@-) Cat 3 now??

Huh, Tandoori Girl? They just said on TV that Charley is now a Category 1, but that it "could become a Category 2 or even possibly a Category 3 tomorrow after crossing the Keys.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/grap...l/111453.shtml

This is what I am using to keep up with the storms ~

... and please, in a panic to get out, lets not forget to evacuate our pets!!!

THE SPCA advises not to leave them home and hope they'll ride it out. They say your "pet survival kit" should have: collar with tags and leash, meds, pet carrier, crate, two weeks supply of pet food/water, health records, cat litter/pan, muzzle (if it bites!), favorite toy, soft blanket, current photo.

And, remember, SPCA, local aniumal servcies and the Human Society do not provide emergency boarding. Keep your pets with you, and plan ahead.

If you're in a safe area, and watching TV to track the storms, if your pet's like mine, he or she may want to watch with you. Never too early to teach a pet some simple science.

Is anybody outthere?

This is Siesta Key, can anyone hear me?


I have till midnight to decide if <b>should I stay or should I go?</b>, a great song. Sarasota County just called. I was informrd that the bridges of Siesta Key will be raised by midnight. Once that happens, me and my 3 kitty kats are stuck.

What d the experts think?

Leave.

I live in Sarasota - not on a key - and work for the City. The County issued a mandatory evac for the barrier islands. I suggest you leave before you're stuck. We are off work tomorrow.

Well, I'm leaning towards staying. I will make my final decision by 8 or 9pm. If I stay and if there is power available, I will try to report.

Go, do not stay.

Losing power is no fun.

You don't know scared until you start to wonder if the roof is going to go first or a tree is going to come crashing through your roof.

Is that noise the hurricane or a tornado?

Do you understand 60 mile an hour sustained winds? Let alone 105 mile per hour sustained winds.

You have a safe chance to get out now. Why would you want to stay? Is your life worth the risk?

AA- LEAVE NOW!! Take the cats and get outtathere!
I want to read about your stay in some hotel, how the cats liked it, that sort of thing. Not what it was like for you to be stuck somewhere alone with the kitties!!
Be safe everybody- I am worried about all of you :(
We have a very black sky and big thunder, no wind. Still and creepy.
Stay in touch!!!

AA can you bear the thought of one of your cats being blown away by 100 mph winds in the rain? Can you imagine yourself in that situation with no roof? Don't risk it...head to someplace safe before it's too late.

I agree with the other posters, AA. 'Tis better to be safe than sorry.

Hey there, Scarlett, OO, and other fellow Floridians, all watching and waiting! Just sliding over from my usual corner on the Europe forum to check in with y'all.

Here in Gainesville, about mid-way between the East and West Coasts, we're getting sloshed with a steady rain, but no wind to speak of.

If the power goes off, we luckily have a small propane stove, purchased right after 9/11. Of course, the box has never been opened and I haven't the faintest idea how to light the thing. My family might find themselves blown away not by the wind, but by the chef.

Scarlett, I've got one imaginary hand stretched out in your direction and the other hand toward OO, on the opposite coast. Hold tight! Between the three of us, we've got home base covered.

P.S. Don't forget to charge your cell phones. To quote Bette Davis: &quot;Buckle your seat belts, its's going to be a bumpy night!&quot;

We've been having tornado warnings on and off all afternoon.

Scarlett, are you guys business as usual or like us, glued to The Weather Channel watching Mike Siddel getting blown to peices?

:-[
I hate this. I hope all you guys on the gulf are okay and this stupid storm just churns away in the gulf and dissapates.

OO-you and Mr. OO should be fine in that big ole Hyatt. That hotel is probably the sturdiest building in the area.

I still can't get over the keys residents not evacuating. That blows my mind. At the highest point they are 4 feet above sea level. I'm guessing it has been too long since any of them have seen a hurricane or they wouldn't stay.

OO and Scarlett, and the rest of you in harm's way, I hope a mircle happens and it goes out to sea!

My hubby's return home flight from Detroit to NYC was just cancelled!! Do you believe it?!? They say it's because of the WEATHER...last I looked out the window it was sunny. Late tonight and through Friday, we are going to get hit with heavy rains, so probably no chance of getting out Friday either...leaving for Chicago Saturday for vacation - timing stinks. If he can't find another flight out, he'll drive home. ARRRGH!!!

