<p>Don’t see a thread so I will start one. South Florida gearing up preparations. With public schools the official sites for shelters for those on barrier islands and in trailers (some here still in FEMA trailers from Frances, Jean and Wilma), Martin county (just above Palm Beach county) on the east coast has announced no school Tues to have a prep day to open up as shelters in anticipation of their need on Wed. St. Lucie and Palm Beach county expected to announce this as well. This creates a Domino effect re:parents and work etc. Long lines at gas stations with some stations already empty. I see that as a plus–everyone is filling up now with time for tankers to refill stations tonight with plenty of gas for tomorrow and after the storm. Water is leaving the shelves, as are canned goods, etc. </p>
<p>Given the rather unpredictable nature of these storms, I am guessing they may be canceling classes at colleges and Universities in south Florida for Tues/Wed as a precaution. </p>
<p>Lets hope that this thing vears hard right into the Atlantic.
But with recent history–better to be safe, than… hungry and thirsty with no cash and no gas.</p>
<p>Palm Beach county schools closed Tues. Miami-Dade and Broward county school closed Tues and Wed. Monroe county (the Florida Keys) now closed today and Tues. Generally, all colleges and universities in these counties call off classes once the public schools announce closure. Suspect FIU. FAU, PBAU, Lynn and others will be closed Tues and probably Wed.</p>
<p>Actually, I live in Palm Beach County, and I was supposed to start my drive up to move into school in Boston late wednesday/early thursday. If I’m not there for the allotted move-in time because of hurricane related delays, does anyone know how I should go about contacting my school/what I should expect for moving in after move-in time?</p>
<p>srcameron, I would CALL NOW and ask for advise/direction and put them on alert that your plans may be altered by the storm. Remember, this may turn east or break up over Cuba and just be a day of bad weather after all the “preparations” and anxiety.</p>
<p>This could end up making many more of us miserable as well as it has the potential to hug the Atlantic coast all the way up to NE. Could be a long, wet and windy Labor Day weekend. Sigh.</p>
That really means nothing. Sure Katrina hit this time last year, but Katrina was actually BEFORE the real peak. NOAA is still predicting 7-9 hurricanes (with 3-4 of them being major hurricanes) by the end of the season. This is only slightly lower than their initial projections.</p>
<p>By the way, it is actually projected to be a tropical storm as it hits and passes along the Florida Atlantic Coast. It is then predicted to go into the ocean and hit ground again in South Carolina, this time as a hurricane. That might be a much bigger disaster. </p>
<p>We put up shutters here today when there was some uncertainty about whether it was going to be a Category 1 but it appears now that it’s nothing more than a rainy tropical storm. Guess tomorrow is going to be spent taking DOWN the shutters. </p>
<p>The media made such a big deal about it and now they’re feeling kind of sheepish. One TV reporter was reporting from a local neighborhood and the news anchor asked him if it seemed like it was much of a wind event and he replied “Well, I just saw a plastic bag blowing down the street, but that’s about it so far”. :)</p>
<p>lol, down here in miami, the news is just ridiculous. I think they are trying to win an emmy for best performance in a drama. One newsanchor started scraming into a microphone after he saw a lightning strike near him, I just laughed. For those who live here, it was on channel 7.</p>