We wish the absolute best to our Florida friends and all others regarding Hurricane Ian.

I'll second that. Let's hope for the best and pledge our help if it should come to that.

Good luck! Especially those in the Tampa/St. Pete area.

+1, I agree!

I'm on the East Coast, across from Tampa. Right now, they are expecting only 60-70mph winds here, so it shouldn't be a big problem for me.

We might lose power. I have gas for the generator (we have well water, so without electricity, we have no water), LED lights, emergency crank/solar/battery radio.

I have food in the pantry, will fill up the bathtub so I cal flush the toilet, store drinking water in glass jugs (formerly cheap wine bottles - hey - it was a sacrifice).

I put storm panels on the picture window, dropped the two storm awnings that are difficult to drop, and for the rest of the windows, it's a wait-and-see attitude.

The prep is in case the storm turns. I'll drop the rest of the awnings to keep the wind from blowing them off the house, in case it gets worse. We've had 60mph winds in some of our summer thunderstorms.

My house was built in 1950, before the developers watered down the building codes for their convenience and profit, I'm 32' above sea level, so I should be fine.

I've weathered every hurricane since Donna in 1960 so I know what to do. The highest winds I've been in were 210 mph gusts.

On the West Coast, they are in for a ride. Thanks to global warming and our excessive abuse of fossil fuels, the hurricanes are getting stronger and stronger.

I do hope everyone in its path prepares, even if it includes going to a shelter or evacuating. And I wish everyone in its path, good luck because we all need a dose of that.

Notes ♫

32'??? I guess we'll be safe here in northeast Ohio at 1004'! LOL!!

Which of the annual hurricanes have been the worst you encountered? I almost moved to Clearwater in 2004. I went down there on July 1st. I had never been to Florida between March and October so I never saw the real hot season. When I got there and saw the place I was going to rent, and then saw my dog panting like she was at 10am in already 94 degree humidity filled heat I said "Nope" and drove right back up here. About 6 weeks later Charley came through and eliminated the apartment complex I was going to be living in. When I read that I immediately thought about the possibility that I might have been out working and my dog be home alone to go through that and maybe die without me being there. That was the minute I decided that I wanted no part of Florida. I will visit my cousin in St Augustine in late fall (We need to do more of that before one of us dies) but I'd rather deal with the chance of one bad snowfall up here every winter than weather like Florida gets EVERY year.

Button up and be safe Notes!

Hey Bob,
Here's wishing you and everyone else safe passage thru this hurricane.
Personally I think we should start considering seeding the upper atmosphere with reflecting particles to reflect some of the sun's energy. We're just moving too slow on reducing greenhouse gas emmisions. We'll probably get it wrong at first, but the status quo is making safe living for millions less and less probable.

Regarding water. Those heavyduty plastic garbage cans work well. A pair of them will give you 60 gallons and they can be used for other things when not needed for toilet water storage.

We've been considering a solar/crank emergency radio.
How do you like yours?

Personally, the worst hurricane I encountered was actually a trio, Frances, Jeanne and T.S. Ivan.

I forget which one, Frances or Jeanne, we were in the eye wall for about 12 hours. It came from the east just below us, so we got the northern part of the eye wall. It curved north as if we were the pivot, so we got the eastern part of the eye wall, wobbled a bit so we got the eye for a few minutes, and then veered to the northeast so we got the southern part of the eye wall. The eye wall are the most intense winds.

We were in the eye of the other hurricane as well

I live on a short dead end street of a 15-mile road that goes alongside of a lagoon (Indian River). Most of the lots are 50+ acres, and there are fewer than a half dozen little dead end spurs. My lot is 1/2 acre and we jokingly call our little section "The servant's quarters."

TS Ivan was the wettest of the 3 consecutive storms by far, and it washed out a few sections of the road along the lagoon. We had to drive across people's lots to get to and from anywhere.

The worst part of it for us was losing power for 10 days after both hurricanes. Only a few after Ivan. The power company gets the most people they can on first (rightfully so) so a street with huge lots and only a few short side streets gets restored last.

