FL/GA/SC/NC - Hurricane Idalia, Aug 2023

[PayrollNerd]

I understand that for some good reasons some choose to stay (and some have no choice). And some freeze. But if you’re in a place that is almost certain to be washed out and inaccessible you have to try to go. The police are trying to get them to leave.

One resident:
“Despite the dire warning, some residents, like Michael Bobbitt, said they're staying put.

"I have a house on a high elevation sitting on top of a hill and I have a second floor and I have a boat tied up and ready to go," Bobbitt said. "When the streets become waterways, I’m going to get out and about to see who I can get to to help."”

Despite evacuation order, some residents of Florida's Cedar Key riding out Hurricane Idalia

Despite an evacuation order and warnings of potentially deadly flooding, some residents of Florida’s Cedar Key said they planned to ride out Hurricane Idalia.

www.nbcmiami.com

Wow. Did you see that guy Michael Bobbit's house? It's on a slope, it has vinyl siding which a clear indicator that it is made of wood, not concrete. I wonder if he is in denial about how safe his second floor is. JMO

"I have a house on a high elevation sitting on top of a hill and I have a second floor and I have a boat tied up and ready to go," Bobbitt said. "When the streets become waterways, I’m going to get out and about to see who I can get to to help."”

 

[JerseyGirl]

Hurricane Idalia intensifies to Category 2 in Gulf, shifts west; expected to become Category 3 before striking Florida

Hurricane Idalia continued to intensify Tuesday evening to a Category 2 storm after reaching hurricane strength Tuesday morning.

www.news4jax.com

Areas of flash and urban flooding, some of which may be locally significant, are expected across portions of the west coast of Florida, the Florida Panhandle, and southern Georgia Tuesday into Wednesday, spreading into portions of the eastern Carolinas Wednesday into Thursday.

Tropical storm conditions are expected to begin on Wednesday in the warning area along the east coast of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. Tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area in South and North Carolina Wednesday night and Thursday.

The potential hazards for Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia at this time are heavy rainfall, localized flooding, elevated rip currents, elevated seas, gusty winds and the possibility of tornadoes.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Wow. Did you see that guy Michael Bobbit's house? It's on a slope, it has vinyl siding which a clear indicator that it is made of wood, not concrete. I wonder if he is in denial about how safe his second floor is. JMO

"I have a house on a high elevation sitting on top of a hill and I have a second floor and I have a boat tied up and ready to go," Bobbitt said. "When the streets become waterways, I’m going to get out and about to see who I can get to to help."”

I just looked at Cedar Key on the map and wow, those people better evacuate. If the storm keeps up and on course towards Cedar Key, CK will turn into another Sanibel Island. The area is surrounded by wetlands. Moo!

 

[Vern]

Thinking of all of you tonight and wishing you safety through this.

 

[Lexiintoronto]

Wow. Did you see that guy Michael Bobbit's house? It's on a slope, it has vinyl siding which a clear indicator that it is made of wood, not concrete. I wonder if he is in denial about how safe his second floor is. JMO

"I have a house on a high elevation sitting on top of a hill and I have a second floor and I have a boat tied up and ready to go," Bobbitt said. "When the streets become waterways, I’m going to get out and about to see who I can get to to help."”

He has a lot of items in his yard and porch that need to be cleared before this hits, maybe he is in denial. And his house has a lot of trees very close to it. I hope they convinced him to leave.

Still photo from NBC story linked in PayrollNerd’s post.

 

[sds71]

It took place during base evacuations, which occurred into this morning

https://twitter.com/x/status/1696659914070913142

 

[JerseyGirl]

Supermoon could team up with Hurricane Idalia to raise tides higher just as the storm makes landfall

A rare blue supermoon could be playing a role in worsening the impact of Hurricane Idalia as the storm lashes Florida's west coast.

apnews.com

A rare blue supermoon could raise tides above normal just as Hurricane Idalia takes aim at Florida’s west coast, exacerbating flooding from the storm.

The moon will be closest to the Earth on Wednesday, the same day Idalia is expected to make landfall in Florida. While a supermoon can make for a spectacular backdrop in photos of landmarks around the world, its intensified gravitational pull also makes tides higher.

It’s expected to make tidal flooding worse not only in Florida, but in states such as Georgia and South Carolina, where Haines’ office has been warning residents that parts of Charleston could be under water by Wednesday night.

