Tropical Storm Hélène here

Who comes up with these names? They're so destructive they should be named Brutus, Medusa, Hades, Thor, or some other scary name that will send people running.

[quote]You do not pronounce the H!

Mais oui, bien sûr. Tout comme « Hélènesque ».

Hope it slam fuks Flawduh. It should be named Kamala

Fuck that! The whole point is the H! It's alphabetical!

Hélène is supposed to be visiting hubby and me by late Wednesday.

I am so thrilled.

Oh, stop that, R4. There are some decent people here who deserve not to be hit. Like me. My place is on the rightmost side of the "cone of uncertainty" (AFAIK, that's the "bad side" of a hurricane). I'm thinking of battening down the hatches and heading to a hotel room in Daytona or Ormond Beach with my little dog. We'll see -- so far, I doubt it will be necessary. If it follows the current predicted path, it will be here on Thursday.

Nobody here ever prepares for a hurricane, but I do. My freezer is chock full of plastic bottles full of ice to keep my frozen food from defrosting when the power goes off (because it almost always does), and I have an extra battery for my cell phone and a weather radio. And some good flashlights and lots of spare batteries. No way to cook, though.

I still have a lot to do, but I'm so lazy I haven't even taken a shower yet. I need to get motivated.

Good luck SL

Helene is a fat bitch. 400 miles wide.

[quote]Je suis trés elegantes!

oh, chérie

Fuck -- that's what got me before, a fat one (Irma) that came right up the center of the state, drawing power from both the Gulf [bold]and[/bold] the Atlantic. I had to evacuate to the (20 miles away) local high school with my little dog, who had never been in a crate before, poor baby.

Hell, I moved to the center of the state so I wouldn't have to deal with hurricanes (or rising sea levels), but the best laid plans, yada yada yada.

[bold]Wow! Good news[/bold] -- for me, anyway. I just checked the ol' cone, and it's tracking a teeny bit to the west of the initial forecast (which I knew it would), so I'll likely only see tropical storm force winds. And if you live in FL and can't handle a tropical storm, shame on you.

Still, it will hit the Panhandle, like it usually does, so good luck to all the DLers living in that area.

If you don’t pronounce the H it is a poor choice to represent the letter H.

Good luck R7.

Oh là là! Je suis une hurricaine maintenant!

URRI

KEN

EL

ENN

Thoughts and prayers going out to the DeSantis Family during this difficult and uncertain time. Pensées et prières vont à la famille DeSantis pendant cette période difficile et incertaine.

zut alors!

Wind speed 35-40 right now. Looks like Helene's going to be wider -- and worse -- than I thought. As long as the power stays on, I'm happy.

Prediction now for 70mph tomorrow. I can hardly wait.

It sounds very hair care product.

Did Louis Vuitton buy some satellites?

There's only one star of this tropical storm system, and that's me, baby: Hurricane Hélène! Remember?

These storms always take a last minute turn and become nothing. I understand the media covering it to get people out of POTENTIAL harm's way, but the hysteria leading up to landfall has become embarrassing. Watch, this will be the one that destroys Florida to smithereens. I'll be sure to apologize if that happens.

Straight men are drawn to French putain.

Good luck senior lesbian, please keep in touch with us as your electricity / Internet access allows.

[quote]Who comes up with these names?

The National Weather Service.

[quote]They're so destructive they should be named Brutus, Medusa, Hades, Thor, or some other scary name that will send people running.

Many of them peter out and are never all that destructive, and they have to have the names chosen before they form.

And, they're just trying to identify them, not increase the sense of high drama!

Keep us informed R6, like PR guy did a few years ago.

Kimmy Schmidt did a very funny send up of these named hurricanes and media exaggerations.

Weatherman Drench Thunderman and Hurricane Tammi with an I!

Will do, R24. A couple of bands blew through here pretty quickly this afternoon. But the bad winds are now supposed to be tomorrow afternoon/evening. Up to 70 mph, so they say.

I parked my truck completely under my carport, and covered my motorcycle and my electric riding mower (they live under the carport all the time anyway). The NBC channel out of Orlando has been covering the storm all day, but the people stand right the fuck in front of my county, so I can't see that much. The west side of the county actually has a hurricane warning; I live closer to the east side, where the wind speed is supposed to be right at the upper level of a tropical storm.

My biggest worry, besides losing power, is my yard. I have a half acre yard full of trees, including three very tall long-needled pines, a bald cypress (next to the swamp) and seven huge, gnarly live oaks. I like the trees. They provide lots of shade. But small limbs have been falling all summer even in regular storms. It will probably cost at least 5K to get all of them properly trimmed, and I am determined not to spend my "if Trump wins, I'm leaving the country" money until Kamala wins. Then trimming the trees is on my list.

So, nothing now. All is calm. I'll keep you posted, and thanks for asking.

[quote] Helene is a fat bitch. 400 miles wide.

So she'll fit right in in Florida!

My family once had a small beach house in Naples in the late 1970s, others had a place in Brooksville, closer to Orlando and I think my cousins still use it, close to Orlando. Is that near you, Senior Lesbian? In those days rattlesnakes were the big caution.

