Watching the tropics... again (aka Irma)

[MrsDuck]

It is far too early to be worried. None of the models have it anywhere near Orlando and most aren't even impacting FL. Too far away to even consider right now.

 

[minniegirl19]

Today's update:

Irma went from a tropical storm this morning to a cat 2 hurricane with this last advisory and is projected to get to a cat 4. Yes it's still far out to sea and they aren't sure exactly where it will be past Tuesday BUT the "cone" does show it could potentially have some type of impact to the southeast US weather it is a direct landfall or it staying off the coast but if you are vacationing next weekend into the following I would suggest keeping an eye on it. Hoping it gets pushed out and doesn't effect us at all.

 

[goofy4tink]

I arrive in Orlando on Sunday, the 3rd. Then, on Friday, the 8th, head to port for a 3 night cruise in the Bahamas. Am I worried? Nope. Nothing I can do about it. I will watch it, but other than that, oh well.

 

[Disneylvr]

My dates are September 9-13th at WDW. So watching with interest but I am not going to worry.

 

[prettypatchesmsu]

Well, our trip is in 7 days. Last year we were at WDW during Hurricane Matthew. We will be watching, but hopefully the same won't happen to us again this trip.

 

[DisHmsklMom]

My favorite site for keeping an eye on storms is https://www.tropicaltidbits.com/
I really like his analysis and the forcast models section of his site.

 

[JenniBugInPink]

Like some others, I'm not "worried", but I do want to keep up with it since we'll be there Sept. 10-20.

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

Well, our trip is in 7 days. Last year we were at WDW during Hurricane Matthew. We will be watching, but hopefully the same won't happen to us again this trip.

Our trip is in 11 days (11th - 21st) and I'm keeping an eye on it as well. We were there during Matthew too! At this point, I look at it like any weather forecast....somewhat accurate for the next 3 days and anything beyond that they're really just making educated guesses.

Like some others, I'm not "worried", but I do want to keep up with it since we'll be there Sept. 10-20.

Same with us. Here's hoping that it ends up going north into the Atlantic and just disappears

 

[Tonyz]

Worst case scenario right now seems to be it hitting Florida next Sunday.

Still nothing to worry about but definitely watch it in you're planning on being there from the 10th to the 15th or so.

 

[otten]

My personal opinion, having been at Disney World for Matthew last year is that there's no point worrying about it. It's either going to impact your trip or not and there's not much you can do about that besides cancelling and going in non-hurricane season.

 

[fla4fun]

I will be at WDW in about a week and a half. There's always a risk going to WDW during hurricane season and it's always a good idea to watch the tropics. As a local, I wouldn't say we don't worry about hurricanes, but we tend to take a more realistic approach than a lot of the media does. It's in their best interest to hype things for ratings. We try to sift through all the hype to the facts and prepare accordingly. I am hoping Irma gives us a wide berth, but it's way too soon to know for sure. Maybe Monday or Tuesday we will have a better idea of what to expect.

 

[MermaidMommy]

My comments about Harvey is what previous posters are saying. I've watched the weather channel and they were warning of the rain and the mayor dismissed it. That is not made up it is a fact. So he didn't listen. I know logistically with evacuations it would have been a mess so I understand both sides.

Sorry, but reporting others' opinions doesn't count as "fact." No one ignored the weather threat. They were well aware of the issues, and well aware of the potential pitfalls of evacuating. Such as:

• 6.7 million people needing to evacuate
• The vast size of the area -- metropolitan Houston is larger than Connecticut or New Jersey
• During Hurricane Rita in 2005, 100 people died trying to flee, almost as many as died during the hurricane itself.
• Houston was in danger mostly from the rainfall after the hurricane, not from the rain itself. There was no way to predict where the rains would hit or flooding would be an issue.
• It takes 60 hours for Houston to evacuate. When the governor made his comments about Houston evacuating, it was Friday afternoon. Harvey hit Friday night. It could have been catastrophic having highways jammed with cars and the floods commencing

There's not a consensus yet as to whether or not the city should have evacuated. It might end up, in hindsight, that not evacuating was the wrong decision. It might have been smart to order a voluntary evacuation, at least, but there were understandable reasons why they didn't. But, it's incorrect and unfair to say that the Houston government simply dismissed the danger.

 

[hertamaniac]

I expect a hurricane or two will form off the west coast of Africa after Irma has made her trek this year. As a local, I've been through the TS/hurricane media blasts; we follow the local forecasts, not the national channels.

 

[Vintage princess]

We are going to WDW for our first ever trip arriving the 8th. The 10th (worst case scenario projected for FL hit) is my daughter's birthday. Her golden birthday, turning 10 on the 10th. I have been working on ordering a cake for our ADR and we have a special bday breakfast at CP to meet her most favorite, pooh! So why it doesn't do any good to worry as I have no control over the weather, I am starting to get nervous!!!!!!!

