Hurricane Irma

[I-10east]

Jacksonville actually has a very low risk of getting hit by a major Hurricane (I believe due to the geography as Florida slants west and then in the Jacksonville area the coast starts to slant east again.

According to the NOAA, the return period for a major Hurricane is 40 years in Jacksonville (vs. 14 for Miami).
Wasn't the last major Hurricane to directly strike Jacksonville Dora in 1964 ?

Yup, that westward bend on the coast is what helps Jax. Far as I know, Dora was the last major hurricane.

[Snaketoz]

We've been watching a lot of the local news to follow Irma.  Me, and most of my family agree that Tim Deeghan is by far the best weatherman on local news.  I am tiring of Rick Scott and Lenny Curry's dog and pony shows interrupting programming to hear themselves talk.  I don't want my weather reports from a politician.  I want to hear it from a weather professional.

[Tacachale]

Deegan is absolutely the best. By far the most measured.

[KenFSU]

Jacksonville actually has a very low risk of getting hit by a major Hurricane (I believe due to the geography as Florida slants west and then in the Jacksonville area the coast starts to slant east again.

According to the NOAA, the return period for a major Hurricane is 40 years in Jacksonville (vs. 14 for Miami).
Wasn't the last major Hurricane to directly strike Jacksonville Dora in 1964 ?

Yup, that westward bend on the coast is what helps Jax. Far as I know, Dora was the last major hurricane.

With this in mind, I wonder what kind of effect a couple of bad hurricane seasons like this would have on Jacksonville's population. I could see South Floridians growing weary of the evacuations and the hassles, and I could see cities like Miami and Tampa becoming slightly less desirable places to move to. Part of Jax's value prop could wind up being that we have a lot of the advantages of Florida (no state income tax, beautiful beaches, good climate) without the risk of being in the bullseye of a terrible storm as frequently as other larger cities in FL.

[Kiva]

People are slowly discovering Jacksonville. Hotel bookings are particularly high this year. We have an Airbnb and everyone from up north is amazed how cheap real estate is in Jacksonville. Time is on our side!

[KenFSU]

My little sister is stubbornly riding out the storm in Key West.

Something about her outdoor cats and chickens.

Not happy about this...

[I-10east]

I figured that Irma was gonna go much more west than FLs east coast like they predicted earlier. It would've had to be something very significant opposing Irma to sharply veer up the east coast.

[remc86007]

^Yeah, the late, slow turn isn't that surprising to me either. I cringe when I hear news people saying the slow turn is due to inertia though...

[TimmyB]

Jacksonville actually has a very low risk of getting hit by a major Hurricane (I believe due to the geography as Florida slants west and then in the Jacksonville area the coast starts to slant east again.

According to the NOAA, the return period for a major Hurricane is 40 years in Jacksonville (vs. 14 for Miami).
Wasn't the last major Hurricane to directly strike Jacksonville Dora in 1964 ?

Yup, that westward bend on the coast is what helps Jax. Far as I know, Dora was the last major hurricane.

With this in mind, I wonder what kind of effect a couple of bad hurricane seasons like this would have on Jacksonville's population. I could see South Floridians growing weary of the evacuations and the hassles, and I could see cities like Miami and Tampa becoming slightly less desirable places to move to. Part of Jax's value prop could wind up being that we have a lot of the advantages of Florida (no state income tax, beautiful beaches, good climate) without the risk of being in the bullseye of a terrible storm as frequently as other larger cities in FL.

You just  mentioned all of the things that made us choose Jacksonville as our retirement destination.  That, and the lack of tens of thousands of moronic tourists tearing up your town every week.   

[Gunnar]

I figured that Irma was gonna go much more west than FLs east coast like they predicted earlier. It would've had to be something very significant opposing Irma to sharply veer up the east coast.

Looks like that is going to happen, so a bigger threat for west coast FL towns than east coast towns.
I keep my fingers crossed that Jax and its people come out of this as unscathed as possible !

[Adam White]

I figured that Irma was gonna go much more west than FLs east coast like they predicted earlier. It would've had to be something very significant opposing Irma to sharply veer up the east coast.

Looks like that is going to happen, so a bigger threat for west coast FL towns than east coast towns.
I keep my fingers crossed that Jax and its people come out of this as unscathed as possible !

My parents are in Sarasota. My dad's 85 and my mother's mobility is limited, due to a stroke she had two years ago (she's 73). So while I'm glad that Jacksonville is likely to be spared, I really don't feel all that great at the moment.

[Keith-N-Jax]

Watching a live video in Miami. Why cant they take those cranes down prior to the storm? They will most likely fall and cause more damage.

[thelakelander]

They say it takes around two weeks to remove the super tall ones. So, they didn't have enough time.  Here, I noticed construction workers removing a part of the tower crane at the MD Anderson cancer center construction site on Friday morning. Unlike the taller Miami cranes, that one is only around 10 stories or so.

[Keith-N-Jax]

I see, going be scary if one of those comes down on something with people in it. I guess its already windy in Jax, I see friends and family members posting videos already. Be safe out there .

[remc86007]

Yes, it is pretty windy here. Some of the gusts are really, really strong feeling. I was driving my wife into work at UF health this morning and on the way back there were occasional gusts that moved the car almost out of the lane. Between the gusts and the unexpectedly deep puddles, I would avoid driving at this point.