I’m tying my trailer to my 1969 Cadillac as we speak. That thing weighs a ton!

My sister has a winter place in Brooksville, but that's about an hour and 45 minutes southwest from my place. It's also close to the Gulf.

But she and her husband seem to like it there. They go to Weeki Wachee a lot to go kayaking, and my sister's taken some incredible photos of manatees, alligators, and otters. All from her kayak!

She's still "up Home" now. Too early to come down for them.

It seems to hit all the right spots, I hope death and destruction, you reap what you sow

I haven't felt this much mussy surge since the Ramada sign nearly took out the beloved abinette Anderson Cooper! I love a hurricane! Team Helenesque!

I have a 5th floor condo on a shelter island about 45 minutes south of Tampa. All residents was ordered to evacuate this morning. City water supply shut down at 3:00pm. Bridges to and from the Island now closed. My condo is vacant now, storm shutters are down tight. Building is about 300 feet from the Gulf, right on the Gulf.

R36, I'm not clear, did you leave?

r37, I don't live in Florida, it was my parents winter home, I inherited it and have been renting it out in high season for years.

[quote]I have a 5th floor condo on a shelter island about 45 minutes south of Tampa. All residents was ordered to evacuate this morning. City water supply shut down at 3:00pm. Bridges to and from the Island now closed. My condo is vacant now, storm shutters are down tight. Building is about 300 feet from the Gulf, right on the Gulf.

Good luck to you, r36. Where did you go?

My chronically homeless brother lives in Florida somewhere if I cared enough to know I could just look him up on the sex offender registry. Every time one of these storm hits I kind of help his stupid ass will drown so I can have a few days off work to be bereved about it.

Hélène est idiote et grosse!

[quote] —I'm fucked.

Well, you already were, since you own property in Florida.

A twenty foot storm surge is expected. Run, now!

r40, family members are chronic disappointments, aren't they?

Hélène, by the lovely Roch Voisine

aghhh, I posted the wrong vid, one more time ...

[quote]I haven't felt this much mussy surge since the Ramada sign nearly took out the beloved abinette Anderson Cooper! I love a hurricane! Team Helenesque!

I remember watching that live during Hurricane Dennis. Can't believe its been 19 years since then. I hope he was reimbursed by Ramada Inn for the trauma caused by the renegade sign that tried to take him out.

That Ramada sign is my Princess Diana scream! Category 5 mussification!

Won't somebody think of the manatees?

Hélène est une salope affamée. La sale pute !

[quote]Won't somebody think of the manatees?

They're already the state's official marine mammal and we named a whole county after them. That ain't enough?

Gotta love the DLers who deemed the name Helene "too plain" and decided to fancy it up with multiple accents.

Thanks Senior Lesbian R32. Best of luck to you and your trees. Please keep us posted, we're thinking of you.

My county -- Marion -- just got upgraded to a hurricane warning.

Fuck.

Just finished cleaning up the porch -- putting the chairs sideways, putting all the loose stuff in 5 gallon buckets, and laying down the brooms and rake on the floor. Next I need to pick up all the loose stuff under the carport, mostly tools, oil, chain lubricant, and other motorcycle-associated stuff. I have a very raggedy shed, so I'll put that stuff in there.

I'd really like to go out and buy food that doesn't need to be cooked/refrigerated, but the thought of the crowds and the parking lot... I could stand to lose about 10 lbs. anyway.

Gotta get back to work. Thanks for thinking of me.

People are calling the storm Hurricane Helen! It is an insult to the entire French-speaking world!

Je tremble tout simplement la colère !

Stay away from Dollywood, you bitch!

Hélène? How pretentious. In Key West we once had Hurricane "Georges". You could only pronounce it correctly if you were drunk. As we were.

Stay safe, ya Northern, sober hicks.

There's going to be storm-surge flooding from the hurricane. Is Ron DeSantis polishing his knee-high boots in preparation for surveying the damage?

r59, you're a little late for this. At least two others came up with this devastating bon mot already.

Do keep up!

Helene is the Chrissy Metz of hurricanes, extremely large and extremely hungry.

We have wondered this. Like the Germans? Or like the french?

[quote]R59, you're a little late for this. At least two others came up with this devastating bon mot already. Do keep up!

I think you may be confusing this thread with another one as I actually read the thread before posting, R60. Nothing I said had been mentioned prior to my post. Please keep in mind that some subjects have multiple threads with lots of replies and it appears that you should keep up enough to realize the difference.

Fl. East coast. Just walked to my beach. Heavy surf but sun shining brightly. Nothingburger so far.

[quote]Tropical Storm Hélène here. You do not pronounce the H! EH LENN Je suis trés elegantes!

Well, if it isn't old Helen Back blowing in from God knows where, making a big mess, and then taking her worn-out flooded ass to the East Coast.

Damn! Damn! Damn!

Ok Helen!

Waffle House has shut down in Tallahassee! Waffle House!

This. Is. Serious. Now.

