Florida Hurricane Irma Updates

By Jeralyn, Section Huricanes Katrina and Rita
Posted on Sat Sep 09, 2017 at 11:01:28 PM EST
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One of my favorite songs mentioning hurricanes -- from Zachary Richard's 1992 Snake Bite Love album:

I’ve been waiting here since this morning,
I’ll wait as long as it will take.
Down in the old town of the city of New Orleans,
With my heart so heavy it might break.

Last night they put up a hurricane warning,
Last night you came into my room.
Around midnight the rain started falling,
I was holding on to you.

Midnight ET: It looks like Miami and Palm Beach were spared a direct hit, but Irma should reach Naples and Fort Myers sometime Sunday. Tampa is in big trouble and the Keys are expected to get hammered at daybreak when Irma makes land contact. Here is the 11 pm ET advisory from the National Weather Service. [More...]

I've seen a lot of comments here wishing TL commenter Fishcamp well, as he is in the Keys and staying put. I've been getting updates from him and he says he is totally prepared and will be fine. He has a generator, his house is concrete and at least 25 feet above sea level. He has TV, power, the internet, etc. He did say the storm is really, really loud. He appreciates all the good wishes so keep posting them, and also send them to Ruffian, Molly B., Coral Gables, FLJoe, Ragebot and our other Florida readers, and Big Tent Democrat, who is in Palm Beach taking care of his parents.

More and more Florida residents are losing power. Here is the live outage map. An hour ago it was 15,000 and the outages went from the bottom of the Keys to Pine Key. There are now 23,000 without power, and the outages are about 1/4 of the way up to Marathon from Pine Key.

So who is Sheila in the song?

Sheila was a dancing girl working in the evening,
On the altar of old men’s fantasies,
She hitched down from north Mississippi
With a lot of hope and one pair of jeans.

Why does he want her to run away with him?

Last night Sheila she told me she loved me,
She said’ “Baby what took you so long?”
Tonight I am going to steal her from the city,
Before she does herself harm.

Do they make it? Unless I've missed it all these years, he doesn't say. But the video ends with him laughing, so I'd like to believe they did.

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Florida Hurricane Irma Updates | 67 comments (67 topical)

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Since yesterday evening, Irma's track puts (5.00 / 1) (#1)
by vml68 on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 06:33:58 AM EST

my place right in the center of the storm. While the lower level of our place is cement block, the upper level is frame, so I was a bit hesitant to ride out the storm at home. Husband, dogs and I checked into a hotel downtown. My neighbors are all staying put. Most were caught off guard by the storm tracks move to the right Some wanted to leave but felt it was too late to get out safely.

Btw, Ruffian, I am shaking my fist at you!

All I know is I have tickets for the Cubs vs Tampa (none / 0) (#2)
by ruffian on Tue Sep 05, 2017 at 08:48:28 PM EST
on the 18th...so whatever Irma is doing around Tampa it better be over by then!
I probable doomed Tampa by buying those tickets last week.

Fishcamp, you are probably feeling the full force of Irma right. Thinking of you.

: hee hee...I am So SORRY!!!!! (5.00 / 2) (#4)
by ruffian on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 10:13:27 AM EST

I had a span of time where everyplace I travelled there was a disaster soon after - fires, earthquakes, bombings. I should know better than to make plans.
Just rain here in Orlando so far. Not any wind to speak of. Hope you are in a safe place VML. What a crazy time.

Power "blinking" but no real loss (5.00 / 2) (#2)
by Molly Bloom on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 07:22:40 AM EST

Lost 2 banana trees, including one with fruit
Lost 2 trunks from White Bird of Paradise one landed on the house, but wouldn't have damaged tile roof
Lost branches about the width of my arm from Moringa tree

Tornado warnings intermittent

So far so good.

