Tropical Storm Fay

[just strum]

Just curious, any of our Florida fretters concerned about Tropical Storm Fay? I'm not familiar enough with Florida and all of your locations, but as I was reading the news reports on the web I started to wonder about you folks.

If your guitars, I mean if you and your family need a place to stay, PM me for my address.

 

[Rocket]

Looks like just a rainmaker for us... if anything more, we (and our trailer full of guitars & amps,) will be headed for friends in GA.

 

[R_of_G]

If it comes to Tampa it'll create lots of flooding issues and probably knock out the power for awhile. I doubt it will do much physical damage as the winds prob won't get that bad but even a heavy rain storm creates flooding issues when you live at sea level.

 

[bigoldron]

Looks like just a rainmaker for us... if anything more, we (and our trailer full of guitars & amps,) will be headed for friends in GA.

Welcome to Georgia, Rocket! I'm sure ya'll will be OK here. We could use the rain.

BTW, if you need somewhere to store your guitars, just give me a buzz. I'm only 100 miles west of I-75!

 

[warren0728]

If it comes to Tampa it'll create lots of flooding issues and probably knock out the power for awhile. I doubt it will do much physical damage as the winds prob won't get that bad but even a heavy rain storm creates flooding issues when you live at sea level.

same here...expecting lots of rain and some wind...but my major concern is losing power (which will probably happen)...looks like our schools will probably be closed on tuesday....

ww

 

[Rocket]

Welcome to Georgia, Rocket! I'm sure ya'll will be OK here. We could use the rain.

BTW, if you need somewhere to store your guitars, just give me a buzz. I'm only 100 miles west of I-75!

Thanks Ron... but looks like you're gonna get it after it's done with us. We've got friends up in Woodbine (King's Bay). We've got it worked out that if we need to bail, we go to them and vice-versa.

 

[R_of_G]

same here...expecting lots of rain and some wind...but my major concern is losing power (which will probably happen)...looks like our schools will probably be closed on tuesday....

ww

I can't imagine that the power won't go out at some point. If it rains for a few hours here the power goes out. In 2004 (the year of the four hurricanes in one month) we lost our power when Frances came through and that was the weakest of the four. It was just a lot of rain and almost no wind but we lost our power for four days. If we lived in a house I would purchase a generator, but living in an apartment pretty much takes that out of play as there is no place I can really run it, nor do I have the authority to go messing with the wiring and stuff here. I just hope TECO (our power company) has their act together this year and can fix the outages a little more rapidly. We shall see sometime in the next 2.5 days I suppose.

 

[Bloozcat]

Well, IF the current track holds, the storm will make landfall at Ft. Myers as a minimal hurricane and my area will be on the edge of the 39 mph wind field. A slight shift to the east, and we're still in the 39 mph wind field. A slight shift to the west and we drop into the 23 mph wind field. So, no matter what, we're looking at some stiff winds and a bunch of rain.

Now, watching the local media and even the Weather Channel, you'd think this was the second coming of Hurricane Andrew. I believe in being prepared; I have to be at work and I am certainly at home. But, over-hyping the event only causes people who are on edge already, to go into a panic.

The best scenario would be for this storm to lose some of it's wind speed, and then drift up over Alabama and Georgia right on into Tennessee where they need rain so desperately. But, I don't think that's likely to happen the way things are looking.

 

[warren0728]

yeah...the news loves this kind of stuff....looks like we will get lots of wind and rain...but the main concern will be the tornado's that are spawned by the storm...i'm sure we will lose power....i'm in a condo and my neighbor a couple of doors down has a generator...and i have my camping equipment (propane cook stove and such) so i'm set....lots of batteries and a cool device that uses aa batteries to charge my cell phone and ipod!

got some good single malt scotch too...so i'm prepared!

ww

 

[ShortBuSX]

Nothing more than a Florida snow day.
Probably get the day off from work, string up the acoustic with new strings, drink some beer and wait for the power to go out.

I can't imagine that the power won't go out at some point. If it rains for a few hours here the power goes out. In 2004 (the year of the four hurricanes in one month) we lost our power when Frances came through and that was the weakest of the four. It was just a lot of rain and almost no wind but we lost our power for four days. If we lived in a house I would purchase a generator, but living in an apartment pretty much takes that out of play as there is no place I can really run it, nor do I have the authority to go messing with the wiring and stuff here. I just hope TECO (our power company) has their act together this year and can fix the outages a little more rapidly. We shall see sometime in the next 2.5 days I suppose.

Up until that point I dont recall ever losing power during ANY hurricane season since the 70s(hurricane David?) for any length of time for more than 30 minutes....every now and again the cable would go out for short periods of time.

