Hotel's here in B'ham are filled due to people escaping from Florida.

Friend's sister arrived today from Key West.

What is B'ham?

Birmingham

Birmingham, AL. lol, I'm used to B'ham.

blfenton, my sister moved from Turks and Caicos to Florida about a year ago. She's feeling a lot of concern about the area as she still has friends there and the remains of all of her beloved goats are there. She wouldn't consider leaving the island as long as the goats were still alive and it holds a special place in her heart. I hope your family members are fine and that you hear from them soon.

I also hope that you hear soon blfenton.

My nephew and his and his family live on the east coast of Florida, very close to Daytona Beach. They are planning on leaving tomorrow morning. I don't think there is much hope for their property, but as long as they are safe, it's okay. I really don't understand how anyone could possibly hunker down there after seeing what Irma has done to the islands she's crossed, and what Harvey did to portions of Texas! Irma is so much stronger than Harvey was!

Rusty

Thinking of you too, blfenton

I live just NE of Orlando and daughter, son-in -law and 5 and 6 yr. old kids are a mile from us. (Gov. ordered all State schools closed tomorrow, so we'll have the kids while parents are at work.) Son in Houston just got back today into his evacuated by boat last Wed, apt. too close to the Army Corp of Engineers deciding to flood the Buffalo Bayou last Wed. to find only the carpet ruined and his car totaled. YAY! And we'll find out Sunday how we're affected by Irma.

The storm path is supposed to blow itself out in KY. A few years ago when a hurricane did this, we had a 10 day power outage. Thank heavens I now gave a whole house generator powered by natural gas. Just hope we don't get a lot of tree/roof damage.

Well, this morning it's still not looking good for S FL, but they're saying it should be down to a category 2 storm by the time it reaches mid-state, which is very good news for the folks in central/northern FL, and to have dropped down to just a tropical storm in GA, and heading more west up there, so very good news for Savannah and Charleston.

I have an aunt and uncle on the east side, inland from Daytona Beach. I also have a cousin, she's on the gulf side, nearer the shore(St. Pete area), but not on it. They've all been through the hurricane thing before and have done all the necessary preparations. They'll leave or stay based on the recommendations of the forecasters today.

I live north of Tampa, near the Gulf Coast. We'll get wind for sure, and possibly some rain. I don't mind the rain, we have been in a situation earlier this year when we got 7 inches in 8 hours. No biggie for that. However, the wind might cause some problems. There are lots of trees near the house; i am concerned about my skylights (living room) and branches flying into them.

We'll stay here, we are too far from the water for a storm surge. Rather than buying water at the store, I will be using quart canning jars (I have lots of those). I have styrofoam coolers for an entire fridge worth of food and I have have been bagging ice for several days. We can cook on the grill if necessary, our house is all electric (mandatory around here) so if we lose power, there will be cold showers.

My SIL is 81, living in Lakeland, and has evacuated to Toronto to visit family.

I'm glad she's smart enough to not risk her safety and well-being by staying.

I have friends in the direct path in Port Charlotte, Fort Myers, and Savannah. I have begged them all to come to Nashville, but it's just too far for them or they had other places. One, has decided to stay put. They worry me the most as they have children. Youngest is seven, I think. I will experience the rain, and stronger winds, so indirect, but not truly affected.

We have a mobile home in the middle of the Ocala National Forest. Not sounding good right there. I am glad we are safely in Minnesota, and pray for all those down there.

My oldest son, his wife and MiL, and three grand kids live NE of Orlando, about 30 miles inland. I was there over the Labor Day weekend, and he was concerned about Irma then, but it was too early to tell what was going to happen. He and his wife work at a large hospital in management and will probably be at work on an emergency basis as has happened before. I'm concerned of course, but if the storm takes a path up the center of the state by the time it makes it into central FL it will probably be cat 2-3, which has happened many times in the past. South FL is another story, a repeat or worse of Andrew is possible.

I'm in North Fla

My brother lives in Fort Lauderdale. He is currently visiting my father in Maryland. Dad and bro were supposed to leave tomorrow for Fort Lauderdale, and then sail on a cruise ship on Sunday. The cruise has been postponed until Wednesday, so they are now hoping to fly out on Tuesday.

My best friend and her sister live near Orlando. They are going to stay there.

