Posted on 09/10/2017 2:02:02 PM PDT by NautiNurse
The entire Florida Peninsula has begun to experience Hurricane Irma following landfall at Marco Island. Thousands of Floridians who evacuated the Atlantic cost to Gulf Coast areas found their safe shelter under direct threat from Hurricane Irma as the forecast shifted W Friday night and Saturday. Prayers for all in the storm path.
Mash image to find lots of satellite imagery links
Public Advisories
NHC Discussions
FL Radar Map with Irma Track Overlay
NHC Local Weather Statements/Radar Key West, FL
NHC Local Weather Statements/Radar Tampa Bay, FL
NHC Local Weather Statements/Radar Orlando, FL
NHC Local Weather Statements/Radar Miami, FL
NHC Local Weather Statements/Radar Melbourne, FL
NOAA Local Weather Statements/Radar Jacksonville, FL
NHC Local Weather Statements/Radar Charleston, SC
NHC Local Weather Statements/Radar Wilmington, NC, FL
NHC Local Weather Statements/Radar Morehead City, FL
NHC Local Weather Statements/Radar Norfolk, VA
Buoy Data SE US & GOM
Buoy Data NC/SC/GA
Hurricane Irma Live Thread I
Hurricane Irma Live Thread II
Hurricane Irma Live Thread III
Way too early to tell where Jose is going. Anything from WSW to NE once it comes out of the loop. NE is looking most likely.
You may want to try the Red Cross Safe and Well List:
https://safeandwell.communityos.org/cms/
Safe and Well
After a disaster, letting your family and friends know that you are safe and well can bring your loved ones great peace of mind. This website is designed to help make that communication easier.
Register Yourself as “Safe and Well”
Click on the “List Myself as Safe and Well” button to register yourself on the site.
Search for Loved Ones
Concerned family and friends can search the list of those who have registered themselves as “safe and well” by clicking on the “Search Registrants” button. The results of a successful search will display a loved one’s first name, last name and a brief message.
Our local weather ‘guru’ (professional meteorologist who does commercial forecasting, but shares his knowledge when serious weather affects our area) has a pretty good discussion on Jose, the loop, etc. dated Sept. 11:
https://www.wxrisk.com/jose-and-the-3-choices/
Unfortunately, DT makes a lot of spelling errors & they’re not corrected (summary is full of them) so you may have to do a little interpolation to figure some of it out. He’s been sick (ended up in ER) & I suspect on some pretty good meds so that doesn’t help the situation. Regardless, he’s the guy we all trust when we’re concerned about the weather. He really, really hates “hype”.
Um.... yea, I know. For people in mobile homes, or houses not capable of withstanding the expected winds, I was suggesting a PUBLIC SHELTER that could withstand the wind.. Something like a school, or certified public building.
I’m not sure what your point is anymore?
As late as Thursday night, the NHC was predicting Irma to miss Cuba and hit Miami. Mandatory evacuations were ALREADY UNDERWAY at that time around Miami.
By Friday, they were moving the track farther west. So, yea... great. They predicted a significant Cuba impact 24 hours before it actually happened.
My original point was: At the time the NHC was predicting a MASSIVE Cat4 or 5 storm over Miami, they didn’t think it would significantly impact Cuba. Thankfully, they were wrong.
Had they been correct, the impact of Irma would have been far greater because it wouldn’t have lost so much organization over Cuba.
I’ll add to that now by saying, if that early track had been correct, Irma wouldn’t have been damaged so much by the vertical shear she encountered coming ashore near Naples. So, she would have stayed stronger, longer.
Basically, it was a crap shoot... Miami was spared by the fates of fortune, and providence.
Fate, Fortune, Providence...more of God's middle names. :o)
Thank you! I will tell her to start there.
Thank God it was not being used as a shelter.
It’s the last thing anyone needs.
I think a lot of storm surge info is based on a hurricane moving in from sea and hitting land with it’s forward edge and then the eye. ON the other hand, Irma was unusual in that she traveled up the state, a little inland in places with the eye mostly over land. Thus there was strong wind blow east to west in the beginning, and then from west to east after the eye had moved north. This could explain receding water at first, and then later a surge.
