10/08/2024
4:24 am… woke up and decided I probably would not be falling back to sleep. Yesterday was an interesting day. Debating about heading into work… made the 45 minute drive to school… it was closed… while annoying I was not updated, I was relieved. Headed home. Brandon Powell and I went back into Pinellas to grab some rented equipment to keep it safe. Super thankful one of his PMs was able to find us a generator. Driving through Shore Acres… piles and piles and furniture, appliances, drive wall debris every where… I can’t imagine how this will all get cleaned up before Milton. Arrived home, got the generator up and running. Got the plywood up on most windows. Somehow we didn’t remember we did not have it for a few. May or may not get some to finish the rest. Home Depot has been a zoo, we have been 4 times on the last 2 days. We have plenty of water… grill has been relocated to the front porch to cook when the power goes out. Generator will power the fridge, freezer and portable ac. Only have one tank of gas for it as of now. Borrowing a few more from friends today, and the search for stations with gas will begin. I am still calm… but the anxiety is starting to rise. We are not in an evacuation or flood zone. The highways are insane with people fleeing. Every track shows a direct hit within an hour or so north to south of us… most directly at Bradenton. Waiting on the 5am update. Storm is reorganizing, currently down to a Cat 4, Denis Phillips says may strengthen again, but shear will likely weaken it to a 3 by landfall. Eye is small, so max winds only within 20 miles of the eye. So landfall will be a huge factor. Many storms like this turn just before landfall. A turn to the south would spare our area of the 10-15’ storm surge… which honestly our coastline can’t take after Helene. It’s going to be a stressful few days. I hope all my fellow Gulf Coast residents are prepared.
