Not Liking What I See
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (118365)
Gainesville, Florida
July 29, 2020 7:45am CST
It's been an active start to hurricane season in the US, although to date we have gotten off pretty lucky and relatively unscathed. I can't believe it's only July we already are looking at our 9th named storm of the season!
Looks like this next storm, which will be named Isaias, will develop over the next few days and head towards Florida, where I live.
If there's any good news to this, it's that the storm is not expected to develop into a strong hurricane, and should remain a tropical storm. And it will bring much-needed rain to drought-stricken Florida.
Still, I always am leery of tropical cyclones, even when they say they won't develop into stronger hurricanes. Look what happened last week in Texas. They said it would not turn into a hurricane. It did. It happens more often than not. So I will be ready when it heads this way.
As it's projected now, it should reach the area where I live by Monday.
Photo courtesy of the National Hurricane Center
40 people like this
42 responses
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
29 Jul 20
Hey, I'm a Floridian, we're used to this sort of thing. I'll probably throw a hurricane party or something.
2 people like this
@MALUSE (69416)
• Germany
29 Jul 20
@moffittjc Thank you. I looked it up. Do you use it often in spoken English?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
29 Jul 20
@MALUSE Not really. I don't know why the word even popped into my head. I certainly don't use it when speaking, but probably do more so in writing.
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
9 Aug 20
@kareng We were definitely lucky. This time. We may not be so lucky next time. We count our blessings any chance we get.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
4 Aug 20
We actually didn't get but a few quickly passing showers. Not even enough to really say it rained.
1 person likes this
@simone10 (54189)
• Louisville, Kentucky
4 Aug 20
@moffittjc That is so good to hear!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
5 Aug 20
@simone10 Looks like all the people living on the eastern seaboard from South Carolina northward got a pretty big chunk of this storm. I hope any of our myLot members who were affected by the storm are okay.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
31 Jul 20
The forecast cone has now moved significantly to the east, keeping the storm off the east coast of Florida, so it looks like we dodged a bullet on this one. We probably won't even get any rain from it now.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
29 Jul 20
@just4him It's not a horrible drought, but a drought nonetheless. We pretty much go through this every year, and we rely on tropical system to catch us up on our rainfall totals. All part of the cycle of life here in Florida I guess.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
29 Jul 20
It won't (or shouldn't) be too bad if it remains a tropical storm, because it will bring us some much-needed rain to Florida. South Florida has been in a drought lately.
1 person likes this
@just4him (305561)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
29 Jul 20
@moffittjc I hope you get the rain without the hurricane. I'm sorry they're in a drought situation.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (43059)
• Staten Island, New York
29 Jul 20
Weather is very unpredictable and enough times what a meteorologist says will happen doesn't and vice-versa.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
29 Jul 20
That's exactly why I will be keeping a close eye on this storm and also preparing for it just in case.
@lovebuglena (43059)
• Staten Island, New York
31 Jul 20
@moffittjc Stay safe! You are not getting canned soup or canned veggies?
1 person likes this
@Tampa_girl7 (48890)
• United States
29 Jul 20
Preparation is the key. Expect the worst, but hope for the best.