Yeah, see, we don’t talk much about it, cuz it scares off the Race fans, but Indiana took hits from Harvey AND Irma, back to back.
Category 0.18 and a full 0.2.
Praying that things get back to normal as fast as possible.
I don’t doubt that it will be some time before the damage from this storm is fully assessed and we find out if the evacuations really weren’t needed after all.
Seems that everyone thinks that only the areas in the direct line of the eye should be evacuated, but with this storm it was obvious that a lot of the worst of it preceded the eye. The swath of storms and tornadic activity that cut across the state ahead of the eye was incredible.
I don’t recall ever seeing a hurricane that nailed the entire state like Irma did. Either I wasn’t paying attention or I am still too young.
Can you imagine if there was an island there?
“This weeks forecast - we’ll see hurricane levels between 1 and 3 for the next four days, so wear your galoshes!”
https://keysnews.com/article/story/major-update-from-monroe-county-emergency-management/
Major Update From Monroe County Emergency Management
Key West CitizenSeptember 12, 2017
SEARCH AND RESCUE: We know that many people are worried about family members and friends who stayed in the Keys during Hurricane Irma and now cannot be reached. The major reason for not being able to reach people is the lack of communication capability in the Keys. Most of the Keys are without internet or cell service. Crews are working to get these services back on line.
Search and rescue teams have been going door to door in the hardest hit areas of the Keys, including Big Pine Key and Cudjoe Key. Military personnel have helped law enforcement break through the debris and assist in the search.
Col. Lou Caputo with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office reports that they have made good progress reaching many homes and have found no casualties in the search. They will continue door to door searches of the areas they haven’t covered. They are expecting to cover about 90 percent of the hardest hit areas by tomorrow. The search teams do not enter shuttered homes at this time.
DAMAGES: Contrary to reports, no assessments have been done to accurately determine percentage of damage or dollar figures. Monroe County has one of the strongest building codes in the country.
“Things look real damaged from the air, but when you clear the trees and all the debris, it’s not much damage to the houses,” said Monroe County Commissioner Heather Carruthers.
Carruthers, who lives in Key West, said all that was wrong with her house built in 1889 was downed shutters.
ARRIVING AID: Monroe County Emergency Management Director Martin Senterfitt reports that C-130s have been taking off and landing constantly with resources that include food and water. The Iwo Jima light aircraft carrier is 7 miles offshore and ready to provide a variety or resources and manpower.
FEMA has arrived in Key West.
OVERSEAS HIGHWAY: FDOT reports that it has inspected 100 percent of the 42 bridges along U.S. 1 and they are all safe for travel. FDOT also repaired two stretches of U.S. 1 that washed away, at MM 75 and MM 37, and they are ready for travel.
FDOT reports that “cut and toss” operations were completed on U.S. 1 today. Debris removal operations to haul it away will begin soon.
“Now it is safe to travel throughout U.S. 1,” FDOT reports.
MEDICAL SERVICES: Mariners Hospital in Tavernier has opened its emergency room.
Disaster Medical Assistance Teams have arrived and will be setting up in Key West, the Florida Keys Community College and the City of Marathon Park. They will become operational tomorrow. More details to come.
CELL SERVICE: AT&T crews are working to restore service.
FOOD AND WATER DISTRIBUTION: Two distribution centers for food and water became operation in Key West on Tuesday. One is at the Sears Town Plaza in New Town and the other is in Bahama Village in Old Town. Two other distribution sites are in the works at Sugarloaf School and the National Key Deer Refuge office on the Overseas Highway in Big Pine Key.
FUEL: Fuel remains limited in the Keys. But gas stations are beginning to open up to the public, especially in the Upper Keys.
ROAD CLEARING: In Key West, 80 percent of the roads are cleared of debris and it’s expected all streets will be passable soon. Debris removal to follow.
In Key Largo, New York Task Force 2 has worked with the Key Largo Volunteer Fire Department on search and rescue and moving debris.
In Islamorada, debris has been removed from all the side streets into a single path to make it possible to travel them. Debris removal will begin by Saturday.
Debris removal is taking place in all other parts of the County.
