BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!

Subject: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: katlaughing
Date: 14 Aug 04 - 01:03 AM

Just a note to say I hope all of our Florida Mudcatters and their families and friends are safe and not too devastated by Hurricane Charley. It'd be good to hear from you'all...harpgirl, PaulG., etc. Take care,

kat

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: Peace
Date: 14 Aug 04 - 02:49 AM

Same here. Blackcatter, don't forget to message soonest, OK?

Bruce

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: Joe Offer
Date: 14 Aug 04 - 04:50 AM

My folks live on the south side of Sarasota, near Osprey - Pelican Cove, on the mainland side of the Intracostal Waterway. If you hear reports from that area, please let me know. they talk about Tampa and Fort Meyers, but not about Saratota - and it's a fair-sized city that's right between the other two. That makes it sound like Sarasota could be in the middle of it.
My brother lives in Sarasota and evacuated - but I haven't heard from my folks.
Thanks.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: Amos
Date: 14 Aug 04 - 10:27 AM

HG, BWL, et al, let us hear from you!! How do things look down there?


A

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Aug 04 - 10:40 AM

With 1.2 million homes and businesses without power, I think it might be awhile before we hear from some of the Florida folks.

Joe, with Sarasota being one of the hardest hit counties, I'm sure you must be terribly concerned. I have a nephew in Ft. Myers. We haven't heard from him either. I'm sure they are all fine, though.

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: Gern
Date: 14 Aug 04 - 04:16 PM

We just got back from evacuating St. Pete. This was a close one for us: the storm veered away in literally the last three hours, and we hardly got it. they had predicted a 10-17 foot surge, which would not go well in our house, elevation 9 feet. It was all very hairy. The path of storm destruction seems quite narrow, but anyone worrying about someone in southern Sarasota county is right to worry.

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: wysiwyg
Date: 14 Aug 04 - 04:18 PM

You can contact your local Red Cross chapter to inquire whether they can access a list of who is safely tucked away in shelters. It can take a few days post-evac to do this, but when areas are doing longer term sheltering it makes sense, if you have not heard from your people.

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 14 Aug 04 - 06:39 PM

Bo Diddley - famous Florida person. I used to chat with a man who used the same bank.

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: harpgirl
Date: 15 Aug 04 - 01:27 AM

We were spared in the panhandle with only a great deal of rain but it was a very bad storm with estimates of 15 billion in damages. Counties affected by Charley are Charlotte, Punta Gorda, Desoto, Glades, Hardee, Highlands, Lee, Monroe, Pinellas and Polk. Fort Myers is in Lee. My friend's brother had his car windows blown out in Orlando. Half million without power.1.4 million evacuated. More storms are expected this year...some forming now...

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: harpgirl
Date: 15 Aug 04 - 01:38 AM

Here's the Red Cross watch page:Danielle and Earle coming

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 15 Aug 04 - 03:14 AM

Good wishes from across the pond too... the news reports have not been enjoyable listening, even for zenophobes.....

If a virtual hug makes you feel better, consider yourself hugged.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 15 Aug 04 - 03:15 AM

or even xenophobes - it was a late night last night!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: harpgirl
Date: 15 Aug 04 - 09:05 AM

It's so sad. So many people retire in South Florida to small trailers in the bright sunshine to live out their lives in simplicity. Now 50,000 homeless in 200 shelters. Eighty percent of the buildings in Punta Gorda sustained damage. 3 billion in damages in Fort Myers and around Lee county. Pine Island, site of a new fall folk festival is littered in beached sailboats. Port Charlotte's devastation is "catastrophic" according to the director of emergency management.

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: jacqui.c
Date: 15 Aug 04 - 09:10 AM

I'll join Liz in sending all good wishes to those affected by the hurricane. Not much more we can do from this side of the pond but the thoughts of a lot of us are with them.

