[EdontheBeach]

check out the video from home base below - i can hardly believe this thing is still hangin' around and hasn't made landfall - it's about 80 miles west of Cedar Key, so those folks are getting pounded with wind and rain (the worst place to be is east of a tropical storm or hurricane). the tides are still so high here that on Madeira Beach (5mi south of here) they get water over the streets at high tide.

i took the elky to high ground sunday right about noon, when the power went out - when i was walking back the gusts were so high (about 55mph) i thought i was gonna get knocked down. the next day i went to check on it and saw one of those tall advertising signs blown down and the roof of the building below it was all over the road - 20ft from where i had been walking. there are quite a few roofs gone around here as well as trees knocked down.

this is the most water i've seen out here since the 'no name storm' in '93. i measured 16" in the yard. i've ridden out hurricanes right here that didn't have this much water!

 

[EdontheBeach]

a neighbor and i went out to the beach today with my 100' tape - the gulf still hasn't settled down just yet, but we estimate 60-70 yrds of beach washed away.

there were probably 20 turtle nests along our stretch of beach, the people who monitor and rope off those nests were out this morning - it looks like they all washed away.

it's a sad neighborhood over here BUT it coulda been a full blown hurricane and much worse than it is!