We have a water well, in the first storm my next door neighbor lost prime so we ran a hose to his house. Second one, we lost prime and he returned the favor. The benefit was taking a shower in the late afternoon, the sunlight heated the hose so I got warm water (without power the water heater doesn't work). Our street was crisscrossed with hoses and extension cords.

We lost some tree limbs, and the mast that feeds the power to our house came loose and needed to be repaired. Our water softener got destroyed. I think a tree limb must have hit it and toppled it over.

I've weathered every storm since Donna in 1960.

I know how to prepare, and I know what kind of house to buy, and where to buy it.

The out-of-state developers sell a lot of frame houses with asphalt shingle roofs. I'd never live in one. The big bad wolf can blow those stick houses down.

They build new developments on low ground that wants to return to swamp land. I will only live on the eastern sand ridge. The water damage is worse than the wind damage.

A lot of people want to live on the barrier islands, and I'd like to live that close to the ocean myself. But when I was a child, I saw about 1/4 mile of barrier island disappear in a hurricane. They tried to dredge sand back, but the new sand just washed away in the tides. It's gone forever.

Hurricanes are getting worse, thanks to our abuse of fossil fuels. But I still feel safer hunkered down in my house than I would on the road with all those crazy drivers if I evacuated.

Notes ♫

I like my radio OK. It an Epica brand and it'll run on solar, crank and cells. I've made sure all my AA and AAA rechargeable cells are charged.

The way I see the problem with seeding the clouds, although I think it would work fine, is that there is no way to make a profit from that, and corporate world will not do anything if it won't make the stock go up.

But there things we can do. Here are a few:

• Paint our roofs white. That would reflect more than seeding the clouds would do, but nobody seems to care (I did mine)
• Get rid of those gas-guzzling 1.5 to 2.5-ton, 4-door pickup trucks that haul nothing heavier than a week's worth of groceries
• Quit mowing the lawn, as 10% of the carbon in the air comes from mowers. I planted shade trees, and put ferns under them, and re-wilded a meadow in the back 1/4 acre of my 1/2 acre lot.
• Plant trees. I put about 30 native trees, plus a couple of established, non-invasive exotics on my half acre 30 years ago
• Hang your laundry outdoors. Why use energy to dry clothes when the sun will do it and sterilize them at the same time.
• Quit using air conditioners. The AC uses energy which comes from the grid. That pollutes the air making the world hotter, which means you need to make the AC work harder which uses energy from the grid, that pollutes the air, making the world even hotter, which makes the AC works hotter etc., etc., etc.
• Drive like you are in the historic Mobil economy run. By slow acceleration and coasting as much as I can before using the brakes, I get 100 more miles per tankful than my car is rated for.
• Consume less. Know the difference between need and want
  

There is plenty more we can do, but that's a good start.

Ian is drifting again, and now they are predicting 70-80 mph winds where I live. So tonight I'll drop the rest of the storm awnings. I'd guess tomorrow afternoon's outdoor gig is cancelled. That'll cost me money, and probably Thursday's as well.

And when the storm is over, cleanup will be a necessary PITA.

But there is nothing we can do except deal with it. We could curse mother nature all we want and it won't change anything.

Good luck to all in the path. After you prepare, the rest is luck.

Of all the natural disasters, tornadoes, landslides, tsunamis, earthquakes, avalanches, floods, dust storms, I'll take hurricanes. We know when they are coming, and if we know how to prepare it's survivable unless you are extremely unlucky.

Notes ♫

Moved 500 cows to higher ground. The Myakka ranch is only about thirty miles from the gulf. Not good. Could get pretty high winds and lots of rain. The other ranch is 90 miles inland. I don't expect many problems there.

The last big hurricane in Tampa was 1921. Looks like the storm is going to miss Tampa but the surge may still be pretty bad. I may take a direct hit at the ranch. The cows will likely survive as there is high ground.

My business partner went to the Keys to take the boat out of the water. I would have had to drive 280 miles one way.

