Evacuation orders issued for some FL counties ahead of Hurricane Helene

[Laurie]

Evacuation Orders

 

[silentg]

Prepared for the worst, hoping it just rain. Busy week, but weather could change plans. Be safe everyone!

 

[Dori]

Stay safe everyone!

Dori

 

[rapmarks]

My storm shutters are not up as my painter just finished painting my house. He is confident that it will pass Lee county but says if the Wednesday morning update is ominous he will put them up.

 

[WorldT]

Stay safe folks. This one will pick up speed once it enters the Gulf. Not quite sure where it will make land fall.

 

[rapmarks]

Stay safe folks. This one will pick up speed once it enters the Gulf. Not quite sure where it will make land fall.

Latest forecast show it stalling in the gulf

 

[LMD]

It’s going to be a big one. Stay safe everyone! We are watching closely here in Naples FL

 

[WorldT]

Latest forecast show it stalling in the gulf

I meant the hurricane will increase in intensity (speed). The current forecast puts it at a category 3 at landfall.
I would not be surprised if it goes even higher.

 

[Timeshare Von]

We've decided to stay put on the Southern Atlantic Coast (Pompano Beach) and not change our plans. We head out of here on Saturday . . . mid morning. (NOTE it's not expected to be terrible here . . . no evacuation orders here.)

 

[Cornell]

My daughter goes to college in Daytona Beach. Classes cancelled for Thursday. Parking garage is being emptied out of student cars and some of the university planes being moved in for protection.

 

[TUGBrian]

fingers crossed for all those impacted by this storm.

someone posted this realtime tracking/info page for those interested:

Major Hurricane Helene 2024 | Zoom Earth

Satellite images, weather maps and tracks of Category 4 Major Hurricane Helene 2024, 24 - 27 September. Max wind speed 140mph.

zoom.earth

 

[Glenn2]

We're watching Helene from St. Petersburg. Hoping it blows past Tampa Bay quickly. We had a zone A and mobile homes evacuation order this morning for Pinellas county. Storm surge prediction of 5 - 8 feet. That's going to inundate many homes here.

 

[simpsontruckdriver]

Walt Disney World cancelled tomorrow night's "Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party", while extending closing to 8pm (usually 6pm during MNSSHP). SkyLiner and possibly boats will shut down during the storm, buses (aka myself and hundreds of others) and monorail will continue. Other theme parks are staying open regular hours.

TS

 

[pedro47]

Stay safe and please stock up on your water and some food staples.
Praying Helene turns a hard right back into the Atlantic.

 

[Talent312]

We're mid-state, so unlikely to have adverse effects.
However, given the possibility of extended power loss
we stocked up on snacks (pretzels, potato chips, M&M's,
crackers and the like).
Hopefully, that will keep us fed for the duration.

 

[moonstone]

We're watching Helene from St. Petersburg. Hoping it blows past Tampa Bay quickly. We had a zone A and mobile homes evacuation order this morning for Pinellas county. Storm surge prediction of 5 - 8 feet. That's going to inundate many homes here.

I also hope it blows by quickly. Our oldest DS and our DiL moved down to Apollo Beach FL last year and this hurricane is a little too close for comfort. Added to that, our DS has been up here in Canada for work and was to be here until Friday evening (after meeting us for dinner) then fly home. Our DiL is very nervous having never been in even a tropical storm before (DS works in the Restoration business so he usually just sees the damage they do). At noon today he changed his flight home to this afternoon so he could be there to make sure his boat is secure (they live on a canal a few hundred feet in from Tampa Bay) and to keep his DW company. They are expecting anywhere from a 4 to 8 foot storm surge which at 8ft would put water levels within inches of the edge of his pool. Thankfully his house foundation is another 3 feet above the pool deck. He promised to keep us posted. He is in Hillsborough County and I and just now seeing (thanks Laurie) he is in an evacuation zone.


I hope everybody in it's path stays safe.


