[kscarrol]

Originally Posted by gonzo

Is the eye, itself, calm? It looks like the eye is passing directly over St. Thomas.

Yes, quite calm in the eye. Sometimes the sun comes out and it appears quite nice for a couple hours until you get the other side of the eye wall and the winds start up from the opposite direction!

[gonzo]

So, it's fair to say, our eastern paradise is in big trouble?

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by kscarrol

Yes, quite calm in the eye. Sometimes the sun comes out and it appears quite nice for a couple hours until you get the other side of the eye wall and the winds start up from the opposite direction!

It's pretty crazy. We had 3 big storms pass over us in 2004 and for 2 of them, the eye went directly over us. It was pretty surreal. Crazy rain, howling winds, loads of noise and then in a matter of minutes, calm as could be like it just got done with an afternoon rain shower. 40 min later, back in to high gear.

[Blindside_137]

Originally Posted by kscarrol

Yes, quite calm in the eye. Sometimes the sun comes out and it appears quite nice for a couple hours until you get the other side of the eye wall and the winds start up from the opposite direction!

I had a hurricane pass directly over my family when I was six years old. I remember my mom telling me it would be calm but that doesn't mean it will be over, just a small break before it returns.

We had about 30 minutes of absolute nothingness. It was at night so it was dark, no sun at all to peak through which would have been neat to see. I'll never forget the neighbor coming through our backyard with his flashlight to check on us. We had a few trees down, one leaning on the house but mainly just random debris everywhere. I believe it was category 3 when it hit the coast. We were about 100 miles inland. I can not imagine what a 185mph category 5 would do.

[kscarrol]

Originally Posted by gonzo

So, it's fair to say, our eastern paradise is in big trouble?

Keep those fingers crossed! Days away and these forecasts are only so good but the forecast keeps moving back east. Fla still well withing the "cone" but the National Hurricane Center now has it just skirting the east coast of Fla...

[TBN54]

Originally Posted by Cbozz

I'm a firefighter so unfortunately I have to work during the entire storm leaving my 6 months pregnant wife at home! Luckily she's staying up in Orlando in a condo so she should be safe there...

Respect.

[M_Six]

Live cam from PR. Looking pretty stormy.

http://www.skylinewebcams.com/en/web...-patillas.html

[Haywood]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Live cam from PR. Looking pretty stormy.

http://www.skylinewebcams.com/en/web...-patillas.html

I think PR will get lucky as it's forecasted to go just north.

[Lups]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.d0edde4c3a5c

That's so fucking scary there are too many words available to share.

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by Lups

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.d0edde4c3a5c

That's so fucking scary there are too many words available to share.

I don't entirely disagree with his comments.

The media definitely contributed to a frenzy well before anyone could know where the storm would hit. We still don't know. Coming on the heels of Harvey it was perfect for them to work things up. Clearly they do it to be relevant and get people to watch, which in turn, leads to sponsors. Sprinkle in social media and broad-based insanity follows.

I have lived in South FL through 5 hurricanes (including Andrew) and quite honestly, none have gotten the public so amped up as this one. Since the weekend, media has constantly been showing empty shelves in stores (which are subsequently re-stocked) and the worst possible lines at gas stations, which fuels behavior (not to mentioned cones of error that stretched from the southern tip of Cuba to Orlando). Is Irma "fake news"? Of course not, I wish it were. Is the media reporting in a responsible way? Not really. I don't disagree it should be reported and people should be strongly encouraged to prepare, but seeking and showing video of scenes most likely to contribute to added stress is not responsible or helpful.

[Lups]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

I don't entirely disagree with his comments.

The media definitely contributed to a frenzy well before anyone could know where the storm would hit. We still don't know. Coming on the heels of Harvey it was perfect for them to work things up. Clearly they do it to be relevant and get people to watch, which in turn, leads to sponsors. Sprinkle in social media and broad-based insanity follows.

I have lived in South FL through 5 hurricanes (including Andrew) and quite honestly, none have gotten the public so amped up as this one. Since the weekend, media has constantly been showing empty shelves in stores (which are subsequently re-stocked) and the worst possible lines at gas stations, which fuels behavior (not to mentioned cones of error that stretched from the southern tip of Cuba to Orlando). Is Irma "fake news"? Of course not, I wish it were. Is the media reporting in a responsible way? Not really. I don't disagree it should be reported and people should be strongly encouraged to prepare, but seeking and showing video of scenes most likely to contribute to added stress is not responsible or helpful.

Dude you're totally leaving out one tiny detail: You're old, you've been through it before.

Young people are idiots. They watch their news or read them from fb and if you tell them it ain't so bad, they end up dead.

The media needs new words, and new ways to get information out but hyperbole is needed so we won't end up with people dying in bikinis on a beach just because nobody used the language they understand.

The weather models are pretty solid, not perfect but solid. Every time someone gets less than said, it's a good thing.

Hey dude, stay safe, and keep us posted.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by Lups

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.d0edde4c3a5c

That's so fucking scary there are too many words available to share.

Scary that it's partly true?

I don't think you've ever lived in FL, so i'll give you a pass, but the "THE" weather channel is a profit center like anything else. They sensationalize any and ALL weather events. I switched to unbiased non profit producing weather sources and have been much happier with the accuracy. "THE" weather channel (part of the media) exaggerates all weather activity. Even without news readers, you can see it in their graphics compared to other weather sources. It's sicking. You should see the fear it scares up in people around here who depend on mainstream media for weather reporting. I see people who can scarcely afford it buying things they don't need because the local weather media has made a typical afternoon thunderstorm into the apocalypse. That's sad.