I just had to vent...doesn't compare to rain AND hurricane force winds, I know. Hope you guys and gals in FL are hanging in there! My family has secured their shutters and have two families from the low lying areas staying with them to ride the storm out. Stay well :)

stw where are you? We've been having terrible thunder &amp; lightning storms here in NJ since yesterday afternoon.

Last night all but 1 entrance to JFK airport were all flooded in 2'-0&quot; of water causing mass chaos over there. Many flights were delayed at Newark too.

I'll take that over a hurricane or two any day...even if our weekend will be all rained out.

Normally I'm cool as a cucumber in bad weather, but my sister lives in Safety Harbor and just recently got out of the hospital. I'm TOTALLY freaked :( As nearly as I can tell, it's due for a direct hit, is that correct?

Scarlett, just watched a tornado on TV tear up some stuff your way, but (I hope) not exactly where you are. Seems to be hitting the eastern part of your city. Lots of lightning. Power lines down, trees twisted off. Another tornado just announced.

Kiddo, I know you may not be hooked up to your computer right now, but you and yours are in my troubled thoughts. Hope that's some protection.

Good luck to all you Floridians!! Stay safe!!!

Reading all this makes me so happy I only have an occasional earthquake to deal with--hurricanes seem a little too scary for me. Stay safe!!

Mandatory evacuation on Siesta Key - all the hotels, condo rentals have to leave. The restaurants/bars will be allowed to stay open till midnight only. Police are knocking on doors and asking people to make a wise decision. The bridges will be closed at midnight, water and sewers will be shut off as well at that time. If the decision is to stay, the authorities are not guaranteeing any help till at least Monday, that is if we get hit really hard.

Still deciding.......

AA,

pack up the cats, family photos, 3 days worth of stuff and LEAVE.

Strangely enough I was supposed to be on Siesta Key this week. As I am going in September/October anyway, I talked my sister out of making this trip. Thankfully now in hindsight.
AA, If I recall correctly from other posts of yours you are in the village correct? I gotta tell you, I dont know how long you have lived on the Key but if you havent experienced one of these situations before, they get very scary and dangerous. I have been down there when even without evac orders I have watched the water coming up the beach and praying it doesnt come over our breakwall. The winds will take everything in sight. The village will flood just from the rains. We just called our association office and they are gone, message says evac and to return Sat hopefully. I really hope you decide to go. Its not safe to stay. I'm not trying to lecture and for all I know you have lived on the Key for 30 years, I'm just praying you get to safety somewhere. Take care everyone and stay safe! And I hope EVERYONE in the path gets through this ok, I wasnt just addressing AA, its just he was talking about staying.

Tpatricco, I'm in Westchester County, just outside the city. All of the flights out of Detroit have been cancelled. DH is trying to take Continental to Newark b/c he can't get into JFK or LGA (Continental has its hub in Newark so possibly stands a chance). It seems the carriers don't want to get their equipment 'stuck' here. Yesterday and late last night was BAD, but now it's okay. This evening the storms will return but the HEAVY rain is in the forecast for Friday. So, if he doesn't get out tonight, my guess is that he wont be flying home tomorrow (then he'll have to drive). Flooding has really been an issue for us all summer.

AA, please trust me on this.

GET OUT!

The authorities will not come help you in case of emergency.

If they find you there after a mandatory evacuation, you will be arrested for endangering the life of a civil servant.

Why do you want to stay?

Why is it that such an obvious smart person is having problems with this?

Why?

My Sarasota cousin's daughter had planned a very small family wedding on Siesta Key for this evening. Needless to say, plans changed quickly and they moved the wedding to her mother's home this afternoon!

It sounds as if they, and all of you, are coping very well with plans for this scary storm.

Hang in there and keep safe. We're watching and hoping for the best for you.

Byrd

To all in jeapordy-we have an empty
guest suite out here in CA just
begging to calm any nerves with
a fluffy bed and sunny patio-
and we are 100% pet friendly! Wish I
could wisk you all out here!
Am hoping to be reading ALL your
post event stories.
R5

Scarlett, OO, Tandoori Girl, AAFrequentFlyer, GoTravel -- all of you in the path of these storms -- PLEASE post when you can and let us know you are all ok.

