MetaChat - My county is the most idiotic.

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18 August 2008

My county is the most idiotic. →[More:]We are getting 30 mile and hour winds, max 40, with Tropical Storm Fay, and they canceled school for tomorrow and Wednesday. We are no where near the projected path. We might get some outer, outer bands.

My kindergartner has not been to school yet because they are doing something called "staggered start" this year. For the first week of school, 1/3 of the class goes on Monday, 1/3 on Tuesday, and 1/3 on Wednesday. My kid's first day is Wednesday. Oh well. It's still kind of nuts to close school. It's irritating. I guess they can't have kids riding their bikes and such in this weather. They don't want people on the road. Understandable. There may be tornadic activity. Maybe.

I bet you it will not be a big deal at all. We will be sitting home for nothing, probably in the sunshine. It gusts to 30-40 with a regular thunderstorm.

post by: LoriFLA at: 17:45 | 19 comments

The most saddest part is that I have to work on Thursday. My little boy's first day of Kindergarten and I won't be there to take pictures and send him off.

posted by LoriFLA 18 August | 17:48

We are [only] getting 30 mile and hour winds, max 40

I love Florida. Speaking as someone who routinely subjects him self to winds well in excess of 40mph for fun, I can safely say it's all a matter of perspective. "Small tremors" mean different things to Californians than they do for Missourians. Same thing with "2 inches of snow" and folks from Buffalo or Atlanta.

Growing up in the midwest: "Mom, it's only a tornado warning. I'll come back inside if I see an acutal tornado!" Vive le difference.

posted by Eideteker 18 August | 18:00

It reminds me of the first "winter" I lived in L.A., and they were breaking into primetime TV one night to frantically announce "frost bulletins" because the temps were going to DROP INTO THE 30s. One very serious talking head on one of the local newstations grimly urged people to bring in their pets and tomato plants before it was too late.

posted by scody 18 August | 18:54

scody, that is funny because our news does the same thing if we have a threat of frost. We cover our plants that are in ground. It's tent city with all of the multi-colored sheets.

posted by LoriFLA 18 August | 19:11

Lori, your schools may be designated evacuation sites.

posted by Ardiril 18 August | 20:24

If there are evacuations in my area I'll be very surprised. I doubt we'll lose power. It's harsh to call my county idiotic. It's probably the most prudent thing to do, to close the schools for safety, but it's frustrating for a very minor storm.

The Weather Channel is cracking me up. There is a panel with some dramatic characters.

posted by LoriFLA 18 August | 20:36

I can understand the more southern and central counties. They are along the path, but ours?

I do understand that they probably have an obligation. There's probably something in the rule book. If we're under a warning, they close. We were on a watch, but it was changed to a warning.

posted by LoriFLA 18 August | 20:40

Yup, my Dad is off tomorrow, too (since he's right near you guys and all). I asked, Dad, why are they closing schools tomorrow if it's not supposed to hit until Wednesday? He said, because they said so! He doesn't care, he's just glad to get another day off to stay home and drive my mother crazy.

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 18 August | 20:42

I meant evacuation sites for people coming up from the Keys.

posted by Ardiril 18 August | 20:42

... or elsewhere.

posted by Ardiril 18 August | 20:48

Oh, I got ya, Ardiril. I think the Keys are going to be fine. This is not a major thing, in any county. It's not even a hurricane. I think every county is going to have enough resources to deal with Fay. In 2005 we did get a lot of people evacuating to our county, even though we were hit as well, but not as bad. I'm a American Red Cross volunteer. I'm trained to open and work special needs shelters. My chapter has not called. There will be no shelters, this time. (Unless disaster hits with tornadoes and that is very unlikely.)

posted by LoriFLA 18 August | 21:01

Now watch. Since I'm running my mouth and declaring this is No Big Thing, thousands will lose power and there will be millions of dollars in damages.

posted by LoriFLA 18 August | 21:21

I only took a cursory glance at the storm path, but it looks like both Crystal River and St. Lucie could at least be brushed. Those are nuclear power plants for those who may not know.

posted by Ardiril 18 August | 23:03

I'm surprised by these early school starts -- is this normal? Is it a new trend or maybe an American thing? Throughout school we always started the Wednesday or Thursday after Labour Day.

posted by loiseau 18 August | 23:42

loiseau, most states mandate a certain number of instruction days. Most school districts now require numerous non-instruction activities including parent-teacher conferences and teacher-only meetings and activities, which pushes the school year out at both ends.

LoriFLA, it may be overly cautious, but as they say, nobody ever got sued for being overly cautious....

posted by stilicho 19 August | 08:44

The county south of us is getting hammered. We (my town) is going to get hammered twice. Hit, go out to ocean, hit again. All is clear at the moment.

posted by LoriFLA 19 August | 16:21

I tried to downplay it. There are some tornadoes.

A woman is describing how her life flashed before her eyes when her trailer's roof flew off. So far, other than this, it hasn't been that bad.

posted by LoriFLA 19 August | 17:12

I'm surprised by these early school starts -- is this normal? Is it a new trend or maybe an American thing?

It's a new trend. Back in the 70s and 80s, when I was young, the school year typically ran from early September until . . maybe the first week of June.

This school-in-August stuff is very new.

posted by jason's_planet 19 August | 19:30

For some reason we have started in August for a long time. We start August 18. Last day is June 5.

posted by LoriFLA 19 August | 19:35

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