Looks like a Category 5 now as it comes ashore near Ft. Myers/Cape Coral. That area of the state is being devastated, with flood surges of up to 18′ predicted. This storm looks to be following the same path as Charley (which passed directly over our house), but the difference is, Charley was by us and on the east coast in about 30 minutes. It galloped. Ian is out for a stroll. Much slower passage means more time for damage. PLUS, it is the biggest (widest? tallest?) storm to ever hit the U.S.  So, it’s moving slowly and covering much more ground as it goes, with 155 to 175mph winds.

For us, the slower it moves, the more the chance it will weaken before hitting our area, but it’s still going to be a horrible mess, and I’m afraid there will be loss of lives in addition to damage.  Oh, and we have been getting torrential rainstorms daily for weeks. (Tallahassee records say 40 straight days. Hmmmm. That sounds dire in several ways.) The result of the rain is that the entire state is waterlogged, and that’s when big trees start falling over.

I’ll check back in later if I can, hopefully with better news, but Ian is going to be a record breaker, I’m afraid, and not in any GOOD way.  Please, everyone here in Florida, STAY SAFE!! Don’t go wandering out during the eye of the storm and after the storm has passed, stay inside and let the pros handle the initial clean-up. Be aware of downed lines. (Somebody makes the fatal mistake of trying to move them every time! 😨

That’s It For Now!