 

[Bloozcat]

Nothing more than a Florida snow day.
Probably get the day off from work, string up the acoustic with new strings, drink some beer and wait for the power to go out.



Up until that point I dont recall ever losing power during ANY hurricane season since the 70s(hurricane David?) for any length of time for more than 30 minutes....every now and again the cable would go out for short periods of time.

We had three direct hits - as in the eye overhead - for Francis, Jean, and Wilma...all within a 13 month period. Of those, Wilma was the least destructive, and only because it came through fast and did not linger like the other two did.

We're in one of those fortunate spots when it comes to the power. We're on the same feeder as the water treatment plant less than a mile away as the crow flies. And since our neighborhood has all underground utilities, when that feeder is energized for the water treatment plant (which is a priority), our power comes back on as well. I don't think we went longer than 48 hours without power after any of the three hurricanes. Of course, I only got to enjoy it for about 6-7 hours a day (mostly when I was sleeping) as I was busy 16 hours a day with the recovery effort for the utility at which I work.

I'll be happy just to wave bye-bye to Fay as she hopefully slips by with minimal damage.

 

[ShortBuSX]

We had three direct hits - as in the eye overhead - for Francis, Jean, and Wilma...all within a 13 month period. Of those, Wilma was the least destructive, and only because it came through fast and did not linger like the other two did.

We're in one of those fortunate spots when it comes to the power. We're on the same feeder as the water treatment plant less than a mile away as the crow flies. And since our neighborhood has all underground utilities, when that feeder is energized for the water treatment plant (which is a priority), our power comes back on as well. I don't think we went longer than 48 hours without power after any of the three hurricanes. Of course, I only got to enjoy it for about 6-7 hours a day (mostly when I was sleeping) as I was busy 16 hours a day with the recovery effort for the utility at which I work.

I'll be happy just to wave bye-bye to Fay as she hopefully slips by with minimal damage.

We lost power for bout 3 weeks in total during that season...it was like camping without all the comforts of home AT HOME. I remember the daily hunt for ICE and whatever restaurant was open serving fresh hot food. It was a lil tough, but I was able to appreciate how it brought everybody together. And for atleast a month after the storms were still the hot topic, not unlike the day after the super bowl.

For some strange reason, maybe its the beginning of the school year, but I have fond memories of Hurricane days, weather I was a child or as an adult.

Aint nothin like hunkerin down with your closest friends and family, with a butt-load of beer, stayin up late/early and watching the storm coverage.
(speaking of which reminds me of watching "the pier" at Daytona beach erode away with the tide on live TV, fascinating!)

And my absolute favorite thing about "hurricane days" and all...its the stupid, idiot news guy, standing in the rain, on a beach wearing a flipping poncho reporting LIVE! I love those idiots!!!!

Dont get me wrong yall..."be safe"...but have fun too!
BTW I just stocked up with new acoustic strings...beer and smokes later.:beer:

 

[Brian Krashpad]

We should be fine in Gainesville, just a few rainy days unless it turns significantly westerly. My bro-in-law in Jacksonville is in center of the projected path, but by the time it gets up there it should be pretty mild unless she makes open water and picks up steam before turning back for a third landfall.

Current projection, with Gainesville and Jax drawn in:

So far, schools are staying open here. The county just south of us cancelled for today though, at least as of last night. Pretty crazy back-to-school week.

 

[Bloozcat]

The latest forecast track has the storm crossing the state and exiting just south of Daytona. The closest it will come to us now, is when it passes over Lake Okeechobee. With the slow weakening of the storm as it moves northeastward, it should mean that we'll experience about the same wind strength and just more rain.

The weather map here is littered with boxes and triangles indicating tornadoes or potential tornadoes. I drove right through two of these "potential tornado" areas on my way to work this morning. Nothing but wind and rain, and not quite enough wind to push my vehicle around on the highway. It's enough wind to blow the rain sideways, and it's not the kind of weather you'd want to be outside in, but it's not really all that bad. Tornadoes here aren't like the ones that form in the plains. Here, they form quickly without much visible sign, and just touch down briefly in an area and then they're gone. So, instead of seeing a path of destruction, you typically see isolated spots.

BTW: I work for a utility (electric, gas, water, sewer), and so far, we've only had a couple of isolated outages with our electric service, and they were corrected quickly. We get far more outages when the late afternoon thunderstorms move in on a normal day. Let's hope that our luck holds...I don't really want to spend any 16 hour days here...

 

[ShortBuSX]

I think most of us are in that "Early Wed AM" area.