My daughter-in-law's brother (who I have known my whole life) is in Daytona Beach. He is battling colon cancer, so he's staying.

DH's brother and his wife live in Jacksonville. They never evacuate, but decided to leave town this time. They left Jacksonville on Wednesday afternoon (before the mad rush), and will be here today. Their two daughters and their families are in the Jacksonville area. Prayers appreciated, and we will all be praying for those in the path of Irma (and Jose).

My grandson, age 7, left Missouri yesterday with his mother and stepfather for a vacation at Gulf Shores, Alabama. WTH?!!! My former DIL has never been known for her brain.

Will Gulf Shores be affected?

My dad's side of the family is in NC. I'm worried about them just cos we still don't know what this storm is going to do. :(

Truly frightening. So much is going on that is truly frightening, and not just the weather.

I live on a barrier island on the East coast of Florida. We are under a mandatory evacuation but we have chosen not to leave. We have impact windows and have prepared well. We could always choose to leave and go to a shelter and we do have that option in the back of our minds. We are watching the modulars carefully as our main concern is the storm surge. The roads out of the state are jammed. People are running out of gas and abandoning their cars. The national news is not accurate and we are listening to our local stations for the latest updated information.

Gulf Shores should not have much in the way of adverse weather this weekend.

Irma projections

Acdc, it's looking not so dire for you and me today. I'm still leaving, though, mostly because I stayed for Wilma because of no risk of storm surge and my car got totally sandblasted. (No garages here.)

I hope everyone heeds the advice and get far far away from the path of this monster storm. This will be a killer and a destroyer. I wish our leaders here had told us to leave rather than shelter in place, the only reason we stayed. Screw it get the heck out of there!

I am praying for everyone and every animal to be safe and survive! Don't wait for the evacuation roads to be filled with vehicles. Positive thoughts for the safety of those who are in the danger zones.

I don't understand, acdc, your reasons for not complying with mandatory evacuation. Obviously I don't live in a hurricane-prone area and therefore have no experience in this. All I know about are tornadoes, and believe you me, when the tornado sirens go off I'm in the basement immediately!

Do you simply not believe those who have made that decision to require residents to leave? Just feel lucky? What?

Looks like the State of Florida will take it on the chin, thus sparing places farther north the full force of the hurricane.

*I* would have been out of there like a shot before the airports clogged up. There is nothing to be done on the ground there until after the storm(s).

Can't wait to see what the Pacific has in store for us this winter in Hawaii.

I went to a doctor on Thursday afternoon. His receptionist (as reported by one of the others in the office) had left our area at 4:30 a.m. on Thursday with the intent of getting to North Carolina by sunset. The trip to Atlanta usually takes 7.5 to 8 hours. After almost ten hours she was almost there! She even sent pix of the traffic.

Our local schools were closed Thursday and Friday and the storm is not expected to arrive until Sunday. Just to see, I tried to get a hotel room at any place within 40 miles of our home for Sunday night. Nope, no where within that radius.

I was in Port Charlotte last year. Now, even though I live in Tornado Alley, I am glad I am not there. I hope, everyone on the road trying to get out, will make it. Good luck.

Moni

Looks like there are quite a few here that could be impacted by this storm.

Moni, I told her early this week to pack up her dog and cat and hightail it north. She's stubborn like her Dad was, and she's been through a lot of hurricanes, and she has great common sense but the winds this storm is packing have me nervous for her.

I was relieved when my granddaughter and her roommates evacuated yesterday. They did a lot of storm prep beforehand.

However, my stepdaughter, her husband and grown daughter are not evacuating. Too many animals. They live not far from Mar-a-Lago, but more inland. Still a risky place to be, and it's worrisome.

Acdc, a barrier island on the east coast sounds beyond risky to me. What did you mean by "the national news is not accurate"? Perhaps it's not specific enough to your area?

acdc,

Get out there and shake your fist! She'll back off.

We heard from my cousin, her husband and my uncle and they are all safe. Power and communication is intermittent so that's all we know, but that's what we wanted to know. We don't know how their house held up yet. They were staying with friends who are further from the beach than they are.

I hope everyone's friends and family stay safe. I'll be thinking of them all.

The local news stations reported more helpful and relevant to us news during and after Harvey. More negativity and drivel came from out of state sources.

