[Tommy-G]

Everyone be safe. Just went in to secure the shop and heading home now. This could be a direct hit to Tampa bay people or it may just skate by West of us.

Hope everyone fairs well and everyone point your fans out towards the Gulf and maybe we can blow Ian away from land.

[DocL]

If this is your first time experiencing a possible direct don't let the media get you into a frenzy. Start freezing as many bottles of water as you can, make as much ice as you can and put it into freezer bags, and right before fill up bathtubs with water to flush the toilet with if you lose power and pressure diminishes. I also put any important documents, pictures, and my computer into the dishwasher as it's watertight. If you get flooded everything in it will be completely dry. Then sit back and ride it out if you feel safe enough.

Good luck and stay safe.

[Tyga11]

I was in Broward County during Hurricane Andrew. It was unlike anything I've ever seen. These storms are no joke and it's crazy you can lose power for weeks and even months.

[G MONEY]

The governor hooked those peeps up he sent to Martha's. Thanks for the plane ride away from that upcoming hurricane brother. Lol

[3.0L]

Is Ian going to hit the West Palm Beach area?

[CarsAndGuitars]

Originally Posted by 3.0L

Is Ian going to hit the West Palm Beach area?

I am ~25mi south of WPB. We are under tropical storm warning, hearing anywhere from 4-10" of rain over the course of the storm with 70-80% chance of TS force winds.

But to your concerns, destructiveness from the wind event and surge should be relatively minimal in our neck of the woods. Localized flooding may be another matter.

[spazzyfry123]

Wild to see how much these can change projected direction. Just yesterday, we were anticipating a direct hit to my front door for landfall and now I don't even think we are in the "cone of uncertainty."

Best wishes to everyone south. I know a lot of folks in the area and hope all will be fine.

[Dan W]

Originally Posted by Tommy-G

Everyone be safe. Just went in to secure the shop and heading home now. This could be a direct hit to Tampa bay people or it may just skate by West of us.

Hope everyone fairs well and everyone point your fans out towards the Gulf and maybe we can blow Ian away from land.

Tommy, Don't ignore the possibility of the eye passing west of Tampa in the Gulf. While Tampa would avoid a direct hit of the strongest winds, storm surge in the SE part of the hurricane could push a large amount of water into Tampa Bay (without an exit). Stay safe!

[RickFLM4]

Good luck to everyone, particularly on the west coast of FL. We’re out of town but looks like it will be making a mess of our route home this weekend. Probably going to hang out in NC an extra day (or two). Glad we replaced the windows and roof in FL right about now.

Agree with Doc’s ice strategy. Don’t forget the liquor. Charge all devices tonight and keep them charged tomorrow. Order some batteries from Amazon ASAP if you are running low. They won’t arrive before the storm but if you need them after the storm, best to have them already ordered. Stay safe during and after the storm!

[Tommy-G]

We were here for Irma. Prepared to the nines and a bunch of nothing. This time I took it down one notch, no shutters. I’m 19 miles from the water and a non flood zone and highest house on the block.
I have a generator, plenty of booze, food and ice. Only concern I have is a broken window or lanai door, otherwise I think I’m pretty solid. Opted not to go with shutters bc the whole lanai is missing the tracks for shutters and they have the most glass and 2 sliders.

I’m watching the updates and still have tomorrow morning if need be to do something

[iamwingman]

I’m in Naples. Every update bringing it closer. Gonna be a mess. 👎

[dreamingat30fps]

Luckily we are in NC although I am suppose to return for a few days next week. We'll see if there are any issues with flights and power at the house although it looks like our area will avoid the worse of it. Cat 1 or 2 I'm typically like meh, mainly flood issues if it brings rain, once we get up to 3 and above it gets sketchy. Hopefully everyone on the west coast has prepared or is planning to gtfo.

I also noticed there was no mention of the category on NHC site. Is this a new thing or did they never show the category? Somehow I feel like it use to show it. Now it's just like major hurricane, hurricane and storm.

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

Luckily we are in NC although I am suppose to return for a few days next week. We'll see if there are any issues with flights and power at the house although it looks like our area will avoid the worse of it. Cat 1 or 2 I'm typically like meh, mainly flood issues if it brings rain, once we get up to 3 and above it gets sketchy. Hopefully everyone on the west coast has prepared or is planning to gtfo.

I also noticed there was no mention of the category on NHC site. Is this a new thing or did they never show the category? Somehow I feel like it use to show it. Now it's just like major hurricane, hurricane and storm.

Lots of rain coming but shouldn't be anything like a hurricane by the time it gets to NC.

[2000cs]

Expected to land noon-2P tomorrow (Wed) as a strong Cat3 or Cat4, head for Orlando, then cross right over us (Flagler Beach) on Thursday. TS by then. Official forecast here 11+ inches of rain starting tonight thru Friday night, a bit more Sat perhaps. Unofficial (Not NWS or NOAA) models showing 15 inches or more. Likely evac orders in the morning tomorrow, and curfews. We’re staying.

I like Windy.com and Spaghettimodels.com (FB Mike’s Weather Page) for aggregated info.

EDIT: eye passes over us Friday 2:00 AM in current forecst

[Freiheit]

Originally Posted by DocL

If this is your first time experiencing a possible direct don't let the media get you into a frenzy... I also put any important documents, pictures, and my computer into the dishwasher as it's watertight. If you get flooded everything in it will be completely dry. .

The first thing you said was the most important. I can almost draw a line at where the news changed, and its when they reported something in two or three sentences and then cut to getting statements from involved locals followed by "and how did that make you feel?" which was about 25 years ago.

Thanks for the dishwasher tip - that was one of the smartest storm prep activities I've ever read.

[Llarry]

Best wishes and best of luck to all of you!

[F30lolz]

Fortunately I’m not in FL at the moment but will return in 2 weeks. Hoping everyone stays safe and hope you all didn’t hog up the milk, bread and eggs. Some people like to have French toast when there isn’t a storm.

[paquet]

Reporting from the east coast here - just getting tons of rain (outer bands of storm)

hoping folks on the west coast stay safe.
MCO is closed as of this morning. Loads of flight cancellations as expected

[Alfisti]

If this thing rolls in at the intensity and on the track it is supposed, it's not gonna be good. Hopefully it tapers off a bit before it hits land because right now, jesus H.

[rebekahb]

It worries me that a lot of people are underestimating this storm. It's a monster. Stay safe!

[CarsAndGuitars]

Originally Posted by paquet

Reporting from the east coast here - just getting tons of rain (outer bands of storm)

hoping folks on the west coast stay safe.
MCO is closed as of this morning. Loads of flight cancellations as expected

I am in PBC. We were in a tornado warning polygon twice last night. One of the cells traveled a little north of us and there was a touch down. Some cars thrown around like toys and an uprooted tree on top of a building.

We will get wet. OTOH, I have family in Cape Coral who have reached safety but very concerned for their property as it appears they will be on the dirty side of the storm as it comes onshore.

[cmyx6go]

What a monster storm! It's just shy of a Cat 5. Be safe out there.