Hurricanes are a fact of life in Florida. We have insurance but every time we have a hurricane it cost a least 100 to 300 thousand to repair the farm in Homestead. It's just part of the cost of doing business here in south Florida.

Nothing to do but just deal with it and hope you don't get hurt in the process.

Billy

Well, It's drifting farther south again, and getting stronger and bigger. I've done all the prep and shouldn't get the worst winds, so unless I'm extremely unlucky, I should be OK.

The hotel we play at is full of Tampa escapees, the owner wants us to play and if he can figure out a way for us to play and stay dry, we'll be happy to do so.

Good luck to all in a more direct path than we are.

Notes ♫

Well, just stay safe y'all

You are going to drive into the eye of a hurricane FOR A GIG?????

I've been watching another YT poster who has taken leave from his normal job and has been preparing his property for the past two days. He is very serious about what might be arriving. Everything he can tie down has been tied down, shutters screwed to windows and doors. Heavy vehicles, trucks etc parked in a circle around smaller outdoor buildings, sheds etc for protection. Just hope any issues are minimal.

Firstly we have forum members on the Fl west coast. So even more best wishes to them and all Floridians.

Secondly a little perspective. Our homestead is 250 miles inland from the gulf and the “remnants” of Hurricane Irma took down multiple 100 year old trees on our property. It’s hard to imagine what some folks are going to experience with a near Cat 5 landing.

Bud

This one is going to be a Biggie, so to my Fl PG friends do what you have to do to keep safe.
Coincidentally I have family currently vacationing in central Florida at 'Villages' resort, having just left Longboat Key which looks like its going to get a battering.
Hold tight everyone. Take care and keep safe
Bests
Ian

Center of the eye has officially made landfall....

Stay safe those affected.

Tony

We're not getting the eye, it's coming in on the west coast and we're on the east. We're over 130 miles from where it made landfall.

I've been in every hurricane since Donna in 1960, so I know when to duck and hide and when I don't need to.

Ian is going diagonally N.E. across the state, so its closest approach to us will be tomorrow.

The winds here today didn't top 50mph, which a typical summer thunderstorm produces.

But the owner couldn't figure out how to keep us dry so he told us to take the day off.

The hotel is full of Tampa escapees, so it would have been fun to play. It would have been a hurricane party. But we can't have our gear get wet.

Tomorrow the winds are supposed to get stronger, so I doubt we'll be working.

I've seen some pictures from Ft. Meyers, and things look bad. Storm surge reaching the second floor of buildings. Waterfront buildings always get the worst of the storm, followed by low-lying land that wants to return to swamp.

And the media always finds the worst disasters to report.

This is the main reason why I won't live either on the barrier island or anywhere inland except the eastern sand ridge. I'm 32' high and if we have a 32' storm surge, we are all going to be wiped out.

Still, I feel badly for the people, as most of them don't have decades of living in Florida experience, and I must admit, I'd too love to live on the water, but I know better. The Realtor won't tell the new folks that they are moving into a danger zone.

I hope nobody loses their lives. Property can be replaced.

When this is over, I'll do what I can to help.

Notes ♫

I guess the trade off to living up north at 1000' is the 28 inches of snow we get overnight twice every winter.

Hope you come up to Herbstock in spring!!

We didn't get the worst of it. It's not over yet, but peak gusts today are predicted to only be in the low 80mph zone and sustained winds in the 40s.

A couple of tree branches and a lot of palm fronds are down. We got lucky.

If there are any forumites on the West Coast, please check in.

Notes ♫

I just spent some time looking at photo accounts from the west side. Wow. Water at shoulder level in some places. 2 million without power. Boats everywhere. Small planes turned over on top of other planes. I have checked in on some cousins I have in the Tampa area and waiting to hear back.

I’ve heard from a friend and forum member in the Tampa area and they are relatively OK. The revers surge actually drained the bay rather than flooding it based on wind direction.

Still waiting to hear from a friend and forum member near Naples where there was a massive record breaking surge.

