Laurie
I live in the Florida Keys and I am putting all my outdoor stuff into the shed, keeping my gas tanks full and preparing for an evacuation order Sunday night or Monday morning. One reliable way to judge when to evacuate is when the schools are closed. My wife is a teacher and she leaves town as soon as the schools close so she gets a head start on crowded roads heading north. She stays in Ocala with a friend, (in2004 when we couldn't catch a break she went to Asheville NC to see her sister a LOT!). I work for the city of Key West and have to stay.
Thats just how we work it ,and I mention it as you are a newcomer to these annoyances.
After Georges and Wilma we don't trust intensity forecasts, as the NHC advises you not to. Make up your mind to leave and be safe and do it early, not late, especially as you have children and pets.
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