Hurricane Milton Thread

So, let’s zoom in on that surge map and make things a bit more personal.

My friend lives in the area marked with the green circle.

She got flooded in Helene and now owns a gutted house. And this one looks worse. 

She’s safely away from St. Pete at the moment. 

We got our house boarded up this morning and I spent yesterday helping family get their houses ready for the storm and shuffle cars into covered storage. We also have 20 gallons of gas for the generator and we just had a transfer switch installed earlier this year so that will be a nice change from running extension cords everywhere to being able to use outlets in the house. Our biggest worry is water so far, during Ian we had a lake in our backyard where it is normally dry land so I am expecting the same for this storm. Hopefully it stays in the yard and away from the house. Stay safe everyone. 

David S. Wallens said:

In reply to SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) :

Personally, I’d stay off the roads until this passes. We’re north of your new condo in Ormond Beach, and today I saw a gas station out of 87. 

Starting my trip on Thursday, instead of Saturday, to be in Homestead Monday morning to start a contract job. So not driving, is not an option. The way my business works, it wouldn't just be loosing a short job... that would be loosing 1/2 a yr income. 
Im praying for all the folks in the path to be safe, properly 2nd, and not horrible traffic on Friday, 3rd!

In reply to VolvoHeretic :

My wife had just moved out of Homestead before Andrew hit. Her dad's construction company, had built a lot of businesses and houses before Andrew. After Andrew, he had built most of homestead. Lost some roofs, some of the fancy facings on some of the banks he'd built, and one kit house he assembled for somebody. Long before Andrew, after that one kit, he refused to assemble kits for folks... would build same floorplan, the right way. Bout 20-30% more money, but they stood. 

David S. Wallens said:

Not sure if this makes a hurricane more or less terrifying than a tornado: You know it’s heading your way for days. Oh, and it might swerve away, too. 

It is stressful. Very. 

 

Yeah, I was going to point out with a hurricane at least you have a few days vs possibly a few minutes or no warning, but that doesn't make it any better. A few years ago we actually had a tornado touch down about 2 miles from our house. But it was back up in the air before the sirens could even go off. 

Just posting so I can stay in the loop.

I get the best, clearest info on almost any topic or current event from this forum.

Thank you all!

Stay safe yall.

In reply to 03Panther :

It's hard to remember and I think that the internet has scrubbed and sanitized the bad incriminating photos. I am kind of recalling that the photos I saw were maybe of larger multi family structures they where discussing about shoddy building construction.

When they were framing up the wall, they would only nail the top of the stud through the plates, then cover the studs with non-structural Masonite siding, followed by standing the wall up and letting the drywall installers hold the loose side of the studs with their drywall nails.

VolvoHeretic said:

In reply to 03Panther :

It's hard to remember and I think that the internet has scrubbed and sanitized the bad incriminating photos. I am kind of recalling that the photos I saw were maybe of larger multi family structures they where discussing about shoddy building construction.

When they were framing up the wall, they would only nail the top of the stud through the plates, then cover the studs with non-structural Masonite siding, followed by standing the wall up and letting the drywall installers hold the loose side of the studs with their drywall nails.

If there are housing codes that were updated because of it, there is a govt report that has the pictures.  Probably just searching for the wrong terms.

VolvoHeretic said:

In reply to 03Panther :

It's hard to remember and I think that the internet has scrubbed and sanitized the bad incriminating photos. I am kind of recalling that the photos I saw were maybe of larger multi family structures they where discussing about shoddy building construction.

When they were framing up the wall, they would only nail the top of the stud through the plates, then cover the studs with non-structural Masonite siding, followed by standing the wall up and letting the drywall installers hold the loose side of the studs with their drywall nails.

Don't they have building inspectors in Florida? When I built my garage, the inspector went over that stuff super carefully and tagged us on a nailing pattern issue which I thought was pretty minor.

In reply to Kreb (Forum Supporter) :

A lot of Florida building codes changed after Andrew.  

Stampie said:

In reply to Kreb (Forum Supporter) :

A lot of Florida building codes changed after Andrew.  

Up north we used to call the Southern Building Code the Outhouse Code because basically anything that would physically support its own weight was an acceptable building material.  The SBC eventually went away and the International Building Code came in.  And that has provisions based on location, so the requirements for coastal and storm-prone regions have really tightened up.

After Andrew, enforcement started tightening up to match.