I would evacuate during a mandatory evacuation if I could. There are people who didn't during Harvey. Some survived it. Officials have told people to write their name and social security numbers on their arms so their bodies are easier to identify afterwards if they didn't evacuate. There would be no one to rescue them if they needed it.

We will have to make a decision on Sunday morning. The track prediction has moved west so that Sunday night we might get hurricane force winds. However, the rain total should be less than 7" for the entire event.

The 6-lane road (US 19) here was packed going north today. Of course, where we live there are traffic lights every mile or so, thus the traffic cannot flow freely. I was in it as I returned some books to the library - it was closed (until Tuesday). Coming back it was easy.

By the time the winds really get going here, we might go to a shelter. We have only one choice - that one accepts pets; however, it is far enough east of us, about 20 miles, that it will be closer to the eye of the storm! Our decision won't come about until late Sunday morning some time. The current forecast shows that the storm won't really get to us until late Sunday/early Monday. I want to stay, the missus is leaning toward heading to the shelter.

In the meantime, the contractor is almost done with the bathroom, so I will be painting in there this weekend.

I traveled from GA to TN to visit a friend yesterday and the interstate was all Florida cars.

Great news blfenton, I'm glad they were able to call. I hope the next few days aren't too uncomfortable for them....if he owns a house they may not want to rush away and come home depending and what it needs and if secure, but whatever their plans I wish them well.

Some areas along the coast of Georgia have been ordered to evacuate. We are inland, south/southwest of Atlanta and close to the Alabama border. It looks like we will get a lot of rain and wind. I just hope we don't lose power. We are prepared though.

My DB and his wife live on Amelia Island outside of Jacksonville. I am concerned that they got to their son's house in Greenville SC. The evacuation seems to be a nightmare.

Me, I could be affected :( We are still not finished getting our condo back together after a lot of damage from Hurricane Matthew last October. Don't know what to expect now. Thankfully, we are still in upstate NY where we are fortunate enough to spend the summers so we are safe, but it is still a huge worry about my dear friends and neighbors who live in FL full time.

Jim and Joann, please, please go to a shelter today. Jim, you might run into a lot of traffic going the same way and you have a long way to go, so I hope you give yourselves plenty of time to get there.

The earliest bad weather will get here will be Sunday noon. Worst is not thought to be here until Monday morning early.

Jim, you are making me *nervous*. What do you have to lose by seeking shelter? Too late to leave the state. Go to the best, safest shelter for humans. The cat will survive. Yes, it's your pet, but, it is NOT worth risking your lives.

The local shelters opened only at 2:00 p.m. today. We will begin our drive to Alabama about 6:00 a.m. Sunday. I have a hotel reservation for one night. If we leave Alabama on Monday mid-morning, we will be home before dark. The local weather folks just indicated that the winds will be only 30 mph or so by that time. They are predicting 6" - 8" of rain. We are far enough inland that a storm surge is not relevant.

The missus has been getting with our neighbors and we are the only ones not staying in place. Even after canvasing the neighbors, the missus made the decision to leave. We'll probably have some weather issues on the way back on Monday, but everything will have passed by then.

Fortunately, I had a triple oak tree removed this summer. It would drop branches with a wind of less than 15 mph. Not an issue now.

Moni hasa great suggestion about keeping fresh water in your fridge in gallon zip lock bags when the cases of water become scarce. And I saw somewhere you can keep some cash in your microwave..... hope everyone can find their microwave after this booger is spent. Everyone stay safe!!!

My brother and sister in law have a place in St. Pete, their future retirement home. They left for Chicago several days ago. It's a newer house up to hurricane code, but that doesn't mean much in a storm like this. Especially where it is located. My older niece, her husband, their toddler and presumably their cat left Tampa a few days ago to stay with relatives on her husband's side in NC.

My other niece is staying with her mother (ex SIL) in St. Pete, in an older townhouse. I got my fingers crossed.

I'd probably keep cash in my pockets, and sleep in street clothes in case I had to get out in a hurry. This thing is so scary, and I'm up here in New England.

Anyone been to Sanibel Island? It's elevation is 3 feet above sea level. Storm surge of 10 - 15 feet predicted. That places the entire island under water.

We stayed on Captiva Island a few years back. It's a beautiful place with milder waves than I've seen in other places. Based on what we saw here in Texas, I don't think a lot of those buildings will survive even though they were built up on stilts.