We normally do our grocery shopping on Friday, but decided to go this afternoon instead just to beat part of the rush.

Holy crap.  You'd think the world is ending Monday.  Packed with people losing their shit over the smallest things.  Berating the Publix staff because the water was all gone, etc.

This is in Seminole, well away from the beach.  It really won't be that bad here.

ft pierce home depot just got in a trailer load of osb, and a trailer load of plywood. propane still plentiful on oleander, at amerigas, citgo at virginia & okeechobee and tractor supply. tractor supply will be getting a truckload shipment of generators in the morning. lines were pretty small at walmart, and home depot as well. still plenty of food, water, batteries, etc, on the shelves. gas stations all had normal amounts of traffic. i'm doing shutters today, so i can "coast" the rest of the waiting time. haven't observed a single place doing shutters yet. in this area, people typically wait until the first bands of the storm are hitting.

Because , look at how many people voted for odumbo, twice, most people are idiots

People are acting stupid at the PV Wawa and Gatlin RaceTrac

Try 3 fucking weeks. Yes the eye was beautiful.

The 30 minutes before the eye were a total nightmare. Est. winds 170-180.

Wife had radar on her phone and the radar color before the eye was black.

Double tap

Red Bug / Tuskawilla.  :)

I agree with the being prepared part, but did you just humblebrag about having two homes, $7K in generators, and one or more boats?

Why doesn't everyone in FL have this?  It's a mystery...

Fucking ohio lol.
Dude. 87% of our population is constantly turning over. The state went almost 10 years with out a major storm. There was folks who moved here in 07' that didnt get there cherry popped until 2016 more or less. The mass exodus from south Florida when they got a scare proves that.

But yeah , being prepared is basic commonsense.  Few flats of water, 20$ in can goods, a gas grill, and a 400$ generator puts you light years ahead of everything.

Part of the mass hysteria is information is instant.
20+ years ago..unless you had a tv at work or radio. You crossed your fingers waiting for the 6 o'clock news.

Because most people can't afford to have a stack of 2-300 $100 bills laying around getting less and less valuable every year.

While I agree that it makes sense to have(and you really should) a couple cases of water- or at least a few 2.5gal jugs sitting in a closet, and a week's worth of food that won't spoil (oatmeal, soup, etc.) there are real limits to what most people can afford. Lots of folks can't tie up $500 in a generator to just have it sit in a box for years....just in case. Or they don't have a place to store it.

I know.....they should just be poor somewhere else.

Having a generator and gas isn’t a hard, nor expensive thing.  It’s simply being prepared.

As for a humble brag, sure.  I guess it is.  A lot of people instantly hate me for simply who I am. It’s fine, I’m used to it. But those who know me and are around me know I go out of my way to help who I can.  I’ve hauled my excavator to arfcommers houses to clean up after a storm, or help cut firewood.  I’ve given money to help arfcommers and their family’s.  Etc.

But I’ll shut up and watch now. As the storm is going to be 400+ miles away from me.

Yep.  I normally buy 6 cases of water at a time, and restock when I am down to 2.  The communist will not get me with their damn Flouride.  Anywho I went to restock a little early due to the storm.  Two ladies, older mind you, raced an empty cart around me to get to the water aisle.  Like there would only be one case of water left.... This is in Hillsborough.  We may get a TS or cat 1 but lord have mercy.

They should have thought of that before they moved down from the NE and into some retirement trailer park. That and a real Florida Man does not need a generator and can drink from a mud puddle.

As far as water goes if you have enough for week that should about do it till FEMA gets cranked-up.....Hell, buy a few Life Straws for that matter.

Same here. I buy all my preps at the beginning of the season and use them at the end of the season. I have 28 gallons of water, 25 gallons of ethanol free gas, 5 full propane tanks, plus plenty of dried and canned stuff.

Lol.

What do you locals recommend for someone vacationing in the Venice Florida area?

Was planning on driving back to MD on Tuesday, but that will likely change now.

Leave early. Watch the track/timing on Friday.  I think you should beat feet on Saturday of you want to be safe and not trying to outrun a storm moving north through FL.

I actually have so many generators because of that generator thread on here I’m selling one locally. Just wish I had another portable a/c.

Now you are going to cause a run on the OSB by all of those transplants that didn't remember that!

Just got the call, loading up some crews for FL, probably wait to see which way it swings before heading out though.

ULA on #HurricaneDorian:

– All facilities designed to withstand hurricane-force winds
– Majority can handle 130 mph (Cat 3) or higher
– LC-40 (VIF+CAT) designed to handle 135 mph
– LC-37 (MST) designed to handle 140 mph
– Teams have started securing ULA assets

(\uD83D\uDCF7: @GoogleMaps) pic.twitter.com/mc74qT9een

Emre Kelly  (@EmreKelly) August 29, 2019

"Our design processes include additional factors on top of those wind loads, such that we would expect our systems to be likely capable of withstanding higher winds without suffering major damage."

Emre Kelly  (@EmreKelly) August 29, 2019

#SpaceX on #HurricaneDorian: "In coordination with our partners at Cape Canaveral AFS and KSC, we are closely monitoring weather conditions and planning to take all necessary precautions to protect our employees and safeguard facilities in the potentially affected areas."

Emre Kelly  (@EmreKelly) August 29, 2019

it seems like someone wants something to go down into a memory hole and be forgotten.

I'm sure all the people that offered to help won't.

Rookie numbers : My house in Florida has a 10,000 22,500 w  generator, a 2000 10,000w generator and 1500 7,500w generator.  We always have multiple cases of water on hand, + 60 gallons in bulk containers + 4 empty 5 gallon containers filled as needed + I can run my pump with the generator a 25 60 gallon tank of gas (for the boats anyways) on hand, plus gas cans.  It all gets cycled through the boats.   Let alone 3 tanks  330 & 100 gallon bulk tank of propane for the grill & generators , + a contact in the LP supply world who makes sure that my two bulk tanks stay filled on an emergency commercial route status charcoal of the Big green egg, etc.

