Hi 'Spaw...weather here is fine right now. Had some rain earlier in the day. No wind to speak of as yet. We NEED all the rain we can get as we are still way below our normal rainfall fo the year and water tables are still critical. Watering restrictions still in place. Wind we don't need that much of, however. More rain is expected Sunday AM as Gordon passes some 150 miles west of us, making landfall about 200 miles north of us if he keeps on present heading. He should make landfall around Pensacola and the cross the upper pennisula into Ssouthern Georgia. Last reports had barometric pressure rising slightly, which indicates a weakening in the eye.
It is to laugh, (I do understand taking precautions), but already yesterday morning there were folks lined up at local stores buying up everything in sight! Water, all sorts of food...(does one eat more during a storm?)...food that needed preparation...(I thought that the whole idea was to have food on hand that didn't need electric power to prepare) At the local lumber yards plywood is a sought after commodity. The media has put so much hype on this (and other storms) that one day there WILL be a BIG one and no one will pay attention to the boy who cried wolf! That's what worries me. I've lived in Florida most all my life and have one of the best storm alert systems a person can have. Personal experience and my DOG...If we would watch our animals closely when weather threatens they would tell us much. If you get to know your animal and follow his/her instincts you will never get caught short. If ever a storm threatens us and Bear's tail droops and the hair on his back emulates a ridgeback, he becomes restless and doesn't eat, then I will get concerned very quickly! I firmly believe that if folks had heeded my advice hurricane Andrew would not have been as devastating. There is nothing anyone could have done in terms of property damage, but injuries and fatalities could have been much lower. Just to keep this thread on subject, my mother called and asked me if I was all set for the storm (more tonque in cheek than anything), I replied, "yep, I got my kerosene lantern and my banjo, it's missing a string but if the wind howls loud enough, who will notice?" Thanks for the concern, we will keep ya all posted.