Paul,

We've got 3 more months of hurricane season . . .



At this point, it looks like the eye might pass south of me (Downtown Orlando), but only 7 hours before I saw Charley's eye pass over me did I get any real evidence that it was heading for us. Besides, the north side of the hurricane is the toughest part. They're forcasting 100mph winds here, We got them as high as 80 with Charley. It's a big storm too. They're projecting landfall of the eye by 1-2PM Saturday (Eastern time) They estimate that the main edge of the storm will hit land around 20 hours before that. It's currently moving at 10mph. If it makes landfall where they figure, it will take 12 hours to get the eye passing Orlando. The heaviest rain (1/2inch to 1 & 1/2inch per hour) is an area over 200 miles in diameter. Those that have the eye pass over them will potentially have 20 hours of heavy rain and hurricane/tropical storm force winds. Luckily I'm surrounded by 4 lakes that can handle 20 inches of rain without much problem, but others aren't as lucky.

Don't know if the rest of the country is getting what the biggest worry for many of us - Charley left so much debris - probably only 70% of the debris, which we all piled up at the edges of our properties, have been picked up and toted away. The rest is sitting there, in front of homes, just waiting for a nasty wind gust to pick part of it up and throw it through a window. The past couple days the county and city officials have been telling homeowners to take the rest of the debris to the collection sites themselves. They haven't been able to explain how people without trucks are supposed to do this. Hell, I don't even have a car, and the debris pile in front of my place is over 8 foot high and runs the entire 80 foot length of the property excepting the driveway.

But when all is said and done, things will likely come off better for most of us that the "worst-case." We're just hoping it isn't another Andrew.