Naw, I wouldn't do that. I have family down there in Charley's path as well. How about this, I hope Charley is as uneventful as a hurricane can be for yez. :biggrin:

Kitsune, are you in an evacuation area? And if so, why in God's name are you still there??

I'm not in an evacuation zone because we're up high enough that the storm surge won't be an issue. Even if a catagory five were to hit, we technically don't have to go anywhere. But, I can tell you that there is no way in hell I'd stick around for one that big. For us, the wind and heavy rain will be a problem. Current concerns as I go about the apartment putting things in plastic tubs is that the roof will leak, windows might break, and, if all goes completely to hell, the roof might decide to fly East for the winter. We don't see that happening, but this area hasn't seen a direct hit from a hurricane since the 1920s or earlier so no one knows how well any of the structures will fare.

Why did I stay? Well, there are a couple of factors, the biggest one being that this caught us so off guard. We went from "A catagory one is going to hit Naples, let's get booze and have a party" to "RUN" in less than six hours. There was very little time to prepare. I'm also staying because I'm not in immediate danger of storm surge or flooding -- I live near an "E" evacuation zone and only A, B, and C are being told to get out.

I also didn't leave because no one knows where the storm is going to go. My only option is inland, and that doesn't change much. Hotels are full, etc.

And, I admit, I stayed because I'm interested. This is probably a really stupid reason, but its oddly compelling.

There is a shelter nearby in case anything severe happens and the apartment become unliveable.

The sun just came out. So weird.

Keep us posted. I'm sure we'll all be wondering how you're doing as the storm progresses. May it be interesting, but not THAT interesting. Wierd about the birds, huh? Funny how animals so often know when something is up. Good luck!

We're all starting to grow more and more concerned as Charley is slowing down. We were originally supposed to start seeing effects at noon with it peaking at two and now its been delayed by six hours. We don't want this thing hanging out over the ocean any longer to gain any more power. That, and the waiting is starting to kill us. We've taped up windows, locked down lose stuff, and got supplies. This is the worst part, so far.

And I think this picture that my roommate snapped yesterday captures the mood of the local area.

http://www.net.usf.edu/~toivo/galler...2-0039-web.jpg

I HEAR THAT THE STORM IS HITTING YOU ALL NOW. yOU OKAY?

Wow -- were we lucky. In the final moments, the storm began to wobble, was upgraded to a catagory four, and then no one knew where it was going to go. We were going mad with nervousness, especially since we thought this was going to be nothing more than a strong catagory one or weak two.

And then they suddenly said it was going to become a five.

The poor people of Poor Punta Gorda got slammed. Charley was so small in diameter that were only got light rains and barely any wind at all. Originally, though, we couldn't have been more worried -- the storm track line was right over where I live.

And after seeing the video footage and roofs flying away, there is no way in hell I'm sticking around next time. If anything comes this way, I'm leaving.

I wish I had pictures of an extreme storm to show you guys, but absolutely nothing happened in Tampa.

And really, Tampa has me to thank. When the first rains started, I went outside and did my hurricane protection dance.

http://fox.org/~vince/log/images/20040813/dance.jpg

Close call.

Somebody blew it in the National Hurricane Center. They had the rare oppurtunity to name those storms Bonnie and Clyde. But I guess names are really assigned by a computer.

I have been watching these storm with the Atlantic satellite images. Notice how they roll out of Africa and proceede towards the Cellar and its neighbors. There are two more potential hurricanes right behind Charely. The next one is just approaching the Carribean windward islands. But to see how frequently a potential hurricane is being presented:
A looping IR satellite image of the Atlantic

This could be a very interesting hurricane season for Dr Gray and his students at U of CO.

Dr Gray's predictions were for a storm season that is slightly less than last year:
see chart entitled ATLANTIC BASIN SEASONAL HURRICANE FORECAST FOR 2004

I was hoping that the hurricane would pick up my apartment building and put it in a better neighborhood. No such luck.

Nice going on the hurricane protection dance, Kitsune. Glad to hear you're O.K.! :thumpsup:

People on my block are partying, complete with fireworks. The stress of watching, waiting, and the fear of the storm growing more powerful... it was really not fun. But, for now, everyone in Tampa is having a good time returning home and celebrating.

That is,
until yesterday begins again...

Glad to hear Charley was interesting enough for you without being interesting! We should keep this thread open though for those other two tropical waves that are creeping in. Don't exhale yet!

I forget if I had mentioned this before in another hurricane discussion ... one of my former coworkers (former in the sense that she went crazy and went away to a facility not mine) used to rent a place in the Carolinas during the height of hurricane season every year. She would refuse to evacuate with the sensible people, make up pitchers of Hurricanes for herself and her guests and watch the storm advance.