Stay Safe Florida Scoopers

[NCMUFan]

Western North Carolina received major flooding.
https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2024/09/28/helene-in-nc-busick-received-nearly-30-inches-of-rain/75428189007/

[Skatastrophy]

I have a good friend in Asheville I still haven't heard from since he mentioned the high winds and flooding. I think he's up in the hills a bit so hopefully he's okay with no landslide issues.

[Herman Cain]

390 western North Carolina roads closed except for emergency, power and road repair crews.
https://www.wfmynews2.com/article/weather/helene-road-conditions/83-dc041666-993e-4fd6-865f-181cb8695717

Watching this area closely, as we have a lot of business interests .

[jesmu84]

No power for 24 hours in Indiana

Luckily the EV is powering the important items - tv, wifi, refrigerator

[dgies9156]

This morning, I was returning from San Francisco to Orlando and flew over the Big Bend region shortly before dawn.

There we no lights, anywhere.

Up until Tallahassee, there we lights everywhere. But as we got to the Big Bend, there were no lights anywhere until we passed Interstate 75.

It's amazing and our power company has a BIG job. But last Wednesday, there were more than 4,000 electrical trucks parked just outside the worst hit area, in the Villages.

[Herman Cain]

No power for 24 hours in Indiana

Luckily the EV is powering the important items - tv, wifi, refrigerator

Hope you get your power back soon.

[NCMUFan]

I have a good friend in Asheville I still haven't heard from since he mentioned the high winds and flooding. I think he's up in the hills a bit so hopefully he's okay with no landslide issues.

My mother-in-law was raised in Waynesville.  Many relatives still living in the area.  Haven't been able to reach my brother-in-law in Canton yet.

[wadesworld]

No power for 24 hours in Indiana

Luckily the EV is powering the important items - tv, wifi, refrigerator

Drove through southern IN on the way to Louisville. Steady rain the whole way. Some wind. Didn't notice any flooding or power outages though. But guessing the worst of it was before we were driving through.

[JWags85]

Passing due west of the Gulf coast of the state right now.  Heavy rains and some wind but nothing TOO crazy as of now, thankfully.  Storm surge seems to be manageable.

Well this aged like milk in the South Florida sun...

Lost half power around 7:30 on Thursday night (half the lights in the apartment and outlets in the main room/kitchen) then fully lost power around 8:30.  I had been assuring my wife we were fine because we never lost power during any storms the last 14 months and, speaking to our property management, they mentioned our complex never lost power during the chaos of Ian a few years ago either.  Whoops.

Toughed it out Friday night, moved our fridge contents to the fridge at my office which fortunately had power.  Duke Energy projects had Sunday night for resumption of power so we headed to my parents on Friday afternoon to get back into AC/electricity.

Speaking of my parents, they have a generator at their house so they were ok, but they were literal inches from major issues.  They live in south St. Pete, in between the Skyway and the bridge to St Pete Beach, by Eckerd College.  Thursday night, their street was majorly flooded, pictures of literal fish schooling by their front porch, etc...  Water lapped up to their garage door but thankfully stopped there.  Another 3-6 inches and they were flooded.  So by Friday they were fine...minus hundreds of fish in the street (though many were carp from the lakes adjacent to them and not the inlets) .  They got power back relatively quickly, I assume due to proximity to 2 large nursing home/assisted living centers.

Our power resumption projections got pushed back to Monday night...then randomly got messages at about 6PM last night that power was back so we were able to head home, which was a welcome relief.

It was the worst flooding in the Tampa/St Pete area in over 100 years.  We have friends who had 3-4 feet of water in their houses.  Dropped a dehumidifier off at one yesterday and the entire road up to their house was lined with discarded mattresses and couches.  Just brutal.

[MuggsyB]

Well this aged like milk in the South Florida sun...

Lost half power around 7:30 on Thursday night (half the lights in the apartment and outlets in the main room/kitchen) then fully lost power around 8:30.  I had been assuring my wife we were fine because we never lost power during any storms the last 14 months and, speaking to our property management, they mentioned our complex never lost power during the chaos of Ian a few years ago either.  Whoops.

Toughed it out Friday night, moved our fridge contents to the fridge at my office which fortunately had power.  Duke Energy projects had Sunday night for resumption of power so we headed to my parents on Friday afternoon to get back into AC/electricity.

Speaking of my parents, they have a generator at their house so they were ok, but they were literal inches from major issues.  They live in south St. Pete, in between the Skyway and the bridge to St Pete Beach, by Eckerd College.  Thursday night, their street was majorly flooded, pictures of literal fish schooling by their front porch, etc...  Water lapped up to their garage door but thankfully stopped there.  Another 3-6 inches and they were flooded.  So by Friday they were fine...minus hundreds of fish in the street (though many were carp from the lakes adjacent to them and not the inlets) .  They got power back relatively quickly, I assume due to proximity to 2 large nursing home/assisted living centers.

