Jeanette - I agree with Russ.
It's possible that Florida will be spared a direct hit. But too early to tell. So you might be OK. Someone will get some rain, but maybe states north of Florida. Maria will be a major hurricane starting today - Monday.

Will probably be Cat 3 or Cat 4 by Wed night. But its strength is unknown after the pass over Puerto Rico.

Russ has succeeded in "converting me" to the WUNDERGROUND site. Their photos (satellite) and predicted tracks for Maria are excellent today.
There is a big difference between the European model and the GFS model. GFS has the storm swinging north into the ocean. But the European model says that it could swing closer to the (east) coast of Florida. At this stage there are a lot of unknowns - especially for the European model. The scatter in the possible predicted paths is enormous - for the 20-day forecast.

As far as Florida, South Carolina and Georgia are concerned - this is a "wait and see" event. But as far as the Virgin Islands, the Leeward Islands and the Antilles are concerned ... this new storm is a disaster. Shipments of plywood from Puerto Rico have already been cancelled. A lot of people on the islands don't even have wood to shutter their windows.


Edited by Pete (09/18/17 03:54 PM)