Hurricane Michael

Nature at its worst.

Hoping for the best for folks in this path. I know we have members in this area.

Having grown up with and then owned a coastal barrier island home and several aftermaths of storms, Ike broke my will to continue and scraped H's house in to the bay. Just heartbreaking.
We both had that sick feeling return seeing this Gulf monster the last few days and knowing what was possible. So hoping for a low loss of life, but this came so fast it may be a shock.
Being a power lineman, know the long days ahead for those who still have property needing power as well as the ones who will have damage coming tonight and the next few days. Watching the evening news and still seeing the eye and windspeeds are heartbreaking.

This sure has dropped off the news cycle. Seeing ground zero Mexico Beach,FL brings memories back. The flooding and wind damage is hard to grasp for many.

Hoping any members fared well as well as the many who are trying to regroup. The Weather Channel seems to be the daily info source. What a huge endeavor.

For those that think they missed something by not riding the storm out, well you have and you want to keep on missing that something!
Many years ago I was supposed to meet a friend in Montgomery Alabama and bring a new to me rescue Doberman back to Illinois and Also pull a uhaul trailer back for the friend. I knew a hurricane was heading for the gulf coast but I was heading for Montgomery 160 miles from the coast, than the forecast 75 mph winds for Montgomery but I reasoned I had been in two thunderstorms with up to 75 mph winds that summer so no problems. After I get past Birmingham on I65 I driving 80 mph or so no cars going southbound north bound 2 lanes bumper to bumper traffic for miles and miles. I reached friends house just as storm hit ( saying that’s when storm hit because rain went from vertical to horizontal made it to the house about 15 feet from parking spot got very wet but thought this not so bad than I found out one thing the weather channel did not mention, hurricanes make fire ants mad the high spot was the one step at the door the dry spot was through any crack or tiny opening around door, next I found out fire ants bite hurt. My next question do you have any bug spray ? No will I have some industrial strength raid, where you ask in the truck, fire ants be powerful persuaders because out into the storm I ran and got the spray it’s hard to believe you could get that wet in 30 feet. After I got back into the house and waged chemical warfare against the ants and won I thought this isn’t that bad than the lights went out, guess where my flashlights are and I really did not get any wetter going out to the truck again many hours later it was over peak winds were around 75 mph. After all was over I made a mental not to self. “ a few seconds or minutes of 75 mph winds in a thunderstorm very different from 8 or 10 hours in a hurricane”!
On reporting on hurricane Michael it’s a can’t win situation for the news organizations this close to election, it’s fake news or your trying to influence election by say recovery going well or not well. So tonight’s news Saudi news reporter killed, top Afghan general police chief ore someone killed. I am guessing that sometime after November 2nd we will see stories saying wow things really bad in Florida these people need help.