This Floridian is big time worried about Hurricane Dennis

[trumad]

If it continues on it's current path it could be the beginning of the end for the Florida Panhandle. I just read that it will take about 5 years to rebuild from last years, Hurricane Ivan.

I live in the Orlando area and the first hurricane last year, Charley, tore us up pretty good. This one could do the same thing if it takes a sudden right like Charley.

Dennis is already at 155 MPH. It will diminish a bit as it passes over Cuba but once it hits the warm waters of the Gulf, it will gain back it's current strength and will be just as powerful.

Hurricanes suck,

[PuraVidaDreamin]

1. I'm sending positive vibes your way

please be safe, take all the necessary precautions!

[MsFlorida]

2. Same concern here - also near Orlando

Charley did so much damage, wiped out my son's house and car from trees twisting and flying around like toothpicks. He ended up moving in with me for a bit, which wasnt much help, I live on the beach and it seemed I spent most of last summer evacuated!

[Lorien]

25. Another Orlando resident here

I'll evacuate if it makes that turn. Never. Again. :scared:

[steve2470]

29. orlando here too, i was lucky last year, no problems at all

One time I evacuated to Atlanta, big mistake LOL I'll stay put this year.

[Lorien]

45. Those living several blocks away from my neighborhood had no

serious damage either. Charley was a very focused hurricane.

[ewagner]

3. The Panhandle area is in the middle

of the bullseye on this one....

some of the best predictions I've seen say that Dennis may skim the west coast of Florida before coming ashore in the panhandle...

the peninsula could get Tropical Storm strength winds and LOTS of rain but nothing like Charlie....

The panhandle...somewhere.... is likely to get blasted.

I was raised just north of Orlando (Sanford) and feel for all of you because of what happened last year as well as what MAY happen this year. :hi:

[Misunderestimator]

4. Stay safe tru...

I'll be keeping good thoughts for you. :hug:

[trumad]

7. Here we go again Misunderestimator

It seems like yesterday we were discussing our hurricanes.

[Misunderestimator]

9. I know... and here I am appreciating that I don't have to go through it

this time... This is EARLY! Shite... what does this mean for the rest of the season? :scared:

[trumad]

10. It means endless 24x7 weather reports byt the local news.

fear means ratings...

[Misunderestimator]

12. And it means a lot of camera time for Jeb

Did you catch him on CNN a couple of hours ago? Made his standard disaster speech, then repeated it in Spanish. :eyes: There will be clips of that in the campaign ads for 2008. :eyes:

[paparush]

5. See, Jeb is sitting in his secret bunker...

holding a joystick that controls a sattelite that's beaming powerful microwave bursts into the Atlantic. Through this, he's able to control the path of the hurricane.

In need of a quick "hurricane relief photo-op", Jeb just steers the 'cane a little closer and WHAM!!! Instant front page pix of Jeb and W doing nice stuff.

</tinfoilhat>

[AngryAmish]

6. I'm terribly worried also

Last year's hurricanes created wonderful weather in Chicago. I just hope that stays true because I plan on playing a lot of golf the rest of the summer.

[fishnfla]

16. Yes we all remember the sarcastic joy you take in others suffering

You remind me of those assholes who piss on Andy's grave

[GumboYaYa]

20. Spoken like someone who has never lived through the horror

of a major storm.

This one is a giant and it will devestate peoples' lives.

Enjoy your golf.

[Lorien]

26. Such comments don't belong on a Progressive board

you sound like Brit Hume. Disgusting.

[madfloridian]

27. That is terrible. This will be devastating.

I am shocked, but I should not be. People had this attitude last year quite often. Many were enjoying Florida's anguish, saying we deserved it because of 2000.

[i miss america]

31. Sorry, but your humor leaves little to be desired.

:thumbsdown:

[dogday]

8. Stay safe

hopefully you will be just outside of the storm....

[existentialist]

11. (Global warming again)

And does it need to be restated that although it is impossible to attribute any one storm to global warming, there is good theoretical prediction that global warming is resulting in more and stronger storms and that this trend will continue, . . .

But, of course, if the neocons say global warming is a myth it must be so, . . .

[Pithy Cherub]

13. Dennis is starting to remind me of Andrew...

155 mph is catastrophic already! Be safe please! All that undisturbed warm water...:(

[kydo]

14. Being a Gator fan

I can very happily agree 'Canes' suck!

