Heads up east coast & Caribbean - Hurricane Irma

[WanderingWinoZ]

still far out...almost all models say Cat 5, strongest winds ever seen
please at least think about a grocery list, stock up, make evacuation plans now... you won't be sorry if you need them

reverepress.com/news/meteorologists-tracked-harvey-warning-another-monster-hurricane/

[Pom]

My God.

[WanderingWinoZ]

www.cnn.com/2017/08/31/us/hurricane-irma-forecast-weather/index.html

Powerful Hurricane Irma could be next weather disaster

[WanderingWinoZ]

[sushi]

Thanks. This potentially affects my family. It's still too many days out out to tell for sure, but I'll watch.

[pixy0stix]

Cat 5?! Holy shit.

[mbcdefg]

Oh dear Hopefully it stays away from land.

[bowies]

Irma better not fucking dare.

[WanderingWinoZ]

Aug 31, 2017 20:36:15 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Cat 5?! Holy shit.

i mean- the best i can figure out that line about half the models have it as cat 5+ and half have it below in 10 days (240 hours)

Just keep an eye on it...talk about lists & plans now, so you are ready go to if you need to spring into action and prepare

[bowies]

If you click on the tweet he goes on to caveat and say this is likely an overestimation.

[sofamonkey]

Holy shit. This is awful.

[honeychai]

This scares the shit out of me.

I am on the east coast-- right on the coast.

I have a bad feeling about this one.

[penguingrrl]

Shit. I'm also seeing an outside chance on the above map of it hitting TX. I'll gladly take it in NJ if it stays away from TX.

[rachelgreen]

I've been going back and forth on what to do all day. We leave for Disney on Monday, staying through Sunday. I have travel insurance for the trip. I'm thinking we will go and if we need to leave early, that's just what we will have to do. No point in chancing it with two young ones.

[WanderingWinoZ]

Aug 31, 2017 23:41:28 GMT -5 rachelgreen said:

I've been going back and forth on what to do all day. We leave for Disney on Monday, staying through Sunday. I have travel insurance for the trip. I'm thinking we will go and if we need to leave early, that's just what we will have to do. No point in chancing it with two young ones.

i would go- just keep an eye on things, is home still in the potential path???
Maybe think about making a rental car reservation just in case you have to drive back??
I have a coworker that left last thursday & was to return to houston on monday from Disney...flights cancelled 5 times, so she's driving back now

[sushi]

From my last look its way far out. Its still in leeward island. Fl is not in current path

[iammalcolmx]

Well then. I was supposed to fly to NYC next Thursday. I will be keeping an eye on this one.

[tacoflavoredkisses]

Aug 31, 2017 23:41:28 GMT -5 rachelgreen said:

I've been going back and forth on what to do all day. We leave for Disney on Monday, staying through Sunday. I have travel insurance for the trip. I'm thinking we will go and if we need to leave early, that's just what we will have to do. No point in chancing it with two young ones.

The forecasting I read last night said we've got at least 10 days before this could be an issue, so I would go.

[bowies]

Looks like there are two paths it might take - cut through Puerto Rico/Hispaniola/Cuba or skirt up the East Coast. Even though I live on a (low-lying) part of the Eastern seaboard I almost prefer that it takes that route since it'll likely weaken in cooler water and may stay offshore. It's so hard to model that far out though.

[andwhat]

Does anyone have a good emergency preparedness list? This is where we are severely lacking. Guess we should be better prepared since we have a kid.

[abs]

Sept 1, 2017 7:01:49 GMT -5 andwhat said:

Does anyone have a good emergency preparedness list? This is where we are severely lacking. Guess we should be better prepared since we have a kid.

For Harvey we stocked up on bread, peanut butter, other non perishables, water, and batteries.  Now that it is over eggs and milk are hard to find but I don't typically buy those pre-hurricane because they will go bad if you lose power.  Refill your medications before the storm hits.  It's also a good idea to make sure you have enough flashlights, a tarp in case you have roof damage, and fill your car up with gas.

After this hurricane a boat and generator could be added to the list. 

