Start preparing for hurricane season

[Bay Ranger]

Read that this upcoming season could rival or exceed 2020 in the number of storms. La Nina is already very strong in the pacific and the Maximum Development Region (MDR) , the equitorial area between Africa and the Lesser Antilles, water temperatures are already above average. The Gulf water temps are also above average for this time of the year.

Get ready for a wild ride this summer.

 

[ABlaster]

A few years ago we bought a high-end generator, which has successfully kept major hurricanes off of Tallahassee for at least the last two years!

 

[.22 cents]

I keep cordless guns in case the power goes out

 

[Dirtmover]

Speaking of cordless. I got one of these just in case. Works pretty well for some extra battery power for the phones

https://www.lowes.com/pd/DEWALT-20-Volt-Max-Power-Source-Adapter/50102394

 

[ABlaster]

I got the 40v Ryobi version for camping that uses the same batteries as my hedge trimmer, chainsaw, and leaf blower. They are very useful no matter the brand, for sure!

 

[Bodhi]

Whole home Genrac if need be. Don't plan to run it much in case the Zeds and Haitians are out looting.
Ammo...check. Bottled water....check. TP and wipes....check. Fuel for lanterns....check. Batteries....check.

Everything else we do is geared toward the 72-hour window of being on our own (canned goods, etc. Although we can cook on gas grill if have to).

Starting June 1 I never let any of our vehicles go less than half-tank of fuel.

This could be a well-thought-out thread with lots of good advice for us all.

 

[ABlaster]

I've been through almost every major hurricane in the panhandle and I have yet to see real looting here. New Orleans had its own problems and a lot of bad stuff happened there after Katrina for sure and Miami had their problems after Andrew but I've never seen anything like that in N Florida.

After Michael came through Tally in 2018 there were a few young men that decided to try their hand at a midnight crime spree. With all of TPD and LCSO on Alpha/Bravo shifts literally half the department was on staff when they kicked off. The effect was like rolling a tennis ball down a sidewalk lined with 300 bored golden retrievers. Their spree ended quickly and with a whimper.

If anyone has stories from Panama City after Michael please share!

 

[sloporsche]

Only 6 months into fla and already dodged 3 hurricanes ,one missed us by 10/15 miles . Only one power outage and that was caused by tipsy senior citizen DUI in our gated community that lasted maybe 2 hours or so . We are 8 miles from the gulf so sooner or later .........

 

[fl57caveman]

I keep cordless guns in case the power goes out

great idea.

 

[jettjon]

Whole home Genrac if need be. Don't plan to run it much in case the Zeds and Haitians are out looting.
Ammo...check. Bottled water....check. TP and wipes....check. Fuel for lanterns....check. Batteries....check.

Everything else we do is geared toward the 72-hour window of being on our own (canned goods, etc. Although we can cook on gas grill if have to).

Starting June 1 I never let any of our vehicles go less than half-tank of fuel.

This could be a well-thought-out thread with lots of good advice for us all.

Couldn't have said it better myself. "Prep" all day, erry day.

 

[Bodhi]

I've been through almost every major hurricane in the panhandle and I have yet to see real looting here. New Orleans had its own problems and a lot of bad stuff happened there after Katrina for sure and Miami had their problems after Andrew but I've never seen anything like that in N Florida.

After Michael came through Tally in 2018 there were a few young men that decided to try their hand at a midnight crime spree. With all of TPD and LCSO on Alpha/Bravo shifts literally half the department was on staff when they kicked off. The effect was like rolling a tennis ball down a sidewalk lined with 300 bored golden retrievers. Their spree ended quickly and with a whimper.

If anyone has stories from Panama City after Michael please share!

One of my college roommates was from South Florida and went home after Andrew. He had lots of stories. My take away....after 48 hours folks can and will start to get "ancy." Must always be prepared. I strive to be the grey man and unnoticeable.

 

[capt.joe]

Last year i had our 22 kw perkins generator wired to the house. Time to svc it before the season ramps up.

 

[ccc]

We always keep all three vehicles filled and eight five gallon gas cans, eight propane tanks, generator takes both fuels and has a transfer switch we just plug into the house. And we always have plenty of food and water. Also propane and electric griddles.

 

[Daezee]

I basically took water for granted (we do have a water filtering kit and a creek about 3/4 mile away) until we were without running water a few days due to a leaking hot water tank. We have septic tank, but I was surprised how much water is used for flushing, even with yellow let it mellow, water for dogs, cats and goats.

We now have potable water on hand and flushing and goat water. The flushing water I let sit. The potable water is used and refilled every 6 months. Flushing water only means those jugs were not treated with hot soapy water and bleach prior to filling, but they were rinsed. Goats said they were ok drinking flushing water.

