Hey guys and gals!
This hurricane is one bad bitch of a storm. I've lived in NE Florida for most of my 52 years on this big blue ball and this one has me scared. I haven't heard any reports yet from the Dominican Republic as the storm passes by just north of that island as I type this. It looks like Irma is gonna skirt the northern coast of Cuba before she hangs a hard right into Miami as a CAT4 or 5. I'm not sure how much of South Florida south and east of Lake Okeechobee will be recognizable. I may be wrong, but if I'm not mistaken, a lot of the major players in the cigar industry still call Miami home, have vast amounts of inventory stored there, and still operate factories in the area.
NE Florida is still days' away from any sort of impact, and they've already issued mandatory evacuation orders for St Johns County (St Augustine) just south of me. The gas station I use is out of gas. The latest track has Irma diminishing in strength to a CAT2 by the time it reaches us in Jacksonville sometime around noon on Monday. That we can deal with, Good Lord willing, at the Casa D' Dave, but things can still change.
Say your prayers for all of us down here.