can't believe it ... I'm online

[Weatherboy1]

That was the worst 15 hours of my life...quick email/post from here in Jupiter .... we had gusts to 120 hours, my wife and 2-year old spent the night in the master bathroom. Somehow, we made it with more lost shingles, trees, etc., but I never want to live through that again...

[LAwxrgal]

Hi Weatherboy, glad to hear you and the family are safe and sound! Take care

[SouthernWx]

When the final NHC report is released, it's likely IMO the extreme northern portion of Palm Beach county will be counted as a "cat-3 direct hit" from Jeanne....

It appeared the cat-3 wind radius extended from just north of West Palm Beach (where 109 mph gusts were measured by a drifting buoy at 26.53 N/ 80.05W) northward to the Sebastion Inlet area (Indian River/ Brevard county line).

Glad to hear you and your family are okay Weatherboy. I hope and pray there will be no more hurricanes in your area for a long time

[Sanibel]

Not many get to experience a real hurricane. We finally got internet back after a week here with Charley.


People keep saying these storms are creating a false sense of ride-ability. Especially this one and Frances. It's bad when people stop saying it. Eventually a category 5 is going to come calling...

[Scorpion]

I wish I stayed in Jupiter than went to Miami. I have never experienced a major hurricane before and wish to experience one.

[tronbunny]

I wish I stayed in Jupiter than went to Miami. I have never experienced a major hurricane before and wish to experience one.

OK I'll admit it...
I can understand your desire.
I've been through 3 "real" hurricanes and a doozy TS(Frances when she knocked on our door)
They're all different.
Would never want to be out during Charley, but actually sat on my western facing Lanai (sheltered by house) during the 80+ winds durng Jeanne - in daylight. I know that much of the possible flying debris had been cleared by Charley and Frances.
I walked around to the south side of house- had to replace shutter!- in 60mph but know that it was only for emergency.
It IS interesting.

[bosag]

I tell you what, watching your ceiling fall in was not fun, but Im glad we stayed beacause if we hadnt we would have not been here to bail the water that was comming in out, it would have been so much worse. Thankfully my two smallest kids slept, and ya know when my 17 yr is walking around w/ a bicycle helmet on his head, you know he was scared. That wouldve been a Kodak moment!

Barb

[chigger11]

Speaking of helmets. . . We all heard a huge bang, like a tree, on our plywood around 9pm Sat. The winds sounded like maybe some very strong hurricane force gusts for sure at that point so obviously I needed to go outside and examine what it was. I put on my sons little league baseball helmet and a winter coat. I didnt need to worry about the helmet being pulled off by the wind, it was so tight on my head I almost blacked out. Anyway this huge impact that sounded like an oak hitting our house, was just a 2 ft. long piece of super light weight plastic gutter. I could only imagine how effective our plywood will be when a 120mph compact palm tree base is flying into the house. I definitely think many in S. FLorida are just still not impressed with hurricanes yet. I have definitely seen some very impressive recovery with Jeanne though compared to Frances. Does anyone agree with that?

[drudd1]

I tell ya, during all three canes I listened as objects hit our boarded up windows. One hit was from a five gallon metal can that had at one time been full of roofing tar. Apparently someone made a repair and didn't secure the can, which wound up slamming into the large plate glass window in the front of the house. I can only imagine what it would have done had we not boarded.

Scorpion, while I can understand your wish to experience a cane, I too once felt that way, it's not all its cracked up to be. Trust me, watching the aftermath reports on CNN, etc. is the much preferable option.

[mascpa]

Still waiting for phone and electricity in Jupiter Farms. At least the flood waters have been receding very rapidly.

[tracyz]

Still waiting for Electricity in The Acreage. At least we have phone this time. I hope we don't have to wait 11 days again.

[wxwatcher2]

Not sure I'd stay if a Cat 4 or 5 ever comes calling along the coast.

Too many get lulled into a false sense of security.

If a Cat 5 or a strong 4 hits Jupiter, I can assure you, your roof probably will not survive.

I think we should all build dome homes.

[Scorpion]

Im gonna be -removed- for another major until I actually go through one. My friends all said it was very exciting and scary. I just love the howl of the wind during a hurricane, everyone else is scared but not me. My house is pretty new, it would probably easily survive Cat 5 winds.

[vbhoutex]

Im gonna be -removed- for another major until I actually go through one. My friends all said it was very exciting and scary. I just love the howl of the wind during a hurricane, everyone else is scared but not me. My house is pretty new, it would probably easily survive Cat 5 winds.

There are very few homes built to survive CAT5 winds!!! I have a lot of doubt that yours would. You have to understand that the debris that will be hitting your house could easily be traveling at 200 mph due to gusts. Very few types of construction easily survive this kind of abuse.

I've been through many storms and Hurricanes, and yes they still hold a fascination for me and give me a rush, but if you ever go through one like Charley, Frances, Ivan or Jeanne and are in the eye wall my bet is you will never want to do it again. It is frightening when you realize that all you have worked so hard for is being torn apart and that indeed you and your loved ones may not make it. I went through Camille at 120 miles from the center and then saw the aftermath up close and personal. That was enough for me to know I would never wish what happened in MS on my worst enemy. I went through Alicia in my own home also. We were very fortunate that all we had was severe tree damage since a tornado went right over our house(confirmed).

It all sounds exciting(and it is in some ways) and fun(it isn't in anyway at all)until you actually go through it. Trust me and the others that are sharing their experiences-do it through the TV as opposed to live and in person!!

[Scorpion]

Oh no, definitely I would not want to experience a Cat 5 or strong 4. I just wish I stayed for Jeanne because all my friends told me how exciting it was. The most I would want to stay through is a low Cat 4. Any higher and Im leaving.

[Sanibel]

If you want to experience a hurricane it would be cheaper to fly to Soccorro Island off Mexico for a summer. That small island almost always experiences a hurricane every year because it is smack in the middle of the EPAC belt. Or try Guam, Saipan, or the Phillipines.

To give you an idea of projectiles, we have two overhead ceiling fans on the ceiling of our covered porch. Charley blew these fans closed like a daisy flower closing its petals. A single fan blade was ripped off and shot into our kitchen window shutter that was covering the kitchen window. It broke the window out of its frame THROUGH the shutter! It still isn't fixed and should still be a while. If I had known, I would have taken a screw driver during my preparations and removed the blades. It's one of those things you don't think of until you see what it did.


Two days before I evacuated I had cleared the entire yard of all potential flying objects. We were saved by the fact that Charley had little surge. As it turns out it was a perfect one to stay for because it was fringing on structural damage. But that was at the risk of a 20 foot surge...

[mascpa]

Thanks for the hint about the celing fans, I had never thought of that. Luckily I didn't get any strong winds from the east from either Frances or Jeanne, so it wasn't a problem.