Edit: Just heard from him and only light damage. Great!

Again best to them and all who are affected.

Bud

Eye has officially moved into the Atlantic ocean. They are anticipating the storm to change back to a hurricane soon. East coast of Florida still in for hours of rain.

Sanibel Island on the west coast, off Ft. Myers.... the hurricane destroyed the highway going through the island. It's amazing to see how easily it lifted 6 inch thick chunks of pavement and just tossed them about like nothing. For residents there, it appears that boats will be the only way in and out for a while.

Based on my observations, industry and world governments got us into this warming mess and they will have to get us out of it. Individual citizen efforts are worthy but we need much more than that to fix this problem. I'm not proposing seeding the clouds, but I am suggesting the US and other countries research the delivery of suspended, reflecting particles into the strastosphere, far above the clouds to cool the planet, similar to that caused by some volcanic eruptions. Are there downside risks to geo-engineering? You bet, a possible reduction in agricultural output is one. But look at what's happening around the planet. If we think things are bad now, wait until positive feedback loops begin to kick in.

BTW, I have a sister in Tampa and she reports rain and wind but no power outages or massive flooding. She expects to be back to work tomorrow. Fort Myers is another story.

I've just been watching some footage of the devastation. It boggles my mind just how much damage and absolute despair the hurricane is creating.

My thoughts are with everyone having to cope with this nightmare.

Just a quick note. Running on generator power. 140 MPH wind at the ranch. All the cows survived. Next ranch over lost many cows. Roof is messed up but I got it covered. Things are under control at the ranch. Ranch forman is stuck there because of continuing rising water. I can not get back to the ranch due to rising water and road closures.

The rising water from the run off is flooding houses near me and will continue for at least two or three days. The hurricane damage is far from over.

People are still drowning in their houses as of 10/1/2022.

The power may not be back on for days or possibly weeks. Pumping well water with generators.

The good news is none of my people have gotten killed.

Thousands of people are displaced and that is not limited to the coastal areas. The flooding is intense in the center of the state and rising as we speak.

Limited fuel, cash only, limited supplies of all types. Water is very difficult or impossible to find around here due to the inability to re-supply by truck.

My UPS does not like my generator...lol

We will do what we can to help others around us who are in worse condition than us.

Billy

NBC News is reporting at least 34 storm related deaths and a hospital in Ft Myers is facing a sanitation crisis due to no running water.

Billy, we're wishing you and all Floridians the best . . . stay safe.

Glad you and your people are OK, Billy.

We lucked out here. I'm on high ground, so I didn't get any flooding, miraculously, my power never went off, and zero damage to my house.

Clean-up is almost done. Hundreds of palm fronds, and small tree branches to pick up pile for the county trash pickup. Plus storm awnings up, storm shutters down, and neighbors all checked on. Everyone else on my little dead-end street is OK.

So it's time to donate some blood and send a check to the Red Cross.

Notes ♫

Thanks for the updates Billy & Notes. We have been closely watching the situation and fully understand the devastation that has been caused. Glad you are all safe.

Thanks, guys

The power just came back on at the new house here in Sebring. Most of the business area is still out of power. We are glad to have the AC and hot water heater working but I feel for the people who can not open their stores.

Still no power at the ranch. The road is still closed. I can get there (I think) by driving an extra 150 miles.

My neighbors near the ranch came over today with three more chainsaws and have cut most of the trees out of the fence that is down. That is one of the benefits of living in the country.

Many people are still in shock. This may well be the most devastating and costly hurricane in US history.

I have been through several but I never saw anything like this. Even Andrew was not this bad because it was confined to a pretty small area.

Billy

"I have been through several but I never saw anything like this. Even Andrew was not this bad because it was confined to a pretty small area."


Really? Were you even there? I WAS. At GROUND ZERO, where the eye came ashore, just south of Cutler Ridge.


Incredible.

I was in the Redlands when Andrew hit.