Our power resumption projections got pushed back to Monday night...then randomly got messages at about 6PM last night that power was back so we were able to head home, which was a welcome relief.

It was the worst flooding in the Tampa/St Pete area in over 100 years.  We have friends who had 3-4 feet of water in their houses.  Dropped a dehumidifier off at one yesterday and the entire road up to their house was lined with discarded mattresses and couches.  Just brutal.

I'm sorry JWags.  Asheville looks terrible as well. 

[dgies9156]

Well this aged like milk in the South Florida sun...

Lost half power around 7:30 on Thursday night (half the lights in the apartment and outlets in the main room/kitchen) then fully lost power around 8:30.  I had been assuring my wife we were fine because we never lost power during any storms the last 14 months and, speaking to our property management, they mentioned our complex never lost power during the chaos of Ian a few years ago either.  Whoops.

Toughed it out Friday night, moved our fridge contents to the fridge at my office which fortunately had power.  Duke Energy projects had Sunday night for resumption of power so we headed to my parents on Friday afternoon to get back into AC/electricity.

Speaking of my parents, they have a generator at their house so they were ok, but they were literal inches from major issues.  They live in south St. Pete, in between the Skyway and the bridge to St Pete Beach, by Eckerd College.  Thursday night, their street was majorly flooded, pictures of literal fish schooling by their front porch, etc...  Water lapped up to their garage door but thankfully stopped there.  Another 3-6 inches and they were flooded.  So by Friday they were fine...minus hundreds of fish in the street (though many were carp from the lakes adjacent to them and not the inlets) .  They got power back relatively quickly, I assume due to proximity to 2 large nursing home/assisted living centers.

Our power resumption projections got pushed back to Monday night...then randomly got messages at about 6PM last night that power was back so we were able to head home, which was a welcome relief.

It was the worst flooding in the Tampa/St Pete area in over 100 years.  We have friends who had 3-4 feet of water in their houses.  Dropped a dehumidifier off at one yesterday and the entire road up to their house was lined with discarded mattresses and couches.  Just brutal.

Hope all is OK with you and your family. Stay strong.

[Jockey]

Well this aged like milk in the South Florida sun...

Lost half power around 7:30 on Thursday night (half the lights in the apartment and outlets in the main room/kitchen) then fully lost power around 8:30.  I had been assuring my wife we were fine because we never lost power during any storms the last 14 months and, speaking to our property management, they mentioned our complex never lost power during the chaos of Ian a few years ago either.  Whoops.

Toughed it out Friday night, moved our fridge contents to the fridge at my office which fortunately had power.  Duke Energy projects had Sunday night for resumption of power so we headed to my parents on Friday afternoon to get back into AC/electricity.

Speaking of my parents, they have a generator at their house so they were ok, but they were literal inches from major issues.  They live in south St. Pete, in between the Skyway and the bridge to St Pete Beach, by Eckerd College.  Thursday night, their street was majorly flooded, pictures of literal fish schooling by their front porch, etc...  Water lapped up to their garage door but thankfully stopped there.  Another 3-6 inches and they were flooded.  So by Friday they were fine...minus hundreds of fish in the street (though many were carp from the lakes adjacent to them and not the inlets) .  They got power back relatively quickly, I assume due to proximity to 2 large nursing home/assisted living centers.

Our power resumption projections got pushed back to Monday night...then randomly got messages at about 6PM last night that power was back so we were able to head home, which was a welcome relief.

It was the worst flooding in the Tampa/St Pete area in over 100 years.  We have friends who had 3-4 feet of water in their houses.  Dropped a dehumidifier off at one yesterday and the entire road up to their house was lined with discarded mattresses and couches.  Just brutal.

Great to hear that you and your family have stayed safe. Sadly, these storms - and worse - look like they will continue. The rapid intensification seems to be happening over and over.

[tower912]

Helene intensified rapidly, took an unprecedented path, and dropped two feet of rain in hilly areas that were not prepared for it.   A case can be made that there is really no way to hurricane-proof some of these areas.  The topography simply won't allow it.   And an argument can be made that the local residents could/should have evacuated.   To where?  And, this has never happened before in that area.
    Prayers for those impacted.

[MU82]

Helene intensified rapidly, took an unprecedented path, and dropped two feet of rain in hilly areas that were not prepared for it.   A case can be made that there is really no way to hurricane-proof some of these areas.  The topography simply won't allow it.   And an argument can be made that the local residents could/should have evacuated.   To where?  And, this has never happened before in that area.
    Prayers for those impacted.

