Hurricane Matthew....Creekers....

[Ken Fitzgerald]

All those along the eastern coast of the US that might be affected by Hurricane Matthew are in my thoughts and prayers.

[Jim Becker]

I don't know any 'Creekers in that area, but I have other friends and family down there. Everyone reports in safe so far.

[Julie Moriarty]

When it was directly east of us, it was about 180 miles to the center. It was a CAT 4 at that time. We had almost all landmass between us and the hurricane. Winds here were about 15-25 steady with gusts slightly higher. We had no rain related to the storm. It's now farther north but about 30 miles closer as the crow flies. It's still kind of windy but there has been no rain. The palm trees are blowing but not bending. We are being told not to count our blessings just yet. The storm could very well loop back around and hit us as a tropical depression.

I'm hearing Georgia could get tidal surges worse than Sandy. The Charleston, SC French Quarter could be partially under water. I pray something comes in and pushes this out into the Atlantic.

[Jerry Thompson]

I live in Orange Park, FL. This is a bedroom community of Jacksonville which is in the NE corner. The first rain and some wind started a couple of days ago from a Nor Easter. Then sometime in the night Matthew started. It is moving north along the coast. It seems the most energetic part will occur around 8-830 this evening.
Our rain gage shows about 5.5 inches since midnight and it is now about 1PM. The wind gage has to be off. It shows gusts up to 14 mph with steady @ 7 mph. It does not sound as tame as that.
The most damage I have seen on TV has occurred from trees being blown down on houses. One tree landed between two sister's bedrooms. One person's home and pickup had a tree lying across both and all did not look minor. He is not home and no one can reach him.
The biggest potential for harm to life and property, in my view, is from the storm surge. It could well take out homes, etc. a good ways in from the beach. This surge will also affect the St John's river and in turn all of the small rivers and streams feeding into it. The St. John's flow from the south to the north. If this will compound things I have no idea.
The street cams show a gray, wet dreary city with no traffic human or mechanical.
My son works for an engineering firm. Yesterday was the first one of the engineers had heard of the impending storm. It makes one wonder how many other souls were caught by surprise.
Hurricanes are different for me. I grew up in snow country. I remember one year that the snow was so deep my dad had to dig down through 2 feet of snow to grease the windmill. Now, I am a wood worker so you know you can take that one to the bank.

[Rich Riddle]

The Creek's server isn't far from the coast, but the weather forecast shows it turning back to sea before reaching that far north.

[Jerry Thompson]

The official wind speed in Orange Park is now 73 mph. How do they measure rain fall when it is coming down sideways?

[Wayne Lomman]

Stay safe all those in the path. I have been in a couple while working in Queensland. It's no fun. Cheers

[Jerry Thompson]

Out power is no back on. The bad news is that a tree fell on our daughter's house. She was inside and could not explain how she felt or what the noise was like.
She was not hurt. The tree fell on about 1/4 of the house toward the east end. It was a large water oak. They have a reputation of not having a good root system.
Several rafters were broken and a large hole punched in the roof.
The tree company said it will be next week before they can touch it as they will have to use a crane to lift the tree from the roof.
She was not injured. The cat went ape and our grandson was in a daze for awhile.
I have not gone out except to our daughter's house. It is now clear with a slight breeze. It is odd how one still pushes light switches even knowing the power is off. I can still read a book by kerosene lamp light.
One odd thing appeared on social media that my wife showed me. A man in Jacksonville Beach had a flooded front yard. His house was up far enough that water did not get to it. He did however have a pic. of a shark swimming in his yard.
The tree business's will be busy for a long time as will the repair folks. I am thankful we all came out as well as we did.
A 75 mph wind going through your trees that are 80ft tall makes one nervous.
So our daughter and 16 year old grandson will be guests for awhile. I will have to get a couple of more coolers to keep all the food a 16 boy will consume.

[Jay Mullins]

Thom Sturgill , a moderator on the Turners Forum lives in Ft. Pierce, FL. Haven't heard from anyone down there. Typically, during a hurricane in FL. the electricity and cable (internet..) are out for days.

jay

[Jim Becker]

The farther north along the FL coast someone is, the more likely they are going to be without electricity, etc. There were some outages farther south, but the weather they got was much less damaging than farther up where the 'caine was closer to the coast and the storm surge and winds were higher.

[Jerry Thompson]

The surge must have been pretty high. One fellow from Jacksonville Beach had a picture of a shark swimming in his front yard.

[Frederick Skelly]

The surge must have been pretty high. One fellow from Jacksonville Beach had a picture of a shark swimming in his front yard.

THAT would well and truly ... errr, stink.
My thoughts are with all the folks effected by this storm.

[Belinda Barfield]

Things are finally about back to normal here in Savannah. We were really lucky with power, it was back on at our house Saturday afternoon, as were cable and internet. Lost cable and internet on Sunday, and just got that back last night at home. We didn't have power at our shop until Wednesday morning. No work phone or internet until 2 p.m. Friday. We rode it out, but need the roof replaced (which we were going to do later in the fall anyway). I'm not sure I'd ride out another one, as I was a lot more scared of the tornadoes that spun off than I was of the hurricane. A tornado hit our neighborhood, but missed us thankfully. It was a toss up whether to shelter here, or travel with the 3 house cats and the 2 shop cats . . . Grocery store shelves still aren't back to normal, and Hardee's was out of Sweet Tea today because they didn't have sugar.

[Ryan Lee]

This is my greenhouse. We were without power for six days. Nobody hurt, but sure was a pain! The adjuster is coming on Thursday to check out the water damage to the house and assess the roof damage. Strangely, the receptacles in both of our bathrooms are out. One is a GFIC but the other isn't so it's weird. My tester shows that there is no power, but no breakers tripped. We lost our plasma TV too. Gotta love the $3400 hurricane deductible and no FEMA individual loss coverage for the storm.
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Before:

[Ryan Lee]

345916This is the before.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Things are finally about back to normal here in Savannah. We were really lucky with power, it was back on at our house Saturday afternoon, as were cable and internet. Lost cable and internet on Sunday, and just got that back last night at home. We didn't have power at our shop until Wednesday morning. No work phone or internet until 2 p.m. Friday. We rode it out, but need the roof replaced (which we were going to do later in the fall anyway). I'm not sure I'd ride out another one, as I was a lot more scared of the tornadoes that spun off than I was of the hurricane. A tornado hit our neighborhood, but missed us thankfully. It was a toss up whether to shelter here, or travel with the 3 house cats and the 2 shop cats . . . Grocery store shelves still aren't back to normal, and Hardee's was out of Sweet Tea today because they didn't have sugar.

Glad to hear you survived it Belinda! I was thinking of you!

[Bruce Wrenn]

The eastern half of NC experienced MAJOR flooding. Towns were completely under water. Farmers lost their crops, equipment, and homes. Many borrow to farm, so they still owe the banks. It's going to to be tough going for them, with YEARS for recovery. Many weren't considered to be in a flood zone, and thus couldn't buy flood insurance. One farmer said his mothers house was on "high ground," meaning it was six feet higher than his, so it only had three feet of water in it. Any financial help you can give will be appreciated.