That said, there is no reason to take any category of Hurricane lightly. But listening to the media is the last thing i'll ever do when deciding what my reaction and preparedness level is going to be in regards to such a storm. I've been in FL for 40 years and through a few bad storms. The storm reporting has gone ape shit over the last few years. Every spring we get a prediction of how many named storms will make landfall in FL. You know who sponsors those predictions? Insurance companies. You know how accurate they have been over the last 20 years? About 5% accurate. In 2004 we had 4 hurricanes roll across the state one after another over 5 weeks. All relatively small storms but they did enough damage so that when the next years prediction of 11 named storms making landfall in FL really motivated people to spend some insurance money. (one of my childhood friends owns an insurance brokerage) I think all of maybe 1 or 2 storms hit, certainly nothing of great consequence. And the same held true for several years.

There wouldn't be nearly the craziness in FL had there not been such wide spread news about Harvey. Even with Harvey, the rain is the major issue. Should that had just been a crazy thunderstorm that dumped all that water, we wouldn't be in this state of emergency that we're in.

BTW, for those that don't know, and most don't. When the governor declares a state of emergency, it is done to allow local municipalities and other government entities to react without having to navigate the normal bureaucratic channels. But the media uses that play on words to incite panic and build ratings. We had gas stations out of gas yesterday and the storm isn't going to be here until Sunday. Most of these people are going to need to refill their tanks again before the storm gets here!!

Major storms are nothing to mess with, but using them to generate fear in order to turn profit is truly despicable in my opinion. You can bet the farm that big business has their hands on what goes out over mainstream media.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by Lups

Dude you're totally leaving out one tiny detail: You're old, you've been through it before.

Young people are idiots. They watch their news or read them from fb and if you tell them it ain't so bad, they end up dead.

The media needs new words, and new ways to get information out but hyperbole is needed so we won't end up with people dying in bikinis on a beach just because nobody used the language they understand.

The weather models are pretty solid, not perfect but solid. Every time someone gets less than said, it's a good thing.

Hey dude, stay safe, and keep us posted.

If you call me old, we're not friends anymore.

[Lups]

Originally Posted by Mr Tonka

Scary that it's partly true?

I don't think you've ever lived in FL, .

Me? Living in a place that is hot? Jesus our friendship is over.

(I'll read the rest now, but fuck you with heat man!)

(okay, maybe not fuck, more like make you go north fuck you!)

[Lups]

Originally Posted by Mr Tonka

If you call me old, we're not friends anymore.

You suggested I could live in fl. So fuck off!

Totally deleting you.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by Lups

Me? Living in a place that is hot? Jesus our friendship is over.

(I'll read the rest now, but fuck you with heat man!)

(okay, maybe not fuck, more like make you go north fuck you!)

Dude, spent last two weeks in Copenhagen. Loved the weather there!! Was a nice break from summer.

[Lups]

Originally Posted by Mr Tonka

Dude, spent last two weeks in Copenhagen. Loved the weather there!! Was a nice break from summer.

I hope you went to the lego land!

These five countries are so weird. Iceland is filled with the people who wanted the warm baths. Norway was filled with the weirdo left overs of Sweden who got lucky with oil, Sweden got the hot women, Denmark got the bad spirit and hippies and bad weather, the finns got no clothes, no warmth, and a bad attitude.

Now, go back and stay there!

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by Lups

Dude you're totally leaving out one tiny detail: You're old, you've been through it before.

Young people are idiots. They watch their news or read them from fb and if you tell them it ain't so bad, they end up dead.

The media needs new words, and new ways to get information out but hyperbole is needed so we won't end up with people dying in bikinis on a beach just because nobody used the language they understand.

The weather models are pretty solid, not perfect but solid. Every time someone gets less than said, it's a good thing.

Hey dude, stay safe, and keep us posted.

OK but if young people are idiots and they get worked up about a storm that (hopefully) ends up not being as bad as it sounds, what do you think happens when the next storm comes? Answer: even less of a chance they prepare.

I'm not suggesting we should tell people not to worry about the storm. However, somewhere between understating and grossly overstating the risk is the right balance and useful reporting that is missing right now.

[IndotagSwizz]

the people that lived here for most of their life are fine, we still have all the hurricane supplies from the last 2 hurricanes...most people got gas already as well, in fact I have so many cans at my shop I'm hoping my warehouse doesn't blow up lol...

[Lups]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

OK but if young people are idiots and they get worked up about a storm that (hopefully) ends up not being as bad as it sounds, what do you think happens when the next storm comes? Answer: even less of a chance they prepare.

I'm not suggesting we should tell people not to worry about the storm. However, somewhere between understating and grossly overstating the risk is the right balance and useful reporting that is missing right now.

Agreed, but i can't exactly say the hyperbole with a storm , when it could save lives should be compared to the normal shit we deal with now.

Using massive words a lot makes normal words useless. Believe me.

[dreamingat30fps]

I think they lie about these trajectory. This bitch was suppose to be getting here by Friday a few days ago, then Saturday now its like freaking Sunday. It's not like its slowing down, if anything its speeding up. Was around 14mph and on the latest update its at 16mph.

Now of course there is no gas anywhere near my house because nutters were lined up around the block since Monday. Last night we drove by a gas station that looked ok (not packed but not empty because if its empty its because they have no gas) so decided to put gas in girlfriend car since she still has to go to work. As I pull up I see people standing around at the pumps but no one is doing shit. Well apparently these motherfuckers were just chilling at the gas station WAITING to see if they would get gas... wtf??!

I just went home she can take my truck to work.

[Captain Blood]

The latest spaghetti models have about half the possible tracks hitting my golf home in Hilton Head. I sure hope it spins out to sea, for my sake and everyone else's sake.