Just upgraded to a Category 4.

The storm of the century! Record flooding! Catastrophic damage!

I’ve lived in Florida 35+ years. You get hurricane fatigue with this shit.

(Yes, if you’re on the coastline things can get bad)

Night hurricanes must be all the more scarier.

R70 they are because when the power goes out you can’t see. You can only hear what the wind and rain are doing.

It's now a Category 4.

Will it strengthen into a category 5?

[quote]Will it strengthen into a category 5?

I certainly hope so by 8 o'clock!

[quote] It's now a Category 4.

Size queen.

Senior Lesbian? Check in

I have no interest in anything under a five. And, frankly, if it weren't a hurricane I wouldn't even consider a five. I mean, come on.

Getting windier here. If I had to guess, I'd say there's gusts around 40mph (so far). No rain, though. Yet.

Still have power -- yippee!

My ancient decrepit jalousie windows that have never closed the whole way are rattling when the wind hits them. Hope they don't get blown to shreds because they're 1972 glass and we old folks know how that stuff breaks -- in evil shards.

But as long as I have electricity, I'm happy.

There are kids playing outside. An air boat went through the swamp a couple of hours ago. I heard older kids riding mini bikes up and down the roads. Nobody here ever worries about much of anything, I guess. Deplorable Haven, I'm tellin' ya.

But it's dark out now, so there won't be any more of that.

Now I'm seeing predictions of gusts up to 60. That should be OK. Keep your fingers crossed.

Yikes

CNN's John Berman is in Florida. They should send Brianna. She's got the ballast to withstand the winds.

[quote]CNN's John Berman is in Florida. They should send Brianna. She's got the ballast to withstand the winds.

Bet they miss me now!

Those of us in the elder community will remember that, back in the day, hurricanes were given female names only. I definitely think that such storms have become more violent since they started using men’s names.

[quote]Those of us in the elder community will remember that, back in the day, hurricanes were given female names only. I definitely think that such storms have become more violent since they started using men’s names.

Literal Violence!

Thanks for checking in Senior Lesbian, stay safe and good luck!

Poor Anderson, he must be so tired of asking the very same questions for every hurricane he's had to cover in his career.

"where do we expect the hurricane to make landfall?" - he's asked that like 10 times already tonight

For those who may lose power, blast your a/c now and make your house freezing cold so that when the power goes out it will take longer for the house to get hot.

The "H" is silent, like my name "Ee-LAIR-ee-ah"

The tv news people are pronouncing it HELLEEN. I'm good with that.

Jim Cantore is wet.

My partner and I, along with many of you, have grown old with Jim.

[quote]Helene is a fat bitch. 400 miles wide.

So Svelte!

Doing it now, R87. But at this point I'm hopeful the power will stay on.

My lights flickered three or four more times, and my internet (Spectrum, may they rot in hell) went off for about a minute, but everything seems to be OK right now.

If you're in/from the Panhandle, I'm thinking about you. Steinhatchee (are there gays there?) and Chiefland and Live Oak and Cedar Key and Lake City and Monticello, hang in there! We at DL are rooting for you!

I will pray for Florida. The people most likely to be impacted by disaster are the ones who are least deserving of hardship. The hateful ones always survive unscathed.

Senior Lesbian are you ok?

Helene?

Qui etait cette cunt?

#93, is that Sean Penn?

WaWa grand opening was note postponed!

Note postoponed?

Senior lesbian?

Where's Rhonda?

Hey, R100, and everyone else concerned! I only lost my power for 20 minutes but I lost my internet for awhile. Since I run not just my computer, but my cell phone off the internet ('cause I live in the boonies), I've been incommunicado. But other than a few small-enough-for-me-to-drag branches that fell down, and the usual Spanish Moss strewn over the yard, everything was/is fine.

Plenty of my neighbors did lose their power, though, and my father in St. Pete lost his power [bold]and[/bold] water. The trailer park has a septic system, and if there is even minor flooding, the tap water gets contaminated (don't ask me how that happens - I don't know). I haven't checked on him yet this morning; hopefully, he and his S.O. will go somewhere where there's air conditioning to get out of the heat.

Thanks for thinking of me, guys! And I hope everybody else on DL affected by this storm is alive and well.

Thanks for letting us know you're OK, senior lesbian!

Is this the thread where we enjoy the misfortunes of Florida?

Not really r104, mostly to enjoy what Senior Lesbian is encountering, it's fascinating what you need to do to endure a hurricane.

Helene has wreaked havoc across four other states: Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee. Do any DLers live in those affected areas?

No real misfortune this time for me, R104. Lots more for folks north and west of me, though -- and the people on the Gulf. That's why I don't live in St. Pete anymore.

That's where these hurricanes seem to be going now, the Panhandle and the "Big Bend" (that's a recent moniker). If I lived in any of those areas, I'd be thinking about leaving for sure.

Senior lez, did you float or sink, that's important for us to know.

I spend little time on Facebook these days, but it does have one good feature: you can post your status during emergencies. I've done that during hurricanes so friends know without calling to check on me that I'm in good shape.