as we said before were just north of tampa

[reno]

were about 30 miles north of tampa and 8 miles inland .were 28 ft above sea level were staying put . we cleared the front patio ,and back yard of any and all items including are flag and garden hose . were hoping for the best and will expect the worst . my daughter and son in-law are 8 miles do east of us . there in a 2 story home were mine a single story cinderblock ranch . from all signs this will be a strong cat 3 when it makes land fall about 75 plus miles south of me . we are expecting strong winds and a lot of rain before were out of the woods . there calling for 15 ft water surge on the coast in my area. i'm far enough away the surge will not be a concern here . just the winds and maybe some light flooding by wind push rain in my garage and sunroom /lanai we put all stuff in the garage up i'm worry about . thank god today they pick up are trash so that wont be stinking up my garage .as even are trash can are in there as of now. we have underground electric and cable so hope it stay live .the last big storm a couple years back.it only went out for like 10 min. im crossing my finger it be like that again . will post as we can .it very calm here at the moment .

[psypher]

I've been through enough Hurricanes in my life, it's one of the reasons I got out of Florida. Personally there's no way I would stay, 30 miles isn't really much. Stay safe.

[reno]

just rain at the moment .

[FlyingPenguin]

Be safe. All battened down here.

[FlyingPenguin]

Windy.com says our top static winds will be 40 MPH with gusts up to 72. Getting 50 MPH gusts here now. Power and internet went out at 8pm EST. On house generator and cellular hotspot.

[reno]

we lost power from 7:30 pm till 9:15 am today. some wicked winds last night .tree's and large branch's down came down . still to gusty to blow leaves with my blower. lots of areas still without power. like my daughters who about 6 miles west of me. water/rain ner penetrated her 2nd story wall in one corner .lucky her not they thought they had hardwood floors . she knows now its pergo floors they are already swelling up . so her whole master bedroom floor will have to be replaced .
in my community a carport roof had a large limb fall on it and one car cant be moved from under it . if they do it will do major damage to the car.right now there maybe a couple scratches in the paint. if moved it will take out the windshield if you try backing it up .trees are uprooted and also leaning on some homes, some homes had siding pulled off. we been doing a lot of minor service calls all morning from 9 am phone been non - stop .

[Executioner]

Wow. Hope you guys are okay with minimal damage. I'm sure insurance is very expensive living there in Florida.

[FlyingPenguin]

No power yet.

No real damage, just branches and a couple of trees down.

[FlyingPenguin]

Power and Internet just came up.

[reno]

its been a hell of a week . my cell phone still ringing off the hook. all we can do add these people to my list .not giving them a time frame as to when we get to there home . im sure my list will be this way for weeks as the snow birds are delaying returning do to the storms and still being hurricane season. my friend near Bradenton lost the pool enclosure they got a price of $14000.00 to $17000.00 to replace it .they have a $7300.00 insurance deductible . they just got power back on this last tuesday afternoon. clearwater still a mess and storm surge has really done a number on a lot of homes and restaurants /bars some may not ever reopen . there a area in Hudson your still not allowed into do to debrie . some of the rivers are still rising !

[Losbot]

Just stay safe.

[reno]

its been a couple of weeks now and things are still mess up - but my community's ok for the most part all tree works done . people are still putting sand bags out for maintenance to pick up and haul away. my work load not let up yet . local stores away from the coast are back running . a lot of bars and restaurants on the coast are still closed . 2 of the state parks are closed that we know of are closed with no date as to re-opening . lots of pissed off people between st.pete and clearwater . trash still not been pick up from them cleaning out there home. its sitting in the yards piled up there life history all gone . now there finding out Fema has a 50/50 rule and they maybe totally screwed . also other that had flood insurance are finding the fine print they should of read but didn't is not covering there property . people are still having to go to shelters and food banks . its very sad to be truthful . the river just this week started coming back down below flood stage in areas . also some area that were not in flood zones got flooded do to power going out and city pumps stop working .. some schools are just now reopening - some due to been flooded and some as they were used as temp shelters .

[Losbot]

Things back to some semblance of "normal" ?

[reno]

it depends on the area . we took a drive last weekend about 20 from us and a bit north . there was yards still flooded out and even one road was closed do to standing water. we not had rain for a while now . there saying on the news today / last night there a 50 /50 chance of one more hurricane hitting are area again next week .

[reno]

it depends on the area . we took a drive last weekend about 20 from us and a bit north . there was yards still flooded out and even one road was closed do to standing water. we not had rain for a while now . there saying on the news today / last night there a 50 /50 chance of one more hurricane hitting are area again next week . from above Clearwater south along the coast down past Sarasota and below . also up to Hudson (5 mile from me ) very close to me things are still a mess .trash is still being hauled away from the drywall and furniture . people had to remove from there flooded homes .a lot of them are condemned or waiting to see if Fema will even allow them to rebuild there homes . a lot will not be allowed . unless they raise there homes and also meet the new building code's . It,s Very Sad . some people are just having to walk away from there homes and tossing in the towel.