Monster

As I type this, Hurricane Matthew is located 45 miles off the coast of the Bahamas. Sustained winds are at 140mph. This storm is responsible for at least 24 deaths already. Forecasters are predicting that Matthew will be "a potentially devastating category 4 or 5" when it slams into the east coast of Florida in just a few hours. "Strongest Storm in Decades!" I've lived in South Florida all of my life and have weathered many hurricanes, but I've got to say...this one really scares me! Thankfully we are in Gainesville, Florida which is in the center of the state. We will not experience those devastating Hurricane force winds, most likely, unless the thing ignores the computer projections and comes further inland. Our winds are expected to be in the range of 32-60 mph tomorrow with lots of rain. We will not need to evacuate because of the  expected storm surge. Hundreds of thousands of people in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina are on the move, leaving their homes and businesses and heading inland, because of the fear of major flooding. Since this is a very slow-moving storm, 10 mph, it can sit over land and drop huge amounts of rain, playing havoc with the state's rivers and lakes, causing major flooding. Even though we are not directly in Matthew's path, we can expect to lose electrical power, so this may be my last posting for a while. Although I'm not a religious person, I ask that you keep the people of Haiti, Cuba, The Bahamas, and the Southeastern US in your thoughts and prayers. :)