Also being a fellow Central Floridain I can totaly feel your pain. However, I doubt this storm is will hit us (the Orlando area). Of course (thanks to Charlie), I'm still watching the updates, you know, just in case ...

[trumad]

35. Cane football... now that's a different story..

BTW: How many times did we beat you guys in the last 4 years? LOL

[madfloridian]

15. Someone will be hurting for sure.

Nerves are on edge here. Three hurricane eyes last year in less than 2 months within 15 miles of us. I won't trust it until it is gone totally by us.

I don't think people have a clue how many roofs are still not fixed, how many repairs are still not completed from mold when areas got wet. There have not been enough people to work on these things.

Our neighbor's pool had the screen blown away, and they have not yet been able to get someone to fix it. They have insurance, too.

Two neighbors still have tarps on their roofs, they are insured. No one to do it.

We are better prepared than before, but you can't be prepared really. We got a pretty good generator, a battery portable TV, all the other stuff. Nerves are on edge though.

I still get a case of nerves when thunderstorms move in as they do several times a week. We lost power for two hours one day this week, and I was shocked at my reaction.

[methinks2]

39. So you have a generator . . .

:hi: Everyone loves to have friends with generators!

[madfloridian]

43. LOL yes, we did last year.

We depended on the kindness of friends for some frozen items. We wore ourselves out trying to find ice, though. We won't have to do that again. We can keep the refrig and freezer going, a tv, some lights, a fan. We could run one of those portable room air conditioners, but those things are just too expensive. The fan will do. :-)

[methinks2]

46. Try freezing quart size milk bottles before

a storm hits(full of water) . They take a while to thaw out. Luckily we only lost power for 12 hours last year, but our in-laws with kids who lived in Oviedo were with us almost a week. Next time we need to make coffee and put in thermos's ahead of time. Trying to find coffee in the morning was a real itch!

[Coexist]

47. fill every tupperware container you've got with water and pack

your fridge and freezer with them. These appliances work by removing heat from items, so the more packed with cold stuff - the better. The thawed ice blocks are good drinking water if you need them.

I lived through Hugo in St. Thomas, Andrew in Ft. Lauderdale, and I am north of Tampa now. They seem to follow me.

My biggest concern is that these things seem to take weird right-or-left hand turns that are "unexpected". Last year, they were all supposed to come here but didn't. Now this one is not supposed to, so I am more afraid of it.

BTW - you can get a propane conversion kit for your generator. It will last as long and propane is easier to get after a storm - you don't need electricity to fill a tank.

Good luck and stay safe, all!

GO GATORS!!!

[fla nocount]

51. Generators are nice.

Renting a portable welder can run an average house if you have access. Living close to a lift station is helpful as well because these facilities get power back first. This last saved our butts in the Casselberry area last year. We were without power for 1 1/2 days after Charlie. The neighbors directly across the street went two weeks. I made a lot of friends and ate many free meals prepped in my kitchen. Hot showers too...bring your own towel.

[nytemare]

17. O town here as well

Charley was a nasty boy!

I have lived here 25 years, and never saw the likes of last year. It has always seemed that the panhandle area gets more storms than anywhere in Florida, though. A friend of mine said the panhandle was like a catcher's mitt to those storms.

My well wishes go out to the folks up there!

[fishnfla]

18. hopefully it will weaken

heavy rain will be a problem, record rainfall last month has the ground saturated

[etherealtruth]

19. Be safe ...

Hurricanes suck

[Emit]

21. I have a sister in Brandon

I'm worried, too. She was on the phone with me last year, giving a full, blow by blow account, when, I think it was Charley, passed thru her area, wreaking havoc. Her property suffered little damage compared to other areas, but nonetheless, it was traumatic. Then, two weeks later, her son, who is in school in Pensacola, suffered when Hurricane Ivan blasted thru there last September.

Yes, hurricanes suck.

Edited to add, please stay safe and my thoughts are with all of you down there!

[MissB]

22. My father is altering his plans

He is on the other side of the country, visiting with relatives (including me). I've tried to convince him *not* to return to Florida tomorrow, but he feels the need to make sure his stuff is secure. :scared:

Hurricanes do suck. Please stay safe.

[frictionlessO]

23. DU WEATHER GROUP!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=328

We need more weather people in there ...especially buffs and amateur mets. this could be a great group if it had more participation. Put it in your favorites and post pics, questions and answers...

