Boy, some people do enjoy fearmongering, don't they?
Irma has been in an area conducive for strengthening, yet has continued to have winds in the 110 - 115 mph range. Most of the models are keeping the wind speed between 110 - 130 throughout the run; even the highest "outlier" doesn't get anywhere near 180. "Wipe entire cities off the map?" That is just irresponsible.
Yes, it is a strong storm. Yes, it is expected to get stronger. And yes, it is beginning to look like Irma is determined to be a problem for someone - a lot of someones. Yes, I am working on my hurricane prep when I'm not on the computer. Hopefully, it won't be needed, but it certainly won't hurt; this is historically the peak of the season, and we have a lot of warm water out there.
But mentioning being on my computer, that map from the NHC stays on a tab on my screen at this time of year. There have been several x's that have appeared in those places over the last few weeks that haven't amounted to anything; they are something to be aware of, but no cause for alarm - yet.
That's why I said it seemed to be a "what if" type of story. That said, it appears the folks on the Weather Channel (according to my brother since I can't get it), are going all out "what if'ing" on their broadcasts. Other news outlets in Florida are already warning people to be ready and to make sure disaster kits are up to date, their evacuation plans figured out, and making sure they have sufficient food and water.
Forwarned is forearmed.
When I lived in Florida, I wasn't impacted much by Hurricane Andrew since we moved there after the fact. Nor was I really prepared for a hurricane as living in western Maryland mostly precluded having one. We only got the rain storms that caused flooding.
However, a couple of following storms at the end of that season or the beginning of the next one (CRS here), was a different story. During one, I lost every bit of paper I owned - documents, photographs, anything that could get waterlogged - was. Even though those items had been packed in totes and heavily taped, most of it was destroyed and almost all of it was irreplaceable.
The next storm was so bad that neighbor's all around me had trees in and on their houses/garages and roads were blocked. The wind and rain damage was pretty extensive and we were out of power for days.
It was terrifying to sit in a mobile home and watch the roof roll up and down like a wave, but we couldn't leave as there was no place to go with the flooding of roads and downed trees. We were located in a very rural area with the closest towns being St. George across the river in GA and Callahan FL about 13 miles away.
It even found me with alligators in my front yard when the St. Mary's River flooded. Fortunately, the home was anchored really well and it set up really high off the ground, so our deck was out of the water. Since my husband was an avid believer in wood pallets, he had built the chicken house on top of several, so they were pretty safe from the water.
But my husband still stood guard on the deck - just in case one of the 'gators decided to make a closer visit.
!!
