Recent Florida Storms

[DriVer]

Bud just called me to tell me that both he and Ruth and the puppy dogs are OKAY! He is absent Internet connectivity at this time.

Colleen and I & Roxy are also somewhat shaken but not stirred.

The weather last night was "indeed" concerning however for the most part we slept through it. I believe we got something like 8" of rain. If anyone wants to know if Winnebagos leak ... the answer would be "No!"

Remarkable is the loss of life associated with this storm front numbering 14 at this time.

Thank you all for your concern.

[DriVer]

Bud just called me to tell me that both he and Ruth and the puppy dogs are OKAY! He is absent Internet connectivity at this time.

Colleen and I & Roxy are also somewhat shaken but not stirred.

The weather last night was "indeed" concerning however for the most part we slept through it. I believe we got something like 8" of rain. If anyone wants to know if Winnebagos leak ... the answer would be "No!"

Remarkable is the loss of life associated with this storm front numbering 14 at this time.

Thank you all for your concern.

[pegdiver]

We were worried about all the Northeasters down there. Glad to here that you and Bud are OK.

[TTT1953]

We talked with Vetman and his bride this morning. They are untouched. We hope everyone we know is okay and we'll pray for those lost and damaged by the storms.

[apackof2]

What part of Florida are you in?


<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by DriVer:
Bud just called me to tell me that both he and Ruth and the puppy dogs are OKAY! He is absent Internet connectivity at this time.

Colleen and I & Roxy are also somewhat shaken but not stirred.

The weather last night was "indeed" concerning however for the most part we slept through it. I believe we got something like 8" of rain. If anyone wants to know if Winnebagos leak ... the answer would be "No!"

Remarkable is the loss of life associated with this storm front numbering 14 at this time.

Thank you all for your concern. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[DriVer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by apackof2:
What part of Florida are you in? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Northern Citrus County in Crystal River, FL near Homosassa Springs.

MikeT, Maureen, Colleen and I went to see the manatees today in Homosassa Springs State Park and Wildlife Center. There's a manatee in there that' just has to be a record holder. Citrus Country is the only country in the USA where you can actually swim and touch the manatees without getting thrown in jail. We also saw a number of birds, fox, otters, reptiles, including Alimagators and Da Bears!

You'se guys gotta come down here and see this place - it's a place that's worth while spending a few hours at. There is also an interactive session with the manatees where they get hand fed from a park ranger.

The park also has a below water observatory where you can see schools of fish and the manatees swimming by.

This is our secind visit and Mike and Mo's first.

[ParTheCourse]

Mike, we visited there last year and agree it is a great place to spend an afternoon. How bout de hippo who was made an honorary citizen of Florida so he could remain in the park? Is he still there, was very old as I recall.

["007"]

Thats a neet place was there many years ago clearest water I have ever seen.

[Doris]

Very sobering..the newpaper from The Villages.
http://www.thevillagesdailysun.com/a...ews/news01.txt

[apackof2]

WOW

I had no idea it was so bad

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Doris:
Very sobering..the newpaper from The Villages.
http://www.thevillagesdailysun.com/a...ews/news01.txt </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[Retired and Happy]

I have a niece in Deland. She knew nothing about the storms until she took her kids to school. Her twin sons only had 4 people in class, and her daughter had 1/3 of her class. Several of the classmates lost homes, but apparently were not involved in the fatalities. The tornadoes were five miles from my niece's home and two blocks from their church. So close...

[DriVer]

While we've been RV'ing in Florida during this time of the year, remarkably we were impacted by tornado weather twice. It is really weird to have to worry about tornadoes in the early days of "February".

In 2005 if you folks can remember I wrote about our first hand tornado vs campground experience we went through at the Wild Frontier Campground in Ocala, FL located behind the Turning Wheel RV dealership. That was very scary and we were in a near miss type situation. All that event cost us was a new slide topper. I still have the dent in the top of our slideout. What we gained is knowledge of what to look for and what the signs are that indicate a tornado is imminent or present.

One feature that is unmistakable is the greenish color I believe from the grasses and vegetation that become a part of the vortex. The loud noise described as a freight train is unmistakable.

The fact that the Friday tornado impacted so many people and that a severe loss of life was sustained by that community was due to the early morning when it happened when most were in bed and the lack of NWS or other type of early warning system was not evident.

The TV stations in the area also pointed out deficiencies in home construction where new homes were not assembled with framing straps and tied more directly into the foundation. You could see clearly where walls were nailed from the bottom up into the studs and the walls were set down over a weak line of studs. The only thing that remained in place were the footers however the walls were gone.

Any type of mobile property was totally trashed by the 160 mile per hour winds. The event was classified as an EF-3 which is one of 4 values the new scale.