Connecting moms in Polk County, Fla.
Tropical Storm Debby
Where Will Debby End Up? and this from the weather channel and me searching for an answer myself.
We're at the beach now, Sanibel Island (off the coast of Ft. Myers) and it's super miserable here. We were planning on staying for 5 days but if the weather holds the way it has been for the past 2, then I'm heading home. I just hope it's not for Debby to follow me there.
Has anyone else had dampened plans caused by Debby? Are you stocking up on supplies in case this storm heads our way?
Tags: beach, depression, florida, gulf, low, mexico, miserable, of, rain, storm, More…
Views: 414
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alicia (Alsan) on -
Luckily no plans of ours were ruined by this mess. Yesterday 3 of my boys attended the Pouncey football camp and we were SO thankful the rain held off for that. The rest of the weekend was planned for just puttering around the house, thank goodness.
I will say though I am so fed up with the rain. Over it!! We are so darn flooded it's not even amusing at this point. My van is stuck in the mud behind the garage (thank goodness my husband was driving and not me this time hahahahahaha!) It is there until we dry out a little.
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Permalink Reply by Kim Boone on -
We did not stock up supplies, thankfully we have some stock of water, always have lots of snacks, and we are a little chubby these days.
Hopefully you are ok out at the beach or made it home safely Shawn.
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Permalink Reply by MandyJay on -
It's sitting on top of us. Mostly just wet. My husband and I went to Publix yesterday morning when it was just raining lightly. By the time were were checked out and leaving, it was an absolute deluge.
Fortunately my entire plan for the weekend was sit still and go nowhere, so everything worked out :)
Hope all's well your way, Shawn!
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Permalink Reply by Shawn Spivey on -
We came home yesterday and what an adventure that drive was. Flooded roads, a couple of really bad car accidents we passed that made me really wonder if anyone could have survived. : ( They were both multiple rollovers. I hope those folks are okay.
We drove down one road, a back road, that had ruts in it so bad from driving tires, full of water. It really makes you focus exactly where your tires are on the road at all times or you can find yourself in a watery skid across the road. Of course the rain was pretty gnarly, too.
We were at the Sanibel Inn on Sanibel Island. We have been going there for years every summer. This summer could be our last. The lady working the before 3p.m. shift was so unprofessional I just can't see how she thinks the hospitality business was her calling! :O
Seeing what was to be Debby forming in the water I wanted to move my reservation and she wouldn't do it without penalizing me. For me to get the rate I booked months ago I had to come on the days I booked. Of course, booking now, the price is WAY higher and I was looking at a cancellation penalty, too. Of course I understand there's a business mindset but the hotel was overbooked as it was. They were slotting people into upgraded condos because they had so many people. You would think they would have been happy to have some extra space by my cancellation.
When we first got there the weather wasn't too bad but it was never nice. Come Sunday morning I tune into Mike Siedel covering Redington Beach for The Weather Channel. His wave action he was standing in front of wasn't too bad. I then look out our condo window and think, "Man, if they want drama and effect they should be standing on Sanibel Beach!"
Had I not been there I would have never believed it. Sanibel is known for their low to no waves. Local stations were saying the waves were 10 to 13 feet high. Yeah, I'll definitely go with that. Seriously. Would not believe it had I not seen it myself! A palm tree right in front of our room was almost bending touching the ground and this front desk lady can't believe I would cancel the rest of our stay, a stay I tried to reschedule in the beginning.
My kiddos are so disappointed. We were there to celebrate their birthday. Hopefully we can make it back to the island for a couple of days this summer to make it up to them.
All and all, it does feel good to be back home.
This morning we woke up to find catfish crawling through our yard. Funny, when my older boys were around Ryan's age this happened a couple of times but never when Ryan and Lillian were there to see it. I've told them the stories of finding fish in the yard, I don't think they believed me until today.
We had a wheel barrow out in the yard that filled with rain water. We scooped up the catfish, threw them in the wheel barrow and walked them to the retention lake across the street. We found/caught 11 of them. The lake across the street is way up, too. There's a small walk-out/bridge that's underwater. Lots of rain coming through.
