Anyone in Sanibel Island area? Need to know what is actually happening at my parent's retirement home at Shell Point just inland of the Sanibel Bridge.

Hoping it peters out quickly for you FL & SE GA folks.
Pass a bit of it our way, if you could. Just the rain, you can keep the wind, if we're being choosy

quote:

Originally posted by 4MUL8R:
Anyone in Sanibel Island area? Need to know what is actually happening at my parent's retirement home at Shell Point just inland of the Sanibel Bridge.

Local news, NBC-2, was broadcasting from the Sanibel Causeway Tollbooth at 6:30pm or so and nothing was happening. I believe that’s maybe a half mile from Shell Point.

At 7:00pm, they announced a porta-potty had tipped over on Fort Myers Beach. No, seriously, I’m not making that up.

There’s nothing happening in Lee, Collier, Charlotte or DeSoto counties.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
I do not know him. Is he on here?

I don't know. A guy I worked with years ago, but quite a character and lived where you do. Just thought I'd ask.

Naples here. We had some moderate to heavy rain around 1PM from the first outer band. We're looking to get another round of rain from the next band around 1AM. Winds gusting up to around 30MPH.

Mostly a non-event for us here, although my condo association prepared for it like it was going to be a direct hit from a cat 5 superstorm. I guess the big assessment from Ian last year has made them a bit cautious.

Good luck to my fellow Floridians further north.

My middle son is in Tallahassee. He's only been there for two years so this is his first good one.

Also Santa Rosa county here. Has not rained in a week+ but Idalia will not come near us.

Looks like will be a cat 4 at landfall in the AM but will be moving so fast will be in GA pretty fast. The super moon king tide tomorrow from noon-4 is the one that could be bad for the surge and flooding. Stay alert over there.

Side note just got my whole house generator final inspection signed off yesterday and will be online by Friday. Expensive peace of mind, But I’m glad we got it.

Hope everyone will be ok. The wife and I are flying in to Sarasota next Tuesday. Staying in Siesta Keys.

0310 update.

Getting 60 mph gusts and sustained winds in the 40 mph range. Checked outside and the trees are still hanging in there without serious damage.

Parts of Pinellas including Gulfport have had some flooding. Power is still live there but it looks rough for the shops and restaurants near the old casino.





https://mygulfport.us/pc/

At landfall the storm is now projected to be a Category 4 with landfall somewhere between Fish Creek and Yankeetown. The storm surge will be historic for that area.

Low high tide will be an hour from now. The thing the planter is on is a base for a davit. It’s 8” higher than my seawall and submerged as I was taking a few pictures. I posted a couple pictures on page two of yesterday’s high high tide and the water is a good 2’ higher now. The high low tide will be +1.1’ so only .3’ lower than now. We may get to jet ski down the street after all.

Lotsa rain and wind gust, tornado watch for the Ormond Beach/Palm Coast area

Cape Coral here. Prayers for all those in the path; we were very lucky this time but remember all too well Ian from last year and the death and destruction. So many are still without repairs here, it will take years for those feeling the wrath of this hurricane to recover.God bless you all.

NW Tampa here. Lots of rain and some wind...holding strong. My Dad is in Lecanto/Citrus county getting a bit more but he is inland enough like we are that any storm surge won't effect us. Hope all my fellow Floridians make it through with no to minimal damage.

Jim Cantore is on Cedar Key saying the surge there is a record 6.7’ right now, which means further up the coast and just a hair south of where the eye made landfall, Steinhatchee will have taken a beating.

if he is there it has to be a really big deal

According the the Fox News headline I just saw, this storm is "unprecedented."

We're out of the chance of harm here, nothing but light rain and a light breeze gusts to 10-15 mph ish maybe. Looks like a typical rainy day.

Trapper hope that didn't get into your home, flooding is the biggest concern no doubt.

Woke up at 6:00 to no power. Had emergency lamps throughout the house and flashlights placed in every room. First priority, coffee, fired up the small generator for that then started to run heavy cords for the refrigerators and chest freezer, but before I could start the big gen, the power came back on and still is on. No damage, just heavy winds and rain. Storm vered slightly west so we didn't get a direct hit here.

It didn’t. It would take another 3’ of water which would be an exponentially larger volume of water.

Floodins is most definitely a worry that I’ve thought about quite a bit.

Think of filling a hot tub. The water rises rapidly at first because the part at the bottom where your feet go is narrower. When the water level gets to the seats, the water level rises more slowly. That’s the way the canals work. Getting the water over the seawall happens quickly because it doesn’t take much water. The volume of water to raise it the second 3’ is at least 10x what it takes to raise it the first 3’. Every road, yard, parking lot, public park, etc. would be under water before it flooded my house. It would take just the right storm to force enough water from the Gulf into Charlotte Harbor to make that happen. Even the amount of water Ian moved that destroyed Fort Myers Beach wouldn’t have been enough had Ian made landfall further north and moved that water into Charlotte Harbor instead.

I’m not saying it can’t happen, but it hasn’t since the house was built in 1974. A high high tide, a lot of rain a week beforehand raising the water in the Peace River and strong enough, slow moving storm hitting kist the right spot would do it. But even thar would be OK because I saved a bunch of money on my flood insurance. I paid off my mortgage and quit paying for flood and wind insurance 16 years ago when it exceeded $10,000 a year. Figuring the increases in premium since and the stock market increases, I can build a mew house if meeded.

We made it through with no major probllems. We'd taken out some large trees and there was very little mess in our area. Flooding is a problem, but not near our home.

We moved to the Seminole area from our home on the waters of Tampa Bay in early 2005, and have never regretted it. Sold my boat to one of our Judges, and never looked back.

This was a big step for a guy who grew up on Fort Myers Beach but I have pretty much lost interest in the Beaches and the Gulf.

My son sent me a video of Fort Myers Beach after the hurricane last year and my Mother's house as well as my Grandparent's house were all gone.

Hopefully I won't get tired of shooting and we plan to do some trapshooting as September starts.

Bob