My wife and I often say that one of the things we liked about living in Charlotte was that even though it's within 2-3 hours of the mountains and the beach, it was far enough inland to safe from severe weather. But Helene could have devastated Charlotte just as it did Asheville, Boone, etc. Just dumb luck that it missed the nation's 15th-largest city this time.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Flash floods wrecked havoc here in Connecticut in mid-August.  A few hilly towns near Waterbury saw a storm drop over 12" rain in a few hours.  People that have never even sniffed flooding lost homes.  One minute every thing was fine and the next they were flooded out.
2 people died.  They were rescuing people off of roofs
Helene was even bigger storm over a longer period of time and the video I saw is unbelievable.  It's going to take a long time for those people to have their lives put back together. That is those who survived .

[Jockey]

I have a good friend in Asheville I still haven't heard from since he mentioned the high winds and flooding. I think he's up in the hills a bit so hopefully he's okay with no landslide issues.

Same here. A cousin near Black Mountain.

[NCMUFan]

Helene intensified rapidly, took an unprecedented path, and dropped two feet of rain in hilly areas that were not prepared for it.   A case can be made that there is really no way to hurricane-proof some of these areas.  The topography simply won't allow it.   And an argument can be made that the local residents could/should have evacuated.   To where?  And, this has never happened before in that area.
    Prayers for those impacted.

Actually, it happens more often than you think in that area.

https://smokymountainnews.com/archives/item/36735-siren-warning-system-will-alert-haywood-residents-to-flooding

https://smokymountainnews.com/archives/item/27037-2004-floods-ravage-western-north-carolina

Good new, last night my brother and sister inlaw were able to TXT that they were ok.  They are still without power but at my sister in laws parents who also live in Canton and with power. 
Now have to find out about Aunts, Uncles and Cousins.

[NCMUFan]

My wife and I often say that one of the things we liked about living in Charlotte was that even though it's within 2-3 hours of the mountains and the beach, it was far enough inland to safe from severe weather. But Helene could have devastated Charlotte just as it did Asheville, Boone, etc. Just dumb luck that it missed the nation's 15th-largest city this time.

I am off of I-85 north of Charlotte, but I was telling my wife the same thing.  There was no reason in the world that what happened in western North Carolina could not have been our area.

[reinko]

Mom and sister a few miles from TPA got 2 feet of water, never had a drop of water in the house for 20+ years.

Small electrical fire, but all are safe and water has receded.  But they are not doing great. 

[Scoop Snoop]

I am off of I-85 north of Charlotte, but I was telling my wife the same thing.  There was no reason in the world that what happened in western North Carolina could not have been our area.

If the storm had not turned towards Western NC, there is no doubt that it could have clobbered us, near the Eastern slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Happened way back in '69 in our lightly populated county with over 100 people drowning and devastation like Asheville's.

[ATL MU Warrior]

Was on a family vacation (cruise from Tampa to Mexico x2, Honduras and Belize) when the storm hit.  Our return to Tampa was delayed 36 hours due to survey of port/assessment of damages.  For what it's worth, everything looked pretty much like it did when we left...maybe a little bit of debris.

Ride home up I-75 was a different story.  In about an 80-100 mile stretch from north FL through south GA, lots of snapped off trees as well as blown over trees, all laying in same direction pointing roughly northwest so I guess this must have been where the eastern edge of the storm passed.  Most billboards constructed of wood framing were demolished although the metal units seemed to withstand better, but 90% of the vinyls were gone or severely damaged. Many roadside signs were bent, many almost all the way to the ground.  Some roof and building damage in Valdosta, which seemed to be the hardest hit area we drove through.

We live roughly 30 miles north of city of Atlanta, and while I haven't yet been outside to look around the house, nothing seems to be amiss at our place.  Neighbors said we had lot of rain (7-8 inches) but over a long period of time and without the deluges that really seem to trigger the worst flooding.  Lucked out.

[Spotcheck Billy]

Same here. A cousin near Black Mountain.

I was only living there during the blizzard of April 1987.
18 inches of snow in Winston-Salem.

[MuggsyB]

I'm not placing blame on anyone but isn't this a situation, in Asheville and other spots, where our coast guard or military could provide immediate help?  I understand it's impossible to predict exactly where a hurricane is going to hit, or have catastrophic consequences, but I think we need to reexamine our play book on how to handle these issues.  From everything I've read Asheville is in dire need right now. 

[Uncle Rico]

I'm not placing blame on anyone but isn't this a situation, in Asheville and other spots, where our coast guard or military could provide immediate help?  I understand it's impossible to predict exactly where a hurricane is going to hit, or have catastrophic consequences, but I think we need to reexamine our play book on how to handle these issues.  From everything I've read Asheville is in dire need right now.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

I'm not placing blame on anyone but isn't this a situation, in Asheville and other spots, where our coast guard or military could provide immediate help?  I understand it's impossible to predict exactly where a hurricane is going to hit, or have catastrophic consequences, but I think we need to reexamine our play book on how to handle these issues.  From everything I've read Asheville is in dire need right now. 

The National Guard is on the ground in Asheville right now.