I have a SIL on the east coast in Fort Pierce who texted last night " I've never been so scared in all my life." as she was preparing her home for the onslaught.

Thank you, Kathy! We are in the middle of the state - NW of Orlando - though all the forecasts look like the entire state is going to get hurricane conditions. We are in a concrete block house on somewhat high ground. We just had new windows installed in January that are supposed to be rated for a cat-3 storm. We have food and water and several propane tanks to run the grill if necessary, so we should be fine. I'll keep y'all posted!

Donna

Donna - Glad to hear you are feeling prepared.

My cousin and her husband are staying put west of Ft. Lauderdale. They stayed home for hurricane Andrew in 1992 and survived with no great loss. Close friends in Orlando are also staying home.

My brother, who works for FEMA, has been in Houston since the waters started to recede. He has worked for FEMA for over a decade, so he has seen his share of hurricane damage in TX, LA, FL and beyond (he worked in NYC after Sandy). But he says the devastation from hurricane Harvey is unlike anything he has ever seen.

Donna, sounds like you are as ready as you possibly can be. I'll add you to my thoughts and prayers for my relatives and friends mentioned above.

I just heard from a friend who lives in Naples, Florida that she and her husband have checked into a motel room in Dothan, Alabama that they are sharing with another couple they know. That's barely north of Florida, but hopefully far enough.

It is at times such as these that I am glad to live in a country with very moderate weather . . . almost never too hot or too cold, temperate breezes, adequate rainfall. Apparently London is considered the ideal city for 'coping' with day-to-day work/life situations from a meteorological p o v. And yet we still complain.

I hope all you and yours stay safe and well.

I am so pleased you have weathered the storm! We had some dreadful photos on the news programs also of some other natural disasters happening at the same time.

Our poor planet is really taking a battering...

Glad you are safe, Donna, and relatively unscathed.

Glad to hear you survived in relatively good shape.

Let's hope that woodnymph/Mary in Charleston SC is safe. Isn't the storm heading that way?

Finally am back on line after the powerful hurricane that hit downtown Charleston hard. The flooding of two rivers coincided with high tides in my city. We had numerous tornado warnings as well and very strong winds. Just two blocks from my building, the water was waist deep. It was the most damaging hurricane since "Hugo" in 1989. It would have been far worse for us, had Irma not jogged to the West. Originally, it was headed directly for us on the East coast. It was bad enough, as it was, however, wreaking damage throughout the entire state of SC. I am grateful not to be a resident of Florida.

Glad you're safe, Woodnymph. Sorry your beautiful city suffered damage.