[liberal N proud]

24. We're makin' the batteries

The Bunny will be prepared.

[dbonds]

28. "Hurricanes suck" - well technically they blow.

Hurricanes run in 30 year cycles. During the last 30 year down cycle FL built up in areas that should not have people in them. Now comes the 30 year up cycle and we learn the lessons of the power of nature.

[soothsayer]

30. Might not be enuff warm water to let it re-strengthen

Cuba has LOADS of heat available, which is why it strengthened so much before pummeling them. Cuba's mountains will weaken it a bit hbefore it starts its trek towards the US. It's so early in the season, the layer of warm water in the gulf prolly isn't very deep, and hurricanes churn up all that cooler water from below, so that might in fact reduce it to a Cat 2 before it makes landfall in the FLA panhandle in 12-24 hrs. Hope it fizzles entirely!

[dbonds]

33. Waters in the gulf are at an extreemly hight temp.

They are now at 91, I think the usual for this time of year is 87 (that number is from memory and my years living in Tampa - it is subject to all the foibles of memory).

[soothsayer]

40. yipes! still depends on how deep that layer is, tho. So likely 2 b

between a CAT 2-CAT 4 when it makes landfall. Let's hope it finds alot of cold water to weaken it.

[TayTay]

32. Be safe everyone in FL and the Gulf Coast

You are in my prayers. Be safe and take care and I hope this spares you and yours any damage.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

34. Orlando here too

Charlie was a real bitch. I'm a little worried this one's going to do that last minute eastward turn myself. It seems a little too perfect just skirting the coast as it makes its way northward.

although no matter what, somebody's going to be in a world of hurt when that hits.

[methinks2]

36. also from the Orlando area, and

I started on the Prozac today and made sure the xanax is ready too. With these chemicals and a little rumplemintz I'm ready.

[LizW]

37. I talked to a lady in Destin this morning

I called to check on our vacation rental. She sounded shell-shocked. She said, "Don't come. We'll be under mandatory evacuation by in the morning and we're cancelling all reservations and refunding all deposits."

The gulf coast area around Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Penscola got hammered last year by Ivan. The place we had stayed for ten years was gutted, only the concrete shell remained. The folks down there have not even begun to recover.

I hear that the people in Pensacola are freaking out. Long lines at gas stations and home supply stores. I read on another board that the lines outside a Home Depot in Mobile, Alabama were 250 people when they opened at 6:30 this morning.

And it's not just the folks on the coast. Small towns in south Alabama were devastated by Ivan. Crops were destroyed, and will be again this year.

:(

[cally]

38. Stay safe

and I'll hope for a miraculous turn out to sea where it will do no damage. :grouphug: Florida doesn't need this.

[jim3775]

41. The storm maxed out at a strong Cat4

My guess, a pass over Cuba with some weakening and back up to a cat4 once it hits the gulf and a hit slightly W of Pensacola. But then again what do I know.

Edit: I heard on some weather forums that there is starting to be a big gas shortage in the panhandle.

[soothsayer]

49. There's a big pool of warm water SE of Louisiana---hopefully

Dennis won't find it.

[mcar]

42. West Central Florida here

70 miles north of Tampa. I am already sick of hurricane season.

[bj2110]

52. Palm Harbor here.... looks like we may just get loads of rain, but...

who knows... these things turn on a dime sometime, and we have no idea why....

[slackmaster]

44. You should be worried

Dennis is a very dangerous storm.

[Miami Liberal]

48. Good luck to you

and be prepared. Better safe than sorry.

We have a looooong season ahead of us.:-(

[SoCalDem]

50. Agree with the suck part, but if you look back in history,

Florida's coastlines were pretty much wild.. I can remember driving thru Florida as a kid, and for most of the coastline, you could just pull over, and clib down an embankment, and you were on beach..a beach with little or no development.. the towns were mostly small places with not a lot of stuff there..

Other than Miami. most places were not that "citified"...

Years of "storm amnesia" , mankind's belief that they can control Mother Nature, and greed for beauty, have put millions of people in harm's way, now that the storm patterns have done what they have for eons... They vary..and "light" years are meaningless in the long-term.

Beaches and coastlines that used to get pounded by nature, and then revitalized over time, unnoticed...are now full of houses, mobiles,condos & businesses..and PEOPLE....animals have always evacuated to high ground, leaving nothing behind...