Best of luck to you guys in Florida.  Hurricane Ike taught me that windstorm codes work but water will tear stuff up.  Harvey taught me how bad it sucks to get water in the house.

Our house is fortunate in one way: it is on the same power grid as the local field office for the power company, the National Weather service Doppler radar and the county emergency management office.

i realize i am crazy, but I am, in some way, oddly happy to not be in the generator scramble.  I do have one, a small ryobi propane genny, for my CPAP and electric devices. I also have a few portable solar rigs. But aside from a portable AC (which i dont have room for, nor can afford), i am not sure what else i would need to run my genny on. Is it because i am prepared to do without fridge and AC for a short while?

Publix in southern Palm Beach County, every gas station has a line.

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I understand that cases of water bottles are nice, but doesn't anyone else have 5gal jugs for water they can simply fill now?  I have six of them and will fill them sometime in the next day or two.

I guess everyone used to have the jugs, but the cases of water are so easy.

Man the weather channel sure is making sure the hysteria  is strong with this storm.

My single room portable ac was maybe $150. I see them for $100-200 all the time.

the forecast discussions are easy to read, and give an idea of what is influencing the forecast and what might be coming.

'Aircraft and satellite fixes show that Dorian is moving
northwestward, or 325 degrees at 11 kt.  Dorian is forecast to
continue moving northwestward during the next 24-36 hours between an
upper-level low that will be dropping southwestward across the
Florida Straits and a mid-level ridge to the northeast of the
hurricane.  After that time, a ridge is forecast to build to the
north of Dorian, which should cause the track to bend back toward
the west-northwest. The track guidance becomes more divergent beyond
72 hours, primarily due to model differences in the strength of the
ridge and whether a weakness develops in the ridge late in the
period.'

upper level low - a cold, low pressure system that extends from the upper atmosphere, to the surface

troughs and ridges -
troughs are long areas of low pressure. on a surface pressure weather map, they eastern side is associated with weather fronts and rain.
ridges are areas of high pressure. they are associated with good weather, and dry air.

you can generally see where troughs and ridges are by looking at surface analysis pressure maps, such as found here
https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/
but they can be cluttered and hard to interpret at times.

an easier way to see where the troughs and ridges are, is by looking at a 500mb chart. 500mb is the considered half way up in the atmosphere, and the elevation where the jet stream is. on a 500mb chart, the lines will have a number, showing how high above sea level, up in the atmosphere a pressure of 500mb is found. a higher number means higher up in the atmosphere and an area of high pressure, a lower number means an area of lower pressure.

you can see troughs as a u shape in the lines, and ridges as an upside down u, for example here

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a link to some forecast that extend out into the atlantic is
https://ocean.weather.gov/Atl_tab.php

hurricanes move into troughs, and if it feels the jet stream, get blown to the north and northeast
ridges block the northward movement of hurricanes, and cause a movement to the west

the strengthening of the ridge is what prevents any northward movement of the system, and resulting in a southward movement of the path

in the hurricane discussion, it talks about a weakness in the ridge, influencing what the forecast of the path will be. you can see it as the trough that shows up in the day 3 and 4 image here

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I've never understood this "buying bottled water" phenomena.

Do people not wash out and save some 1gal containers, which previously held OJ, during the year?

I bet I've got about a dozen 1/2 gal ones too.

Do people also not realize that gallon freezer bags also can be filled with water?

I bet I can top off all of them in less than 1/2 an hour for a penny or two.

Any of the above can also be frozen (only fill to 3/4 to allow for expansion) and used as block ice.

thanks for the update. there should be hardened places on the island that the residents go to in case there is a major hurricane for the residents to go to, if they are afraid their residences won't survive a strike, at least on some of the other islands in the carribean. see if such a location exist, just in case.

the image of the wind fields has been posted earlier. it's off the navy weather site which shows circles with the extent of 34,50, and 64 knot winds.

it is here
dorian forecast

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good luck

That's what I do.  Nothing wrong with tap water,  I have several Scepter 5g and 2,5g  water cans,

Water bottles...2 liters...5 gallon spring water cooler jugs etc.
The frozen bottles last longer, than cube ice.
Plus cube ice is fir cocktails...

Cant say i have seen em that low around me.. Ill keep an eye out in the future.  But having survived Irma for days with no AC, i am confident again.  And i will prep my fridge before the weekend (everything i can fill with water to create ice and/or store as cold fluid to keep things cold).

I admit, i picked up two cases, but only because i know they can be used anytime (and we like going outside.. camping, hiking, kayak, etc).  I have larger water containers (WaterBOB, wooo!), but you can never beat clean, sealed bottles if shit really gets bad (like, i lost my roof and my BOB is destroyed kinda bad).

Hot water heater tanks also contain 40 gallons of useable water.

we use plywood ourselves. first thing we do when we move into a place, is get plywood, and cut panels. paint them bright white on all sides, with some waterseal in the paint. 2 coats, and then store them. the holes are pre-drilled into the concrete, and the securement blocks are all cut and pre-drilled. all holes are the same, so any block fits any window. all windows are labeled location, and direction. a one time payment lasts the life of the house, until it's blown off it's foundation, like andrew did.

at some point we'll replace them one at a time, with impact rated stuff. we'll keep the shutters anyways. today is a good day to take a lawn chair and a cooler of beverages to home depot (or lowes) and sit back and enjoy the show. (sort of like a boat ramp, on labor day) there will be people stacking 10 sheets of osb onto the roof of their prius, and using the home depot twine to secure it.