And a wish for your safety as well, April. I have been thinking about you and all other KT'ers in the projected path of Flo. Hope you and the others are safe and can stay dry.

Now its predicted to be a hurricane on the Atlantic and hit FL again! This has been a weird storm! I'm a little surprised the kids have school tomorrow.

We were promised rain (in GA) from Fay but she isn't cooperating. We need the rain badly.

Linda

April, I've sure been thinking about you! Stay safe!!

Grrrhh i had planned my out of state trucks to come back in after the storm, now i'm scrambling to co-ordinate them even getting in before new landfall or after...no wants to drive a semi w/ 48' trailer w/ winds over 45+mph :-( not to mention we have no power at home again, 5th time this yr. it gets old when you live in a metropolis, i could see out in the sticks. i don't know which is worse sitting at home w/o power (w/ DH & whining dogs lol) or here at work bored cuz we are not loading trucks today... ~ liz

Today's update: I'm taking reservations for the ark.

Work is closed as most employees can't get out of their driveways. Most major roadways and ALL of the roads east of US hwy 1 are closed due to flooding. 30 major intersections are closed due to the flooding. And it's still raining. Emergency officials are again telling everyone to stay put and not venture out.

I saw on the news this morning (I still can't believe it) that instead of sending ambulances to emergency calls in those areas, they're sending Marine Patrol in motor boats...I kid you not.

Our house is still dry, but all of my hibiscus (hibisci???) are now leaning at a sharp degree in the direction the wind was blowing, as are most of the mailboxes on my street, and I'm SO thankful that it wasn't worse. We're still under a flood warning till noon, and it appears it'll still be raining into tomorrow. But we're safe, dry, and I'm heading back to bed for a mid-morning nap (was up all night listening to the rain and wind).

april

ps - MsMarion - I saw a lot of flooding in Palm City as well, check in when you can please!

April, where in FL are you? You're really getting the brunt of this storm!

We only got a small amount of rain here in Tampa along with moderate gusts of wind.

a bit of distance away from this makes a world of difference! i live in east seminole co and had TONS of rain, some flooding, trees down, no power etc...i was surprised we even opened at work, near apopka. i was glad i drive a 6,000lb SUV cuz little cars were swaying all over the road! but this far west there's hardly any rain (total 2"), no flooding and little wind. even farther west in sumter co at our farm they got almost no rain or wind. ~ liz

Hey April! All is soggy here in Palm City. No wind damage or flooding in the house. The back yard is soggy and a few of my plants are headed for the compost pile.
It took DH an hour to drive to the shop yesterday (8 miles). The shop is dry and no damage.
Saw on the news that your town was driving people home in dump trucks after leaving their vehicles at shopping centers along Rt 1.

We are going to venture out and get some groceries and check in on the shop. I'm bringing my water wings! LOL

Stay dry. Any news on your home?

WOW, that's a lot of rain April. Sure hope you stay safe and dry. I can't imagine the much rain. The most I've ever seen aroud here was about 6" and that was plenty to cause some damage. Good luck!

Here in Palm Bay, we are absolutely drenched. Local weather says we have already gotten a foot of rain in some areas. My boss called off work today, so that really tells you how bad it is. It seems that Fay likes our little town very much and has decided to stay with us for a while. My dogs now think that they have their own personal lake in the back yard...lol!!! Thanks so much for all of the thoughts, prayers and positive vibes that have been sent our way!!!

I'm in Port Saint Lucie, Mona, just north of Palm Beach and Stuart. Port Saint Soggy at the moment though :-P And Marion is right, they're using dump trucks and air boats to shuttle people in and out of neighborhoods.

It wasn't this bad even after direct hits from Francis and Jean. The final count was 14.5 inches total over the last 24 hour period. It's slowed to an intermittent drizzle now, so I think that FINALLY it's slowing to a close. On another odd note, even with ALL of this rain our area got, Lake Okeechobee is STILL 2 feet low.

Just saw where the storm's only moving 3 miles an hour now, it's got all of the meteorologists scratching their heads. Poor Ann - it looks like it's right over you and will be for a while longer! Hang in there, she's got to move sometime!

Thanks again for all of the good thoughts. I'm hoping that *everyone* here in FL will get a break soon!

april

ROFL just got another weather alert:

THE FLOOD WATCH IS NOW IN EFFECT FOR

* EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA...INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING AREAS...
VOLUSIA...INDIAN RIVER...MARTIN...BREVARD...LAKE...
OKEECHOBEE...ORANGE...OSCEOLA...SEMINOLE...AND ST. LUCIE.

* THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING

* RAINBANDS ASSOCIATED WITH TROPICAL STORM FAY WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF THREE TO SIX INCHES WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING. WHILE THE HIGHEST RAINFALL TOTALS ARE EXPECTED TO SHIFT NORTH TODAY...THE SOUTHERN SECTIONS OF EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA WILL REMAIN VULNERABLE TO FLOODING DUE TO THE VERY HEAVY RAIN THAT OCCURRED ON TUESDAY.

