Hurricane Irma - Size DOES matter!

Wind speeds drop off fairly quickly the farther away from the eye we are. If the models that show the eye staying about 50 miles or so off the coast are correct, the winds on shore will be down in the tropical storm region instead of hurricane speeds. For the sake of everyone in Florida, I'm pulling for those models of course...

Like tossing a coin. Sometimes you win, sometimes you loose. Hope it's a winner. Will depend entirely on how strong the high pressure over the Gulf is.

I'm sorry, I just DON'T understand why anyone is even considering riding the storm out. For what it's worth, Indiana State Parks has lots of opening right now. Why chance things or gamble with this? Take a vacation for a couple weeks. Head North, get out of harms way.

If your home survives, you'll have it to go back to after your vacation. If it doesn't survive, there's nothing you could have done anyway by riding it out.

I'm sorry, my house is just a house, stick and brick with wire and plaster, fully insured. It's not worth my life or the lives of my family, simply trying to prove a point how tough I may be.

If you have a camper, why NOT go!

Funny... My sister and brother-in-law live in Dallas Texas and they decided on the spur of a moment to take a vacation all last week. They don't have a camper, but they do have a tent. They left Texas, passed through Indiana to see our mother, and then headed on to Michigan for the remainder of the week. Criticize if you may, (that's OK), but both of them are in the medical profession, and I think the reason for their sudden decision to "escape" was not the weather, but the potential of being called into work on a voluntary basis and put hours in they would not get paid for. For whatever reason, they got out of Dallas and took a vacation MUCH further North for a week.

Why not? Be safe, whatever you do!

DutchmenSport wrote:
I'm sorry, I just DON'T understand why anyone is even considering riding the storm out.

People are riding it out because it doesn't present a life-threatening risk to everyone in the state. If the current path holds true, our area will be in the middle (between the eye and outer edge). At that point, we'll be looking at sub-75 mph winds. And that would represent the greatest possible wind conditions. If you're in a protected area, the trees/structures/etc. will knock down some of the wind.

So in other words, not everyone is in imminent danger. In fact, most Floridians not in a known flood zone or storm surge zone, or not in line with the direct path of the storm will stay put.

It's insane. As if Harvey wasn't bad enough and did a double hit, Irma has been gusting up to 200 mph and a 2nd tropical storm is forming in the Atlantic right behind it and is expected to make landfall on the weekend and follow the same path. Irma is so strong it's even been registering on seismographs. Why would anyone think of remaining? Is northern Florida impacted less as hurricanes die out?

Talked to someone from Florida a few days who said that because Florida isn't that wide, flood waters drain away fairly quickly compared to Texas and surrounding areas. Not much consolation if buildings and everything else gets flattened tho.

Mother nature has been especially cruel this year in many places, and there's another 3+ months to go.

Latest update of the European model shifted the track west putting Miami in the NE quadrant of Irmas landfall

DutchmenSport wrote:
I'm sorry, I just DON'T understand why anyone is even considering riding the storm out. !

I hear you loud and strong.
I am from Wisconsin and I "used" to say the SAME thing!

Now I own property in Florida.

Not enough room here to post all what you learn about Florida weather. I had a real hard time wrapping my brain around how the weather works here on a daily basis let alone hurricanes and tropical storms. And when the hell and were the hell the sea breezes will collide. :R

We ARE a peninsula. Nothing is even close here to what the weather conditions are like in the Midwest.

1. Back home you made a cup of coffee and looked to the West. If it was clear you were guaranteed a good day.

2.If it was dark out in the western sky you could plan on rain. Prevailing winds come from the West period. They come from ALL directions here.

3. When the tornado sirens went off you held on to your butt and hoped for the best cause you only had 5 minutes if that, to take cover in your basement.

Yup you'd have to live down here to understand. Took me awhile but I'v been thru 4 Hurricane's now and I understand how it all works and why some do not evacuate. It's based on their locale. And the fact that the weather differs from county to county many having their own 'micro climate'. Some live inland, some on the coast line, and some North and south.

I am staying at the house NOT evacuating. Watching weather reports closely. MH moved to hopefully a safer place on the property. My truck is gassed up, second set of dog crates in the truck if I do have to leave and/or if the roof comes off. :B

BCSnob wrote:
Latest update of the European model shifted the track west putting Miami in the NE quadrant of Irmas landfall

That will be devastating for sure.

rockhillmanor wrote:


Not enough room here to post all what you learn about Florida weather. I had a real hard time wrapping my brain around how the weather works here on a daily basis let alone hurricanes and tropical storms...

Yup you'd have to live down here to understand.

Couldn't agree more. Watching it rain on one side of the property but not the other, absolute downpours on the sunniest of days, thunderstorms that come and go within a 5 minute period, having a series of gusts that come through and knock over trees followed by pure calm...
Well its where I was born and raised so its all common everyday FL living. This storm will blow through and level an entire neighborhood of 2 year old homes, but a cracker house across the street sitting on concrete blocks (anchored to nothing) will not even lose a piece of tin.

Why not go? The ENTIRE state is in the Cone of Uncertainty. Population 20 million PLUS all the tourists.

Just 30,000 have been evacuated from the Keys, more leaving today, according to the governor. Millions yet to evacuate from Miami alone. National guard is out to help keep traffic moving, all tolls suspended.

So if everyone must leave, it's 30 million+ people all crawling north 350 miles on the same handful of N-S highways ..and by the way, Georgia (where we made reservations a few days ago for Friday onward), is also in the Cone. Do we still go there?

Meanwhile, 43% of all gas stations in Miami were out of fuel yesterday, and many in Orlando, elsewhere too. The state officials are scrambling to get gas so evacuation can even happen. Oil refineries damaged by Harvey.

Our forecasters say our city on the Gulf coast probably will get only tropical storm level winds. People right on our barrier islands in Zone A here will evacuate because of several feet of potential flooding. The rest of us...still on hold ...because we could be unnecessarily adding to the truly impossible task of evacuating everyone.

RV tanks loaded and ready if the cone shifts further west.