One of my banana trees also has fruit. I was (5.00 / 1) (#8)
by vml68 on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 12:11:07 PM EST

really looking forward to trying them. I lost my previous bunch to fruit rats/squirrels/some creature, that I have been cursing ever since!
My husband was giving me grief saying that I was more concerned about the damage/loss of my plants than I was about our roof blowing off!


Worst appears to b over (5.00 / 5) (#27)
by Molly Bloom on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 05:45:26 PM EST

No power
Banana plants wiped out
Moringa severely pruned
One of my Queen palms fell on neighbors fence, knocked out one panel.
Gutter dangling by 2 nails and otherwise useless
We are fine. Dogs fine.
I will check on the rest of my fellow floridians when I can. Using personal hot spot to post from iPad and it's slower than normal which suggests servers are overwhelmed.
Also att seems to be down for cell phones in s pbc, Verizon is functionable.
Good luck everyone!


: Glad to hear you and the rest of the family (none / 0) (#33)
by vml68 on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 08:27:35 PM EST

are fine Molly B. Sorry to hear about the plants but the good news is that both bananas and Moringa are fast growers.
I've been checking updates from my gardening friends on your side of the coast and almost all are reporting downed trees.
I am going to be moving to your neck of the woods in the next few months.
Hope your power is back on soon.

: Banana trees don't fare very well in high winds. (none / 0) (#46)
by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Sep 11, 2017 at 03:35:50 PM EST

They are heavy plants by weight, but they are also terribly fragile. (Take care to avoid getting any sap on your clothes if you have to cut them up for disposal, because it leaves an indelible and permanent stain.)
Hurricane Iselle was a tropical storm by the time it reached us on Oahu in Aug. 2014, yet it still packed enough punch to take down all our banana trees and strip our two papaya trees of all its leaves and fruit. Our east Honolulu townhouse has a little backyard, and that storm left it a big mess.
When we had a 6.8 earthquake in Oct. 2006, we lost all local cell phone service because the cell towers were down. Yet for some reason, I was able to call the U.S. mainland. That was good because our eldest daughter had stayed in Kailua the previous night at her girlfriend's aunt's house, and the only way we could get in touch with her that morning was by calling my mother in Pasadena, CA. Mom in turn called her granddaughter's cell phone to relay the message that we were okay, and to tell her to stay where she was until I came to get her.
Good luck to you. Glad to hear that you made it through okay.
Aloha.

Just (5.00 / 2) (#3)
by FlJoe on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 07:31:36 AM EST

took my looky-loo drive out to the beach, 30-35 mph winds gusting to 45, 12 foot surf, tide coming in but not particularly high yet. Light but stinging rain, no damage aside from a few signs damaged.

Winds picking up and more rain (5.00 / 1) (#10)
by ruffian on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 12:31:48 PM EST

but still not as bad as the normal afternoon storms we get here. The worst of it will be tonight in the dark. I hate not being able to watch the action on the big pond behind my house. We get white caps in tropical storms.

Ever since Camille Iv hated hurricanes after dark (none / 0) (#12)
by Molly Bloom on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 01:34:39 PM EST

Tornado warning 4 the last hour. Power down as well.


Windy and rainy here too. (none / 0) (#16)
by vml68 on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 02:51:21 PM EST

If I were home right now, the windows and sliding glass doors would be rattling, that combined with the sound of the trees whipping in the wind would have my drama queen Labrador acting like the sky is falling. I would have been subject to hours of incessant whining and barking. Once my lab gets started, my spaniel is only too happy to join in the chorus!
It is so quiet in the hotel room, the only reason I can tell it is so windy outside is because I haven't closed the curtains. The pups are sprawled out on the bed fast asleep. As much as I did not want to leave home, I'm glad I did.


: Glad it worked out so well (5.00 / 1) (#41)
by ruffian on Mon Sep 11, 2017 at 02:15:00 AM EST

Nervous pets would really put the icing on the cake. I. Glad mine has been so mellow. She registers the creaks and howling but does not seem too freaked out.
It is SO dark. Forgot how much ambient light there normally is in a house and neighborhood.

i just looked at a weater app (5.00 / 1) (#11)
by CaptHowdy on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 01:27:00 PM EST

incredible. the whole entire state of Florida is hidden behind a giant mass of green and red.

