The Weather Thread

[smeags]

so, everything but, romey ?

[General_Failure]

Look, if he's gotta go for the greater good then he's gotta go.

[Sgt PSN]

Seems like a fair trade.

[Geowhizzer]

The latest (which seems to change during every update): The storm has definitely centered in on South Florida.  It's weakened a bit and is now going to probably strike southernmost Florida as a Cat 4 before marching directly up the middle of the state.  If the track continues, we may actually be better off staying right where we are, although I was told last night that the barrier islands are almost certainly going to be placed under mandatory evacuation orders. 

Amazing how we roll the dice with our "plan" only to be sitting here less than 48 hours away from this motherfarger slamming into us without any clue as to what to do.  If we didn't have to report to work because of our jobs, I'd be in South Jersey already.

Kiss my meatcicle, Irma.

We didn't go with our original plan of going north.  By the time we would have been able to do it, traffic and gas shortages made that possibility just as danger-filled.  We've boarded up our windows but will head to a friends' home that has a generator and is a bit further away from the current projected path and built like a brick shteinhouse (they even have a kevlar-lined saferoom in case of tornados).  Right now the path is just to the west of Lake Okeechobee, and we're about 80 miles from that.  And the current trend keeps moving it closer.

We've done all we can to protect the house.  All we can do now is get the family as safe as possible and wait it out.

[smeags]

stay safe geo.

[MDS]

feel like geo and romey should be together

stay safe guys

[SD]

Good luck guys. Stay safe.

[QB Eagles]

It's headed right for Geo's doorstep.

Next few hours should be key. It's wrapping up an eyewall replacement cycle and this might be the last chance for the storm to strengthen before land interaction takes over. If it shoots past SF into the Gulf that would give it a warm place to get stronger too but currently the tracks still have it going right up through the peninsula.

Best case scenario is it hits the Keys as a Cat 3 and is Cat 2 before it comes ashore on the mainland, preferably deep in the Glades. Even in that scenario it has a huge wind field and the surge is a mess all over the whole southern half of the state, with records broken all over the place. Obviously much worse scenarios are still very much in play, but right now I would bet against it clearcutting anywhere on the mainland that isn't a trailer park the same way it did to Barbuda. More of a surge disaster.

[Munson]

I honestly always get Geo and QB mixed up. Whoever is down on Florida, stay safe.

What are the environmental implications of a storm like this for a place like the Everglades? Never really read much about what storms like Andrew did to the habitat there and what not.

[QB Eagles]

I thought you were just joking about the size of the storm when you said it could affect me. Opposite corner of the country here.

This storm is better for the Everglades than what people have been doing to it for the last 100 years. If this thing pushed Okeechobee over the wall and reswamped the sugar plantations, I wouldn't shed a tear.

It's a threat to human enjoyment of those places (just like the fires going in Glacier National Park or here in the Columbia River Gorge), but major hurricanes, fires, etc. are normal parts of these habitats, even if human activity is making them a bit more severe and frequent.

[Munson]

Lol yeah sorry about that QB...

The fires near Glacier bum me out hard. We're hoping to get there next year, I hope things get under control soon.

[QB Eagles]

I'm going there next Thursday on a long-planned vacation. I hope something's open.

[hbionic]

Stay safe floridians.

[ice grillin you]

this is actually the best possible path...better for it to be directly over land and head up into landlocked part of the country....could have been way worse if it road the east coast

[PhillyPhreak54]

I hope Mar A Lago and Rush Limbaugh's studio and home get shtein on