of course the nastiest storms have names like Irma and Gladys, nobody would be afraid of a storm named Violet or Lisa..lol
Hell.... 50 KW? Everybody have their extension cords ready? Nows the time to entertain the thought of battery maintenance AND fuel filters! My little 5Kw will run the house with a Honda knockoff. Its a 3600 rpm unit thos and really screams! FWIW... gas mains fail "open" just for something like this. Have all the neighbors/users get fuel (and oil and filters!) to get you through! Katrina was this weekend in 2005. ws
Should our automatic switch fail, we have a handle for a manual transfer. Should the main generator fail, we have a backup 5.5KVA gasoline unit.
Sure wish there was a clear path. On the plane to WPB in the morning. May be a big adventure, but getting to old for the drama.
Everybody out there get your fuel now. We still can't get fuel here after Harvey. When a tank truck unloads, there are long lines until all is gone. Irma needs to stay out of Texas.
Step daughter and hubby from Springfield, Mo. had business half way to Austin Tuesday a.m. and brought cans with them. Got in at midnite today and said they couldn't find gas just below Wichita Falls. You guys sure have had enough fun! Her sister lives in Spring Branch, Tx. and just split from her boyfriend (has a ton of baggage tho...) Know any "Red Caps" down that way??? ws
There was a model shift to the east overnight. Tropical storm force winds are 350 miles across whereas hurricane force winds are 80 miles across. Florida is about 140 miles across.
For you folks in Florida.. Load up the trailer with your cars and what you really want to keep, and start north now. These models are really scary, and if it slides off just to the west and stays over the gulf, it going to wipe out the entire peninsula. Certainly going to devastate the area where it makes landfall, with flooding rains for the rest of the state. Store the GS and your truck/trailer at a board member's place near BG Kentucky, and then so as not to be an uninvited house guest, hop a plane up here to MSP.. spend the weekend at the Mall of America, eat at the many resturants in the area, and stay in one of the hotels nearby, Watch Irma on TV.. MN is beautiful this time of year, this weekend is 70's and sunny, Friday thru Tuesday. And the 50's at night have pretty much killed off the Mosquito clouds. I noticed that last night as I stepped out of the shop at 10pm for the night. The normal swarm of bugs around the security light was almost gone. Then fly back to BG, and enjoy the GS nats the weekend after this.. I was just telling Beth, there is no way we would be staying in FLA, if we lived there. Take what is important to you, and get out. Stay safe JW
The storm surge is projected to be 15-20 feet with wave action on top. Many islands on the right side of the eye will be completely submerged.
Hi, Jim. Appreciate your generous invite and while it's probably a good idea for some to bail out of Florida, it's not necessarily imperative for everyone. We've lived in Florida from Miami to Orlando for over 50 years and have been through most of the major hurricanes over the years. In 2004 the eye of hurricane Charlie passed right over our neighborhood in Orlando and there was major damage. But, most everyone stayed home hunkered down with windows boarded up and emergency generators ready. We were without power for almost two weeks and the generator kept the entire house online except for the A/C. So, we're staying for this one too. The key is that we don't live in a low lying area where flooding is a concern like the folks in South Florida and other coastal areas, and those unfortunate people in Texas and Louisiana. We're 100+ feet above sea level with good drainage out of our neighborhood and we're about in the middle of the state so, don't have to worry about the ocean or the Gulf. But, all that said, anyone living in the path of the storm in any kind of manufactured home or, near major waterways should consider bailing out. 140 + MPH winds are devastating! This one could be a killer for Florida coast line folks.
A great piece of advice Jim, but here in sunny SW Florida as of yesterday, it was virtually impossible to find bottled water or propane in the Naples area. at 8:15 last evening, the bride and I had the pleasure (?) of spending an hour in a gas line - a first since 1973 for me. Many stations were out of gas completely; the Shell station that we visited had only Diesel and the owner said less then 1,000 gallons of non-ethanol gas left. As there were probably 40 cars after us waiting in line, and the guy at the next pump was filling 10(!) gas cans, some of those folk were almost certainly disappointed. I was able to get a propane cylinder exchanged at Home Depot last night. We were looking for a few of HD's "Homer" buckets to store water, when the guy said that they had just received a shipment of the gas. I grabbed a cylinder, but before I was out of the store there was a line for those. Evacuating half of a big state is not a simple thing.
Hunker down and stay safe, John. I wouldn't want to be near the coast for this one. We're experiencing long gas lines and stores out of staples too all the way up here in the Orlando area. This one has everyone really concerned.
Watching. Waiting. Preparing. Deeply Concerned. We live in Seminole since 1971. Less than 1 mile from Indian Rocks Beach, on the Gulf of Mexico... just 1100 feet from the intercoastal waterway and on weekends we can hear powerboats enjoying the water. Our property is just 9 feet above sea level. Evacuation level C. I have been sorting thru my storage unit for months, bringing home parts, which I hoped to sell to you guys. My home garage is dangerously overpacked. At this time, I am moving EVERYTHING back into that small overstuffed already severely UNorganized packed storage place hopefully for protection. My 65 GS will remain in my garage at 11'2" above sea level. Asking for the Grace of God to protect our state form what "could be" a humongously devastating hurricane. John mentioned earlier, HE DIDNT LIKE THE RED PATH on the satellite TRACKER MAP... nor do we. All I can say is, I prayed for all Ya'll in Texas for weeks... Our entire church prayed for safety and fast recovery from all the devestation in those upper Gulf Coast areas, and sent funds to Churches in those areas to help out were needed. We hold onto Faith that we have helped people out. Well now, it certainly appears at this point, to be our turn now. Please Pray. Pray. Pray. BTW, Jim Haas is in Southeast Coast Florida along with many other Buick friends. Please keep them in your prayers as well. Wheelz, Hunker'n Down in Tampa Bay