Yeah, those images are amazing (5.00 / 1) (#13)
by ruffian on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 02:28:12 PM EST

Gonna get more like that as the storm moves north a little more.

We have a little bit of a lull between bands right now, but still raining a little.

'm watching the wind speed predictions. If it is going to hit 75 MPH I need to take out my screen room windows at some point. One station predicts us maxing out at 60, but the weather channel says we can have gusts of 75. So I guess I better be safe and take them out before I go to bed...or do whatever it is I am going to do all night while the hurricane is right here! Maybe a GoT marathon? Irma is Coming!


Since we are going to be in the eye of the (none / 0) (#18)
by vml68 on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 03:03:49 PM EST

hurricane, I was hoping to step out for a few minutes when it is directly over us (no rain or wind, skies clear so you can see the stars) to experience it. But, hotel is in lockdown, so I guess I will have to settle for looking out the window.


: From the TV coverage of the eye passing over (5.00 / 2) (#28)
by ruffian on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 05:45:52 PM EST

other spots, it does not seem like the car sky effect I was expecting. Maybe a lighter shade of grey sky. But the break in the wind is pretty amazing. Nature!

My informal storm coverage media survey.... (5.00 / 3) (#14)
by ruffian on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 02:31:26 PM EST

MSNBC - very informative, but repetitive
Weather Channel - very informative, not as many visuals
BBC - good, but not continuous. Better accents.
CNN - not good on any level
Fox - I have no idea, not going there

MSNBC has Brian Williams, buyer beware (5.00 / 2) (#15)
by ruffian on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 02:36:03 PM EST

He is intolerable


true (none / 0) (#20)
by CaptHowdy on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 03:49:27 PM EST

but less annoying than Ali Velshi. if i never see Ali Velshi again i will die happy.

must admit after being totally bored with the coverage yesterday i have been sort of transfixed by it this afternoon.

in spite of Brian Williams.


gawd (none / 0) (#21)
by CaptHowdy on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 04:11:36 PM EST

right on que

heeeeeeeeeres ALI!


Interesting, Howdy. I cannot stand Brian (none / 0) (#24)
by caseyOR on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 05:11:36 PM EST

Williams. Just so smarmy. I find Velshi much easier to take. People's tolerances differ.

Watching CNN at any time can be so sad when I remember how good a news source CNN was back when Ted Turner was at the helm and covering news across the globe.


Ali grates on me sometimes, then he says something (5.00 / 2) (#26)
by ruffian on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 05:44:06 PM EST

funny that gets me back. Williams is constant nails on chalkboard.


I don't know who Ali Velshi is but I just saw (none / 0) (#34)
by vml68 on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 08:34:20 PM EST

Al Roker in the hotel lobby and apparently Anderson Cooper is in a hotel a block away. Funny thing is both hotels are in Zone A, a mandatory evacuation zone.


Are you in the Naples area? (none / 0) (#35)
by caseyOR on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 08:46:26 PM EST

Or Ft. Meyers?


Tampa. (none / 0) (#36)
by vml68 on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 09:16:53 PM EST

n/t


So, you are still waiting (none / 0) (#37)
by caseyOR on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 09:24:26 PM EST

for the main part of Irma to hit. Stay safe.


: Thanks, Casey. (none / 0) (#43)
by vml68 on Mon Sep 11, 2017 at 10:53:10 AM EST

It looks like most of the Tampa bay area got lucky. The storm moved slightly east again and Lakeland got the worst of it. Not so good for them.
I hope your sister is ok.
My neighbor texted me this morning to say that there was no damage to our neighborhood and that we did not lose power, so we are headed back home later today.

