Scarlett..I saw pictures of your tornado just now. Wow! It was huge...so glad it didn't stay on the ground long.

The saving grace with this may be its speed, TG. I guarantee sun for Saturday. Break out the sunscreen.

The Bengals were supposed to be staying with us. The NFL had them go to Orlando a day early instead to ensure they would be in the area anyway...so the game will go on Sunday as scheduled! Seems a bit surreal right now.

hibiscushouse, I sure hope you mean chunky SOUP! Please tell me you're not that desperate... :)

Budman, funny you ask about the wine cellar...there WAS one in the original plans, but as soon as DH found out how much it would cost, he nixed it. So now we have a nice little wine bar with a wine cooler/fridge strategically located between the dining room and kitchen (and bathroom!). Hey, no stairs, right?

I guess no one wants to come here to get away from the storm, as we are being warned now of full hurricane force winds expected here too :(
I sat for years watching tv in NY, while people nailed boards on the windows.
Here I am, I maybe should have nailed a board to my windows, but I have no boards.
I hope everyone keeps in touch, as long as they can.
I feel like I am in a Science Fiction movie- one of those end of the world things ~ :)

Lordy, Lordy. b(
You never know what one will do in the face of danger. O-)

Scarlett and friends,

Just home from flying simba...

Be safe and know that you are in our hearts and minds. Thanks to all who realized it was time to evacuate and not endganger rescue worker's lives. You cannot save your valuables when you are trying to save your life.

I pray for only happy adventurous stories in a few days. Let's laugh together! Godspeed, stay safe and take care of each other out there

gyppie

gippelou, at least you are now one, not to worry about. I wish everyone would listen to you. I'm in Boston, and we are having strange off and on very heavy rainfalls.

There are flood warnings where i live (in Pa) but it looks like we will have more rain by the weekend from these hurricans...does anyone else feel like its the end of the world? ;-)

All quiet here on the western front (St Pete :) ). No wind or rain yet. I hope that anyone who was mulling over the decision to evacuate or not has already left.

Floridians, please continue to keep us updated.

An excellent place to keep updated on the storms is at www.weather.com They have the top left section dedicated to the Charley. There are video updates - I just watched two of them that were from 7 AM EST. Great maps and explanations of where it will/might go, winds, recent reports, etc.

Looks like Tampa area will get the worst of it first. The Max. winds will be only a 30 mile radius from the eye.

We haven't been able to access www.weather.com lately. It won't load. Probably too much traffic.
It's been pretty rainy and windy off and on here (Brussels) the last few days...we're getting the remains of Alex after it went across the Atlantic. So after Charley blows up and past the East Coast, we should see what's left of it in about 5 or 6 days.

BT - I've accessed weather.com a few times this AM with no problems at all. You might try it now. Interesting info there.

Scarlett - as it stands now, the eye of Charley will be no where near Jax. Looks like you all will get the mild or possibly moderate winds. Fingers crossed.

Greetings to all - Here's hoping Charley fizzles in the Gulf and everyone stays safe. But to AA, in spite of what didn't happen to the Keys overnight: having lived in Homestead before/during/after Hurricane Andrew, it's hard to imagine that anyone would not pack up and go long before the storm makes its first appearance. All Floridians should know exactly what would go in the car, what would have to stay and how to secure it, what would take it's own chances. For me, the CATS were on the top of the list. No animal should have to deal with that terror. One big problem with Charley is it's course straight up the state. In evacuating for Andrew we drove north, I to Gainesville, then Jacksonville, but this time there really is no where to go. Good luck to all. Let's just hope the worst will be over when the storm leaves. Dealing with the destruction after the storm - and all that stuff coming out from under rocks - was most terrifying.

Fort myers update: Charlie looks like he might be coming close to Sanibel. The island and all the other barriers are shut down with police and fire and ambulance gone as well. It is more than likely that part of the island will seriously flood. I'm thinking that I might get water up to my lanai. Our elevation is over 10 ft. Lee County is expanding evacuation. It is hard to imagine 18' waves but those are a possibility for Sanibel/Captiva and others. I'll report back as I can. LMF

Before I go offline today- I want to send out the very best wishes to everyone for their show of concern and to those who are facing much worse weather than we ( Jacksonville ) are.
Our dear Olive Oyl for one, is right there in Tampa Bay, battened down and waiting. I hope everyone out there stays safe !
We are having thunderstorms now and heavy rain. Our weather service has said something about Hurricane force winds here tonight, I am hoping traveling over land, it will lose its punch.
Take care everyone!
See ya when the sun comes out ((F)) Scarlett

There's a good number of us sitting in the north worrying what Bonnie or Charley are going to do to our little abodes there in southwest Florida.

Stay safe everyone - you're worth a lot more than a house or a boat.

Now Cat 3 core winds of 125 mph + and "building" - now 2 Mil rec evacuees.
Really awful.
M

Just read MSNBC is now reporting Charley went from a Cat 2 to a Cat 4 in the last 90 mins. Cat 4 = 145 mph sustained winds!

CNN says it's now a category 4. 145 mph. Best to you all in it's path.

My thoughts and prayers with all Floridians this afternoon: get out of harms way with your loved ones, while you can.

I have been reading all these posts, and like LN, thinking about our place on the Gulf in Sanibel -- our refuge from New England winters every February. We've seen heavy storms there occasionally, and can't imagine what it must be like right now. I just clicked back to weather.com to see news of the upgrade to Cat 4.

Hold on tight, in every sense. Blessings.