Sarasota, Tampa area..... Are you getting jittery??

[JonathanBelles]

im getting jittery, put up the wood l8r today

[gtalum]

I'm not planning to stick around the hotel if things get bad. I just want to be close to the hospital when we decide to cut and run, well before TS winds show up.

[johngaltfla]

I'm not planning to stick around the hotel if things get bad. I just want to be close to the hospital when we decide to cut and run, well before TS winds show up.

If you're staying at the Red Roof, it will flood badly.. Try to get some parking inside the decks at the hospital so your car will be protected.

[gtalum]

So johngaltfla, when would you think is the appropriate time to head to the hospital?

Do you happen to know when they lock down before th storm? I can't find any info on that yet.

[johngaltfla]

I would imagine about 12-18 hours before landfall they will start shutting things down. Call them on Tuesday morning for sure.

[jenshops]

I live on the Myakka river in Venice,Fl and I'm not nervous at all. It's still days away and a lot can happen. Personally, if they say it's going to hit somewhere today, you can be guarenteed that will change and that's not where it will it. Too many factors to effect it. If I did get jittery, I would wait till about 12hrs before landfall if at all.

[floridahurricaneguy]

I have a flight out of TPA wednesday afternoon... What are my chances of getting out? I kinda wanna get stuck here for it...lol

[MomH]

I have booked a hotel room near Sarasota Memorial for the moment. My thinking is that we can hunker down there until shortly before TS winds arrive then we can wait out the rest o fhte storm in the hospital. I am really scared by the possibility of delivering our baby myself in the middle of a storm!

Remember that the excitement and tension may bring her to term earlier than you expect. Since you have some time why not prepare a sterile delivery kit, just in case. Always better safe than sorry.
MomH

[LizzardInFlorida]

Yes - very jittery Noah. We have a hotel booked in North Tampa, well away from the water. A big part of me wants to fly to Houston and stay with family instead.

I've seen enogh of those "worst case scenario" articles for the Tampa Bay area. The paper ran a huge article that showed how most of Pinellas county would be covered in water.

[Eyes2theSkies]

If your wife is 39 weeks pregnant, the best place to wait it out is in the hospital. Ask your wife's doctor, the birth rate goes up when the barometer goes down. I'd rather eat hospital food than drive through a hurricane.

[mountainspring]

In northern Pinellas, people were streaming out of the Walmart with bottled water. We were ready but picked up a few things. We have two very large dogs, and no family in the area (except for family members even closer to the water than us), so we have booked a hotel that accepts large dogs -- it's in Lakeland. I know the storm may hit there as well but at least we won't be hit by the storm surge in Lakeland like we will here! (We are 4 houses away from Tampa Bay.)

[gtalum]

If your wife is 39 weeks pregnant, the best place to wait it out is in the hospital. Ask your wife's doctor, the birth rate goes up when the barometer goes down. I'd rather eat hospital food than drive through a hurricane.

Yeah, our ultimate plan is to get to the hospital to wait if Ernie is looking to come close. My biggest problem is figuring out when to go. From what I've heard, if she's not actually in labor we will have to wait in the hospital lobby, not a pleasant situation at all. I'd like to hold off on going there for as long as possible without putting ourselves in danger.

[mettski]

i knew this would happen girlfriend is at stetson law school in gulfport and i'm flying down from ny on wed. her parents who are old live on vunerable davis island in tampa.what advice should i give them ?

[gatorcane]

i knew this would happen girlfriend is at stetson law school in gulfport and i'm flying down from ny on wed. her parents who are old live on vunerable davis island in tampa.what advice should i give them ?

Just monitor the situation. There is no need to panic right now and root for those mountains in Cuba and Haiti. They are our friends right now

[CharleySurvivor]

Having lived Charley in 2004, I'm not worried one bit. If it comes thru Tampa.... it comes. I know exaclty what to expect and do the next time a cane comes my way.

I'm prepared and just waiting to see what happens. It's still way to early to tell where it will go.

I'm glad I'm not one who has to run to the stores and deal with the crowds. It was a nightmare in Port Charlotte with Charley, I learned my lesson then!

[Stratusxpeye]

Tampa has a force field against these sorts of situations. Im not saying its not going to happen or never will but we have a history of being pretty lucky. Well have to see if it continues but my bet would be with it will. If this does come onshore anywhere near tampa im sure it wont bring much to us here. (Some wishful -removed- there)

[psyclone]

short answer: no. way too soon to worry imo and the trend toward disorganization this afternoon is more good news. tampa bay has a hurricane protection forcefield in place. no major hits since 1921... let the good luck streak roll...

[westmoon]

Lets just hope our luck hasn't run out!

[VeniceInlet]

Having lived Charley in 2004, I'm not worried one bit. If it comes thru Tampa.... it comes. I know exaclty what to expect and do the next time a cane comes my way.

I'm prepared and just waiting to see what happens. It's still way to early to tell where it will go.

I'm glad I'm not one who has to run to the stores and deal with the crowds. It was a nightmare in Port Charlotte with Charley, I learned my lesson then!

Charley was a big deal, but it's important to remember it had no real storm surge. Charley plus a storm surge would be a HUGE deal. Remember, a lot of people on the MS coast thought Katrina would be not a big deal because they lived through Camille.

I'm in Venice (as you may have guessed from my name) and I'm watching carefully. I remember when Ivan had us right in its sights 5 days out according to the NHC, too, and that changed. I will get my preparations in order but just maybe we'll luck out again.

[photoguy]

We are on a canal literally 100 yards off of Tampa Bay. There is a high tide (healthy high) shown for around the predicted landfall. We have three large dogs so hotels/shelters are out for us. But when we moved here we bought a HEV (hurricane escape vehicle). It's fueled up and ready to go. Food, water and a generator.

But at this point (Sunday afternoon), we're obviously holding off - there are a lot of variables in play - primarily a big chunk of Cuba. But since we'll be in a small RV, if we do leave, it will have to be early.

I'm holding out hope for that force field...