CT to Disney while avoiding Florence

[tbaptista]

This, not to mention the OP solicited feedback but yet chose to totally ignore any feedback advising not to take the trip. I honestly do not understand the OP's mindset and intention with creating this thread. Perhaps the OP is actually the one being insensitive to those responding to the thread that he created?

Leaving 24 hours earlier then planned is ignoring feedback? That decision was made due to the comments on this thread! I am thankful for the feedback and know that the safe travels I had today was because of peoples advice given here.

 

[GPC0321]

OP, glad your trip has been going well. I'm sitting here listening to the wind and rain lash the side of my house in eastern NC. (It's actually not too bad where I am...tropical storm winds and rain squalls). When I saw your thread, I was going to post "Don't come anywhere near NC!" LOL, but it sounds like you made it to Georgia, so that's good!

Coming home might be more challenging as the flooding tends to last with these things. A good solution to that? Stay at Disney longer! Yeah! LOL

Have a safe rest of your trip and a great time at the Mouse!

 

[tbaptista]

Got on the road a little before 9am and traffic is light. The weather in GA is fine, no wind or rain. Looks like we were able to stay away from the storm and really not get into harms way, which was are ultimate goal. Should be arriving in Orlando area right around lunch time. Not expecting any bad weather on this leg of the trip. Plan is to spend 6 nights at my grandmother's house (gained an extra night with Grammy). Then it's off to the Mouse's house for 8 nights. Heading back to NE the morning of the 28th. I am hoping for uneventful journey home but still have to figure a route that keeps us out of the way of recovery efforts.

Been watching the news about Florence and my god is she nasty. Just glad everyone had time to get out of the evacuation areas. Not sure if I will post the ride home or not, have to think about it.

Thank you all!!!

 

[FCDub]

Glad you'll make it safe. Have a nice trip. Be safe on the way back, too.

 

[LadyBeBop]

Not sure if I will post the ride home or not, have to think about it.

Please do. I'd like to know how you make it.

You have two weeks to get home, so I'm hoping most recovery efforts will be over. I think you'll be fine taking the same route home. Looks like that will get minimal if no damage.

Have fun. I wish I was down there. Instead of working.

 

[joedplumber]

I realize hindsight is 20/20 but looking at the various weather reports coming out of the towns you drove through, today would have been doable as well. Although, I think that’s it’s good you erred on the side of caution. Enjoy your vacation.

 

[cruisin5]

The OP did not ignore some of the advice posted here. They left earlier than originally planned and took an inland route. Enjoy your visit.

 

[JimMIA]

Please do. I'd like to know how you make it.

You have two weeks to get home, so I'm hoping most recovery efforts will be over. I think you'll be fine taking the same route home.

Most likely, the actual recovery work won't even have started in two weeks. Right now, there are 7 fatalities in NC and authorities are heavily involved in rescue activities. SC is just beginning to get the brunt of the storm and heavy rains will continue in both states through the weekend creating life-threatening flooding situations even several days after the rains have passed.

One of my squads rescued an elderly man from his collapsed home more than two weeks after Hurricane Andrew...and he lived in a pretty densely-populated suburban area. His comment: "I just kept prayin', but I knew y'all would come for me!"

If you haven't been involved in a hurricane recovery operation, you just have no idea of the scope and complexity of it. Once the rescue efforts are completed, officials will begin the long process of damage assessment. It remains to be seen how much infrastructure damage has been done, but there will probably be some roads and bridges washed out, and other arteries may be limited to emergency traffic only. After Andrew here in Miami, we had one of our main N-S arteries closed for emergency traffic only for more than a month to expedite getting supplies and military units into the area more quickly.

Another problem is damage to first responder systems themselves. In Andrew, we lost more than 1/3 of our police vehicle fleet, and fire suffered similar losses. Communications were badly affected, there was no power in some areas for months, and everything was 10x more difficult than it had been pre-storm. Fortunately, the criminals (most of them) went on vacation and the citizenry jumped into the volunteer effort in an amazing way, so we got through it.

 

[maxiesmom]

A couple years ago I had a relatively minor tornado (as minor as one can be anyway) go thru my neighborhood. The wind was here and gone in minutes. And the damage that was done was surprising. We had a few days without power, and our basement flooded, due to the high water table in this area. We had trees down that blocked roads. Again, that was a storm that was a few minutes in length. Times that out by thousands, and I can only imagine the scope of the damage being done now by Florence.