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Aug 04 - 11:32 AM

A lot of people will have to make some hard choices now. That trailering lifestyle for retired individuals is very popular. Hopefully insurance will cover the lost trailers and vehicles, but the volatility of the weather will make a predictably large percentage of them think twice about replacing the trailers and returning to the same area. Some will head back to their homes in the north. There will be an impact on Florida beyond the storm damage itself, at least for a while. Meanwhile, those whose homes were damaged or destroyed may well find themselves in trailers until their permanent dwellings are repaired. Now is not a good time to try to buy a trailer in Florida or adjacent states--what remains will be very expensive.

If any of our Mudcatters find themselves in this position, please contact those of us several states away to help you find something reasonably priced. (I'm in the Fort Worth, Texas, area).

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: Joe Offer
Date: 16 Aug 04 - 03:15 AM

I called my dad this evening to ask about the storm, and he said, "What Storm?" Apparently, the storm completely bypassed Sarasota, and they didn't even get much wind or rain. It trimmed some dead branches off trees, but that's about all. My brother also lives in Sarasota, and he and his wife and their cats evacuated a few days ago. Ironically, my dad had to leave his harborside condominium, so he stayed in my brother's house.
My brother had to drive home through an area that had been devastated by the storm. The damage was terrible in Arcadia, only 25 miles from his home, but he and my dad suffered no damage at all. Arcadia is an economically depressed area, maybe 20 miles inland from Sarasota. I love that town - it's a relic of old inland Florida, a fascinating little place. I wonder how much is left of it.
-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: Paul G.
Date: 16 Aug 04 - 04:59 PM

All's well with us here in North East FLA. Tropical Storm Bonnie was actually more of a problem for us with her tornados.

Some of our folkie friends down in Charlotte County are in a world of hurt, though. The Punta Gorda Guitar Army took a heavy hit. Lot's of property damage including a lost house or two. I'm sure the silver lining will be a few good songs telling Charley's tales...

pg

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: Peace
Date: 16 Aug 04 - 05:01 PM

Anyone heard from Blackcatter?

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: katlaughing
Date: 16 Aug 04 - 06:46 PM

Good to hear from you, Paul; sorry to hear about your friends' losses, though. Thanks for letting us know. Joe, glad to hear about your family being okay. Harpgirl, thanks for checking in.

kat

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: Rapparee
Date: 16 Aug 04 - 07:08 PM

BWL said earlier that he was going to Indiana last week.

I don't think that the two events were coincidental, either.

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: GUEST,Stew
Date: 16 Aug 04 - 07:32 PM

I'm wondering if the Gold Tone instrument folks in Titusville, I believe, were affected by Charlie. I'd hate to think that my new banjo is floating around some swamp at this time.
Stew

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: RangerSteve
Date: 16 Aug 04 - 08:01 PM

For what it's worth, Earl is heading toward Yucatan and Danielle is going north, missing all land.

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: harpgirl
Date: 16 Aug 04 - 08:06 PM

I hope Earl doesn't turn. We have had so much rain, everything is waterlogged and I can't work in my yard. I'm dying of advanced mildew...

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: Paul G.
Date: 16 Aug 04 - 08:32 PM

Stew -- I imagine your banjo is just fine. Titusville is on the coast due east of Orlando, so Charley would have missed it as he headed more northeast. I lived in Titusville for seven of the longest months of my life. A real nice town to drive by on I-95........

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: GUEST,Stew
Date: 16 Aug 04 - 09:00 PM

Thanks Paul G. Maybe the banjo is on its way north to Canada by now. I guess any town where they make banjos would be a lonely out of the way place. :o)
Stew

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 17 Aug 04 - 10:46 AM

Hi folks. I was 900 miles away from home while Bonnie and Charlie were wreaking their havoc. Neither came close to our place, but it was worrisome for a while since we didn't leave the homestead in anything near hurricane-prepared state. There are a couple of big limbs down, but with as many trees as are on our property that's a daily occurence whether there's a storm about or not.

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: Peace
Date: 18 Aug 04 - 01:04 AM

Refresh

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: Ellenpoly
Date: 18 Aug 04 - 12:11 PM

I just received this from a friend in Orlando. I thought I'd pass it along. It does make me worry about Blackcatter who hasn't checked in yet by post,pm, or e-mail to my knowledge. If someone has heard from him, please let us know...xx..e

Hi!