 

[5lima30ret]

9,000 watt generator set up w/ transfer switch panel. I run generator for about 20 min under partial load once a month, rotate out fuel every year, keep plenty of food staples and water on hand. Permanently mounted Bahama storm shutters (takes less than 20 min to shutter up house with no ladders or tools required) Gas stove and oven. Trash receptacles stencilled w/ address. Always do ALL your laundry and dry it before hurricane hits!

 

[Bodhi]

9,000 watt generator set up w/ transfer switch panel. I run generator for about 20 min under partial load once a month, rotate out fuel every year, keep plenty of food staples and water on hand. Permanently mounted Bahama storm shutters (takes less than 20 min to shutter up house with no ladders or tools required) Gas stove and oven. Trash receptacles stencilled w/ address. Always do ALL your laundry and dry it before hurricane hits!

Good point to do laundry before storm makes land fall.

 

[PensacolaOperator]

Always keep my F-150 above 75% full. My bed is full of emergency rations, (MREs, water) plate carrier, mags and rifle. Center console has Gen 3 Glock, surefire light and optic with mags. Luckily the state institution where I work at has barracks for staff, where we'd keep our dependents while we just sleep in our vehicles/training building/visitation park. Emergency power/fuel and water are available.

If anything cataclysmic happens, and theres still data/wifi available, reach out to me. Between my camp and county right across the way, we'd be designated a safe harbor, and I'll assist in anyway I can. Might charge you ammo, however.

I live in escambia county, but work in santa rosa county, we'll figure something out, meet up then convoy etc.

 

[RackinRay]

Whole home Genrac if need be. Don't plan to run it much in case the Zeds and Haitians are out looting.
Ammo...check. Bottled water....check. TP and wipes....check. Fuel for lanterns....check. Batteries....check.

Everything else we do is geared toward the 72-hour window of being on our own (canned goods, etc. Although we can cook on gas grill if have to).

Starting June 1 I never let any of our vehicles go less than half-tank of fuel.

This could be a well-thought-out thread with lots of good advice for us all.

"The first 72 is on You!" was a saying before Ivan. Our neighborhood was without power for 2 weeks. Although distribution points were set up for water and ice we banded with a few neighbors and rode over the line to stores in AL that had power to get water, ice, and gas.

An hour after power came back on, the first Red Cross vehicle circled the neighborhood with PA announcing water, ice, and MREs.

I plan to have more than required for weeks of outage. For water, search for a WaterBob or similar storage solution.

EDIT: Having Natural Gas hot water heater was great after the storm, always had hot water to shower up after working all day outside. Cooked on propane grill and wood smoker. One neighbor teamed with has a taste for baby back ribs, as freezer thawed we cooked ribs and meats on smoker to preserve them. First time I ever had ribs for breakfast! LOL

 

[Welldoya]

I've been through almost every major hurricane in the panhandle and I have yet to see real looting here. New Orleans had its own problems and a lot of bad stuff happened there after Katrina for sure and Miami had their problems after Andrew but I've never seen anything like that in N Florida.

After Michael came through Tally in 2018 there were a few young men that decided to try their hand at a midnight crime spree. With all of TPD and LCSO on Alpha/Bravo shifts literally half the department was on staff when they kicked off. The effect was like rolling a tennis ball down a sidewalk lined with 300 bored golden retrievers. Their spree ended quickly and with a whimper.

If anyone has stories from Panama City after Michael please share!

During my working years I was on many storm teams for Gulf Power. I was the logistics guy with the money.
I retired in December 2017 and while cleaning out my desk found the folder with all my expense accounts.
I had been on 20 hurricane trips and 5 ice storms.
I had already retired when Michael hit but went over to Panama City a few days after it hit to take supplies to my sisters.
Michael was the worst I’ve ever seen.
I lived over there for many years and wasn’t sure where I was a good part of my time over there. All the landmarks (signs, etc) were gone.
It took me 3.5 hours to go from Lynn Haven to Thomas Drive, normally 20-25 minutes or so. Bumper to bumper and pitch dark.
My Mom was in assisted living, they moved all the residents to Jacksonville but she still owned a house in St. Andrews. You could barely make out the house from the street due to the downed trees in the front yard.
I started cutting about 7:30 am and doing pretty good until it got hot. It was up to 94 degrees and I started having to take a break in the shade every 20 minutes. Miserably hot. I figured it was going to take me 3 days.
After I had worked about 3 hours, a truck pulled up with 3 young guys in it from Louisiana.
They were pulling a trailer with a small backhoe on it.
They asked if they could give me an estimate. I told them I would listen but figured it would be $4,000 which I wasn’t paying.
The guy walked around, came back and said “we will clean up the front and back yards, be finished in 3 or 4 hours and it will be $900.”
I told them to get to work.
They did a great job and I was happy to hand over the money.

 

[MarkS]

I was born in Crestview,Fl. in the late 50’s and I’ve lived outside of Crestview except for a few months in Lake Charles. La. in 81-82. Longest we were ever out of power was 15 days after Ivan. You can never be too prepared for a hurricane