If you're on the coast, the time to get out was yesterday.

Sounds like they are making every necessary accommodation to get everyone out--numbers to call for fuel, waiving tolls, requesting that hotels waive no-pet policies, etc. They are using school buses and city buses to get people out.

There is LITERALLY no reason for any sane person to stay.

They transport you inland a bit. But anyone 20+ miles inland should probably just stay put, or go to the nearest shelter.

with hurricanes. I'd rather take our occasional three feet of snow than have to deal with this.

I have one cousin who lives near Port St. Lucie. His brother lives in Clearwater Beach. Ironically, their sister lives near Houston. They moved out of their native Wisconsin because they hate the snow.

Lived in Michigan for 20 years. A big snow storm and an inland hurricane are fairly similar. You can lose power. You can get trapped in your house/neighborhood because of accumulation. You have to stock up on perishables since deliveries may be delayed for a few days. It's usually when you get to know your neighbors the best. You often see it coming a few days prior. Schools close. Businesses close for a day or so. People needlessly panic. TV can feed that panic.

(but I'm a little weird anyway.) Love to sit in front of the fire and listen to the wind.

A few years ago we lost power due to a storm while my son and dil were here for Christmas. We have oil lamps, a fireplace, our dinner was all finger food, and we melted snow for water to flush the toilet. One of the best Christmases ever.

I'd go out into them in full gear. If you get into a forest in a blizzard it gets strangely quiet. It's quite beautiful actually. Once, the snow was kinda heavy and wet. I could hear the sound of a squirrel running by because the snow dampened the sound from any real distance. But you could look up and see the tops of the trees blowing around like crazy. But you couldn't hear it. It can get real Norman Rockwell-ish in a forest during a blizzard.

There is no way everyone could leave. People are over reacting in my opinion.

The people on the coastal islands/beaches will need to go inland some. The obvious needs taken care of, people in trailers or old wood construction should seek a better place but there is no need to get in your car and drive to Montana...

and Katrina, I can't imagine NOT overreacting a bit. Think I would have headed north a few days ago!

I am going to close my shutters tomorrow then head off the island, but I am not going to Montana. I am going to West Palm Beach (about 8 miles away) to a cat 5 rated building.

This one does have people acting very differently than in the past, it is a big storm but people seem to have lost all common sense... I know more than a few that are flying or driving out of the state- trying to anyway.

The worst part will be after the storm passes.

Stay safe.

My Florida cousins live in Port St. Lucie and Clearwater Beach. I'm very concerned for both of them . . .

during either of those storms was stuck in their car on the road, which is what would happen if EVERYBODY tried to leave. People die during evacuations, too.

I was in a Cat. 4 hurricane on the Alabama coast in 1979. There were five fatalities directly caused by that storm. Five. If EVERYBODY had tried to leave, it would have been a lot more.

BTW, I was also in the Blizzard of '78 in Massachusetts (can you guess why my folks moved us to Alabama?) The Blizzard of '78 killed about 100 people.

The cone is gradually moving away from us to the east.

A cousin who has friends in Sarasota said they tried to leave yesterday. Got as far as Ocala (near me) on I75 and they turned around and went back home. It was a parking lot.

County and state roads may be better. We've been out of gas for days. At this point I wouldn't risk dying of heatstroke in a traffic jam ala Rita.

Its pretty much right in the north central part of FL. I would think that Ocala would be a good spot to be.

Presuming they hold to the current tracks, Tampa will probably be sufficiently far away. And one can wander south after it heads north. By Tuesday one could be back home.