We are both okay, though still without power -- and possibly no power until Saturday or longer.

The three big oaks in our front yard did not fall, but a very large
section of one of them is virtually covering our whole front lawn, and a smaller section is balanced precariously on the wires leading from the street to the house, so we have not ventured near either said limb.

On our street and the two streets on either side of us there must be
30 big oaks down -- about 5 or 6 of them resting on corners of houses, on garages or cars. Also, on same 3 streets there are 3 or 4 snapped power poles with huge transformers laying on the curbs. We drove around, as best we could, other nearby streets where the situation is the same. Basically you have to just back up and turn around because of trees across the residential streets. Now we just go out onto the major streets.

Couldn't find an open gas station for several days, nor ice. They
closed Harcourt Friday so I was able to stock up on water and ice right before it hit. We blew up the air mattress and jammed it into that tiny hallway between the bathroom and bedrooms, and the four of us cowered in there with flashlights and the radio as it went over us. It was hellacious -- 110 mile an hour winds. We could hear things clanking, crashing, thumping above the unbelievable ROAR of the wind.

Winter Park has a boil-water order for drinking water, but we have
plenty of that in bottles. It's been 90 degrees every day and with no A.C. the heat is the worst thing to contend with. I had bought a big mosquito net --the kind you hang over a bed -- to keep the dust off oil paintings I'm making -- so tonight we intend to take the air mattress out onto the back patio and hang the mosquito net over us and sleep out there.

Have been boiling water for coffee on the charcoal grill -- go out
periodically on the great ice hunt to repack the coolers. They have big semi trucks coming into neighborhoods handing out free ice. Harcourt was also closed Monday, so this is the first chance I've had to e-mail.

Winter Park was one of the hardest-hit suburbs of Orlando, and many
co-workers here got their power on in the last day or so. I think we'll begetting a generator tomorrow. The power company that services Winter Park had more than 300 of their big transmission towers knocked down, so we haven't even seen one of their trucks anywhere near our neighborhood yet. We fear that they mean the main power grid will be back up by Saturday, but once they come into our neighborhood it might be even longer...?

Well, we will think positive and hope for the best. We are fine and our house is fine and aside from some major tree expenses (which of course are not covered by homeowners insurance -- only if they hit your house) we will be back to normal before too long.

We thought we would rely on our cell phones, but too many cell towers were knocked down, so they didn't work after the storm and are still working only sporadically. We had only cordless phones in the house which, of course, plug into electrical outlets -- that was one thing I could have thought about before the storm but it didn't dawn on me. So when the stores opened up we went looking for regular phones that just plug into the jacks-- and of course there were none left on the shelves. We finally found one that a sales lady had stuck under the check-out desk. Even with it plugged in I've heard that people are having trouble getting through by phone.

It's hard to find hotel rooms that let you bring your dogs, and hard to find any vacancies, period. Some friends with power have offered to let us stay with them, but it's really less disruptive to stay in your own space as much as possible. And those cold showers feel pretty good in this heat!

We'll let you know how things go.
Love you guys!
S& L

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: Blackcatter
Date: 20 Aug 04 - 03:26 PM

I'm here and alive, though worse for wear.

The above info is pretty good. here's my stuff:

I live in Downtown Orlando, 2 miles from all the big buildings.

Power when out 9pm Mudcat time Friday. that was when Charley hit Orlando. I just got power back on today at 2PM.

The eye went right over downtown and me. I checked wind gusts out side and saw them as high as 96 mph.

Every tree in my area is either down or heavily damaged if over 1 foot in diameter. My apartment weathered the storm all right, though I still have limbs on the roof. My scooter was totaled by a tree.

I've been living in 90+ degree heat for 7 days. Cell phones still don't work all that well because of downed towers.

Several of my friends have damaged homes - mostly from trees, but no one has any injuries. Things are getting back to normal, though it is still tough.

