Friday Update for Storm Preparations

First, the good news. I have all the windows and doors of my home covered with ¾” plywood. I am grateful I was able to buy plywood Tuesday. The heat index is 104 degrees, so I split up the project over yesterday and today. I finished hanging the last panel a few moments ago. I believe I am ready. The house is pitch black inside. I took off the panels to the glass door that goes out to my patio to let a little light in. I will screw those panels on tomorrow evening before I head to bed.

Now for the bad news. If you are following the track of the storm, you know the track has shifted to the west. This means the projected path of the storm will now come closer to us. We will likely have winds around 100 mph on Sunday. We are expecting the first bands of wind and rain Saturday afternoon. There is also a possibility of a storm surge. We will monitor all of this as the storm progresses.

The house should withstand the projected winds. The new roof was put on in 2010 to withstand winds up to 160 mph. The house is a concrete block structure, and now all the windows and glass door openings are fitted with ¾” plywood. I do have a pool screen enclosure. Here in Florida we call them pool cages. This is the only question mark to me. Most likely I will lose the screen panels. Hopefully we will not lose the structure itself.

At this point, I am planning to ride it out here. I have a friend who will be staying here as well. There are several families on my street who are staying. We will all look after one another.

My home is in evacuation Zone C. At this time evacuations have been issued for folks living in Zone A. These are homes on the barrier islands and in low lying areas. My home is only one mile to salt water as a crow flies. But my property is on one of the highest points in this area. That is good news!

We continue to carefully monitor the track of this storm. I will try to update as possible. I appreciate your prayers and concern.

If you are interested in our local broadcast, check out http://www.nbc-2.com/.

I enjoy reading your comments. Feel free to write your thoughts below.

Storm Preparation Update

I know many of you wonder what are my plans for the approaching hurricane. Here is the update for you.

As of this morning, the models take the eye of the storm further east. This can change. It is still possible the storm could move back in my direction. I will continue to carefully monitor the track. My home is in Southwest Florida. At this time, we will likely have tropical storm force winds in our area, but not hurricane force winds.

For now, I am planning to stay home. Thankfully, I made preparations early in the week and avoided the chaos we are currently experiencing with gas stations running out of fuel and stores shelves cleared out of hurricane supplies.

I have already made plans to evacuate if needed. I have 2 different options ready, one in Orlando, and one in Atlanta. I have a full tank of gas.

If I stay home, I have a complete hurricane kit ready. The kit has everything I need if a hurricane hits my area and all public utilities are knocked out. I have about a week’s worth of canned food and water, LED lighting, batteries, medical supplies, etc. ready.

I have ¾” plywood ready to cover the windows if needed. Yesterday I cut all the coconuts out of the Coconut Palms in my yard. So no coconut missiles!

The sailboat is stored at Indiantown Marina in dry storage with hurricane straps bolting it to the ground. The marina is far enough inland so it should still be safe even if the storm moves up the east coast.

For now it is a wait and see event. Thank you for thinking of me and for keeping me covered with your prayers. I appreciate it.

If you are interested in our local broadcast, check out http://www.nbc-2.com/.

I enjoy reading your comments. Feel free to write your thoughts below.

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Friday Update for Storm Preparations

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