November 3, 2005 Thanks! I may need it if DSL doesn't return soon and I'm stuck on flakey dial-up. Quote
Samrc Posted November 3, 2005 Posted November 3, 2005 So glad you and yours made it thru!!! Last year aunt and uncle had some minor property damage and no power for 2 weeks with no generator either. This year they lost part of a roof and no power for only a week. He gave a choice to my aunt....choose where they are going to move to....North or South Dakota, Montana or Idaho! He's had enough and I expect within the next few months they will have decided where they are headed! Quote
stevevan Posted November 4, 2005 Posted November 4, 2005 This past week I was working on some projects in Mississippi and drove through some of the areas affected by Katrina. Even after driving through all the areas in Florida that were hit last year, I was shocked at the devastation. Not the amount of it, but the coverage area...it's huge! I saw parts of peoples homes in the median of the interstate STILL. I'm just waiting on the call to head down to south florida (key west airport) to rebuild the two sites I helped to install a couple of years ago. Samrc: Doesn't he realize how much snow they get up there? Quote
Samrc Posted November 5, 2005 Posted November 5, 2005 Samrc: Doesn't he realize how much snow they get up there? OH YES.... They lived in upper ALASKA for 8 years, moved to West Palm Beach several years ago when my grandparents were getting up in years and is itching to leave the state now that they are gone. The storms have put a final seal on what was a what if. Quote
stevevan Posted November 5, 2005 Posted November 5, 2005 Well, they can have it. Even though I'm originally from the Chicagoland area, I've been in warm climates too long to even THINK about going back! (Of course it has been said that money talks! ) Quote
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