Thanks for all the concern, etc. Things will be fine. This is the 3rd hurricane I've been through and definately the worst, though I did go to Miami after Andrew to help with relief and that was even worse.

take care all,

Tom (Blackcatter)

That's about it. I'm going to upload a bunch of photos online soon and let you all know where they are.

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: Ellenpoly
Date: 20 Aug 04 - 03:30 PM

WHEW! So glad to hear you're alright, Blackcatter!

Looking forward to seeing pics from your area.

Stay cool, any way you can.

..xx..e

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: SINSULL
Date: 20 Aug 04 - 03:35 PM

Glad you're OK cat. Hope you have power soon.

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: Metchosin
Date: 20 Aug 04 - 04:10 PM

So good to hear you are OK and very sorry about your scooter. Can you rescue it's battery and run a DC fan with it?

We had a fairly large fir come down in a wind here last night and although it was disconcerting, I can't begin to imagine the din of a hurricane. Take care.

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: Blackcatter
Date: 20 Aug 04 - 04:20 PM

My power's back on - that's how I can now communicate online.

I'm suffering from heat-exhaustion - not from my home being hot, but from spending nearly every daylight hour cleaning up the mess. At my house, at my former employers, at two friends homes, at my church, etc. Since Sat. morning I (and nearly everyone else) has put in 40-60 hours doing clean up.

The crews that got my electric back up today were from Mt. Airy North Carolina, Andy Griffith's home town and the model for Mayberry. A nice bit of a coincidence for someone who runs a TV theme website.

I've seen electrical crews from 12 states around town ththtis week.

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: Peace
Date: 20 Aug 04 - 04:29 PM

Good to hear from you, Tom.

Bruce M

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: JennyO
Date: 20 Aug 04 - 10:22 PM

Glad to hear you are all right, Blackcatter. We were a bit worried. Shame about your scooter though.

The world's weather seems to be going crazy at the moment - lots of stuff happening in the UK too, and the subject of global warming has been brought up a lot recently.

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Aug 04 - 11:34 PM

Knock wood, but the tonadoes have missed Fort Worth this year. We had nothing for ages, then a couple of years apart several hit. It seems odd to have such chaos in the midst of normalcy (in your case, Blackcatter, surrounding counties untouched). I hope you don't have to travel far to get any supplies you need, or look too far for help.

I agree, JennyO, the weather is unusual. You would think it's late September here in Texas right now. Rain and cool temperatures. We're not complaining--just amazed.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: katlaughing
Date: 20 Aug 04 - 11:42 PM

Thanks for taking the time to let us know you are okay, Tom. It's good to hear from you and the others.

kat

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: Blackcatter
Date: 21 Aug 04 - 12:52 AM

Things arent too far from me - that's why I live in downtown. Gotta find a new "secondary" job, however. My employer of 3 years decided this week that he didn't have enough business to keep me on. Current'y that was 50% of my income.

I'll tell you, it's about 1 am, and it's nice to have the fans back on to keep me cool. I don't have a/c, but without the fans, the nights were unbearable trying to sleep in 85 degree heat with 80% humidity.

I also haven't had a pint of Guinness in over a week . . .

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: GUEST,Ellenpoly
Date: 21 Aug 04 - 07:34 AM

Best of luck, Blackcatter, finding work. Get a Guinness as soon as possible. All things will go better after it, I promise.


..xx..e

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Sep 04 - 09:56 AM

Heads up, all of you! This was at the top of the news this morning (as if you didn't already know--it's mostly so everyone else will know what you're going through):

Florida Braces for Hurricane Frances
September 2, 2004 07:56 AM EDT

STUART, Fla. - With homes still swaddled in blue tarp and the deaths from Hurricane Charley still fresh in their minds, Florida residents lined up before dawn Thursday for supplies or made evacuation plans as they braced for an onslaught that could be worse than Charley's. Three-quarters of a million people in Florida were told to leave their homes by Thursday afternoon as Hurricane Frances inched toward the U.S. mainland. States of emergency were declared in Georgia and Florida. The latest evacuation order was issued Thursday morning in Broward County, where up to 250,000 people living on barrier islands, in mobile homes and in low-lying areas were told to be ready to leave. Other counties that already issued orders included Palm Beach County and Brevard County.

