Irma wakes up Florida

After watching the terrible devastation in and around Houston over the past couple of weeks, all Floridians necks' twisted sharply 180 degrees to see what is now Hurricane Irma begin it's trek across the Atlantic.  While Houston overshadowed the pending approach to the US East Coast, we've been watching and hoping for the familiar "turn to the north" and spin "out into the North Atlantic".

No such luck.

Over the weekend the Tampa media really began it's balanced approach of "be prepared" but do not panic".   There are too many variables this far out.

When the governor declared a preemptive "State of Emergency" yesterday (Labor Day), it was the signal to begin to deplete the shelves of hurricane supplies, especially bottled water.  I plan to head out today to get ours.   Most of the other items on the emergency supply list are in house here already, primarily just through normal purchases over the past couple of years.

The State of Emergency is also designed to help prevent price gouging.  Always an issue after the storm but sometime before.

There is a general sense of "uneasiness" in the state as the unknown of where the storm will potentially make landfall remains a constant.  Plus with the variables, no one knows for sure how they may be impacted other than to know that next Sunday and Monday are likely to be the "weather days".   As a Category 5 storm, there will be impact, but who and where remains to be seen!

Stay tuned...