tampastorm wrote:in Tampa we get 100 MPH winds, no -removed-.
I don't think that Tampa has as much to worry about as those of us to your east. Yeah, you could get hurricane force winds, if the storm tracked more westward than predicted, more importantly you could get really serious flooding (as many of us could) with this storm if it moves as slowly as forecasted. Either way it won't get to you until it has traversed the peninsula. Tampa's worst case scenario would be if it slammed in to you from the southwest. Orlando's worst case scenario wouldn't be as bad as that, but if the current TPC forecast holds, this is in fact our worst case scenario. We will be on the right side of the storm after it crosses the least amount of land possible to get here. (40-50miles) Charley was bad enough, (105gusts) but his worst lasted less than one hour. We have not yet recovered from his blow, however. Fallen "timber" stacked as high as 10 feet lines my street as well as many, many others. The city is feverishly trying to clear it. Also many, many homes have tarps on their roofs throughout the greater Orlando area because of damage wrought by Charley. Roofers and tree trimmers are slammed and aren't expected to get to some areas for weeks. Those folks could be in a bad way come Saturday/Sunday. My neighbor just across the street has had his home condemned due to severe damage from a fallen oak. The tree has been removed, but his garage is smashed. His whole roof structure could be compromised in 100+ mph winds, esp if they last more than an hour or so.


