Also a reminder the Category scale of hurricanes only deal with wind speed. As we saw with Katrina a CAT 2 or 3 hurricane can still have a very bad storm surge. The force of water can be much more destructive than wind. As Houstonians should know even a tropical storm can drop a lot of rain.
Our area has been picked up fairly quickly. At least the big stuff. And most people understand insurance isn’t going to cover much from these storms. Tons of people don’t carry insurance on their properties anymore. People will still move there, second best state in the country behind Texas with some of the best beaches you can find
It’s shifted slightly south of the model that showed a direct hit on Tampa Bay, so Tampa Bay might be spared a direct hit. It’s still within the cone of uncertainty and could still experience up to a 12-foot surge.
Hoping he makes it. Surprised we haven't seen more contraflow traffic lanes to get people out of there. This will be nowhere near as deadly as Helene but I would imagine there could be 10 deaths. Godspeed to these people.
There has been traffic the last two days, not as bad as Rita though. I think at this point the people who can/will leave have left, the people that are staying are staying. It's going to be bad but if there was a state that could handle this it's Florida - they are built different. Much love, good luck to all.
As of this Tuesday afternoon, over 300 hospitals, long term care facilities, skilled nursing, and similar facilities have been evacuated. That's a massive undertaking.
You aren't going to get much wind if you are in South Florida. Get it fixed but you don't need to rush for this storm.
I agree and hope this won't be as bad, just because it will not be in the US very long overall. Going to zip across the state, so the rainfall shouldn't be too big a deal. Localized wind damage will be bad, and then the brief, intense storm surge.
Looks like it's going to be hitting Sarasota, just south of Tampa. Heard it was better to take 27 out of Florida than I-75.
Here's a link to reported and confirmed flooding in Tampa. Only a few notices right now, but there should be more shortly: https://tampa.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=42ff6f766e0c42498e27b7dbeb9d3634
These are pics from typhoon Haiyan that hit the Philippines in 2015. It struck at CAT 5 level with a storm surge that was about the size that the one from Milton is predicted to be. You can see what a major storm can do to even concrete structures with steel rebar.
The wobble watching has begun. Movement trended south of Tampa yesterday, but now it's wobbling a bit north of track. A few miles difference between north of Tampa or direct hit vs south of Tampa makes such a tremendous difference. Let's hope it comes in south of Tampa.
