I wish one of you smart guys would tell me if I need to evacuate my family from St Pete.
I think their crystal balls are in the shop -- and I don't think we can trust the cardreaders in NO. Guess we wait awhile to see....
I saw a gnarly graphic today of worst case storm surge scenario... most of east side of Pinellas would be underwater...
They're talking about a Sunday landfall, so hold tight until at least tomorrow afternoon - there's way too much uncertainty in the forecast track now.
Odds are you'll be on the weaker side of the storm.
Wish we could tell you right now. There are 3 models still showing a Florida landfall - UKMET and NHC90 (kind of hard to see that yellow track have Wilma going in around Cape Coral (same as the 11 am official track), and LBAR continues to show Tampa as the target. The others (GFDL, and the BAM family) show her being an extended tourist in the Yucatan.
It would be prudent to get the evac and prep kits ready in any case. More should be known by tomorrow morning.
Stay put until you hear from our EOC. They're on top of it and will let you know when/and if you need to consider evacuation.
What evac zone are you in?
A weekend trip to visit scenic Georgia would not be a bad idea
Realisticly, if you are within 10 miles of the shore, it would be a good idea
Considering the power outages Florida got when Katrina ambled thru on its way into the gulf, visiting relatives up north might be a good idea regardless. But whatever you do, do it before the highways turn into parking lots