Need advice from Floridians/Southerners

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Lorarose

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My teenage daughter is scheduled to play in a field hockey tournament at Disney in Orlando.
The organizers have not modified the tournament.
Everything is going on as originally planned.

She is scheduled to leave at 5 am this morning.
Their flight out is Sunday evening. (no chance to change flight arrangements)

We are northerners and don’t really know what we are dealing with here.
We are told Disney has their own evacuation plan if they are put on notice.

Hurricane Frances is a category 4 with the chance of becoming a 5.
Some models show her hitting Daytona Beach.

Would you send your child if it were you?
 
There are so many factors that will determine the course of the hurricane. Meteorologists here have it at 30% hitting between central (where Orlando’s located) down to the Keys. 35% probablility of it hitting between Central Florida and South Georgia, and 35% of it hitting the Carolinas. Hurricane Charley just swept through the area three weeks ago and compared to Frances, it was small. Many of the folks here are not taking chances.

So I guess what I’m trying to say is, with a Cat 4 hurricane on the way, I wouldn’t want to take chances with my daughter’s life. Unless the hi pressure system in the middle of the atlantic disappeared and she hits the Carolinas, weather all over Florida will still be affected.

firstcoastnews.com/weather/stormtrackupdate.aspx
 
What do you think about the fact that 3,000 kids are headed to Disney tomorrow and everyone is going to pretend the rest of Orlando isn’t hitting the road?
 
We’re being told that Thursday morning, the picture will be a bit more clear. Unfortunately, that’s not going to help you in your decision making. Have they told you what their evacuation plans were? With Charley, people left Tampa and headed for Orlando, only to have it blow through Orlando. Unless their plan is to take 3,000 kids out of state and into Alabama on Friday, I still wouldn’t take any chances. More than likely, if the news hits Saturday, the roads out will all be congested.
 
I would not let her go. She may curse you if the storm comes nowhere near Orlando, but with this storm I would not take the chance. Remember, this is coming from the east, and if it does hit from Vero to Daytona, it will wallop Orlando.
 
Thank you for your replies.
We were supposed to meet at 3:30 am at the school to put her on the bus that heads to the airport.
We did not take her. We were the only parents to do this.
She is heartbroken (and so are we - everyone worked hard to raise money for this)

It just seems that as soon as the girls get down there - they will have to evacuate.
The tournament organizers were not even considering that these kids may not be able to play AT ALL anyway.

None of the other parents of her teammates seemed at all concerned.

This is very hard.
 
Lorarose–You did the right thing for you and your family. No matter what happens, remember that. And remember that the organizers of these events do not have the best interests of your particular child in mind. They are not heartless but they have a lot of other considerations that you don’t share. God bless and don’t second-guess your decision. You did the best you could with the information you had. That is all any of us can do.
 
I think you definitely did the right thing. It seems to me that so many people underestimate hurricanes and just blow off the danger. Those are the very people who end up getting injured or killed. We have the advantage with hurricanes, unlike tornadoes or earthquakes, that we get plenty of advanced warning to get the heck out of the way. I can’t believe all of those parents ignored that warning! Sports aren’t that important!
 
My wife and I scheduled a vacation in Sarasota, FL where we are leaving Saturday and going to be there for a week. I am just kind of waiting and watching. The worst part is that because my tickets were bought on hotwire.com I doubt if I can change my flights.

Any updates/thoughts from the Florida people on my situation would be appreciated as well
 
Jeff, in one of my other posts on this thread, I placed a link for First Coast News. Earlier this morning, the National Hurricane Center updated their report a bit. They’re still unsure, but more than likely, it’s looking to hit somewhere along the Florida/Georgian coast. If it does hit, by the time it gets to Sarasota, it would still be a Cat 2 or 1 and most of the state will still get Tropical Storm force winds.

Lorarose, I think you made the right choice concering your daughter’s safety. Disappointment is nothing compared to worry and anxiety. Masondoggy reminded me that there are still tornados to worry about as well. Bonnie swept through to the north of us, but we’re still trying to clean up from a massive tornado the storm created.
 
Here’s a link to the latest updates as of 11AM. I wish I could insert pictures, but it’s not working.

firstcoastnews.com/weather/stormtrackupdate.aspx

Click on the Satellite: Tropics picture. The storm is the size of the state of Florida itself. The distance from Jacksonville to Miami is roughly 370 miles.
 
Thanks Amanda,

The more I read about this monster the better I feel about the decision.
Problem is…we’re still worried about her teammates.
This is looking REALLY REALLY BAD!
 
Residents along the Palm Beach coast and the Space Coast (45 miles east of Orlando) are getting early evac warnings now. They’re thinking that it may also intensify a bit more after moving through the islands.

I pray your daughter’s teamates remain safe.
 
You absolutly did the right thing. Most people who live up north have no idea what a hurricane is like as a former Floridian who has gone through 4 of them they 10 or 20 times worse than you imagine. I doubt they will get the tournament in even if it misses Florida because they are going to get some very heavy rain. Look at it this way, if an Islamic terrorist group said there was a 30% chance they would hit Disney World this week-end would you send her, if United said there was a 30% chance the plane would crash would you let her go? Congratulations for holding your ground and doing the right thing. 👍
 
Classes and several events at UCF have been CANCELLED for Thursday and Friday. So, we’re pretty much getting ready for the worst come this weekend.
 
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Lorarose:
Thank you for your replies.
We were supposed to meet at 3:30 am at the school to put her on the bus that heads to the airport.
We did not take her. We were the only parents to do this.
She is heartbroken (and so are we - everyone worked hard to raise money for this)

It just seems that as soon as the girls get down there - they will have to evacuate.
The tournament organizers were not even considering that these kids may not be able to play AT ALL anyway.

None of the other parents of her teammates seemed at all concerned.

This is very hard.
Click to expand...
The way today’s parents are, I’m not surprised you were the only one’s to have your daughter stay. I definately would have done the same thing (and did a similar thing a few years ago). Kudos to you!
 
You definitely did the right thing. Fact is, South and Central Florida is getting set to shut down and evacuate in many areas, and the present projected track goes very close to Orlando. Any chance the team can get a flight back tomorrow?
 
Any chance the team can get a flight back tomorrow?
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That was exactly what I asked the folks in charge of the tournament - if flights could be changed for earlier departure if necessary.
The answer - “no”

That was when we headed to the computer to talk to all you folks.
 
They’ve pushed back the hurricane hitting the coast from friday night/saturday morning to Sunday. Hurricane watch is now in effect for most of the eastern coast of Florida. Wish we could have a miracle and it blow out to sea.
 
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