$27.3 billion (1992 USD)

Total fatalities 65

Hurricane Andrew damage
About 49,000 homes were destroyed and 108,000 were damaged, according to the National Weather Service. More than a million people were left without power. Thousands were homeless. Andrew caused a then-record $26.5 billion in damage, the Miami Herald reported on Andrew's 25th anniversary.Aug 26, 2022

Tens of thousands of people in Florida are struggling with the devastation left behind by Hurricane Ian, one of the largest disasters to ever hit the state.

Total fatalities currently are 83 and are expected to grow

2.6 million without power

300-mile path of destruction

Orlando underwater, Arcida underwater, flood waters rising 3 days after the storm.

Andrew was a disaster of epic preparations but Ian has caused greater damage to Florida and may well be the most costly storm in US history in modern times.

Other hurricanes have had stronger winds. Other storms have killed more people. Few if any have had the geographic distribution of IAN.

Billy

Donna wiped out Fort Myers Beach and had a storm surge so great that you couldn't go near the Everglades for weeks because of the stench of all the animals it killed. It was also wiped out by 3 other storms since then (including Ian).

Each hurricane in Florida gets worse because of the population growth. So the deaths and property destruction is proportional. Before Central AC, not many people wanted to live down here.

The population in the city limits of Pompano Beach, FL when I was fewer than 2,000. Now it's almost 115,000. Plus, there are scores of new cities that weren't there, and the 'wild' areas of Broward County are now all housing developments.

I was in the eye wall of either Frances or Jeanne for over 12 hours as it stalled and slowly turned to the North. The barrier islands here took a big hit.

The worst hurricane on record is the one that affects you, personally, the worst.

Notes ♫

Looking back is important but I'd say looking forward is more so.

Is anyone seriously discussing how Florida (and other States for that matter) can harden themselves against future storms?

The photo below seems to indicate a business as usual approach of continuing to string power lines overhead instead of underground.

Similar question for strengthening building codes particularly for relatively flimsy manufactured homes and flood protections.

Or are elected officials thinking this will be the last Cat 4 storm that rolls in off the coast?

What people don't realize or care much about is the fact that we are moving food and water by small boat near the ranch due to flooding on the river here today. We don't depend on the state to do anything. We take care of the people around us.

Why would I build a hurricane-proof house on the beach when I can get the rest of the people who live inland to pay to fix things after a hurricane? Do you think your homeowner's insurance will be the same price next year?

We have come to demand cradle-to-grave protection from the government and refuse to take responsibility for ourselves.

The good news...except for having to provide my own electrical power, I am pretty much back to normal.

Best wishes to everyone who is still suffering from this storm.

Billy

Many of those still suffering are elderly and/or with minimal resources and hope. As we all assuredly know there's another world out there of people living on the margin and I doubt that they are particularly interested at this moment in where help might come from ... just bring it on. So reiterating my thoughts when I initiated this thread I wish all the best -- to those who lost all and those who are going through extremely tough times yet can see recovery down the pike.

I reflect on the thousands of workers needed to keep the condos going, gas station workers, grocery store employees and on and on. Many likely lost their homes and jobs.

As Notes mentioned it's a good time to consider donating and the Red Cross, as he mentioned, is always, IMHO, a fine and well vetted option.

J&B

I will say that FPL hardened their infrastructure over the last several years such that no FPL Owned distribution equipment suffered damage from Ian. In less than a week they had restored almost 98% of their customers. There are a few hundred utility companies in Florida, though, so obviously everyone is not so lucky. But they all cooperate when it comes to storm restoration. About 65000 people staged and ready before the storm landed.
Underground utilities are fine, but you still have to have substations and distribution centers that cannot be buried and that is where the money goes to harden the system. 200mph poles for the major distribution, smart metering so outages can be pinpointed immediately. The goal of course is to restore as many as possible as fast as possible, and certain distribution gets priority, hospital zones, etc.

Caveat, I work in the electric utility industry.