I can take Ali Velshi better than Brian Williams. (none / 0) (#47)
by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Sep 11, 2017 at 03:45:58 PM EST

Granted, Velshi's voice can sometimes be grating, like fingernails on a chalkboard. But Williams is just so ingratiating, he reminds me of Eddie Haskell when he'd talk to the adults in "Leave It to Beaver." Nobody in cable news can kiss a$$ on the air like Brian Williams!


I haven't watched any Irma coverage on TV. (none / 0) (#17)
by vml68 on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 02:58:38 PM EST

I've been checking the National Hurricane Center website, Weather underground, Tampa bay Times and Tropical tidbits (Ragebot's suggestion).


Just got home (5.00 / 3) (#19)
by ragebot on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 03:30:40 PM EST

after spending abut five hours prepping my boat. All sails off, spider lines in all directions, deck cleared, hatches secured. Had a little problem getting off as the water level is lower than I have ever seen. The boat was stuck in the mud and I had to have someone on shore get a plank I could walk up to the dock. Strong wind out of the North will knock down storm surge here. My home is in San Luis Ridge about 150 feet above sea level on a hill so no worries about flood water. Have a 7500 watt generator and 25 gallons of R90 so even if I lose power I will have fridge and AC if needed. All I can do now is wait till all clear and see how the boat faired. Hope everyone stays safe for the next few days as Irma dies.

: I hope your boat makes it through (5.00 / 1) (#23)
by Militarytracy on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 05:03:07 PM EST

Glad your home appears to be very safe

We are getting the (5.00 / 1) (#22)
by Ga6thDem on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 05:02:53 PM EST

very outside of Irma now with basically a breeze and an overcast sky. School is canceled tomorrow and Tuesday in my county. It looks like the worst for us is supposed to be Tuesday 8:00 a.m. but now we're apparently skirting the storm with the center in Alabama.

The reports out of the keys don't sound too good. I hope Fish is okay.

I, too, am thinking of fishcamp. (5.00 / 5) (#25)
by caseyOR on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 05:14:03 PM EST

I think we have heard today from our other Florida TLers, but not fish today.

My sister in Tampa decided to nap this afternoon so she could be alert when things hit them tonight.


One of the officials from Marathon Key (5.00 / 3) (#29)
by ruffian on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 05:48:29 PM EST

is making his way from Largo back to Marathon. Comms and poor are all out. . Hopefully he will be checking in with the TV crews along the way reporting what he finds. Hoping for the best - that it is just the power or internet loss affecting fishcamp.


Only a few reports from the Keys. (5.00 / 4) (#31)
by ragebot on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 05:50:44 PM EST

here is a blurb from Key Vaca where the city of Marathon is. John Bartus is a city official:

:HURRICANE IRMA STATUS REPORT - Sunday, September 10, 6:30 PM -- PLEASE SHARE!!!

I just spoke with fellow City Council member Steven Cook and Mayor Doc Dan Zieg. They are with City Manager Chuck Lindsey and other first responders trying to get back to Marathon. They asked me to share this message.

The Keys are closed. Roads are in various stages of impassability. Bridges, while possibly okay, will need to be inspected by DOT before they are opened to residents. And there has been a lot of damage done to structures and local infrastructure by both wind and water. There is a substantial amount of marine debris from wrecked boats and docks in canals and local waters preventing access by water.
There is no power. There is no cell phone or internet services. Water may not be available. Communications and utilities are down.
There are only a few first responders in the Keys, and they are stressed to the max with rescue and recovery efforts and the prioritizing of opening roads and the Marathon Airport.

If if there is a point to this message, it is this: DO NOT COME BACK TO THE KEYS UNTIL GIVEN THE OFFICIAL OKAY TO DO SO!"


: We saw the first videos from Key West this AM. (none / 0) (#48)
by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Sep 11, 2017 at 03:57:57 PM EST

The city seemed to be mostly spared, though there were a few blocks where the high winds exacted a toll on any wooden structures, and there were obvious pools of water from storm surge. but as you noted and per the Miami Herald, the rest of the Keys apparently didn't fare so well.