My niece now makes her home in Charlotte, but thank goodness she is back home in Michigan for her wedding this weekend. The storm is only now starting to hit her area, and they are saying the worst is yet to come. This is not a quick storm. Anyone thinking of traveling near NC or South Carolina needs to stop and rethink things.

 

[crazy4wdw]

Portions of interstate 95 are closed today in North Carolina and South Carolina.

I-95 is closed from exit 13 at Hwy. 74 to exit 22 at Fayetteville Rd. . The interstate is closed in both directions and North Carolina state officials say the closure is expected through Sept. 26.

I-95 north and southbound in Dillon County in South Carolina is also closed.

 

[JimMIA]

Portions of interstate 95 are closed today in North Carolina and South Carolina.

I-95 is closed from exit 13 at Hwy. 74 to exit 22 at Fayetteville Rd. . The interstate is closed in both directions and North Carolina state officials say the closure is expected through Sept. 26.

I-95 north and southbound in Dillon County in South Carolina is also closed.

The NC closure is probably because of the anticipated flooding of the Cape Fear River in the Fayetteville area. The mayor of Fayetteville ordered a mandatory evacuation yesterday and told people who refused to evacuate to notify their next of kin. Transportation officials are probably also concerned about the safety of some of the I-95 bridges and overpasses, as well as the roadbed itself.

NC is expecting 30-40 inches of rain in much of the state, and of course it's still raining now. Some of the flooding is not expected to crest until Tuesday or Wednesday and then it will take rivers several days after that to recede to normal levels, so this is far from over. The real cleanup won't be able to start until next weekend at the earliest in many places.

So far, I've seen fatality estimates as high at 17, although most reports are saying 13 or 14. Those numbers will probably go up after the flood waters recede as cars are found and authorities are able to start responding to large numbers of "welfare checks" from people who haven't seen their neighbor or heard from Grandma since the storm.

Once the storm dissipates, it won't be a pretty picture.

 

[JimMIA]

Here's a screenshot showing the current rain in the Carolinas. The system will curve around to the right and the rain is on the right side of the system, so NC and Virginia are going to get a lot more rain over the next couple of days.

 

[JimMIA]

North Carolina authorities are asking drivers not to drive South of US 64 (basically Nags Head to Asheboro) or East of I-74 -- as shown in the attached screenshot. So basically, the SE 1/3 of the state is "off limits."

 

[crazy4wdw]

The NC closure is probably because of the anticipated flooding of the Cape Fear River in the Fayetteville area. The mayor of Fayetteville ordered a mandatory evacuation yesterday and told people who refused to evacuate to notify their next of kin. Transportation officials are probably also concerned about the safety of some of the I-95 bridges and overpasses, as well as the roadbed itself.

There are sections of I-95 near Fayetteville that are already underwater.
The Cape Fear River is already at 25 feet, flood stage is 12 feet, it's expected to crest at 62 feet!

\

 

[JimMIA]

I also just read that I-40 between Wilmington and Raleigh was impassable.

And this about the Cape Fear River in the Fayetteville area:

"In Fayetteville, the Cape Fear River on Sunday was 3 feet away from flooding levels — hitting 32 feet Sunday morning, rising 18 feet in 24 hours. The National Weather Service said the flooding will worsen in the early part of this week as the river eventually will reach a height of more than 62 feet there."

It rose 18 feet in 24 hours, and is expected to rise an additional 30 FEET in the next 2-3 days!

 

[joedplumber]

It might be more like a month before travel through NC will be plausible, so sad.. That being said I would like to offer the OP advise that was given to me when traveling is absolutely necessary, school closures! Check for school closures in the areas you will be traveling through. If roads are impassable and power is not restored then schools will be closed. Plus, it keeps you out of the way of emergency crews, etc. Safe travels when you head home!

 

[tbaptista]

Hi all, so the vacation is coming to an end and the drive back to NE begins tomorrow bright an early. Looks like I-95 will be the route home. Please let me know if anyone has info that the route is not a good one. Will give a few road reports tomorrow but not expecting any issues.