Not too long ago, FPL buzzed the lines with a drone, and sent out tree trimming contractors to trim the limbs that might take the power lines down during a storm. The crew that trimmed the trees on my lot were friendly courteous, professional, and they trimmed the problem branches without butchering the trees.

I've also noticed a lot of wood poles along the Indian River Lagoon being replaced with concrete poles. I'm sure the concrete poles stand up to the wind better.

It seems the hard work and care paid off. We didn't even lose power in this storm, although we didn't get the most intense winds either.

I know when those meters aren't spinning, you aren't making any money, and we are spending money feeding a gas generator, so it was a win-win endeavor.

"Thank you", to FPL for your foresight.

Notes ♫

Duke Energy services my area up here. They did a good job of restoring power for me in several locations. The ranch in Arcadia got hit hard and we had power back in 5 or 6 days. 4 or 5 days here in Sebring. One of the houses on the ranch, where the foreman lives got messed up pretty badly. The one I live in had very little damage. We think we had wind gusts up around 140 MPH.

Hospitals, police, fire and emergency facilities, water and sanitary authorities, nursing homes and assisted living facilities, etc should and do come first to get power restored.

The next step is to restore power to the largest amount of people. In other words, if 200 thousand people have lost power due to a few simple faults, the power companies will go there first. This is logical for both the power company and the client.

It is obviously heartbreaking to see people's homes destroyed in hurricanes and forest fires. I also think people should be able to build wherever they want to. I don't think the rest of us should have to pay to have their property repaired or risk our lives to rescue them when they were told to evacuate. And obviously, there are exceptions to everything.

This is sort of like the people who buy a house near the end of an airport runway and then try their best to stop the aircraft noise.

People should be prepared for hurricanes who live where they occur. What irritates me is people calling FEMA on their $1300 cell phones asking for a generator who have been living in a hurricane/flood zone for years.

We are pretty well prepared with several generators, a well, a septic system, fuel/drinking water, and enough food to feed us and all our neighbors. Plus I really can shoot deer off the front porch but I would have to be starving to do that. I just don't like killing animals. I can if I need to and every year around Thanksgiving I kill a pig and roast it. Even that is beginning to make me feel a bit uncomfortable.

Even now we are still helping the people who live around us...that's just what ranchers and country people do, even in today's world.

The roofers are working near me and the Tejana music is alive and well.

Billy

We call the concrete poles the 200 MPH poles. They are rated to over 150 but testing and analysis shows they can go much higher. All the power that could be restored was done in 7 days to FPL customers. The only people that couldn't restore are the homes and businesses that had damage such that they could not safely bring power back to them. It will take home repair and inspections before they can be restored. It was over 99% complete though. A real testament to the hardening that has happened over the last 10 years or so to the whole FPL system.

Underground utilities are great, but as I mentioned earlier, the distribution system still has to be overground for the large switchyards etc.

I've had two "real jobs" since I graduated from school. As I got irritated with the music business, I tested what it was to be "normal" and found normal to be over-rated. So neither one lasted all that long.

The music business has its ups and downs, but for me, it's better than being an employee to some faceless corporation. YMMV

I was a Phone Repairman when phones were hooked to the system by wires, and a Cable TV Field Engineer, (a fancy title for what was 90% technician and 10% engineering).

My take is this: Underground cable is less prone to wind, car-crash, and other damaging problems, but when it does have a problem, it takes longer to troubleshoot and repair. I don't know if that holds true to electric service, but it sure does for phone and CATV.

FPL wants to keep those meters spinning (even though they don't actually spin anymore) so hardening the system helps FPL as much as it helps us.

I've been through every hurricane in Florida since Donna, and this is the quickest restoration I've seen so far. In the year we had Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne, our neighborhood was out of power for 10 days each.

I live in a low density area where the utilities don't service many homes per mile of cable, so we get restored last. The utilities try to get the most customers back on as soon as possible, so it makes sense to put us off until last. It's the price we pay for living in almost paradise.

Kudos to FPL for doing a great job hardening the system to those meters can keep spinning, and the homes can stay lighted.

Notes ♫