When the moon is full, the sun and the moon are pulling in the same direction, which has the effect of increasing tides above normal ranges, said Kerry Emanuel, professor emeritus of atmospheric science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The moon’s gravitational pulls are even stronger when it’s closer to Earth, so the tides are even higher.

Fort Myers suffers intense flooding as Hurricane Idalia is set to slam Florida — fueled by rare blue supermoon

“I would say the timing is pretty bad for this one,” said meteorologist Brian Haines of the National Weather Service office in Charleston, SC.

nypost.com

No major hurricanes on record have ever passed through the area, making Idalia “an unprecedented event,” according to the National Weather Service in Tallahassee.

The blue supermoon is expected to only worsen the situation later Wednesday. The moon won’t actually be blue. The term just refers to the second full moon of the month — the only one occurring this year — and the fact that it appears larger than normal in the sky. The occurrence is so rare that the phrase, “Once in a blue moon” comes from it, according to Atlas Obscura.

 

[meanmaryjean]

I live in Lake City (directly in the path) and just in the last few minutes a tremendous amount of lightning has started up.
I've battened down the hatches and am going to bed. Imagine it'll be a long night.

 

[JDG]

Some music to listen to while you ride out the hurricane.

Stay safe everyone!

 

[anneg]

I live in Lake City (directly in the path) and just in the last few minutes a tremendous amount of lightning has started up.
I've battered down the hatches and am going to bed. Imagine it'll be a long night.

I pray for your safety!

 

[Puzzles8]

8:30pm EST spaghetti models. Tallahassee was definitely not expecting this yesterday. (ETA - a significant shift west from yesterday and this afternoon's models)

@PayrollNerd, hope your daughter is evacuating, stay safe.

Invest 91L Models View | Hurricane and Hurricane coverage from MyFoxHurricane.com

www.myfoxhurricane.com

 

[JerseyGirl]

That’s a lot of moving around!

Thousands of Florida prisoners evacuated as Idalia threatens state

According to FDOC, around 4,000 inmates were evacuated or relocated from facilities in the projected path of Hurricane Idalia.

www.clickorlando.com

The Florida Department of Corrections announced on Tuesday evening that inmates housed in facilities along the projected path of Hurricane Idalia are being evacuated as the storm threatens to strike Florida early on Wednesday.

According to FDOC, around 4,000 inmates were evacuated or relocated ahead of Idalia’s arrival, including inmates from the following facilities:

 

[JerseyGirl]

SC Governor Henry McMaster declares State of Emergency due to Idalia - ABC Columbia

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster has declared a State of Emergency due to Idalia and possible impact on South Carolina.

www.abccolumbia.com

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster on Wednesday, declared a State of Emergency due to Hurricane Idalia.

According to the Governor’s office, McMaster issued Executive Order 2023-29, declaring a State of Emergency in preparation for the potential effects from Hurricane Idalia, and asks South Carolinians to monitor local forecasts and to begin taking proper precautions.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Tornado watch issued for Tampa Bay area through 6 a.m.

The outer rainbands from Hurricane Idaila could spawn tornadoes.

www.wtsp.com

These rainbands could spawn tornadoes.

According to the Storm Prediction Center, the tornado watch is in effect for portions of western Florida, including the Tampa Bay area, through 6 a.m. Wednesday. A few tornadoes are likely and some isolated significant damaging wind gusts to 75 mph are possible.

 

[PayrollNerd]

8:30pm EST spaghetti models. Tallahassee was definitely not expecting this yesterday. (ETA - a significant shift west from yesterday and this afternoon's models)

@PayrollNerd, hope your daughter is evacuating, stay safe.

Invest 91L Models View | Hurricane and Hurricane coverage from MyFoxHurricane.com

www.myfoxhurricane.com

View attachment 443678

Since it shifted left/west earlier, it has reduced Sarasota's threat to a Tropical Storm. It has been a steady rain for awhile with lightening and thunder in the distance. Of course, there is no guarantee it won't wobble back to the right/east prior to landfall.

My oldest is feeling better. The severe sore throat from Covid has eased but now it's more cold symptoms. A coworker went to Publix and picked up her order and delivered it to her door.

She's watching the radar and texted a few minutes ago that it would have to drastically shift left/west for an evacuation order to be put into place. I actually doubt that would happen tonight. She is in Evacuation Level C for her area. I think if she felt unsafe, she would head to a hotel. Or at a minimum, jump in her SUV and get a little further north.