Wind really picked up here in the last 20 minutes. (5.00 / 1) (#30)
by ruffian on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 05:50:28 PM EST

White caps on the lake. It's ON.

Thankfully still have power.

Power has glitched on and off a couple of times (5.00 / 2) (#32)
by ruffian on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 07:09:23 PM EST

Winds are around 37 mph, which does not seem like a high number...really it is going to get a lot worse.

There it goes again, off and on. So far it has always come back on. Another one of those things that is not unusual to happen in the summer storms, but is more nerve wracking tonight.

A friend of (none / 0) (#38)
by Ga6thDem on Mon Sep 11, 2017 at 12:59:01 AM EST

mine that lives outside of Orlando has said that she has lost power. It's only been off for a short time and already she is going to crazy with the heat, humidity and 2 teenage sons who now have nothing to do.


It is amazing how fast it gets bad (none / 0) (#40)
by ruffian on Mon Sep 11, 2017 at 02:11:13 AM EST

It's been off now for about 3.5 hours and it is really humid and stuffy.

I am glad my pre-cooked food and ice won't go to waste though! And that all my devices are charged. Hopefully they can get it fixed quick. I have friends across town that had not lost power when I last talked to them, so maybe it is not widespread and they can fix it fast.


: At least maybe (none / 0) (#42)
by Ga6thDem on Mon Sep 11, 2017 at 02:56:40 AM EST

when it gets daylight she can make them run around the outside of the house or something. Though the heat and humidity is going to be intolerable I would think with no air conditioning.

Lost power a little before midnight (5.00 / 1) (#39)
by ruffian on Mon Sep 11, 2017 at 02:04:59 AM EST

And went to bed. Did get a couple hours of sleep. The wind is still howling but the rain seems to have stopped.

It is really getting stuffy in the house already. When the temp inside reaches that of outside I will at least open a window and get some breeze. I am a big baby about heat. Their will be whining.

My golden retriever has been very good. She must be a little scared because she hasn't tried to go outside and bark at everything like she usually does. Just basically napped through the whole thing. I'm glad there has been no thunder since that really does scare her.

Anyway that's what's happening in Orlando at 3 am!

: Ruffian, how are you and the pup doing? (none / 0) (#44)
by vml68 on Mon Sep 11, 2017 at 11:07:06 AM EST

I am guessing you got a little stronger wind than you were expecting since Irma moved slightly east and went through Lakeland, halfway between you and me.
No comment from you since the early morning hours. I hope it is because the wifi is down and nothing else.

Glad to hear that TLers vml and ruffian (5.00 / 4) (#45)
by caseyOR on Mon Sep 11, 2017 at 11:17:57 AM EST

Came through Irma in, at least, decent shape. Hoping we hear from everyone else this afternoon.

fishcamp, hope you are okay. Thinking of you and hoping for the best.

Came through (5.00 / 3) (#60)
by FlJoe on Tue Sep 12, 2017 at 08:10:42 AM EST

all right, lost power @ 7:30 Sunday night, still out. Had around 10 hours of sustained tropical force winds gusting to Hurricane force, 8-10 inches of rain. All in all minimal to moderate damage around here, mostly fences, signs and trees.

Glad to hear that (5.00 / 2) (#61)
by Ga6thDem on Tue Sep 12, 2017 at 08:27:32 AM EST

A friend that lives in Orlando said her power went out Sunday night I think or maybe Monday and is still without power. She has to go to work today with no working traffic lights.

We were incredibly lucky here. South of us got some pretty bad weather but we never lost power and did lose internet but it was back up by 8:30 this morning.


Driving (5.00 / 1) (#62)
by FlJoe on Tue Sep 12, 2017 at 08:43:26 AM EST

is definitely a trip.