Frances is just as strong as Hurricane Charley, which devastated Florida's southwest coast Aug. 13, but twice the size, said Stephen Baig, a forecaster at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Frances was also about twice the size of 1992's Hurricane Andrew, which destroyed much of southern Miami-Dade County. That means that Frances' powerful hurricane-force winds, which extend up to 80 miles from its center, can cause just as much damage over a larger area, Baig said Thursday. Packing 145 mph winds and a course that has emergency officials in several Southeastern states jittery, the Category 4 storm was expected to fluctuate in intensity as it headed for a Labor Day weekend rendezvous.

Supermarkets along Florida's Atlantic coast were stripped of bottled water and canned goods. In the pre-dawn hours Thursday, long lines formed outside home supply stores in Palm Beach County, with dozens of people hoping for a chance to buy plywood or generators. A delivery truck's arrival was met with raucous applause. Reservation clerks of sold-out hotels groaned with each telephone ring, knowing someone seeking a room was on the other end. And demand for gas was so great some stations were pumped dry. "We can't control the kind of damage that Frances is going to cause, but if people are smart, lives can be saved," said Max Mayfield, the director of the National Hurricane Center.

As of 8 a.m., Frances' center was 470 miles east-southeast of Palm Beach. It was moving west-northwest near 13 mph, and was expected to continue that course for 24 hours. Forecasters said Frances could begin affecting Florida late Thursday, less than three weeks after Charley raked the state's west coast with 145 mph wind, causing billions of dollars in damage and killing 27 people.

Forecasters said France could become a Category 5 with winds of 156 mph or higher by the time it makes landfall. The difference wasn't something residents spent time discussing. "Category 4, Category 5, what's the difference? I'm still out of here," said Michele Byrd, 38, a food service executive from Vero Beach. "This one will probably be bigger than Charley. I don't see any way we're not getting hit."

Late Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane watch for 310 miles of Florida coast from from Craig Key to Flagler Beach. A hurricane watch means that those areas could start feeling hurricane conditions within 36 hours. "People should not concentrate on the forecast track," forecaster Jack Beven said Thursday morning, urging residents of the entire watch region to immediately begin preparing. "A slight dip in the track could result in big changes in landfall."

Court trials were canceled in 10 counties, cruise lines kept their ships away and schools in nine counties were shuttered for Thursday; another three planned to do the same Friday. In St. Lucie County, a curfew was to go in effect Friday night.

The menacing strength of Frances coupled with the damage wrought by Charley in Florida had even normally stoic coastal Georgians spooked. "The people here are paying this one a little more attention than they normally would," said Tybee Island Mayor Walter Parker. "When I went to the Post Office today, some people said they're a little more concerned. They saw what Charley did to Florida."

In the Caribbean, the storm's lashing winds tore tin roofs off houses and plucked trees from the ground as it plowed through the Turks and Caicos. The Bahamas' prime minister warned that Frances could be the worst in the archipelago nation's history.

On the mainland, the storm and evacuations it forces are certain to spoil Labor Day outings and make a mess of holiday travel across the Southeast. Florida may reverse lanes on some highways to handle the evacuation traffic, state Emergency Management Director Craig Fugate said. Many businesses along the Atlantic coast began closing Wednesday, some not planning to reopen until Sunday at the earliest. Cape Canaveral's Kennedy Space Center shut down, leery of the havoc Frances could bring. "It's going to hit somewhere," said Stephanie Graniero, who was having hurricane shutters attached to her store along a deserted commercial strip of Delray Beach. "You have to try to stay calm and not panic. If it's going to hit, you have to be prepared."

An evacuation order was issued for 300,000 Palm Beach County residents, and those who live in mobile homes and flood-prone areas of Volusia, Brevard, Martin and Indian River counties also were ordered to find safer locations. Forecasters said storm surges of 15 feet or more could affect those areas if Frances takes dead aim. State officials worried about finding enough room in shelters. Many hotel rooms in southern Florida are occupied by emergency workers and people left homeless by Charley. Some schools and community centers are still being used as shelters.

