Here we go again

[SeaCat]

Well here we go again.

Ernesto.

Keys have been ordered to evacuate.

State of Florida has been switched to a state of Emergency.

Oh what shall we do?

I'm thinking of putting large amounts of Valium into the coffee in work. All I heard today was how this storm is going to rumble directly over West Palm and be worse than Katrina. My co-workers completely ignored the tracks and forecasts from N.O.A.A. and instead listened to the local news stations and their horror stories. (We're all going to die!!!!!!)

I'll take the tropical storm force winds and conditions their talking about for this area. It would mean I wouldn't have to water the grass and I wouldn't have to spend my days off in work. (And if you somehow think my job would pay me overtime for being there, Hah!)

Cat

 

[English Lady]

I heard on the news this morning that it's been downgraded back to a tropical storm but that it may still pick up strength on its way to the keys, they jsut can't say.

I can appreciate how jittery people are about it though, my prayers are with folks, and I hope it stays as a tropical storm and doesn't manage to make it to hurricane status

 

[Huckleman2000]

I dunno how you all deal with it down there, Cat.

I hope your new place is firmly anchored to the ground. I know YOU are, of course.

Someday, either the earth is going to shake bad or the volcano is going to blow up here in Seattle. In the meantime, though, it's been a nice summer.

 

[FallingToFly]

I dunno how you all deal with it down there, Cat.

I hope your new place is firmly anchored to the ground. I know YOU are, of course.

Someday, either the earth is going to shake bad or the volcano is going to blow up here in Seattle. In the meantime, though, it's been a nice summer.

It's very simple- we make a run to the liquor store, stop by the local icehouse, grab extra propane tanks for the grill, stock up on conveniently packaged and storable foods, and throw a hurricane party. Well, at least, that's what us N. Floridians do. South Florida, we send invitations, but most are too stubborn to accept the offer.

Cat is indeed one of the most level-headed men ever. I wish I had him and his wife as neighbors- right now I have a chemically-addled spazz and a bunch of women who don't have enough sense to turn off their headlights (thereby necessitating at least one jump a week).

Woohoo! I opt for earthquakes. Volcanic heat would dry up all your rain.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

It's all G.W.s fault don't you know.

 

[SeaCat]

Well here's a bit of an update.

Went to work this morning. My boss forbade me from adding Valium to the coffee, then later admitted that I should have been allowed to do so.

Checked in on the N.O.A.A. Website every three hours to get the latest updates. Between these times I was busy making out the schedule and taking care of my patients. (13 Patients with 8 of them being total care. 4 of these were Turners.) My boss insisted on me printing out the newest advisories as well as maps. I then had to explain them to her and the rest of the staff.

Florida is in and has been under a State of Emergency for the past 24 hours.

I overheard two of the staff talking. Both of these are recent immigrants from one of the Island Nations. One of them was telling the other that this storm was going to be devestating, much worse than Katrina. The other was asking what she could get for free from the government after the storm.

The latest, as of 2000 was that Ernesto will most likely make landfall south of Miami as a Tropical Storm. It will exit Southern Florida, still as a Tropical Storm in the vacinity of Daytona Beach. It will then grow in strength, becoming a Cat. 1 Hurricane before again making landfall in the Carolinas.

My wife and I have locked down half the shutters on our place. The other half will be locked down tomorrow morning. The car is tanked up and we have 16+ gallons of gas for the generator. We have a weks worth of food in the fridge and freezer, nt to mention about a months worth of dry and canned food in the pantry. We also have enough Cat Food and Kitty Litter to keep the herd happy for a couple of weeks. Drinking water? We will have 20 gallons tomorrow morning. (As soon as I fill the water jugs.) We're as ready as we can be.

Okay, according to N.O.A.A. and the local news channels the latest notices are that we will be hit with a strong Tropical Storm. As far as they can determine right now it will be going well inland of us so we will be getting hit with winds of around 40 to 50 M.P.H. along with heavy rains. Okay, I can deal with this. As it stands right now, if I don't have to go into work then I will be staying in our place.

Cat

Oh I should mention the panic going on around here. When we got out of work we stopped off at a local grocery store for such things as bread and Beer. It was an absolute madhouse. We had a jug of fruit juice in our cart and watched as a woman moving past reached into our cart and grabbed it. The lady in line in front of us at the register had a total of fifteen gallon jugs of water, a cart filled with canned foods, fifty pounds of cat food and at least one hundred pounds of Ice. She was in full panic mode. When she looked at our cart which had a loaf of bread, several packages of cold cuts, some Hamburger, Bratwurst, two cases of beer and some snack foods she shook her head and told my wife we were being stupid. Go figure.