1 person likes this
@Tampa_girl7 (48890)
• United States
2 Aug 20
@moffittjc i can remember when I was a child watching the Palm trees bend and nearly touch the ground when we had strong winds.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
2 Aug 20
@Tampa_girl7 One of my earliest childhood memories of weather is looking out my kitchen window during a hurricane and watching trees topple over outside during a hurricane. I must have been only 3 or 4 years old. It didn't scare me, I was too young to understand, but I do remember being fascinated by the trees toppling over.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
29 Jul 20
Exactly! I will be prepared. Once hurricane season starts on July 1 each year, I start stocking up on supplies so I can be ready when a hurricane comes. Because us Floridians know, one WILL come eventually.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38616)
• Midland, Michigan
2 Aug 20
That doesn't sound good at all. The thing with heavy rain fall most of the water runs off not doing the area much good and the higher winds work the reasons tends to take vegetation I would think. I know that it does here and we don't get hurricanes not tropical storms.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
2 Aug 20
It looks like the storm is going to miss us, or least the part of Florida where I live. If the current forecast remains accurate, the center of the storm will remain off the east coast of Florida.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
8 Aug 20
@MarshaMusselman Probably tree damage was the most dangerous thing that people along the east coast sustained, and maybe some flooding. But I don't think the winds were strong enough for the winds themselves to damage people's homes, other than knocking trees over. And perhaps in coastal areas there may have been wind and water damage. But I think for the most part the worst part of this storm was knocking out the power to hundreds of thousands of people.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38616)
• Midland, Michigan
7 Aug 20
@moffittjc my sister is in Virginia and they got some heavy winds and rain. We've not heard whether that's all they got yet or what.
1 person likes this
@BACONSTRIPSXXX (14351)
• West Haven, Connecticut
29 Jul 20
Tell me about it, I'm in Santo Domingo and our medical system is collapsing due to coiled and now this 
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
29 Jul 20
I wish you and your country the best of luck when this storm approaches the Dominican Republic. Hopefully, it will still be a disorganized storm when it reaches you. But even a lot of rain can be deadly, so please be careful.
1 person likes this
@BACONSTRIPSXXX (14351)
• West Haven, Connecticut
29 Jul 20
@moffittjc Yeah flooding here is always a concern, I'm getting ready now to do food shopping just in case. Our climate is hot so the closer it gets the stronger it will be
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
29 Jul 20
@BACONSTRIPSXXX The one thing that may help us in Florida is when the storm passes over your country. Because of the mountainous terrain, it may prevent the storm from getting stronger when it reaches Florida.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
29 Jul 20
I agree, it's too soon to worry, but not too soon to prepare just in case. I've already started stocking up on hurricane supplies, so I am mostly prepared already.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
29 Jul 20
@DianneN I'm sure your neighbors would not appreciate me breaking into your condo to get to the fully stocked pantry! LOL
1 person likes this
@DianneN (246334)
• United States
29 Jul 20
@moffittjc It's always good to have a fully stocked pantry and freezer. Mine is loaded all the time and things are replaced before I use the last item. If you need anything, head to my condo. The pantry is loaded, but not the freezer. 
.
.1 person likes this
@Hannihar (129379)
• Israel
29 Jul 20
@moffittjc
I hope for you it will not turn into a Hurricane. Take care and stay safe.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
29 Jul 20
I hope it stays disorganized as it makes its way through the islands on its way to Florida.
1 person likes this
@Hannihar (129379)
• Israel
31 Jul 20
@moffittjc
I wish something could stop it from coming your way and it does not reach you at all.
1 person likes this
@Hannihar (129379)
• Israel
2 Aug 20
@moffittjc
I am glad it missed you. Sorry it went somewhere.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
29 Jul 20
We could use the rain, especially in the southern half of our state where they have been in a drought. If it stays a week tropical system, it could be very beneficial to us.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
29 Jul 20
@nela13 Me too. 2020 has already been bad enough, we don't need to make it worse with a damaging hurricane hitting us.
1 person likes this
@dgobucks226 (34317)
•
9 Aug 20
Isaias did some damage coming up the coast for sure. When it reached us in NJ it was a tropical storm and caused us to lose power along with many tree branches in our neighborhood falling down. I'm definitely worried we might have a big one come our way. I'm still not over "Sandy." 
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
12 Aug 20
I would hate to see a "big" one strike that far north, as that area of the country is much less prepared for storm damage than many of the areas in the southern part of the US. Let's hope a big one doesn't ever hit up there.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
17 Aug 20
@dgobucks226 Yes, thankfully they are not that common for you now, but it seems with global warming and climate change messing up our global weather patterns, that could change in the future and more of those big storms could strike farther north.