AA, PLEASE LEAVE!!!

Hello darlins!
We had some black skies, lots of thunder, a little rain and now sunshine.
The Tornado touched down 6 miles from the airport..far enough away from us to not be too worried, as long as there are no more!
If you look at a map, see the St Johns River? We are along that..south of 95. Sorta :)
Thank you all for the good wishes, we are as ready as we will ever be. I just spent the afternoon cooking, we might not have power but we will have plenty to eat :)
Spoke to OO, she is back from the boat and still fine..a brave lady!!!
Later gatas!

Last time (1985) I stayed. That was a wishy-washy storm. This time, I'm leaving. NOthing wishy-washy about this storm. AA, it will not be fun walking around your house with a foot of water in it.

I'm foregoing the La Quinta for a relatives house in Lakeland. Au dieu!

Good Luck and Be Safe, Tandoori Girl!!

Hmmm, I should have thought ahead, if I told the Yankee that we need to be safe in a hotel, I could have perhaps picked the Carlysle in NYC or the Plaza? :D

Scarlett, so glad to hear y'all are OK! Now, let's cross our fingers for the those on the west coast tomorrow.

Like you, I've been cooking all afternoon. LOL. Guess if there were any pregnant females around, we'd have been boiling pots of water, too!

It seems to help, somehow, to stay busy, to have the reassurance of being as prepared as possible.

Me and mine will be eating lasagna for days! I'll bring you some if you'll trade for whatever you cooked up.

Unless my roof disappears I don't have to worry about floods/rains. I'm about good 12 ft. above the ground. I would not even consider staying if I was on the ground level.
When they announced water/sewer shutoff, I think my mind was made up. I could live with no power, but water, bathroom facilities? not sure. :-)


Somebody earlier mentioned flooding of the village. Yes It will happen and it will be serious. I live west of the village in the little triangle and my street gets flooded after 1 hour of heavy rain, so I do know what that is like. I do feel sorry for few of my neighbors, as they have the &quot;old&quot; Florida ranch houses. I hope not, but I have a feeling....... they will be wet. Also on the other side of the village, anybody living close to the canals, same thing. It won't be pretty, and I'm not even talking about a direct hit.

I made roast chicken with herbs de provence and oranges, rattatouille( I am sure that is misspelled, who can spell at a time like this??) and curried chicken salad with walnuts and celery and apples.
And we have a huge bag of M&amp;Ms so I am prepared for anything!!
I have been told that we are not in a flood zone, even with the house so close to the river AND a creek (which looks like a little river) so I will just concentrate on the trees continuing to stand and not lie down on my house.
BigHugs((L)) Scarlett

AA, my friend,

Please please please go. I know it's difficult to go through your lifelong belongings and decide what's most important to you (we had to do it last year with the SoCal fires--those brave firefighters somehow saved our little community) but just bite the bullet and do it. There's nothing admirable about staying in the path of danger.

((L)) Joc

Here in St Pete it's still sunny, but it looks like everyone is taking the evacuations very seriously. I went back to the store to get more stuff and there was a line greeting me as I walked in! Thankfully my office is closed tomorrow. My mom is very upset so that upsets me, she lives in an area called Shore Acres which is a notorious flood zone, I'm on my way there now to help get the house ready. Very stressful. I'll keep posting from St Pete as long as I have electricity.

AA - please get out NOW! Don't be a statistic.

Oh, Scarlett, you're so funny: &quot;Who can spell at a time like this?&quot; Indeed!

Rattatouille, huh? Manuel of Fawlty Towers would be checking the pot, making sure his pet rat, Basil, wasn't doing the backstroke in there.

Pet rat? LOL



M&amp;Ms are a Girls Best Friend~

Scarlett,

The dinner I had planned for tonight isn't sounding nearly as good as yours! I'm glad you have an outlet for your nervous energy. I've found that Mother Nature likes to &quot;initiate&quot; us when we move to a new place...our first weekend here in OK a tornado skipped around a few blocks away. Nervewracking? Yes, but it's like that first ding on a new car--it's a relief to get it out of the way. Once you're past this first hurricane, you'll be a pro. ;)

Everybody please be safe and use common sense. You're all in my thoughts and prayers.