Posted on 09/09/2017 7:12:07 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
Hurricane Irma, the most powerful Atlantic storm in a decade, hit Cuba overnight as a rare Category 5 storm, then shifted course toward the west coast of Florida.
The monster storm's shift in direction creates a "very, very dangerous situation for western Florida," said ABC News meteorologist Daniel Manzo.
As of 8 a.m. Saturday morning, Irma was a Category 4 with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph. It was about 225 miles from Miami, moving west-northwest at 12 mph.
Naples, Fort Myers and other communities on Florida's west coast could get slammed when Irma makes landfall as a Category 4 storm, which is expected to happen between early Sunday and early Monday. Landfall could occur as far north as Tampa.
The wind gusts in Florida were already picking up early Saturday, with Miami International Airport reporting a 59 mph gust.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Thanks for inquiring...and caring.
There is mandatory evacuation here in Pasco County in the area between U.S. 19 and the Gulf de Mejico shore line 5 minutes from where I live.
Packing bags now, but the bus service to the special-needs shelter for me and a handicapped relative I care for has been running 10 hours behind on pickups both yesterday and today...so it looks likes pickup for us will be around 10 PM to midnite.
Best of luck to all my Florida freeper friends....prayers are up.
Leni
Keep in toich
We are in a pretty secure home. Sixty feet above mean sea level. Ten miles from the Gulf.
Home was built 10 years ago.
May the Lord stay His mighty hand.
Good luck FL.
5.56mm
Prayers up for ALL Florida Freepers. Please take the safest option available. We plan to ride out the storm in a 3rd floor condo within a large 24 unit building. I expect we will lose power on Monday early morning, and are prepared to live without power for up to a week.
Irma is pretty close to path predicted by the European model. 2 days back, it looked like an outlier model, since 3 or 4 US based models were all predicting more North-eastward path.
There was some sort of earth quake in Nork.
Quake or another nuke test. A seismic event caused by some sort of ground vibration/movement I guess.
Irmageddon
I’m seeing it one hour ago right offshore north coast of cuba. Looks due south of islamorada to me
Thank you for your concern - it is reassuring that there are FReepers out there who care! THANKS!
HST, Susan and I are good to go! We will Bug In; storm shutters are up, preps are in and we are waiting to see what happens next!
Of course, those of us on the First Coast have dodged a bullet; Irma, being fickle, defied the prognosticators (how can they be WRONG 50% of the time and still keep a job?) and turned to the West, which puts our West Coast FReeper FRiends in Harm’s Way.
Prayers up for those of you who are in Irma’s path. Please let us know you are OK!
Best of care and peace be with you, dear girl. Hang tight and give it a punch back, taking one step at a time.
Love, Rita
The eye still seems to be hugging the coast and has fallen off the predicted tack to the west.
I wonder if there some kind of interaction with Cuber’s shape and the size of Irma that in the absence of other, more forceful drivers sets the course.
Prayers up, dearest loved ones in Florida! Stay safe.
It’s a shore that from east to west slopes west northwest. But irma appears clearly to have pulled offshore now
Leni, prayers sent for you!
Safe travels, plenty of supply and safe shelter to MinuteGal and all other freepers and believers in the midst of God demonstrating His power. We need you, so be spared unto His work and Great Commission. Amen.
Great to hear from you, Taxman. Stay hunkered and prayerful, joined by many freepers who will watch though the storm along with you. Blessings...
Prayers are up for you!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.