Hurricane Charley Graphics

[Host Terry]

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ftp/graphics/AT03/refresh/AL0304W+GIF/130318W.gif

[Lois R]

Hi Terry:)....thanks for the map........I am watching the news......they just said 1 million folks have left the Tampa/St Petersburg Area........mandatory evacuations......
All my good thoughts go with everyone.........this storm is really supposed to be the "BIG ONE":(

[jazzsea]

Our friends on the west coast of Florida are driving here to the "Treasure Coast" to avoid Charley. We expect some serious rain this afternoon and tonight and winds up to 50 MPH but nothing more serious. The biggest threats for us are possible tornados and possible flooding.

[Krazy Kruizers]

:)
Our TV stations have been following what is happening with Charlie down in your area. Even though we are way up north and out of the main path, we are expcted to get some rain on Sunday from the fringes of the storm. And that we don't need. The weather men screwed up yesterday and said that we would have a cloudy day - it rained all day.

Hope all you Floridians on the west coast make out all right.

We met a couple of few years ago on a Princess cruise who live in Largo. E-mailed them last night - haven't heard from them.

:)

[jhannah]

Our thoughts will also be with those who, for whatever reasons, must stay in the storm's path. There is a Tampa webcam at www.kroooz-cams.com/ports/tampa.htm (http://www.kroooz-cams.com/ports/tampa.htm) if anyone wants to peek in this afternoon during Charlie's Friday the 13th "visit."

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Our thoughts will also be with those who, for whatever reasons, must stay in the storm's path. There is a Tampa webcam at www.kroooz-cams.com/ports/tampa.htm (http://www.kroooz-cams.com/ports/tampa.htm) if anyone wants to peek in this afternoon during Charlie's Friday the 13th "visit."
Thanks, Jim, I will keep checking it this afternoon. I see you were up early this morning. I always check into CC before I start to exercise.:D

[joeinwpb]

Thanks, Jim, I will keep checking it this afternoon. I see you were up early this morning. I always check into CC before I start to exercise.:D

Yes Lisa -
There's another one that missed Las Vegas. :D

Think I'll move the car out from under the big Washingtonian next to our driveway. The latest update is the storm may land further south, than expected. :eek:

[Lois R]

Hi...well, Charlie has been upgraded......winds are more than 145 mph.....
For any of us here in FL.....and of course on a ship.....my thoughts go out to you.....
Tampa is looking bad....about 4:00....he is supposed to slam the area...and the winds are coming up this way tonite........

Be safe everyone

[Sage]

We thought we were going to be in the direct path until a couple of hours ago. It is amazing isn't it how these storms truly have a mind of their own. My prayers are with everyone in the path of the storm.

[Lois R]

Sage....it looks like he might be turning East:( after he hits the Tampa area....and the winds are heading towards Jax.....

[HeatherInFlorida]

Lois, doesn't look good for you at all. I'm watching right now and it's just hit the west coast--right over Captiva Island and into Port Charlotte harbor. Moving NNE. Hopefully it will slow down as it goes over land??? Going right through Orlando and on up. Now they show Jax as the extreme left side of the cone so you may be okay. You're in the "yellow" range. Even here we're going to get 25-40 and very heavy rain and flooding.

Thinking of you! Let us know how it goes.

[gizmo]

I hope you all stay safe with this nasty storm heading your way.

[peaches from georgia]

Any news from the Zuiderdam or has anyone spoken with HAL who might be boarding tonight? It should have escaped a real problem today, being east of Charley's path, but I bet the seas are heavy.

[spcl4cs_gal]

According to my travel agent at Vacations To Go, as of last night the Z was planning on docking tomorrow morning in FLL as scheduled.

[Lois R]

Hi:) so far so good up here.........but they keep saying the BIG WINDS here in Jax won't be until about 11:00pm......until 4:00am.......so in the middle of the night.
I don't think the ship will have a problem docking.....everything is happening NORTH....Tampa....Orlando........Daytona........

And all the Theme Parks in Orlando have closed.

[Krazy Kruizers]

:)

We were just listening to the news and we heard that Charley came ashore south of Ft Myers about 5 PM. The storm has taken a different path for now.

We still haven't heard from our friends in Largo (outside of Tampa).

Jim and Ruth V should be getting a lot of wind and rain this evening. Hope neither of them has to work this evening.

:)

[Lois R]

KK:) ...I really hope your friends In Largo were 2 of the millions who evacuated yesterday!
(hopefully that is why you haven't heard from them)!!!
I had family in Largo for many years.

[Krazy Kruizers]

:) Lois R

We are keeping our fingers crossed. We will e-mail them again later today if they do not respond to our earlier e-mail. So far nothing has "popped" back to us from their server.

:)

[HeatherInFlorida]

I can tell you that here in West Palm Beach, about an hour North of Ft. Lauderdale, all is really fine. We've had no rain at all and what I would call semi-high winds. They say it's gusts of 25 to 30. Ft. Lauderdale would suffer even less problems.