“Did anybody think after the epic hurricane that we experience that our streets are as clear as they are now,” Monroe County Administrator Roman Gastesi said. “We’ve been very fortunate public works and everyone in on this effort has been doing a heck of a job.”
SEWER: In Key West, the sewer treatment facility is now functioning. Anyone with running water or a bucket of water will be able to flush.
“Every day, every hour goes by with more progress,” Gastesi said.
ENERGY: Florida Keys Electric Coop, which services the Upper Keys to the end of the Seven Mile Bridge ,has fully energized its main transmission line and all its substations and is working on feeder lines to the neighborhoods. There is a base camp at Founders Park in Islamorada for the contracted crews.
The Coop reports about 30 percent of its customers have power and are bringing more people online each day.
There still is no power in the Lower Keys. Keys Energy Service that handles the rest of the Keys coverage area is making good progress. They are expecting to be able to bring power to Key West in a few days. The hardest hit areas around Big Pine Key and Cudjoe Key will take longer. There is about 300 downed power poles, which take time to replace.
WATER: The Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority also has made significant progress. The main transmission line is intact. It has been plugging leaks and is now getting pressure from Upper Keys to Marathon. Numbers are not known at this time, but several neighborhoods in the Upper Keys have water.
From 10 a.m. to noon tomorrow, Key West will have water from stored supplies and an old plant.
There is still a precautionary boil water notice in effect for all of the Keys.
INSURANCE: Citizen’s Property Insurance will come into the Keys tomorrow to set up a base camp. The location and hours of operation will be announced soon.
CURFEW: The dusk-to-dawn curfew will remain in place until further notice. “Any citizen out moving around at night will be stopped by law enforcement and will be sent home,” Monroe County Sheriff Office Col. Lou Caputo said.
AIRPORTS: Key West International Airport and Florida Keys Marathon International are open for emergency response flights. They remain closed until further notice for commercial flights and general aviation.
JAIL: Monroe County has set up a temporary jail in Marathon. A local judge will hold first appearances every other day. One looter is now in custody. Monroe County Sheriff’s Office is being helped from a large contingent of law enforcement officers from outside the County to help with security.
GROCERY STORES: The Winn-Dixie and Publix grocery stores opened today in Key Largo with limited hours.
Sen. Anitere Flores was on the 6:30 p.m. conference call when all the progess was discussed and said: “It’s only been 48 hours after the storm hit and it’s absolutely remarkable what has been accomplished.”
http://www.monroecountyem.com/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=130
Posted on: September 12, 2017
MONROE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT UDATE TUESDAY EVENING
https://www.fpl.com/storm/customer-outages.html
Storm Center Outages, by Florida county
Last update:09/13/2017 05:00 AM
http://www.monroecounty-fl.gov/AlertCenter.aspx?AID=NOT-TRUE-DOD-REPORT-ABOUT-EVACUATION-OF—11
NOT TRUE: DOD REPORT ABOUT EVACUATION OF 10,000 PEOPLE
POST HURRICANE IRMA MONROE COUNTY, FL
For Immediate Release
Sept. 12, 2017
Contact:
Cammy Clark, Public Information Officer
305-742-9687, Clark-cammy@monroecounty-fl.gov
Follow us on Facebook at Monroe County BOCC
NOT TRUE: DOD REPORT ABOUT EVACUATION OF 10,000 PEOPLE POST HURRICANE IRMA MONROE COUNTY, FL –
The information below that was in a Sept. 11, 2017 Department of Defense report is NOT TRUE. Please do not repeat and please refute if possible.
It said:
“Damage to the Keys may necessitate evacuation of the 10,000 persons who did not evacuate before the storm.”
I have great news to start the day off! For the last few days, I have been working from afar for my family in Florida, seven different households directly, and 5 more indirectly as the word was passed on, to keep each other informed as to the safety of each other, and in the storm’s aftermath, what did each need for their various situations. Each have had different needs.
The ones in Central Florida have needed the most help. They were most anxious about gas for vehicles, ice, and where road closures are so they don’t waste gas and time. Power is the ultimate need, but they were told it will be 3 weeks before power is restored to their area.