1 person likes this
@dgobucks226 (34317)
•
14 Aug 20
@moffittjc I second that comment. Fortunately, for us they are not so commonplace.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
5 Aug 20
I'm sure in those areas that were affected by the hurricane it probably felt like they got hit with a baseball bat!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
5 Aug 20
@mynameiskate Since this was just a minimal hurricane, I imagine it was just the wind itself, and not necessarily stuff flying through the air that was doing the hitting.
1 person likes this
@mynameiskate (2562)
•
5 Aug 20
@moffittjc I wonder if it was hurricane winds or the stuff in the wind that was doing the hitting.
1 person likes this
@popciclecold (35067)
• United States
29 Jul 20
I hope you all are spared, it's a terrible thing, we were in Katrina and it was the worst thing I had ever seen. Prayers for Florida.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
30 Jul 20
@popciclecold Saw this morning's forecast track. The storm is now a tropical storm, and it looks like the winds will be stronger than they were projecting yesterday. That's the bad news. The good news is they shifted the cone more to the east, so the impacts may not be as bad on Florida. Still a lot can change over the next 24 hours, it's all going to depend on what happens after this thing passes the Dominican Republic today.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
29 Jul 20
I experienced Andrew, so I can also relate to what you went through with Katrina. Nothing I want anybody to ever experience in their lifetime. Thankfully, this current storm will be no Andrew or Katrina.
1 person likes this
@dodo19 (47038)
• Beaconsfield, Quebec
31 Jul 20
@moffittjc Glad to hear that it's going to miss you. You definitely have to be prepared for if and when it does hit you.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
1 Aug 20
@dodo19 Here in Florida, being prepared is something we think about all year long. At least us lifelong natives do. All the retirees and transplants from other places, they may not understand the severity of these storm threats.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
31 Jul 20
It looks like it's going to miss us now. But it's a good reminder for all of us here in Florida to stock up on hurricane supplies.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Aug 20
It's okay for me where I live. Not looking too okay for Louisiana though.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Aug 20
@TheHorse Marco is hitting them now, but it is just a weak tropical storm. By Wednesday, Hurricane Laura will hit them, and that storm is packing more punch.
@TheHorse (205287)
• Walnut Creek, California
24 Aug 20
@moffittjc Are they getting hit hard?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
30 Jul 20
@noni1959 No, no evacuations. I'm in the middle of the state, where it's much safer than along the coastline. With this storm, it's not expected to be very intense, so there probably won't be any mandatory evacuations along the coast. Maybe some voluntary ones, but I doubt if there will be any mandatory ones.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
29 Jul 20
Yeah, we've been dealing with way too many of life's "storms" this year, we don't need the real thing to hit us and make matters worse.
1 person likes this
@noni1959 (9887)
• United States
30 Jul 20
@moffittjc I would be so scared wondering if a hurricane is going to hit. Do you have to evacuate where you are?
1 person likes this
@freelancermariagrace (27219)
• Philippines
30 Jul 20
I hope it won't turn into a strong hurricane.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
31 Jul 20
The latest forecast shows it staying away from Florida, so it looks like we will be safe from this particular storm.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
2 Aug 20
@freelancermariagrace The storm is having a tough time staying organized, so it hasn't been bad at all. It is staying out in the ocean, east of the land. It's been a nice sunny day today, so no bad effects at all from the storm.
@freelancermariagrace (27219)
• Philippines
1 Aug 20
@moffittjc Glad to hear that!
1 person likes this
@Butterfingers (66585)
• India
29 Jul 20
I hope it stays away. Don't know what we should call 2020 maybe a terrible year
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
29 Jul 20
I doubt it will stay away, although anything's possible at this point. I just hope it doesn't get stronger. If it stays a weak system, it could be beneficial for us, since we really need the rain.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
30 Jul 20
@Butterfingers As of now it looks like it will remain a very weak storm.
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