Here we go again.

[KateandtheGirls]

Another hurricane is heading towards Florida. If Hurricane Jeanne does hit Florida, it would be the first time since record keeping began in 1851 that the state has been hit by four hurricanes in one season. But as our governor, Jeb Bush, says, that's the price we pay for living in paradise...

From the New York Times:

MIAMI, Sept. 24 - Hundreds of thousands of people on Florida's Atlantic coast were told to leave their homes on Friday as Hurricane Jeanne approached for what could be a record fourth hurricane hit in a year on the state.

The hurricane, which may have killed as many as 2,000 people when it unleashed torrential rains on Haiti last weekend, was churning west through the Atlantic Ocean with top winds of nearly 100 miles per hour; forecasters said it could strengthen in the coming day.

The storm, which was about 315 miles east of Florida on Friday night, was forecast to move over the northwestern Bahamas on Saturday and hit Florida on Sunday, threatening an area thrashed by Hurricane Frances three weeks ago.

Hurricane warnings, meaning that residents should expect hurricane conditions in 24 hours, were in effect for the northwestern part of the Bahamas, a 700-island chain with a population of 300,000. Grand Bahama and Abaco, both still recovering from Hurricane Frances, braced for a new onslaught. People in low-lying coastal areas were urged to evacuate.

By Friday afternoon, almost all of Florida's east coast was also under a hurricane warning. The authorities in several counties, including Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, began urging residents to leave barrier islands and mobile homes.

"We've been through this drill way too many times,'' Mayor Alex Penelas of Miami-Dade County said, "but we must treat Jeanne as though it were the first hurricane of the season."

About 280,000 people were told to leave their homes in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

Florida is still recovering from three hurricanes - Charley, Frances and Ivan - since Aug. 13. They caused tens of billions of dollars in losses.

"People are just weary, and pretty frazzled," said Joan Heller, spokeswoman for emergency management in Brevard County, where about 185,000 people were told to evacuate.

Frank Lepore, a spokesman for the National Hurricane Center, said that if Hurricane Jeanne did hit Florida, it would be the first time since record keeping began in 1851 that the state had been hit by four hurricanes in one season.

[AuntyQuated]

oh, poor you.
what do you do, move out of its path or stay put and tie everyhting down.
keep safe

[vict17]

Hope it doesn't hit where you live Kate. Thinking of you

[yamamoto]

Paradise! that is Jeb Bush, son of George isnt it.. lets hope hes in the know ehh!
Good luck Kate.

[KateandtheGirls]

Actually he's W's brother. Son of the first Gearge Bush, I guess!

It's on track to hit the east coast and I'm on the west, although that could change of course. (I mean, where the hurricane hits land, not my location.)

If it looks like it's going to give us any problems, basically all we do is move all the outdoor stuff inside. Luckily I live in a brand new, pretty solidly built house, so we're as safe here as anywhere. My biggest concern, to be honest, is losing electricity. So far we've escaped this season without that happening.

I saw a news report from Haiti last night, where the storm has killed about 2000 people. It looked dreadful.

[JoolsToo]

It's times like this I'm glad I live in good old England with no extremes of weather!

Good luck!

[Earlybird]

Kate - can't imagine how nervewracking this must be week in and week out.....or do you become almost accustomed to it?

I have family in Alabama, and they said that 80% of the state lost power after Ivan. Evidently the power system was so badly damaged in the area where the Hurricane went ashore that there are estimates of the community being without power for TWO MONTHS! My sister and her husband actually installed their own back-up generator a few years ago and most everyone thought they were mad for doing it. It's been necessary to use it this hurricane season, and they're greatful to have it.

Also hearing that even if there was no property damage, the debris left behind after such high winds is a challenge to homeowners as there are huge piles of branches (often requiring chainsaws to cut into manageable sizes) to be cleared from everyone's garden.

Best of luck with this storm, and hope it ends up being a non-event.

[Hulababy]

Oh, hope it misses you Kate. Must be nerve racking!

[yamamoto]

Hows it going Kate? Saw a couple of local presenters being blown over..

[KateandtheGirls]

I think the worst is over. It was very similar to Frances except that the worst winds and rain only lasted a few hours as opposed to almost 48 hours.

There are a few small trees down in the neighborhood. No damage to my house that I'm aware of. It's weird that it's almost routine now. I wasn't worried that my house couldn't stand up to the wind after going through Frances. It was basically just a day of being stuck in the house with 2 bored kids!

No school tomorrow. But hopefully we'll be able to get out and do something fun.

Thanks for asking!

[cab]

Glad to hear you're ok Kate

[colinsmommy]

Glad that all's well for you Kate. I always think of you now when I see a hurricane going toward Florida.

[Hulababy]

Glad all is well for you and the girls Kate