Alicia, I can't imagine how flooded you have to be where you are!
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Permalink Reply by Shawn Spivey on
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In case some of you haven't caught some local reports, below are a couple. Have you seen, or had, damage yourself?
Polk Has Seen 4.5 Inches of Water; More Forecast Today
Polk Suffers Some Storm Damage; Tornado Strikes Winter Haven
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Permalink Reply by Fallsmama on -
What a nightmare. I'm sorry the Sanibel Inn were iffy with you - we really like that place - disappointing to hear a negative story about it :(
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Permalink Reply by Alicia (Alsan) on
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Shawn, I'm so sorry you had such a bad experience :(
Yeah - we're a tad flooded out here. But you don't live in the swamp without expecting it. I have a Dr appt Wed I'll need to cancel cause my van ain't goin no where right now and that's the only vehicle we have that fits all 5 kids. Thank goodness my little car was parked on the RV pad and not in the garage. I was cursing it all day yesterday because the top leaks, but hubby had a big project in the garage so the car wasn't going in. I'm thankful now because there would be no way to get it out of the garage we're so flooded back there. We haven't gotten near the amount of rain today I expected so that's good.
The pic is from yesterday afternoon. I'm currently at about 8 inches rain total which isn't bad, but we've had SO much lately I really didn't need any of it!!
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Permalink Reply by Tabby on -
Hold on they say the storm cell with possible tornado's will be here in about 20 mins. Another cell out in the Gulf with possible tornado activity coming in later tonight. Here comes the rain in north Lakeland. Suppose to pass to the East of us here and I'm, in direct path being near I-4 and in a mobile home.
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Permalink Reply by Shawn Spivey on
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Tabby, you mentioning a mobile home really brings the story I'm about to link home. Be careful and keep your ears open and eyes peeled.
Bless this poor mother and I hope her little one heals from this tragedy. Rescuers literally found the child wrapped in mom's arms even after her death. And I'm complaining about a mean hotel lobby attendant and a missed vacation opportunity. :( So, terribly, sad!
Woman dies while trying to shield child from Highlands County tornado
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Permalink Reply by Alicia (Alsan) on
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Every time the weather radio goes off here with a tornado warning it says "mobile homes are not safe. If you are in a mobile home go outside and lay in a ditch" and I think "oh s***!!" So far there hadn't been one in my immediate area but I keep running through - closet, detached garage or ditch... I really don't know which way I'd run! When we moved here we really thought we were inland enough not to have too much concern, but I've seen some violent storms (not this time around yet) that will have me pacing from one window to the next to the next, watching the sky. At the least I really want one of those storm shelters you can have put on your property. We've always talked about building a block house out here one day and even then the one thing I want in it is a safe room. In the meantime...closet, garage or ditch...
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Permalink Reply by Tabby on
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We have a clubhouse but the last time it was opened as a safe shelter was in 2004/2005 with all those hurricanes we got hit with. Now that the park manager got demoted and they brought in a management company, who knows what will happen. The only interior closet is in my mom's room. I had seen a show one time where they made a tornado shelter for under $2,000 (could have been even less). Of course it was mainly a standing room one, but they used cinder blocks, had it filled on with the rebar and concrete. Even had a concrete slab for a roof and a metal door with a huge lock and hinges. Looked like a regular shed on the outside. Would love to build one just a bit bigger to store supplies and sit down inside. Actually with the rumors going on here from the demoted park manager, he's telling everyone the owners sold the park. The letter we got said they hired the management company to boost sales and clean the park up more (previous manager could care less). Everyone should get a new lease in October for the new year with any new increase. Been here 19 yrs and the lot rent has gone from $120 to $304 a month which really isn't bad.
Anyway, be careful over night with the surges coming inland.
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Permalink Reply by Shawn Spivey on
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Raise your hand if you're over it!
This system sure is something. I avoided going out in this yesterday since we had so much, too close and personal over the weekend, but I need some supplies.
I'm out of toilet paper, milk, and cat food. Those things just can't wait.
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