Thursday, October 6, 2016
Hurricane Matthew should be directly east of us later tonight. We packed our camper Tuesday and left our home in Okeechobee arriving at WP Franklin COE east of Fort Myers. Matthew weakened after skirting the eastern edge of Cuba and devastating the western part of Haiti. It has now regained it's category four status with sustained winds in excess of 170 MPH. If it makes land fall and heads west, we are in serious trouble and may need to evacuate this campground.
Most of our friends from Okeechobee are all here now and we've been having a lot of fun together while we wait to see the final path Matthew will take tonight. While we laugh and joke together, the strain of impending disaster hides behind our smiles. In a matter of just a few more hours we will know if our homes in Okeechobee will survive the storm or be completely destroyed. The path of Matthew is out of our control and our priority now is to keep ourselves safe and hope we can see the sunrise tomorrow.
The forecast here is 1-3 inches of rain and wind gusts from 30-50 MPH. Okeechobee is in a hurricane warning zone and wind gusts there are expected to be near 70 MPH. However, this forecast is based on Matthew staying off shore. Any unexpected move to the west from Matthew would spell disaster for Okeechobee and could put us here near For Myers in harms way!
Friday, October 7, 2016
We had a much calmer night last night than was expected, and Matthew managed to stay off shore until it was much farther north. A few friends who stay in Okeechobee report only minimal damage in our area. We are indeed thankful that we were spared this time. But,we know many others will not be so lucky as Matthew continues its violent march north along Florida's East coast and into the Carolina's. Our hearts and prayers go out to all who were affected by this storm. Heavy rains and strong tidal surges are taking its toll along Matthew's path, and the death and destruction totals are still being calculated.
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