This one has me a bit worried. I have close family in Safety Harbor and due to circumstances they can't really evacuate. They do live on higher ground so they should be good on storm surge but I am concerned for them. Praying hard that this thing hits with less intensity than it looks ready to do. 
NYN 🙏🏻

z31maniac said:

David S. Wallens said:

Not sure if this makes a hurricane more or less terrifying than a tornado: You know it’s heading your way for days. Oh, and it might swerve away, too. 

It is stressful. Very. 

 

Yeah, I was going to point out with a hurricane at least you have a few days vs possibly a few minutes or no warning, but that doesn't make it any better. A few years ago we actually had a tornado touch down about 2 miles from our house. But it was back up in the air before the sirens could even go off. 

I'll take a hurricane any day of the week. Hurricane-force winds seldom do structural damage unless you are on the beach or very close to the coast. They seldom cause flooding unless you live on the water or river. 

My last move took me from 2 miles from the ocean and harbor to 20 miles from the ocean. I also went from a house that was 18' above sea level to a house that is 40' above sea level and nowhere near a flood zone. My hurricane prep consists of moving the vehicles away from the woods behind the house and bringing in the porch furniture. 

 A tornado is called the Finger of God for a reason. They are sudden and supremely destructive in the area they touch. I'll pass. 

It seems like this thing is moving really slow, but I guess it's still on schedule:

My aunt and uncle are in Sarasota and are staying put thru it.

I'm a bit worried 

It will accelerate once it clears the Yucatan peninsula and gets over open water. That's what the models are showing. The models of wind speed I looked at a little while ago show tropical storm force winds in Tamps/St Pete about 24 hours from now. Timestamp circled at top left.

Last run of dishes is in the washer. Furniture is inside. Booze is purchased. I already know my house isn't flood prone- and as the cone continues to shift south I get further away from problems (Longwood, Seminole county) swmbo is likely riding this out at Disney. I'd go with and play Xbox in her office, but I can't let the fur bags be alone in case E36 M3 goes bad and they do not travel well, so here I will be. We still haven't even gotten the official word that the ride teams are being activated, but given the tracks and the evac paths and such, they will be. 

I think someone mentioned a possible follow-on storm/hurricane in about a week, so roughly 10/18?

Any information on that?

The primary salient fact that seems to go through my head every time we're in the crosshairs is that wind resistance scales with the square of the speed. So to some extent I think the Saffir/Simpson scale is a bit misleading since the brackets are all relatively evenly spaced while the actual impact of the wind is increasing logarithmically. 

But, anyway, in a weird way one of the best things to ever happen in Florida was Andrew. After that catastrophe, Florida building codes and code enforcement were seriously overhauled. A modern Florida home—particularly a block one with modern windows—is basically a bunker.  It's not watertight, though, and that's what our Tampa/St. Pete compatriots will be dealing with tomorrow night. I just don't see any way that doesn't turn into an ugly situation over there, particularly with the strain on infrastructure already seen from Helene. Their best shot is that the trend keeps pushing it south. Every few miles south could mean literal feet of water that don't enter Tampa Bay. Of course, that means more impact for the SW coast, which is still sore from ian a couple years ago. 

But, hey, the really awesome grilled cheese restaurant on the beach is having a sale today, so it's not all grim.

In reply to Antihero :

I hope that they aren't on a barrier island. Last I heard the surge is expected to be 9-12 feet. 

People that stay on the beach side should write their identification on their skin with a sharpie. 
 

In reply to JG Pasterjak :

I just ate lunch but now I want some grilled cheese.

This seems a bit absurd.  But it looks like if it actually developed it would immediately head north east.

aircooled said:

This seems a bit absurd.  But it looks like if it actually developed it would immediately head north east.

Its supposed to move away from florida almost immediately the only thing you may have to worry about is a more rain during and after Milton. 

Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to Antihero :

I hope that they aren't on a barrier island. Last I heard the surge is expected to be 9-12 feet. 

People that stay on the beach side should write their identification on their skin with a sharpie. 
 

 

 

I'm only really " Facebook close" with them sadly enough. Sounds like they are 10 miles off the coast line though

In reply to aircooled :

There is a high-pressure running from Kentucky to Virginia that will keep Milton and that low from moving north much. The low coming across the great plains is too far away to suck anything north. Milton will swallow that low and they will move out toward Bermuda.