Ha yes (5.00 / 3) (#64)
by ruffian on Tue Sep 12, 2017 at 03:25:42 PM EST

All of us that made it to work this morning said exactly the same thing - people need remedial driving school on how A. when a light is out it is a 4-way stop, not a freeway for the fastest car and B. how to handle 4-way stops.

If I survive a hurricane and get killed on my way to work I am going to be royally PO'd.


: that's why I hate (none / 0) (#65)
by Jeralyn on Wed Sep 13, 2017 at 12:32:04 AM EST

roundabouts, I never know whose turn it is to go. After those, I agree, blinking or out of commission red lights are terrible.
There has been some major construction for months on a busy street here that cuts across from Cherry Creek to Colorado Blvd and it's one lane, one way for a while and then there's a three way stop sign. I never have trouble with that. It's easy to see whose turn it is -- one car is in front of you facing you and one is to the right at a 90 degree angle. I go by who went last, not a left to right rotation, which I'm sure is wrong. But I haven't hit anyone yet.

Thanks for the update, Joe. (5.00 / 1) (#63)
by caseyOR on Tue Sep 12, 2017 at 12:16:37 PM EST

Good to know you are okay.

I think, although I might be forgetting someone, that
we have heard from all Florida TLers except fish camp. And it sounds like everyone has come through in reasonably decent shape. So happy about that.


Love the Zachary Richard - great choice. (none / 0) (#5)
by ruffian on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 10:20:33 AM EST

there is another song on that album that I just loved at the time..have to remember....

I need to switch over to music from the TV. All of it is just making me nervous. Probably should switch from coffee to something more relaxing also :-)

This one (none / 0) (#6)
by ruffian on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 10:25:04 AM EST

One Kiss

Both songs about different places, but they both remind me of Colorado since that's where I lived when I discovered Zachary Richard.


that is a great one (5.00 / 1) (#7)
by Jeralyn on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 12:09:17 PM EST

thanks for reminding me. I once saw him live at a Hard Rock cafe --small venue, he had everyone dancing the whole time. It must have been in the mid to late 90's because I can't even remember which city it was or who I went with. All I remember is it was warm outside, the place was filled and I danced and sang along and had a great time..


: I think I saw him live too, as part of a bigger (5.00 / 1) (#9)
by ruffian on Sun Sep 10, 2017 at 12:29:53 PM EST

festival, or as an opening act. Just a couple of songs. Or entirely possible I am imagining it!!
I have a lot of the KBCO Studio C recordings, and 'One Kiss' is on one of them. Maybe Sheila too, but I can't find it in my iTunes library.
I have itunes shuffle on and the SubDudes StucioC version of 'Angel To Be' just came on - it is a similar style. Love that one too!

There are two sides (none / 0) (#49)
by ragebot on Mon Sep 11, 2017 at 07:54:12 PM EST

to a hurricane; the right side and the wrong side. The wrong side is the East side and the right side is the West side. This is because the direction of the wind due to the rotation.

A hurricane rotates counter clock wise. This means winds on the East side are rotating North. Since hurricanes move in a mostly to the North not only does the movement of the hurricane add to the North moving wind but it also pushes more water to the North increasing the storm surge.

Just the opposite is true for the West side. The wing blows to the South reducing both the wind speed since the storm is moving North but also reducing the storm surge. There were news reports of massive amounts of water being blown out of Tampa Bay and there are several facebook posts about the Wakulla River being almost drained in my neck of the woods. Yesterday I had problems getting off my boat because the water level was so low my keels were touching bottom and I was literally stuck in the mud. Checked back to day and the water was still low but my boat was floating and I could pull it close to the dock and step off. Did not see any real damage on the boat.

The results if you are on the left side of the storm (which is the right side of the storm in terms of damage) you are lucky while if you are on the right side of the storm (which is the wrong side of the storm in terms of damage) you are unlucky.

