It just takes one bad storm to make the season a horrific one, hope all of you guys and gals that live an a zone have hardened your homes and own a generator capable of powering your needs.
Who needs a generator in Florida? Unlike the northeast, where you can literally die in the winter without power to generate heat, in FL you can go for quite some time without power. Just have a grill for cooking, a stockpile water/food and a full tank of gas in the car and you should be fine. You can always power electronics up in the car if needed.
^ plenty of people need a generator @Rick, some folks need to keep medication stored safely, there were plenty of folks that ended up hospitalized in the aftermath of a storm because of heat stroke, there was a nursing home in Broward where 11 people died, you haven’t been down here very long at least 3 separate occasions it took longer than a week to get power restored as bad as that was there are locations where it could take more than a month, be smart get a power generator, you spend a bundle on broads, spend a small amount protecting your family.
I just noticed that the Weather channel does not have a tropical weather update like they have had in the past. I hope this is just a seasonal thing and it will crank up soon.
The Weather Channel just cares about ratings. They know that no one cares about the tropics if nothing is happening. They don't want to give out news like "everything is fine". They want to tell people that the world is about to end and you need to watch us.
As soon as there is the smallest tropical wave out there, they will make a very big deal about it.
It's been boiling-hot in Miami and feels like it's gonna be a scorcher of a summer which creates conditions for hurricanes to grow huge due to very warm ocean waters.
The heat + high-humidity in SE FL makes it pretty unlivable to be w/o A/C especially sleeping at night (very different from North FL and rest of SE US).
^ It's been pretty damned hot in NE FL too. But people survived in Florida for hundreds of years before AC was common. We can go without it for a few days if needed so long as there is sufficient water.
@RD trust me those hurricanes you had in your area were lightweight you haven’t been through one like Andrew, that flattened fade county or Willa where the eye crossed my home and did tremendous damage to the surrounding areas trees all on the roads no traffic signals for 3 weeks flooding east of 95 and the heat was scorching, no power for the gas stations they changed the code to require all gas stations over a certain volume must have generators, portable generators brought in to keep hospitals open, and a whole bunch of agony. Don’t think for one minute that those glancing sideswipes you guys had are all that these storms are, you’d just be deceiving yourself and lax in your responsibilities, if you don’t believe it check with Clubber, remember it just takes one storm as a direct hit to fuck up more than you have any idea.
@25: If we get hit with a storm that bad and the power is going to be out for that long, then we head to where it isn't. At that point, you're dealing with a lot of issues besides a loss of power, like obtaining food and fuel. Truth be told, most generators won't reliably power a central air unit anyway for any length of time and I've got two of them. Also, we don't have in ground gas lines where I am, so constantly feeding a generator bearing that kind of load, for weeks, would be prohibitive, especially if gas stations are out of fuel.
@ RD I installed an automated generator system after Andrew, powers the whole house, swimming pool, both refrigerators and the washer, dryer, lights, fans and everything else 15 day natural gas tank buried in the yard keeps it powered. You might find it difficult to get a flight out last minute and driving away can be tricky especially if the storm shifts.
^ No need to drive out during the storm. We ride it out, see how things are and then leave if the power recovery is going to take an extended period. This isn't the Keys - there are roads heading in every direction. 😉
I worry about the ones that hit land on the gulf coast. They tend to move NE and could cause a lot of rain in the Atlanta area which could make it a shitty drive to the strip club.
So ride it out but keep in mind the roads will be impassable in the first few days afterwards, wouldn’t it be better to have a cool comfortable dry place with usable appliances for a few days until the authorities open some of the roads, or do you like having your wife and kids miserable and busting your chops, jes sayin.
"... If we get hit with a storm that bad and the power is going to be out for that long, then we head to where it isn't ..."
Probably the best thing to do - in years past some people in Miami will just head to Orlando 250-miles away (and in the center of the state vs the coast); and just have fun there till the things return somewhat back to normal (i.e. power is back-on, etc).
Problem is it can be often be tricky getting out b/c a lot of people have the same idea and one does not know if it will be a direct-hit or how bad it will be warranting leaving.
Seems many hurricanes that have hit Miami have kinda done it from east to west cutting thru SoFLo and proceeding onto the gulf - Irma in 2017 was massive and came-up from the south and went north covering the entire FL peninsula and pretty-much no way out or go b/c many people were trying to leave throughout the entire state (no where in the state was out of the storm's damage/path).
@Papi we can tell them but it doesn’t really sink in, they’ve never been through a truly terrifying storm, unfortunately they learn the hard way. One major event and they’ll get it all we can do is give them our best wishes, advice is wasted on many folks that think that they know.
I’m a weird person by many standards. I have 6 months food and water stored up, multiple water purification methods in my storage, enough guns, ammo, animal traps and knowledge (experience) to acquire food for the next 5 years, medications to last at least 6 months (my wife and I are Pharmacists with contacts), generator support, methods to produce energy and HAM radio License, access, and experience to communicate if cell towers and phone lines go down. We have been through two major floods and one major tornado that knocked a shit load of stuff out. I even carry enough survival gear in my car to allow me to survive 2 full weeks just sitting on my ass if i choose. I feel comfortable being weird.
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As soon as there is the smallest tropical wave out there, they will make a very big deal about it.
The heat + high-humidity in SE FL makes it pretty unlivable to be w/o A/C especially sleeping at night (very different from North FL and rest of SE US).
:-) peace
Probably the best thing to do - in years past some people in Miami will just head to Orlando 250-miles away (and in the center of the state vs the coast); and just have fun there till the things return somewhat back to normal (i.e. power is back-on, etc).
Problem is it can be often be tricky getting out b/c a lot of people have the same idea and one does not know if it will be a direct-hit or how bad it will be warranting leaving.
Seems many hurricanes that have hit Miami have kinda done it from east to west cutting thru SoFLo and proceeding onto the gulf - Irma in 2017 was massive and came-up from the south and went north covering the entire FL peninsula and pretty-much no way out or go b/c many people were trying to leave throughout the entire state (no where in the state was out of the storm's damage/path).