I assume that the Governor of Florida is being extra careful and Hurricanes are very unpredictable but I woke up in the UK today to see on the news that a state of emergency has been declared in anticipation of the hurricane hitting Florida
From what I am reading it is the risk of heavy flooding that seems to be the largest concern right now with possibility of over half a metre of rain falling
Fingers crossed that Orlando isn’t badly impacted by this
Latest news from BBC is that it is still too early to say if it will hit Florida but if it does it will be at the end of this week
That is to have National Guard ready to assist.
Florida Governor Rick Scott:
“In Florida we always prepare for the worst and hope for the best”
Good strategy better safe than sorry!
We leave for our Disney trip on the 8th, so we are concerned as well. The storm had been named on August 31st, so it was too late to get trip insurance.
I usually do, so I am pretty frustrated at myself 
Following this.
Hurricane Irma is now a CAT 5
I am crossing my fingers that the Cone of Uncertainty moves out to sea! I am attending a conference there next week and the folks running the conference have told me this:
There are currently no changes being made to the conference in Orlando. We have been told, according to current models, the storm is not expected to have a significant impact on Orlando. Most models are showing the storm to pass south of Miami most likely over Key West.
I hope this is true. Still planning to pack some real raingear though.
Just FYI, I just saw a model showing Irma hitting the Keys and then moving north-northwest into Florida proper, basically straight up the length of the state, heading toward Jacksonville and pretty much directly over Orlando. I don’t know if I can paste a link to a tweet, but here it is https://twitter.com/spann/status/905141829875707906
ETA: It’s obviously early, but several models have tracks up through Florida. Tropical Storm Irma Tracker | Weather Underground (click on the models to get images).
Be safe all who might be near!
Orlando sentinel is reporting universal guests can now get a “no questions asked” refund or reschedule of any trips planned for the next few days
WDW saying similar refunds or re-schedule available for most things booked
Tourists in Key West have been informed they must evacuate today and a mandatory order for key West residents to evacuate is expected to follow shortly
US Navy is evacuating 5,000 military personnel from it’s Key West Station
“The last Category 5 storm to hit the United States was Hurricane Andrew in 1992. An estimated 250,000 were left homeless and the storm caused more than $20 billion in damage in the Bahamas, Florida and Louisiana. Fifty-five people were killed.”
I had imagined that hurricanes hit US more often than this
However it’s a Cat 5 hitting US that is very rare it appears
The last Cat 5 to hit Puerto Rico (which is currently preparing for the worst) was way back in 1928
We love visiting Puerto Rico and the Caribbean and I’m really worried for over there right now
Those guys living there can’t evacuate or re-schedule etc. It’s about protecting their homes and lives right now. Which puts it all into perspective tbh. Fingers crossed it’s not going to be as bad for them as expected right now.
My wife and I stayed at the grosvenor resort in 1993 during Andrew. Not a fun time. I seem to remember the statue of the griffon in the front of the hotel getting blown over along with most of the trees in the area. It was a very scary night in the hotel room. The windows didn’t open, but I remember the water leaking in around the sealed windows as the glass moved in and out. In retrospect I can’t believe that we stayed in the room…
I wish all of you that are in Florida and the Caribbean all the best in the next few days.