Anonymous wrote:Helene is turning into a monster. The hurricane warnings extend from the coast all the way to Macon, well into Georgia.

They are predicting a 20 foot storm surge which will travel well inland - the mandatory evacuation zone is farther north than I have ever seen before.

The warnings from NWS and others are dire. This one is looking scary.

They just upgraded it to category 3. 15-20 foot surge. That’s catastrophic.

Anonymous wrote:I can't imagine living in an area like Tampa where your house floods once a year with 1-4 feet of nasty water. The flood insurance doesn't cover much of the lost property, so it's insanely expensive.

10 feet of storm surge is a PROBLEM. It's not the wind/rain for many people.

The storm surge is a problem and will cause flooding and possibly loss of life. The wind is going to be the problem for more people, with downed trees and power outages in multiple states.

Anonymous wrote:Florida's growth is in old people. When you are dying, it doesn't matter what specific cause kills you.

https://usafacts.org/data/topics/people-society/population-and-demographics/our-changing-population/state/florida/#:~:text=(non%2DHispanic)-,How%20old%20is%20the%20population%20in%20Florida%3F,3.3%25%20between%202010%20and%202022.

Goes without saying, but nonsense.

And the entire population is getting older, not just Florida, boomers are boomin.

Anonymous wrote:I can't imagine living in an area like Tampa where your house floods once a year with 1-4 feet of nasty water. The flood insurance doesn't cover much of the lost property, so it's insanely expensive.

10 feet of storm surge is a PROBLEM. It's not the wind/rain for many people.

The majority of people in Tampa are not in a flood zone-it's a big city. I live in a county nearby, and the entire west coast of it is under an evacuation order, but I am nowhere near the coast and not in any flood zone.

This all being said-the storm surge is going to be bad and cause lots of damage, including urban flooding which is a thing in Tampa.

We had a relatively calm summer and I thought we'd get out of hurricane season this year without one-joke's on me!

Helene is turning into a monster. The hurricane warnings extend from the coast all the way to Macon, well into Georgia.

They are predicting a 20 foot storm surge which will travel well inland - the mandatory evacuation zone is farther north than I have ever seen before.

The warnings from NWS and others are dire. This one is looking scary.

Anonymous wrote:I can't imagine living in an area like Tampa where your house floods once a year with 1-4 feet of nasty water. The flood insurance doesn't cover much of the lost property, so it's insanely expensive.

10 feet of storm surge is a PROBLEM. It's not the wind/rain for many people.

I grew up in a flood zone in Tampa and this doesn't happen. It might in the future though, but it's only going to affect certain areas of the city.

Anonymous wrote:Florida is a big state. The likely storm track shows the worst impact in a relatively unpopulated region of Florida (the Big Bend).

That's still a bummer for the people who live in that area, but 99 percent of Floridians are unlikely to see more than tropical storm conditions. And there will little impact on major populations centers in East Central and South Florida.

This. And the Big Bend area acts as a buffer, one of the few areas remaining in FL you can say that about. This hurricane would have been super bad news if any of the larger coastal cities had been in its path.

I can't imagine living in an area like Tampa where your house floods once a year with 1-4 feet of nasty water. The flood insurance doesn't cover much of the lost property, so it's insanely expensive.

10 feet of storm surge is a PROBLEM. It's not the wind/rain for many people.

Predictions for a flight from Jacksonville tomorrow am?

Florida's growth is in old people. When you are dying, it doesn't matter what specific cause kills you.

https://usafacts.org/data/topics/people-society/population-and-demographics/our-changing-population/state/florida/#:~:text=(non%2DHispanic)-,How%20old%20is%20the%20population%20in%20Florida%3F,3.3%25%20between%202010%20and%202022.

Anonymous wrote:Anyone’s kids been evacuated? Florida will be a sh@tshow and Heorgia is worried about power outages.

I just read how more people are leaving Florida and parts of the south due to weather and weather-related events. They no longer want to live there.

Interesting because every report I’ve read has consistently ranked Florida as one of the top US states in terms of population growth over the last several years (~4x the national average)

Florida is a big state. The likely storm track shows the worst impact in a relatively unpopulated region of Florida (the Big Bend).

That's still a bummer for the people who live in that area, but 99 percent of Floridians are unlikely to see more than tropical storm conditions. And there will little impact on major populations centers in East Central and South Florida.

My family is in Gainesville and they are doing usual hurricane prep but not evacuating or anything. Expecting rain and window and potential power loss but not a real hurricane hit. USF is gojng to get nailed though. I think they evacuate the kids to some of the campus buildings that are well hurricane proofed. I had family there the last time Tallahassee got hit and they lost stuff but rode out the storm safely in one of the big buildings.

Institutions in Florida are prepared for things like this. For instance, U of Tampa has evacuated students, including busing them to a university shelter if they don’t have any way to evacuate. FSU has designated shelter areas for students remaining in residence halls, and students in off-campus housing without a safe area of refuge. Classes are canceled at UF, but Gainesville is likely to be outside of the main track of this storm.

Nobody’s saying any of this is ideal, but hurricanes happen often enough that schools in Florida and along the Gulf Coast have plans in place to keep their people as safe as possible.

It’s the price you pay for 75° and sunny in January.

Anyone’s kids been evacuated? Florida will be a sh@tshow and Heorgia is worried about power outages.

I just read how more people are leaving Florida and parts of the south due to weather and weather-related events. They no longer want to live there.