 

[SuperSwede]

got some good single malt scotch too...so i'm prepared!

ww

Sounds like you are well prepared! :AOK:

 

[R_of_G]

It appears that my area (Tampa) will be getting through this with nothing more than some periodically heavy rain from feeder bands and the occasional squall. I hope the rest of my fellow Floridian fretters don't experience any hardships from the storm.

 

[ShortBuSX]

It appears that my area (Tampa) will be getting through this with nothing more than some periodically heavy rain from feeder bands and the occasional squall. I hope the rest of my fellow Floridian fretters don't experience any hardships from the storm.

They keep saying Daytona shouldnt be affected much either...but this is the part I have a problem with, the information is so scattered and unorganized, some of the media is seriously downplaying this(even moreso that I did previously)...but if you live in Florida, I do care where youre at, youve GOTTA expect tornados!
And my biggest fear is thatll crossover the state(its projected path is just over me) but then stall off the coast building up definition and strength before it actually moves northward.
Dont get me wrong, Im not scared, storms like this get me anxious and a lil excitable...Im just pissed Ive got to work today!:thwap:
Seems like everyone else is off...space center has shut down, schools are all closed, most business are closing around noon.

 

[duhvoodooman]

Looks like our FL Fretters have pretty much dodged the bullet, other than getting rather soggy. Glad to hear Fay didn't turn into the troublemaker she could have been! :AOK:

 

[warren0728]

yeah....flooding will probably be the biggest issue since it is moving so slow...nothing here yet but we are supposed to have a couple of really rainy and windy days...but nothing to serious...schools are closed but i've already got a couple of calls from clients so a lot of people are at work....

just hope we don't lose power...that's a pain in the a$$ and pretty much shuts me down as far as work goes :thwap:

ww

 

[ShortBuSX]

Looks like our FL Fretters have pretty much dodged the bullet, other than getting rather soggy. Glad to hear Fay didn't turn into the troublemaker she could have been! :AOK:

See, this is what the news agencies are saying, but she hasnt even started yet...hasnt even started raining. I think this gives way too many people a false sense of security.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Best to all you guys. Keep your hatches ready to be battened as necessary and stay safe! :AOK:

 

[marnold]

Did anyone see this genius who thought it would be a great idea to use Fay to go kite surfing? He apparently was trying to get a jump on the Darwin awards.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=cb5_1219102524

 

[duhvoodooman]

See, this is what the news agencies are saying, but she hasnt even started yet...hasnt even started raining. I think this gives way too many people a false sense of security.

I should know better than to believe everything I read on CNN.com, huh? :thwap:

Well, it sure looks better than what it could have been, even if it's just starting down there.

 

[ShortBuSX]

That was awesome Marnold!

 

[Bloozcat]

Oh, it started here last night, and has gotten progressively worse today. Still, that said, this is a tropical storm, not a hurricane. Yes, it's very windy, and yes, the rain is blowing sideways. But, trees aren't being uprooted, and roofs aren't coming off houses. There are a few tree limbs down here and there, but nothing resembling major damage. This storm is like one of the bad thunderstorms we get in the late afternoons here, only of longer duration. By late this afternoon, we should be past the worst of it.

 

[warren0728]

By late this afternoon, we should be past the worst of it.

yep and that's when we should start getting it....glad it's a tropical storm and not a hurricane...but knowing my electric company....we still might lose power :thwap:

ww

 

[Brian Krashpad]

As usual with the day before we get hit, it is gorgeous here right now.

Expect it'll cloud up and we'll start getting intermittent rain bands this evening, with the hit biggest Wed. night and for the 48 hrs. following. It's kinda looping around us, so it looks like we'll get it's western edge as it heads north, and then it southern or SE edge as it heads back inland.

 

[Bloozcat]

I'll say one thing for Fay. She's a tenacious little (bleep)...

When she was over open water she looked like a disorganized blob, with no tight convection and no eye visible. But...ever since she made landfall early this morning, all of that has changed. Now there's a ring of convection around what clearly appears to be an eye. It's supposed to be the other way around. Fay should be falling apart over land, not forming a structure. Weird....

Fay is forecast to weaken over the next 12-18 hrs., and then regain some strength over the next 24-48 hrs when she moves over open ocean. If the current structure holds up and Fay reaches open water intact...it could be uh-oh time...

 

[ShortBuSX]

Just now getting any significant rain, drizzled off and on round noon. Now its a steady rain with a mild wind starting. I made it through my normal work day with no issues...while the rest of the county had the day off:whatever:
We'll see what tonight brings...bring on da beer!:beer: