Gov. Bush declares State of Emergency for entire state.....

[dixiebreeze]

of Florida! Jeb is taking this very seriously .

I was out stocking up this afternoon here in Crystal River, and bottled water filled the front of Kash N Karry. Shoppers were emptying shelves as fast as they were stocked.

Our neighbor bought some plywood and said he couldn't get more 'cause Home Depot "ran out.' And we're on the west central gulf coast!

[southerngale]

Good move.

[Guest]

a little early...

[dixiebreeze]

No, not too early. Jeb saw firsthand what Charley did to S.W Florida. He's not wasting any time. Good Gov.

[KBBOCA]

Good move by Jeb... Absolutely mindboggling to think it's the whole state and to see the whole state covered in the forecast cone. This is surely Jeb's nightmares coming true. Not one BIG ONE, but TWO... Thankfully at least Charley didn't hit Tampa. Let's hope & pray Frances manages to stay away from the most populated/at risk areas.

I hate to mention politics... but you just gotta wonder what Frances could mean to the election. I mean it's a safe bet almost no one in FL will watch the President's speech tomorrow night... (except perhaps as stress relief after too much hurricane wathching?) And then folks throughout the state could be cleaning up for weeks and months... too focused on daily life to care about the election. It's not as if FL is an insignificant state in the outcome?! Bizaarre to think a hurricane could affect who our president is come January...

[Guest]

Conservatives like Chad and myself will definitely be watching the President's speech as well as having Storm2K up on the internet. Good question though.
...Jennifer...

[Anonymous]

Doesnt look promising, they have already cancelled school for Friday in Jacksonville and St Augustine--Dont think our NWS wants to cause a panic by giving us a wind speed yet as all they will say is Very Windy and thunderstorms Saturday through Sunday Night...2 1/2 days of damaging winds?? Is this storm that big or gonna be be moving that slow???

[Brent]

Doesnt look promising, they have already cancelled school for Friday in Jacksonville and St Augustine--Dont think our NWS wants to cause a panic by giving us a wind speed yet as all they will say is Very Windy and thunderstorms Saturday through Sunday Night...2 1/2 days of damaging winds?? Is this storm that big or gonna be be moving that slow???

Both. The 2pm Saturday position is near Melbourne, 2pm Sunday SW of Jacksonville, and then into Georgia Monday.

[yzerfan]

a little early...

For physical/weather reasons, maybe. But the big legal issue with a State of Emergency in Florida is that the anti-price gouging laws kick in then. The prices for plywood, generators, hotel rooms, bottled water, etc. are now essentially legally frozen now, and if a business deviates more than something like 10% from what the average price of those goods has been over the last 30 days, they can face criminal charges and huge fines.

It's the right move from Jeb!- as people rush to buy last minute supplies, they don't have to worry so much about getting ripped off.