While I was on the right side of the storm in terms of damage I am afraid fishcamp was on the wrong side of the storm in terms of damage. Bottom line check which side of the storm eye your peeps or on to get an idea of how much damage they experienced.

Do you know which of the Keys (none / 0) (#50)
by caseyOR on Mon Sep 11, 2017 at 08:30:25 PM EST

fishcamp is in? I understand that Key West camecthrough this indecent shape, but the rest of the Keys got smashed.


Believe fish is in Islamorada (5.00 / 2) (#52)
by Coral Gables on Mon Sep 11, 2017 at 09:51:12 PM EST

That would be about 50 miles on the north side of the eye. Islamorada and north should still have running water. Anything south of Islamorada has none.


The upper right quadrant of a hurricane along (5.00 / 1) (#54)
by vml68 on Mon Sep 11, 2017 at 10:28:51 PM EST

the eye wall is usually where the most damage occurs. I read somewhere that due to the size of Irma even the eye was much larger than normal, about 70 miles across. That would put Islamorada close to the eye wall.

I have heard a lot about the devastation on Marathon Key, not so much about Plantation Key (Islamorada).

Keeping my fingers crossed for Fishcamp.


: The size of the eye (none / 0) (#56)
by ragebot on Tue Sep 12, 2017 at 06:35:15 AM EST

is not fixed. Off the coast of Cuba Irma was going through an eye wall replacement cycle and the size of the eye greatly increased. During an EWRC as the size of the eye increases the strength of the winds decrease. A hurricane normally has it's highest winds with a tight small well formed eye. If the eye wall gets much bigger than a couple of miles wind speeds go down. During an EWRC when there have been cases when a hurricane had not just two eye walls but three eye walls. There was a good vid of the eye wall replacement on tropical tidbits on Friday.

From what I can tell fishcamp lives right on (5.00 / 1) (#58)
by Militarytracy on Tue Sep 12, 2017 at 07:57:07 AM EST

The cusp of limbo and hell right now. Rescuers were cleared to milemarker 74, he lives a couple miles after that.

They are now reporting they have gotten past mile marker 74 on US 1 today.


Will add (none / 0) (#53)
by Coral Gables on Mon Sep 11, 2017 at 10:01:16 PM EST

As of this afternoon there was no power or internet anywhere in the Keys and State Troopers were not letting anyone go south from Miami on the overseas highway.


How did you fare CoralGables? (none / 0) (#55)
by vml68 on Mon Sep 11, 2017 at 10:30:52 PM EST

Heard on the news that a lot of people were without power in Miami.


: Not bad at all here (5.00 / 2) (#57)
by Coral Gables on Tue Sep 12, 2017 at 06:55:35 AM EST

when compared to Andrew. Streets are nearly all opened. Bulldozers just shoved trees right out of the lanes yesterday on the major side streets. My power came back after just 34 hours. (I have underground electric which helps considerably)
As for fish, the overseas highway has been opened to MM73 this morning. That's about the start of the Channel 2 bridge which I believe is just south of Lower Matecumbe. That means things are moving in and out of where fish is in Islamorada, so anyone that needs immediate help there now has it.

Islamorada (none / 0) (#51)
by oculus on Mon Sep 11, 2017 at 09:50:37 PM EST

: I live at mm 75. (none / 0) (#66)
by fishcamp on Sun Sep 17, 2017 at 09:17:40 PM EST

Which is the very south end of Islamorada. To be correct just south of my house the keys change to east and west directions. It's strange because you think you're driving south but no...you're going west.

The ragged remnants of (none / 0) (#59)
by CaptHowdy on Tue Sep 12, 2017 at 08:02:21 AM EST

Irma are falling on my house this morning.

We lost five palm trees and (none / 0) (#67)
by fishcamp on Sun Sep 17, 2017 at 09:26:19 PM EST

our street must have lost over100. There were 12 palms across my street, so nobody went anywhere until yesterday. We used to have a U. S. Senator with a second home on our street. Things got done when he had that house.