October 9, 2024 - Hurricane Milton is Coming!

 While I have power, I'll be posting updates here.  I'm in Lake Mary, Florida, 17 miles northeast of Orlando.  The eye of the storm is expected to go through here around midnight tonight.

8:30 a.m.  It's been raining since I got up at 5:30 a.m.  Not hard, and very little wind.  The ground is already saturated from the rain we've had the last few days.

Seminole County does a good job.  They just had a "oops" though.  They sent out an emergency announcement.  Phone, whether you have them on silent or not, got an alarm, announcing Seminole Country had just announced evacuation orders.  

Then, nothing for five minutes.  Then we got a clarification.  They are now recommending evacuations for mobile homes, flood zones and medically unstable.  They've also announced shelters opening this morning.  Not many and unfortunately, the shelter they normally open at the high school near me isn't opening, at least for now.  That was my back-up in case my house is unlivable.  Presumably, that will open later, if need be.  I hope it won't be needed.

Now, I'm busy texting/calling with friends/neighbors.    My plan for the day is to NOT focus on the weather.  I need to bring in the last plants from the porch but other than that have done all the prep I can.  I plan to watch trash TV and bake brownies.  Meatloaf for dinner later!

8:50 a.m.  This is good news:  “We have now enabled basic texting (SMS) for those on T-Mobile phones in hurricane affected areas,” SpaceX says. “Text messages have already been sent and received. You can text loved ones, text 911 and continue to receive emergency alerts.”

9:30 a.m.  Seminole County is now predicting we'll be out of power for weeks.  That assessment, along with the evacuation notice they issued this morning are both a bit late.

11:15 a.m.  Bathtub is full (for flushing the toilet); all plants are in and the flamingo who normally floats in the pool is in the garage.  Lots of calls and messages from people who care, which is lovely but please know, I'm focusing on all things not hurricane related 55 minutes out of each hour.

The National Weather Service issued an update at 11.  This is part of it:

Maximum sustained winds are near 145 mph (230 km/h) with higher
gusts.  Milton is a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson
Hurricane Wind Scale.  Milton is expected to remain an extremely
dangerous major hurricane when it reaches the west-central coast of
Florida tonight, and remain at hurricane strength while it moves
across the Florida peninsula through Thursday.  Gradual weakening
is forecast while Milton moves eastward over the western Atlantic,
and it is likely to become an extratropical storm by early Friday.

I was struck by "extratropical".  It sounds like how SNL would describe Milton. 

Meanwhile, our weather is calm.  Very overcast but light wind and rain.  I've finished all prep work, including bringing all the plants, putting my homeowners' insurance and passport in my purse and taking photos of the inside and outside of the house, just in case I need to make a claim.  When Charlie went through, my house was fine, other than losing power for a month.  But, I lost roofs on two rentals.  The rentals were a great investment, back in the day, but glad I don't have to worry about them (and the tenants!) now.

Ok, my five minutes of thinking about the storm is over.  Off to figure out what to have for lunch.

12:20 p.m.  This is arguably the most boring blog post ever.  Still drizzly, dark and not much wind.  I both want it to be over and am dreading the outcome.  

For those new to hurricanes, here's a tip - calories do not count during a hurricane warning AND up to 30 days afterwards.  Eating a balanced diet is also not required.  Which explains my lunch.  What is more comforting than boxed Mac and Cheese?  I had some homemade candied jalapenos with it.  I figure it will be just as tasty cold tomorrow if the power goes out.  By the way - Donna, the Mac and Cheese wasn't expired, I checked!

Note I said "if" the power goes out.  I am optimistic.  Hopeful.  Perhaps naive but one of my life mottoes is "hope for the best and prepare for the worst."

2:40 p.m.  Rain continues, there's more of a breeze and we just got the first thunder.  Long, slow roll.  I assume we're just starting to get the very outer bands.

I looked at the national weather service for the current path and it appears that the storm has moved a tiny bit south meaning that while Orlando is still in the cone, Lake Mary, only 17 miles away is now just outside the cone.  I'm sure that will make all the difference in the world.

Lots of ads/emails announcing local businesses will be closed from now through Thursday, opening Friday.  I so hope that is true!

The leaning tree, which has been that way for about a decade is still there.  I'll bet $10 this storm will take it out.  But, I thought Helene would do it and it didn't budge.

And, Buddy, the wonder dog is showing he's a go-with-the-flow kinda guy.  He normally eschews any outdoor activities, including peeing, when it rains.  Today, he's just hanging out on the deck, sniffing.  He knows the pool filter comes on at 3:08 and can't wait.

4:15 p.m.  Bud went out to pee which might not sound like a big deal but he has gone for 14 hours before because he doesn't like going out in wind and rain.  The rain is getting heavier and the winds have started.  

We've gotten more than two inches of rain so I thought I'd go out to lower the pool a few inches before it gets worse.  I've done it lots of times before but reviewed it with my pool guy a couple weeks ago, just in case.  But, I didn't test it.  That was a mistake since I now can't get it to turn.  It's been several years since it was used and seems frozen shut.  For a minute I was a bit freaked out but realistically, with the ground so saturated, in the end, it wouldn't matter much.

The pool has overflowed before and if it's only a few inches, it's not a problem.  But if we get a foot of rain in a few hours?  My French drains are good but not magical when there's no place for the water to go.   I didn't get sand bags but got a couple of these.  https://www.amazon.com/stores/Watershed+Innovations/page/B40B3CC0-38FD-42E7-B711-4E5632E69A93?ref_=ast_bln&store_ref=bl_ast_dp_brandLogo_sto

I didn't want to put them down now because they'd block the French drains.  I figure if it looks like we're going to get a lot of water very quickly, I can put them in.  It could be a fun 3 a.m. activity.

Overall, it's just a slightly stormy afternoon.  Not even up to tropical storm yet.  The meatloaf is made and I just need to stick it in the oven later.

4:40 p.m.   The wind is picking up with some big gusts.  Rain is solid.  Closing the blinds now because I 
don't really want to watch the wind.

7:00 p.m.  A bit of a rant. Nextdoor.com - is right now the best time to send me an email giving me tips on 
how to prepare to evacuate or prepare my house?  And Gary Yeomans Ford - thanks for your concern but
offering to sell me a car with special hurricane rates?  

Meanwhile, the lights just flashed for the first time.  It is not particularly windy.  In 2004, during Charlie
Jeanne and whatever the last one was named, I lost power for at least a week for each storm.  Since then,
I haven't lost power for more than a couple of hours.  A neighbor just told me we're hooked up to the two nearby
schools so are less likely to lose power.  Don't know if that's true but hoping it is.

I just went out with Buddy to try to get him to pee again.  No luck.  We both got wet and he enjoyed sniffing
the pool deck.

8:45 p.m.  The winds have begun.  Still raining and now steady winds with some significant gusting.
Buddy is driving me nuts.  He has decided being outside, sniffing the wind and getting soaked
is what he wants to do.    He never peed, just expected me to stand there while he sniffed every rain drop.

8:55 p.m.  Now pouring rain and strong winds, howling around the house.  Just three more hours for the worst to arrive.
I was just watching live news.  They were filming live from the west coast where it looked bad but not as bad as it could
have been, so far.  The lights have flickered a couple of times and the internet went out for a minute 
but so far, all is well with the electronics.