GoofyDuck reporting from near ground zero

[GoofyDuck]

Well, another major hurricane has come and gone. We were ready to ride out this hurricane (we never evacuate). We had filled the bath tub and all the containers with water, made plenty of ice, had plenty of food for a week without power, etc. Woke up Sunday to news that Dennis was a category 4 hurricane with 145 mph and had made a northerly jog towards us. :( That was disheartening. My first thought was for those poor people who haven't recovered from Ivan yet. Then came some good news. A large, dry air mass was headed into the western Gulf of Mexico. As a seasoned hurricane survivor, I knew that this was the answer to my prayers (yes, I did a lot of that). If only Dennis could start sucking-up that dry air, it would weaken. As it turned out, that and a slightly cooler northern gulf (83 degrees) weakened Dennis to 120 mph before landfall. :banana: This was a double edged sword because that same dry air mass was pushing Dennis more north than west. Well, at the last minute, Dennis jogged to the west a tenth of a degree, sparing our house from the eye wall, which holds the worst winds and tornadoes. The eye hit about 20 miles west of here, and the eye was small, only 10 miles wide. The eye wall was almost 20 miles wide from the center of Dennis, so we just barely missed it. We still had the bad side, though. :rolleyes: Navarre (ground zero) got the worst of it. Destin and Okaloosa Island got hit pretty hard also. A town northwest of Navarre called Milton got hit hard. Here, officially, we had 99 mph winds with 121 mph gusts. Thankfully, it was a fast moving storm. All in all, we made out better than we did from Ivan last year. Surprisingly, this time we didn't lose power. :shrug: No roof damage, no structure damage, just lost some tree limbs. We did lose telephone service until 9 o'clock this morning (without it for about 18 hours). I'm also glad that it hit during the day. Even though people say, "What's the difference, 120 mph compared to 145 mph?" It may not be much difference in terms of physical damage, but it is a big difference mentally. I just hope we get a breather here for a while. I know of some people who are saying three strikes and they're out of here, Ivan and Dennis being two strikes. As for me, I see it as part of the price for living in paradise. No matter where you go, there's always something Mother Nature has in store for you (Tornadoes, earthquakes, mudslides, blizzards, etc.) Well, everything at my house is almost normal again, the yard is about halfway cleaned up. People in the neighborhood who lost power are already getting it back. :) We'll just be ready for the next one, but I don't want to hear about that thing in the Atlantic just yet.

[Josette]

Whewph glad you are safe. :) Ivan only caused a flood here, and it was horrible enough. I can only imagine it down there.

[SorcererMickey]

Glad everything is ok :yes: . There are some members here in Central Florida and a few in South Florida, but not that many up in the panhandle to keep us uptodate with everything that happened with Dennis.

Again, very happy you're ok :thumbs: .

[psdjmem]

So very glad to hear you are safe and did not have damage!! Thanks for the update and letting everyone know you are safe!!

[2JsMom]

Glad to hear your damage was limited to tree branches...Hopefully everyone else will recover quickly.

[JuniorMickey]

:hug: I'm glad you're okay!

We'll just be ready for the next one, but I don't want to hear about that thing in the Atlantic just yet.
:iagree: I don't wanna hear about it

[OKWTink]

Thank you so much for letting us know you came through the storm safely. I am sorry to hear about any damage at all. I used to live in Milton. It's a small little place and I can't imagine it being able to withstand too much damage as it was on a flat plateau. :(

I'm with you on that "thing" in the Atlantic too. Don't want to hear about it right now, nor the other cluster right behind (and to the south like our old friend Ivan) it. :nono:

Stay safe. Clean up itself can be dangerous, so keep a sharp eye out for anything potentially hazardous.

Again, thanks for letting us know you are ok. :hug:

[miraclemoments]

Well, another major hurricane has come and gone. We were ready to ride out this hurricane (we never evacuate). We had filled the bath tub and all the containers with water, made plenty of ice, had plenty of food for a week without power, etc. Woke up Sunday to news that Dennis was a category 4 hurricane with 145 mph and had made a northerly jog towards us. :( That was disheartening. My first thought was for those poor people who haven't recovered from Ivan yet. Then came some good news. A large, dry air mass was headed into the western Gulf of Mexico. As a seasoned hurricane survivor, I knew that this was the answer to my prayers (yes, I did a lot of that). If only Dennis could start sucking-up that dry air, it would weaken. As it turned out, that and a slightly cooler northern gulf (83 degrees) weakened Dennis to 120 mph before landfall. :banana: This was a double edged sword because that same dry air mass was pushing Dennis more north than west. Well, at the last minute, Dennis jogged to the west a tenth of a degree, sparing our house from the eye wall, which holds the worst winds and tornadoes. The eye hit about 20 miles west of here, and the eye was small, only 10 miles wide. The eye wall was almost 20 miles wide from the center of Dennis, so we just barely missed it. We still had the bad side, though. :rolleyes: Navarre (ground zero) got the worst of it. Destin and Okaloosa Island got hit pretty hard also. A town northwest of Navarre called Milton got hit hard. Here, officially, we had 99 mph winds with 121 mph gusts. Thankfully, it was a fast moving storm. All in all, we made out better than we did from Ivan last year. Surprisingly, this time we didn't lose power. :shrug: No roof damage, no structure damage, just lost some tree limbs. We did lose telephone service until 9 o'clock this morning (without it for about 18 hours). I'm also glad that it hit during the day. Even though people say, "What's the difference, 120 mph compared to 145 mph?" It may not be much difference in terms of physical damage, but it is a big difference mentally. I just hope we get a breather here for a while. I know of some people who are saying three strikes and they're out of here, Ivan and Dennis being two strikes. As for me, I see it as part of the price for living in paradise. No matter where you go, there's always something Mother Nature has in store for you (Tornadoes, earthquakes, mudslides, blizzards, etc.) Well, everything at my house is almost normal again, the yard is about halfway cleaned up. People in the neighborhood who lost power are already getting it back. :) We'll just be ready for the next one, but I don't want to hear about that thing in the Atlantic just yet.

Excellent reporting GoofyDuck...most especially glad to hear you're ok and that clean up has begun...take care and keep us posted!

[uscwest]

Glad to hear that all is OK. And to think we are still considering moving to FL when and if we retire.

[GoofyDuck]

Thanks everyone. :) The yard is cleaned up now and our county seems to be recovering quickly except for parts of Destin. Santa Rosa county is recovering slowly. It took the brunt of the storm. They say 50 houses are unlivable and that could reach 200. Pensacola Beach is recovering slowly, also.

I used to live in Milton. It's a small little place and I can't imagine it being able to withstand too much damage as it was on a flat plateau.

Santa Rosa County Courthouse in Milton lost a large portion of it's roof. The same is true for the Imogene Theater across the street. In fact, the Historic District suffered major roof damage.

[Shanrich96]

I am glad to hear that everything is okay in your neck of the woods.