We are so relieved and happy to have dodged this bullet, but know that it could just as easily have been us and the damage over on the West coast is devastating.

But anyone leaving this weekend out of Ft. Lauderdale will have no problem at all. They've even taken away our high wind warnings. So not to worry!!!

Lois, hope it brushes quietly by you:) . At least you're supposed to be on the "good" side of it. It hasn't even reached Orlando yet, but it's bearing in as we speak.

[Tatka]

According to my travel agent at Vacations To Go, as of last night the Z was planning on docking tomorrow morning in FLL as scheduled.
I hope all Floridians are safe and well! This is scary!:(

I also hope Zui and it's pax are also safe!

[spcl4cs_gal]

I hope all Floridians are safe and well! This is scary!:(

I also hope Zui and it's pax are also safe!

Me too Tatka...this weekend as well as next when we go. :)

[woldridge]

Hi from just east of Fort Myers. Lots of trees down, tons of damage, no power, but the wind has finally stopped. Preparing in for a hot night, but that is nothing compaired to today. Thanks to everyone for their well wishes, this one was big! As Charley continues up the east coast, please stay safe and take the warnings seriously!
Barb

[serendipity1499]

Hi All..Our electric was finally restored on Friday & we are back on-line..We were very fortunate!..They predicted a 12 ft. storm surge for our area...We're only 8 feet above sea level on a canal 1000 yards from the Caloosahatchee..(2 miles from the Gulf)...We put up as much as we could on shelves, tables & counters, sent our Pup "Brandy to PrimeTime's where we knew she would be safe, went across the street to a neighbors new house 12 ft. above sea level & watched from there...Primtime was a godsend to us too..When we had no electric they checked on us, fed us & offered to house us..What good friends they are! It was hot (90) but jumped in our pool to keep cool..

No damage to our home (just trees & our dock) but what devastation there is just 20 miles away..Several of our friends had major damage to their homes..The Angels from Heaven are the Electric Co. Crews, Volunteers, Police , Firemen, & National Guard who have done such a wonderful job trying to restore the essentials...They came from NC, Texas etc to help out..It's no fun to be working in 90 degree heat from early moring to late night...There are so many people without homes, food, basic essentials, etc that need so much more help..

Please, give what you can to your local Red Cross, Salvation Army etc to help these people...They need, Towels, Blankets, Non-perishable foods, toilet paper, toothburshes & Paste, baby food & clothes, Pet food etc..
It is so sad to see..

Bye for now, and thank you all for your thoughts & prayers..Betty

[localady]

Betty-

So glad that you survived with only the damage you sustained. It must have been horrible living with no electricity for as long as you did. :o Please know that Bob and I send our prayers and good thoughts to you and have already made donations to Redcross ( www.redcross.org (http://www.redcross.org))earmarked for the Hurricane Charley disaster relief! Glad to hear that your house remained intacted! What a nightmare mother nature can be. God bless and thanks for the reminder that many will be trying to get back on their feet for a long time to come.:( :cool:

Sher and Bob

[jasl]

So glad you posted Betty. Had been wondering how and if the storm had affected you. It must have been quite an ordeal but sounds like your damage was minimal. We had an ice storm here some years ago and some folks encountered a power outage for three weeks and that in the cold! However, one can always dress for the cold, but the sweltering heat must be awful. We came off lightly that time, power out about 7-8 hours and lost our beautiful tree on the front lawn, but as in Florida, some were not that lucky.
Take care, regards to the "Primetimes" as well.

[serendipity1499]

Hi Sher & Bob & Jasl & Hubby... Thanks so much for your contribution & your thoughts, & Prayers....We're finally getting back to normal & can concentrate on our up-coming "Westeredam" Trans-Atlantic trip..Only 86 days till we leave for BCN...Wishing you all a wonderful trip as well...Best Regards... Betty & John

[BCEagle78]

It has been 10 days since the hurricane passed through Orlando.

Schools (which started in mid-August) are just now getting back in session. Still a few thousand people without power but slowly getting it back.

My office building, just outside Orlando International Airport had signficant roof damage (lots of waste baskets around the office collecting dripping water from ceiling leaks), air conditioning still not working right, some windows on higher floors are still boarded up. A hotel across the street has virtually every window broken but they are starting to work on it. A tree farm near the office lost most all of their 3-5 year old young pine trees.

Most everything is finally getting back to normal but many people are still dealing with leaky roofs, lots of tree remains by the sides of the roads and some memories that will last a lifetime.

Orlando is inland by a few hundred miles from the storm's first arrival on shore. It was devastating in Southwest Florida. Still Orlando had winds over 105 mph at the peak. I can't wait to see my homeowner's insurance bill for next year.

The good thing was that there were very few injuries or deaths. It could have been much worse.

Now back to talking about the fun topic if cruising!