(Marion is in Martin County, I'm in St Lucie County, and I'm pretty sure Ann is in Brevard County, not sure of all of the others)

wheeeeeee more rain!!

april
(who is seriously eyeing the plywood in the garage for use in her ark)

I think Lynne is in Melbourne, too. We talked to SIL this morning, she's in West Melbourne and her dogs are refusing to go outside unless she holds an umbrella over them, rofl. And they're LABS!

I'll have to check in with my brother, he's in Palm Bay, too, Ann. Good luck to you all! All that rain just doesn't have anywhere to go on that flat, sandy land once it's saturated. I remember it well. Sog City.

Stay dry! Don't go out if you can help it.

Gayle

I am not in danger of flooding at home but I can't get more than a mile from the house because of the flooding. Tried to make it to work a little while ago and the rains are coming down hard and heavy again here in Palm Bay. I might have made it out but then I wouldn't make it home again. It was hard just to get the short distance I went. So I called in and told the bosses I couldn't make it. Their only comment was "Okay no problem STAY SAFE".

Over on Garden Junk Discussion board a member has posted several pics and a video ya'll might care to see. One pis is the floating islands of fire ants. I have had to poison a few of those over the last few days. Fire ants floating are some of the worst of hazards because once they bump into something they will attack and swarm up anything.

Still Fay sits and spins just a miles north of us and the forcast expects her not to move until after noon. They also have no real idea which direction she will travel except West maybe Northwest. She could move Southwest and dump on us again. Fay is going to be retired as a storm name. Only the second TS name to be retired. I think it was TS Allison retired years ago.
HOW WET CAN IT GET?

CT

We haven't heard from tannatonk. I think the storm is in her area now. Hop she's okay.

Coloredthumb, what's the garden junk thread called where the pics are at? I'm in Cocoa still getting lots of rain, and would like to see some other parts of town.

Scroll down for the fire ant pics. It's scary to think that someone could accidentally bump into this nest and be swarmed in seconds!

Here is a link that might be useful: garden junk thread

Here you are Acey copy and paste this

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/junk/con081108189486.html?10

or click the link below to get to the thread with the pics and video. Goldenponder lives about 35 miles south of me so maybe 60-70 miles from you.

Stay dry if you can. We're getting a short break in the rain right now. I'm feeling like a duck.

CT

Here is a link that might be useful: garden junk discussion about FAY

Thanks. I think it is good to see what to look for..having never seen a clump of floating ants!

Stay safe. I have been emailing and calling my sister in Vero Beach to find out what is going on. Are you near there? The news here is hardly covering it because it is not a hurricane. I had to do lots of internet searching to find out about conditions down there. She says they are flooded there too. But since she is a nurse at a hospital she had to go into work. Says it is super busy at the hospital because of the storm.

Keep us posted.
Clare

My daughter lives in Port Saint Lucie. She lives on the bay and I've only talked to her a couple of times. I think she's downplaying the storm so I won't worry, but I'm glad to know there are people here who live in Port Saint Lucie so I can really know what's going on. Hope all is well by now, it is almost 9 pm Thursday night.
Take care all,

Dee1

Dee, I hope I can reassure you. Here in PSL we are VERY fortunate and things ARE improving. There is still some standing water but for the most part it's receding. Only a few roads are left blocked, most businesses are back up and running, and it's back to life as usual. If you want to send me a message through my page with the area she lives in or some nearby cross-streets, I can let you know how it's faring, if you like.

A little north of us, on the other hand, is probably far worse off. I heard that Melbourne/Palm Bay got TWENTY SIX inches of rain - and a twister. I've kept ya'll in my prayers and I'm glad to see a few of you reporting in.

april

Clare and Dee, our local newspaper website is TCPALM, it covers Stuart up thru Vero (including Port St Lucie) so you both should be able to keep tabs on your loved ones. I think you may have to register, but I haven't gotten any spam in the several years I've been registered there, so I'd say it's safe.

Hope this helps a bit!

april

Here is a link that might be useful: TCPalm website

I live in orange county-we have a flood warning and a tropical wind warning here in Orlando. School is closed tomorrow for the 2nd time this week. This is the first week of school. The rain and not let up for days! Areas around here are starting to flood and there are power outages. I let the dog out between rain bands if possible. If not, I trick him outside with half a Milkbone!

april - thanks for the link.
Stay dry!
Clare

Okay, all you guys in mid-to-north Florida have gotten your share of rain and wind. Don't you know that now that darned storm is heading into the Panhandle of Florida!! We live in Pensacola, at the very western end of the panhandle and it looks like we'll be getting the wind and rain Saturday. If this storm goes back into the Gulf again and gains strength from the warm water, we might be in for a hurricane rather than a tropical storm. Please keep good thoughts for all of us here and thanks! Vee

Get ready Vee! Fay has been a real rain maker. I just can't seem to wrap my brain around 22" of rain in a day. When I lived in Montana we were lucky to get half that much in a YEAR!

Hopefully she will stay over land and fizzle out. Hope she doesn't get in the Gulf.

Stay safe!
~Betsy