 

[SDSorority]

We're keeping an eye on WESH news. That's our go-to source. Is it the best? Not sure, but at least it's local.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

We will be there the 8th through the 17th. I'm keeping an eye on Irma but not really worrying about it for our trip. I'm more concerned about a friend of mine who is visiting his dad in the Dominican Republic and is supposed to be flying home on Wednesday.

 

[brookmey]

So I live in a Houston suburb, about 30 miles west of Houston. We got hit hard by Harvey. Water came within a few feet of our house but luckily we were spared. We have several neighbors down the street who were not. It's heartbreaking to drive through our community and see the damage and ruined carpets, furniture, etc. out on curbs for garbage pickup.

School was canceled this week and for next week. I feel like we need to get away, to get out of TX and get our minds off this and do something fun, so I'm thinking of taking my kids to Disney next week for MNSSHP. I really don't want to get caught in another hurricane, so I'm torn about what to do. I've been watching Irma and realize there is a chance she'll veer towards FL or even the Gulf. But what I'm not sure about is the timeframe. The dates I'm looking to go are Sept. 5-8. If, and I know right now it's just an if, Irma veers towards FL, any idea of possible dates for that? I want to be smart about whether or not to go, but yet I don't want my fear to control me. I'm not worried about being at Disney during a hurricane, it's more about not being able to get home. And after what we just went through, the idea of what realistically could or could not happen means nothing to me.

 

[luvsJack]

RE: Houston-- people died evacuating from Rita in 2005. It would have been impossible to evacuate 6.5 million people in 24 hours.

RE: NOLA-- were you there?

So we just stop ever evacuating because of Rita? There were other factors there, one being Katrina. People have died in this storm because of no evacuation.

As for NOLA, one evacuation route goes almost by my front door. I have family and friends who lived there during that time. So no, I personally wasn't there but close.

 

[minniegirl19]

So I live in a Houston suburb, about 30 miles west of Houston. We got hit hard by Harvey. Water came within a few feet of our house but luckily we were spared. We have several neighbors down the street who were not. It's heartbreaking to drive through our community and see the damage and ruined carpets, furniture, etc. out on curbs for garbage pickup.

School was canceled this week and for next week. I feel like we need to get away, to get out of TX and get our minds off this and do something fun, so I'm thinking of taking my kids to Disney next week for MNSSHP. I really don't want to get caught in another hurricane, so I'm torn about what to do. I've been watching Irma and realize there is a chance she'll veer towards FL or even the Gulf. But what I'm not sure about is the timeframe. The dates I'm looking to go are Sept. 5-8. If, and I know right now it's just an if, Irma veers towards FL, any idea of possible dates for that? I want to be smart about whether or not to go, but yet I don't want my fear to control me. I'm not worried about being at Disney during a hurricane, it's more about not being able to get home. And after what we just went through, the idea of what realistically could or could not happen means nothing to me.

I think if you guys can afford to go 100% do it. You deserve a getaway to get your mind off of things and to have FUN. try not to worry about the weather it's unpredictable just definitely something to watch. Regarding Irma from my understanding if it affects the US it will be around Saturday or Sundayish possibly even into early the following week so I *think* you will be okay. We won't know the track until next week anyway so I say go for it!! If you are looking to fly though double check the rain maker that's supposed to effect you guys on Tuesday. I've been watching the weather channel and they have talked about moisture coming up from the gulf causing more rain. Not sure how much is supposed to come or what news stations are saying there but it could cause potential delays I would guess.

 

[brookmey]

So we just stop ever evacuating because of Rita? There were other factors there, one being Katrina. People have died in this storm because of no evacuation.

As for NOLA, one evacuation route goes almost by my front door. I have family and friends who lived there during that time. So no, I personally wasn't there but close.

I live outside of Houston, so Harvey is a major part of my life right now. Many of our friends and neighbors here in our city, plus some in Houston, have all said that there was no way they were evacuating. They remember Rita all to well and did not want to risk their lives in that. Yes, sadly, people have died in these floods. Unfortunately, some of them because they refused rescue when rescue boats were going through neighborhoods. We weren't here for Rita, but we were for Ike. From what our neighbors and friends say, many of the deaths from Rita could have been prevented if there hadn't been an evacuation. So during Ike, when we were told to "hunker down" so residents of Galveston and the coastal cities could safely evacuate, we listened.

Another point, when we learned just how bad Harvey was going to be, it was late on Thursday. It hit Corpus Friday night. There was absolutely no way an evacuation of Houston and it's surrounding suburbs could have been done safely in 24 hours. We were already getting rain and tornado warnings Friday night. There are streets in my town that have never, ever flooded before that had water up to the waist of grown men. I can't even imagine what the death toll would be if there had been a mandatory evacuation.