It is awful to have a hurricane come in at night. So many more unexpected tragedies. People sleep thru it, can't drive at night, don't have power/internet, etc.

Sarasota radar now:

Panama City radar after midnight.

 

[branmuffin]

I have a place in Gulfport Fl. it's about 100 feet from Boca Ciega Bay. I have the Gulfport webcams up and running to get an idea how the storm is progressing. It's pretty nerve wracking since I live in Canada and can only just watch and hope the damage is minimal. I can't wish it away from me because it just means someone else feels the wrath. What makes it equally nerve wracking is that we are in the process of selling it and the prospective buyer from a northern state is wanting to see what happens tonight and tomorrow.

Here's a link to the live web cam on Gulfport Blvd. The rain has just gotten a bit harder.

Webcams

Be sure to also check out our live Gulfport Marina East Cam, the Gulfport Marina West Cam, the Gulfport Casino Cam, and the Gulfport Beach Cam. Gulfport Beach Bazaar 3115 Beach Blvd. S., Gulfport, FL Coastal and nautical decor, apparel, jewelry, souvenirs, great gift ideas… Come see for...

thegabber.com

 

[Friday Fan]

The National Hurricane Center has begun hourly position and
intensity updates on Idalia.

The hourly updates will continue as
long as Idalia's eye is easily trackable in ground-based radar data.

Maximum sustained winds have
increased to 110 mph (175 km/h). The minimum pressure based on
dropsonde data from the aircraft has fallen to 960 mb

SUMMARY OF 1000 PM EDT...0200 UTC...INFORMATION
----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...27.4N 84.6W
ABOUT 135 MI...215 KM WSW OF TAMPA FLORIDA
ABOUT 205 MI...330 KM S OF TALLAHASSEE FLORIDA
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...110 MPH...175 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...N OR 10 DEGREES AT 18 MPH...29 KM/H

Hurricane Idalia Update Statement

 

[PayrollNerd]

I have a place in Gulfport Fl. it's about 100 feet from Boca Ciega Bay. I have the Gulfport webcams up and running to get an idea how the storm is progressing. It's pretty nerve wracking since I live in Canada and can only just watch and hope the damage is minimal. I can't wish it away from me because it just means someone else feels the wrath. What makes it equally nerve wracking is that we are in the process of selling it and the prospective buyer from a northern state is wanting to see what happens tonight and tomorrow.

Here's a link to the live web cam on Gulfport Blvd. The rain has just gotten a bit harder.

Webcams

Be sure to also check out our live Gulfport Marina East Cam, the Gulfport Marina West Cam, the Gulfport Casino Cam, and the Gulfport Beach Cam. Gulfport Beach Bazaar 3115 Beach Blvd. S., Gulfport, FL Coastal and nautical decor, apparel, jewelry, souvenirs, great gift ideas… Come see for...

thegabber.com

I'm less than 45 minutes from Gulfport. Have your neighbors evacuated?

I bought a house in south Sarasota in 2008 and closing was the end of Sept. St Farm told me I was lucky to get home owners insurance because if there's a storm within a certain time frame, nobody will write a policy. Are you required to have Flood Insurance?

 

[PayrollNerd]

Videos from SWFL popping up online now.

MSN

 

[branmuffin]

I'm less than 45 minutes from Gulfport. Have your neighbors evacuated?

I bought a house in south Sarasota in 2008 and closing was the end of Sept. St Farm told me I was lucky to get home owners insurance because if there's a storm within a certain time frame, nobody will write a policy. Are you required to have Flood Insurance?

We are in a flood plain. If you buy a residence which is mortgaged you are required to have flood insurance. People who do cash buys aren't required to buy flood plain insurance although that can be risky. We've been here for about 9 years and have had hurricanes skirt the area. Some have come dangerously close then veer off somewhere else, like Irma. A lot of people don't have flood insurance or even regular home insurance since it has become prohibitive, especially after Ian and after the condo building collapsed last year in Miami. So many of the residents have lived here for decades and they never seem concerned about a direct hit. I thought Ian would be it, but again it veered north. Most of our neighbours don't evacuate. Plus there is probably about a 50-50 occupancy of permanent residents and snowbirds from both the US and Canada so half the buildings are empty at this time of year.