So yes, thank you @droppedit.
I have good news to report about my brother in St. Thomas. I spoke with him and he’s fine. He’d prepared well with plenty of food and water. His house is itself is unscathed, but a lot of other damage. Lots of fallen trees. It took him four hours to cut a walking trail from his house to the public road. Vehicular access to his house is out of the question and will be for some time. He thinks he’ll be without power for several weeks. He hitchhiked into town with gas cans so he can keep his chain saw going. It was so good to hear his voice and know he’s ok.
Hurrah, @sherpa! Great news!
Just listening to one of the news channels. They are predicting that Irma will spend around 30 hours over Florida vs. the 4 hours Andrew spent over Florida. So, even with diminishing winds and a 4 status instead of a 5, that doesn’t bode well.
Well looks like storm has shifted far enough west so that Columbia SC is out the edge/out of cone now. Stuff is still closing a bit for Monday but none of my coastal family will be here. Taken down mandatory evac for nursing homes except in very southern SC coast. Delaying decision about mandatory evac/lane reversal out of Charleston until later today. USC closing Monday because they follow the county.
So if anyone fleeing Florida needs a place to stay and makes it this far, PM me (as long you aren’t allergic to dogs and can do stairs 
) Shelters also open in town for evacuees.
S reports that as of a couple of hours ago GF’s parents are almost through Georgia and have a full tank of gas. Looks like they’ll make it to the cabin in NC in time for a longish weekend. Although it can’t be relaxing worrying about whether you house is damaged…
@sherpa, glad to hear your brother is ok!
My SIL just posted on FB that she is on flight tomorrow at noon to Seattle (where her newest grandbaby lives) but my BIL isn’t going and they are in Naples - which looks to be going to get a direct hit. Now I’m going to be fretting all weekend.
@sherpa what a relief. So glad he’s safe.
@emilybee, are they in an evacuation zone?
No, Consolation, it is not relaxing at all. I am starting to get very, very worried about our house in Tampa. We are still away for the summer so are safe, but my heart is in Tampa and I’m very concerned for what is about to happen.
Savannah’s out of the cone now!!
I’m pretty sure they aren’t as they are east of 75.
If storm moves any further west out into the gulf the storm surge will be very bad. Hoping that doesn’t happen but not much anyone can do.
Watching the news, a reporter was talking to a Miami man in an evacuation zone who said he refuses to evacuate. He lived through Andrew, so he sees this as just “another wind and rain.” The reporter said, “you’re not at all concerned?” He replied, “I can swim. I’ve got guns. I’ve got dogs. We’re all good… And a wife.” If my DH listed me 3rd after his guns and dogs, I’d be hitch hiking my way north.
SMH…
The LA Times had a story this morning about a man who would not evacuate because he couldn’t find a shelter or a hotel that would take his monkey! This man had a family! that he was risking over a monkey!
My mom (with dementia) finally made it here from Florida. The only flight they could get her had a stop in Hartford before heading to Baltimore, and she got off there. It caused significant stress, both for her and others, but she and her luggage (with all her medications - we can’t give them to her because we can’t trust her to not lose her bag or take way too many) are now here. She said everyone at the airport and on Southwest was very nice to her.
@1214mom, yikes! Glad it all got worked out.
If my husband was staying in a evacuation zone, I’d take Rover and Fido and head north, no matter how nicely he talked about me. What’s this nicompoop’s plan about the 10 foot storm surge with 8 foot waves in it? “First I’ll send the dogs out to attack it, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll blast it with the 12-gauge”?
@nrdsb4 I literally snorted when I read #312.
MSNBC was interviewing an elderly woman earlier who was waiting for her son. She was a hoot. Twitter blew up about her
*Her son did come get her while they were filming. Turns out, he’s an airport worker.
Well, the storm did make the left turn towards Cuba that the models predicted. It’s very close to the coast there and the eyewall will cross inland later tonight. Everything points to landfall around Marathon then up into the Everglades. The Keys from Marathon northward are going to get crushed.
The dying system is forecast to pass just to the west of Atlanta. That puts us on the windy side. The official NWS forecast has winds of 35 mph gusting to 50 mph Monday night the district is thinking about canceling school on Monday or Tuesday.
Not sure why the media even does stories on those not evacuating. What kind of message does that send to everyone else? Don’t give these people a few minutes of fame. Focus on the people giving and following the advice to evacuate.
So, @droppedit, does that mean the European forecast was a little more accurate than the American model? The European model seems to be a better predictor of late - Sandy, a few Nor’easters.