One lesson learned for me:  Make sure you know where all of your important documents (insurance paperwork, passports, social security cards, ID, birth certificates, etc.) are and have them together.  You just never know when you will need to grab them and go.  We were frantically searching for all of these when we thought water might enter the house and it was not a good feeling.  Never again!

There are other more official lists, too.

Hopefully Irma stays far, far away from land.

[bears]

Sept 1, 2017 7:18:01 GMT -5 abs said:

Sept 1, 2017 7:01:49 GMT -5 andwhat said:

Does anyone have a good emergency preparedness list? This is where we are severely lacking. Guess we should be better prepared since we have a kid.

For Harvey we stocked up on bread, peanut butter, other non perishables, water, and batteries.  Now that it is over eggs and milk are hard to find but I don't typically buy those pre-hurricane because they will go bad if you lose power.  Refill your medications before the storm hits.  It's also a good idea to make sure you have enough flashlights, a tarp in case you have roof damage, and fill your car up with gas.

After this hurricane a boat and generator could be added to the list. 

One lesson learned for me:  Make sure you know where all of your important documents (insurance paperwork, passports, social security cards, ID, birth certificates, etc.) are and have them together.  You just never know when you will need to grab them and go.  We were frantically searching for all of these when we thought water might enter the house and it was not a good feeling.  Never again!

There are other more official lists, too.

Hopefully Irma stays far, far away from land.

I'm ordering a waterproof document folder.

[bowies]

Sept 1, 2017 7:01:49 GMT -5 andwhat said:

Does anyone have a good emergency preparedness list? This is where we are severely lacking. Guess we should be better prepared since we have a kid.

This is what the state of Virginia has put together: www.vaemergency.gov/prepare-recover/emergency-supply-kit/#kit-pdf-download

[Deleted]

The meteorologists releasing "potential landfall" maps this far in advance of Irma are irresponsible. It's WAY too early to predict those things and the models will change every few hours at this point.

A good idea for anyone is to have an emergency preparedness plan though.

Extra medications for humans and animals
Changes of clothes and shoes in a bin for family members
Blankets & jackets
Flashlights and batteries
Water
Copies of important documents
Cash
Shelf stable food
Manual can openers and matches
First aid kit
Contact information for important people/places written down (not just in a cell phone)
A plan on where you would meet/who you would contact should you become separated
Sharpie markers

[erbear]

Stuff like this reminds me that we should have emergency supplies in the house (batteries, water, change of clothes and documents) there and accessible just in case. Mass flooding isn't likely where I live (high on a hill in Philly) but you never know - our basement flooded during Irene and again during Sandy - not nearly to the extent of anything coming out of Texas but enough rain meant water in the basement - I'd rather have some stuff just in case.

I hope Irma fizzles quickly.

[chickadee77]

Yup, I'm starting to gather things together. We had a practice run earlier this year when we had a mandatory evac for wildfires, so we have a pretty good idea of what is important to us, etc. But I'm making a run later today to grab some extra bottled water, and saving my empty milk/gatorade cartons to freeze potable water in. I think my pantry is in good shape, and we do have a genny that will keep minimal stuff running if it's something we ride out.

But we've discussed it amongst ourselves, and are planning to evacuate for anything higher than a Cat 2.

[Coopertown]

This guide has a lot of information specific to SC, but also has great general information as well.

www.scemd.org/component/content/article/26-guides-and-brochures/142-south-carolina-hurricane-guide

I plan to start staging important docs, etc. this weekend so I don't have to worry about it while trying to coordinate potential school and work closings.

[bowies]

A fireproof and waterproof* safe is a good thing for every household to have on hand if you can afford it. They come in different sizes and aren't terribly expensive, usually under $100. Of course our briefcase one just broke a month ago and I keep meaning to contact the company to complain. There are also pouches if you only have documents to store.

*The cheaper safes merely offer fire and water protection - it will take more money to get up to "proof" territory unfortunately.

[panicked]

We are right in the path, depending on which model you look at. We're actually heading out now to get gas, water, etc... before everything gets crazy.

[MixedBerryJam]

Aug 31, 2017 20:36:15 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Cat 5?! Holy shit.

I didn't even know this was a thing. I thought the scale was 1-4.