The forecast seems to be changing every time there is another update, but this is what I know for now:

  • There is a 90 percent chance of 40 mile per hour sustained winds at my location.
  • Likewise, a 50 percent chance of 50 mile per hour winds
  • A 25% chance of 75 mile per hour winds
  • And a 10 percent chance of sustained winds of over 90 miles per hour
  • Gusts would be higher

Now all homes in Florida built in the past 25 years are supposed to be able to withstand winds of up to 110 miles per hour. I will say that I felt like the winds being reported by the NWS were grossly overstated, so I bought a personal weather station. I guess we will be getting a chance to test that out.

We are also being told to expect up to 14 inches of rain. We average 60 inches of rain in a year, so we are getting three months’ rain in three days. That means flooding. Our house is on high ground, so I think we should be OK.

My biggest concern is having the power be out for several days. I have an 8KW genny and a bunch of fuel, so I should be OK. We are working on building a new house about 30 minutes south of here, and it will have a 24KW propane or natural gas fueled backup, but for now 8KW gasoline is all I have.

The nasty weather is supposed to begin before lunchtime tomorrow. My checklist is complete with the exception of shutting down the NAS, buying some subs from Publix, and doing a final check on comms.

My mobile and handheld radios are all good, I just need to check the main radio set. It’s a nice one, a Yaesu FT-897 with an interface to allow digital and voice communication. I have two antennas mounted in the attic, a dual band for VHF, and the second is a G5RV wire antenna for HF. At 52 feet long, it stretches most of the way across the house, but this antenna allows me to transmit in all bands from 10 meters down to 40 meters.

As soon as the wife gets home from work, we will head out to dinner and Publix, then settle in for the night. I still don’t know for sure what my work schedule will be. For now, I am scheduled to work 9-9 tomorrow, but that may change.

It’s 1415 on 9/27, and it just began raining.

Categories: GearPrepping

7 Comments

joe · September 27, 2022 at 1:39 pm

did you remember the pool floaties? and rubber duckies?… good luck DM… stay safe

Ed Jones · September 27, 2022 at 1:45 pm

Note that gasoline generators work well, but they guzzle LOTS of fuel. I had a 4kw Generac, which had a 5gal. tank. It would burn 5gal in 8 hours. Dunno about yours, but you’ll want to be pretty careful about how much you run it.

Best of luck to you and yours!

Exile1981 · September 27, 2022 at 1:48 pm

Good luck, hopefully the new house isn’t damaged.

Aesop · September 27, 2022 at 2:47 pm

Best wishes for weathering the storm.

BraulerBob · September 27, 2022 at 11:01 pm

Good luck to everyone. Stay safe!

DBM · September 28, 2022 at 6:20 am

A note about wind speed – it is scientifically measured at 10 meters. You will see a difference from ‘local reports’ unless you are willing to mount your anemometer at that height. I wasn’t.

Stay Safe.

GuardDuck · September 30, 2022 at 11:34 am

Hey, glad the storm left you mostly in one piece.

Curious, I just got my general class license and am looking at gear. What are your reviews on your two antennas? I’ve considered both.

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