~Diane

 

[WorldT]

I meant the hurricane will increase in intensity (speed). The current forecast puts it at a category 3 at landfall.
I would not be surprised if it goes even

Forecast updated to category 4. Like I said I would not be surprised if it moved up. Stay tuned for category 5

 

[jmhpsu93]

Forecast updated to category 4. Like I said I would not be surprised if it moved up. Stay tuned for category 5

I'll say this...so far they've ("they" being NWS, Nat Hurricane Center, etc.) been spot on with the track and intensification. This thing was literally a bunch of disorganized thunderstorms south of Cuba three days ago, yet they nailed Cat 1 sideswipe of Cancun and the track so far. I also wouldn't be surprised of it broaching Cat 5...this thing is a monster storm.

 

[Dori]

I also hope it blows by quickly. Our oldest DS and our DiL moved down to Apollo Beach FL last year and this hurricane is a little too close for comfort. Added to that, our DS has been up here in Canada for work and was to be here until Friday evening (after meeting us for dinner) then fly home. Our DiL is very nervous having never been in even a tropical storm before (DS works in the Restoration business so he usually just sees the damage they do). At noon today he changed his flight home to this afternoon so he could be there to make sure his boat is secure (they live on a canal a few hundred feet in from Tampa Bay) and to keep his DW company. They are expecting anywhere from a 4 to 8 foot storm surge which at 8ft would put water levels within inches of the edge of his pool. Thankfully his house foundation is another 3 feet above the pool deck. He promised to keep us posted. He is in Hillsborough County and I and just now seeing (thanks Laurie) he is in an evacuation zone.


I hope everybody in it's path stays safe.


~Diane

Praying all stays safe for your family, Diane.

Dori

 

[moonstone]

Praying all stays safe for your family, Diane.

Dori

Thanks Dori. We just got off the phone with him, he says the water is up maybe 2 ft from a normal high tide level at his dock, the sun is out and "it's a little breezy". They are not evacuating, their only concern, which DS is going out to check now, is if the power goes out how do the gates to leave their subdivision work. He says the stores were empty of supplies and the traffic was brutal when he drove in from the airport last night. DiL already had stocked up the pantry, bought a few 5 gal jugs of water and filled the jerry cans for the generator last week before buying the frenzy started. He promised to keep in touch.

~Diane

 

[TolmiePeak]

Hoping the storm doesn't stall over north Georgia / eastern Tennessee. The flooding could cause more damage than the wind.

 

[TheHolleys87]

Thanks Dori. We just got off the phone with him, he says the water is up maybe 2 ft from a normal high tide level at his dock, the sun is out and "it's a little breezy". They are not evacuating, their only concern, which DS is going out to check now, is if the power goes out how do the gates to leave their subdivision work. He says the stores were empty of supplies and the traffic was brutal when he drove in from the airport last night. DiL already had stocked up the pantry, bought a few 5 gal jugs of water and filled the jerry cans for the generator last week before buying the frenzy started. He promised to keep in touch.

~Diane

My hurricane experience goes back to Betsy in 1965, so I’m sending prayers to everyone in Helene’s path that it isn’t as bad as forecast. Or at least no worse.

 

[Kozman]

fingers crossed for all those impacted by this storm.

someone posted this realtime tracking/info page for those interested:

Major Hurricane Helene 2024 | Zoom Earth

Satellite images, weather maps and tracks of Category 4 Major Hurricane Helene 2024, 24 - 27 September. Max wind speed 140mph.

zoom.earth

Thanks Brian. Good to bookmark for future reference. Stay safe everyone.

 

[moonstone]

Thanks Brian. Good to bookmark for future reference. Stay safe everyone.

I've been using this page; https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ that our DS told us about years ago. He uses it for planning for probable remediation work.


~Diane

 

[rapmarks]

Two of my friends went to Docs on Bonita beach this morning to watch the storm. It must not have been so bad