As they turned off cell phones to conserve what little battery they had left, I tried finding out info for them, like where gas was actually. Turns out that all of the places I had given them were either out or had no power to dispense what they did have.
I called wholesale ice facilities to try to let them know that the area needed ice badly. People were very nice, but couldn’t help me. Everyone needs ice they said, and there is no power to produce more. They have sent out all that they hand previously made.
So then I tackled whether to get a hotel room for one family, but we could only extend a few days of help for that. It was decided that if we could find a generator and some gas, it would be enough to keep the food cold and run a few outlets to power phones, have a fan on, and a few lights and small appliances as needed. So I worked on finding a generator. I looked everywhere within a 40 mile radius. All said no, we’re sorry we can’t help you.
I sent a message to my family in Gainesville, where the power had just come back on, but they are blue collar folks, and have service businesses. They were busy trying to help others in their community get things fixed and working again. A sister texted back that she would ask and would get back to me in a little bit.
I didn’t hear back from her, so I returned to the internet to find more places to call. Was there anywhere in all of Florida for me to find a generator and some gas so it could be used by a family that really needed some help? The more I hunted and called, the more doors were slammed in my face. No, no, no, no. I felt like I was in the wrong line at the DMV over and over again. I was feeling despair and frustration. I had power at my home, so I was doing all this searching on behalf of someone who didn’t have power. I began to realize why my sister-in-law sounded forlorn. For her, she had a dying cell phone and no way to recharge it. Her back up external batteries were already used up. I can only imagine how difficult it must have felt like for her, when I had power and was losing hope.
I realized that I was focusing on one family specifically for much of the day, and needed to circle back with other family members to see how things were coming along. Several were getting power back. There had been new issues pop up in the meantime. One member had gotten a severe cut during clean up and had to go to the emergency room for stitches, but generally things were on the upswing. They were all busy trying to get back to work, to the life that was going on before Irma, full of projects and deadlines.
I called my one sister in Gainesville to get an update from her. I hadn’t heard from her about my mom, who has dementia and is very difficult to care for at these latter stages. We have tried as a family to take turns caring for mom at her own home. We have hired caregivers to help us out, but it is still hard, and it gets harder every passing day. So I let my sister vent to me about her day, and her past few days, how hard it has been. She has to be away from her husband and family when she cares for mom.
After she talked, I was telling her about our brother in central Florida, about how difficult their life is, even without Irma. They have a lot going on personally, and are working at resolving those issues. They have a lot weighing them down. So I started to broach the topic of the generator again, and was there any possible way to get one of theirs, the one not in use as of earlier that day? She said I need to stop you here. I need to tell you something. So I stopped and listened again.
Then she told me that as soon as she asked our other brother, with whom she works at the family business, about taking the generator to our other brother several hours away (before Irma), that he immediately said yes! Let’s figure it out! Let’s try to get down there and help them out! When my sister told me this, I broke down and cried! And said thank you, Jesus! This is an answer to prayer!
My brother and his two teen-aged sons worked for the next few hours, driving around town waiting in lines for gas, sometimes with a little success, sometimes not. Eventually, they had a few tanks filled to go with the generator. They were ready to head out.
When I had phoned my sister, the boys had been gone for a couple of hours, already on their way to Lake Wales! My brother wanted to surprise our other brother, so we weren’t allowed to call ahead and let them know.
So this morning, I woke up to find a text from my sister-in-law, with thanks to all who had pitched in and made this possible! They now had the refrigerator running, power to recharge phones, and a fan!! They are so grateful! She said that after a while they plan to use the washer to do a load of clothes. She said she is so thankful to have family that can pull each other through tough times.
I know this is “just” a family story, and this is what families do for each other, but it is still a great lesson. We all do need to pull together and give each other encouragement to get through the challenges that life presents us with. I want to thank each one of you personally, who replied to me in one form or another. You sensed my frustration. You had my back! You gave me uplifting messages, and encouraged me to keep going, to keep up the good work. I am so grateful for each of your prayers for my family, and for taking the time out of your days, to boost me up! I could not have persisted with getting help without you all by my side.
THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!!
You are an angel for all of your efforts to assist your family from afar. Cheers!
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