Wouldn't ya know it...I just moved down to Jacksonville for my job and got away from Pittsburgh snow thinking Jacksonville hardly EVER gets hit with hurricanes...now this!!! LOL
Plus, my sisters and nephews are coming down this Wednesday for sun shine and beaches...their calling me every 15 minutes!!!
Just my luck, I guess!

Thanks nytraveler, sounds interesting!
I agree with everything you said; sure seems like we got the government we deserved this time. I'm eternally hopeful, but it gets so depressing...

dgib,
Welcome to Florida! Count your blessings, it is only a tropical storm. It is about to make landfall about 50 miles from where I live and as I look outside, it is overcast and breezy but not raining. (Although it has been raining and I think major rain is on its way.) You should be in good shape by Thursday! Have fun with your family.

By the way Tallahassee hasn't had a direct hit from a hurricane in almost 21 years (Kate 1985). I remember it well. Had a six week old baby at the time! I figure that either means we are pretty safe here or we are past due!

OldSouthernBelle, you getting any rain in AL?

gail, you did NOT say that is the price to pay for living in Florida???

About 30% of the land mass of the earth is vulnerable to Hurricanes and typhoons so what about those people?

Intrepid, the plywood we use to board up our home we've been using since Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Most people label which window and some even list all the storms they've boarded up for.

A lot of people don't have plywood stored from years past because hurricanes were a rare occurance, even in Florida, until the last couple of years. Also lately hurricanes have hit areas that don't normally get hit, Orlando in 2004 for instance. People in these areas don't keep plywood stored, and why would they if they are averaging one hurricane every 50 years? I live in Florida and if I had saved plywood from the last hurricane, I would have saved it for 21 years and still not needed it. (Actually we didn't need it or use it then.)

GoTravel apparently lives near the coast so of course it makes sense for her to have plywood on hand. But for many people it just doesn't make sense to store plywood just in case you may need it in 10 or 20 years.

Sunshinesue: We only got a trace shower or two...just the proverbial 'drop in the bucket'. Farmers and cattlemen here are having a difficult go of it.

How did you Floridians fare? We were talking with the guy who looks out for our boat and adjusts her lines for these things and heard that a number of boats were sunk in Tampa's Davis Island Yacht Club. He brought his own 53' Hatteras around to a safer anchorage than what he has in Tampa Bay and was in 6' seas in the bay. :(

Evidently a small plane, trying to land in the wind at the little airport on Davis Islands, was unable to bring it down and crashed into a house, killing the pilot.

It seems so early to be talking/worrying about tropical storms. Yes the season begins June 1, but how often is there a storm in the first two weeks. Hopefully this is not a harbinger.

"Once every ten or 20 years"? Well, I had four hit me in 2005, so I guess I should be good for the next 80 years if that is what the statistical average is!

Alberto ignored us completely. Not even one drop of rain where I am.

The media keep harping on it because people don't listen, and immediately after the storm clears they start lining up for water. As Dave Barry put it, don't these people know that before the storm comes, they can turn on a faucet and fill up bottles, jugs, and jars with all the water they want? The media may seem to overplay it to those who don't live here, but to those who do, you'd be amazed how much reminding residents need to do sensible things.

Budget4me,
Four hit you last year? Wow! Maybe you should just board up in June and take them down in November!

My neighbor's folks live in Crystal River and they had flooding...had to evacuate. The houses are built up, but the cars would have been flooded.
The newspaper showed a manatee swimming in a guys backyard!

Tampa fared well since most the storm went north. As noted, there was a small plane crash at the airport on Davis Islands. It was a miracle that the woman at home in her house (crash site) was not killed or injured. The house is completely destroyed and the car wreckage is hard to describe.