To make matters worse, many rivers and lakes in the Carolinas and Virginia are already swollen with rains from a series of August storms. The most recent of those came Monday, when the remnants of Tropical Storm Gaston brought heavy rain and knocked down trees and power lines. Joe Farmer, of South Carolina's Emergency Management Division, said the state would likely have to deal with Frances even if it makes landfall in Florida since evacuees would head north on Interstate 95.

The last time two major storms hit Florida so close together was 1950, when Hurricane Easy hit the Tampa area and Hurricane King struck Miami about six weeks later. Neither of those storms was as powerful as Charley or Frances.

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: harpgirl
Date: 02 Sep 04 - 10:38 AM

I'm worried sick! My folks and brother's family are in PB county. I wish they'd come up here but the damn thing will cut a path through the entire state it seems...

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: GUEST,SINSULL, why am I a GUEST
Date: 02 Sep 04 - 11:21 AM

Just got a message from my niece in Boca Raton. Her area is under mandatory evacuation. She has a ground floor apartment - not good. No water or canned goods left in the markets; no gas. Where are they evacuating people to - it looks as if the whole state will be hit.

Stay safe, guys.

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: harpgirl
Date: 02 Sep 04 - 12:01 PM

I've talked to members of my family now and my brother is putting plywood on his windows and will stay put. He lives about three miles inland. My folks have their hurricane shutters up and they are on the fourth floor of a heavy 21 story building but it is only a few blocks from the coast and they face the hurricane path directly in their apt. I am so nervous...My mom is like "we're old and we've lived a good life..." I'm having a rough day, though I must say. It's a huge evacuation...not sure where everyone is going....tears...

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: Amos
Date: 02 Sep 04 - 12:33 PM

Harpgirl:

Remember that the weather-boys STILL haven't mastered the art of predicting where a storm like Frances will actually touch down. For some reason they can't get their arms around it, so to speak. So, steady on and deal with what really happens, as there are far too many possibilities to even think about otherwise...your folks will get throught his one just fine.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: Joe Offer
Date: 02 Sep 04 - 01:12 PM

My brother and his wife and cats are evacuating again, from Sarasota to Tallahassee. They moved from Wisconsin to Florida only a year ago, and I think they may be a bit more skittish than seasoned Floridians. Last time, my dad was forced to evacuate because he was on the water, and he stayed in my brother's home while my brother had evacuated elsewhere.
It doesn't look like the storm will come close to Sarasota, but I guess you never know.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: GUEST
Date: 02 Sep 04 - 03:36 PM

For those of you who think that Frances will miss some place in Florida - you'll be disappointed. Every track has it hitting somewhere in the middle and it's over 450 miles wide. No one get off scott free.

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 03 Sep 04 - 11:42 AM

Any more news about hurricane Frances ?

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Sep 04 - 12:50 PM

I don't know think the links are durable, so here is a link to Weatherunderground. Click on Florida on the map, then try Orlando. The Miami radar is "down for maintenance" it says. What timing! Anyway, from there, if you click on the regional radar button you'll clearly see the leading curved edge of storms.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: Bill D
Date: 03 Sep 04 - 01:29 PM

that link and the satellite photos work now, and it is scary looking...the weather system is bigger than the whole state. The heaviest, damaging winds could be as strong as Andrew, and twice as wide...It looks like it is heading on a path very similar to Andrew right now, but we all know the details can change.

I just hope that most affected are able to evacuate, and I hope that those who must stay are in the safest place possible. If good thoughts could help, we would all be sending that mess back out to sea.

It will be a long weekend...please take care.....

Subject: RE: BS: Florida Mudcatters - how are you?!
From: GUEST,Blackcatter
Date: 03 Sep 04 - 01:43 PM

Check out www.wftv.com

It's one of the local TV station sites in Orlando. they have the latest.