Hurricane Dennis

Re: T. S. Dennis

Check your cottage rental agreement. Many of them will allow you to cancel without penalty once the hurricane warnings start getting posted. Car rental should be no-deposit and easy to cancel.

Hold tight on the plane tickets until the last minute. The airlines will generally get a lot nicer about waiving change fees and giving you ticket credit once they've got a better idea of where the storm is headed, and which airports are going to be affected.

Here's what happened with the airlines after Ivan:

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2004-09-16-hurricanes_x.htm

Delta-

Delta warns cancellations and delays are likely at many airports.

Passengers can make changes to tickets without penalties for travel scheduled to travel to, from, or through affected cities on Delta, Song, Delta Connection, or Delta-coded flights. Waiver eligibility dates vary by destination, but rebooked travel must be completed by March 1. Additional collection in fares may apply.

Airports covered by policy, for travel through Sept. -30: Albany, Ga.; Baton Rouge; Birmingham, Ala..; Brunswick, Ga.; Cancun, Mexico; Columbus, Ga.; Cozumel, Mexico; Dothan, Ala.; Fort Walton Beach, Fla.; Gainesville, Fla.; Gulfport/Biloxi, Miss.; Jackson, Miss.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Mobile, Ala.; Meridian, Miss.; Montgomery, Ala.; New Orleans; Pensacola, Fla.; Panama City, Fla.; Tallahassee, Fla.; and Valdosta, Ga. Passengers must reschedule by Oct. 7.

Northwest-

Passengers with confirmed tickets for travel on Northwest between Sept. 14 and Sept. 19, to, from or through any city in Alabama or other affected cities may reschedule their trip and complete travel by Oct. 3 without penalties or fees, subject to availability. Northwest will accept unaccompanied minors to affected cities through Sept. 17.

Current affected cities: For travel between Sept. 14 and Sept. 19, Northwest's waiver includes: Baton Rouge; Fort Walton Beach, Fla.; Gulfport/Biloxi, Miss.; Jackson, Miss.; Lafayette, La.; Laurel/Hattiesburg, Miss.; New Orleans; Panama City, Fla.; Pensacola, Fla.; Tallahassee, Fla.; and Tupelo, Miss.

Re: T. S. Dennis

It's early still. Dennis can go almost anywhere.(Hopefully away from us) Check at www.noaa.org to see the track etc. Another update is expected at 11:00am.

Re: T. S. Dennis

If this forecast cone is any indication, SoWal could once again have a tough go of it. And what about those poor folks in Pensacola and Gulf Shores. We've all had enough. It's just not fair.

Re: T. S. Dennis

If this forecast cone is any indication, SoWal could once again have a tough go of it. And what about those poor folks in Pensacola and Gulf Shores. We've all had enough. It's just not fair.

Tune in to the 3-day forecast track on Friday evening.

Re: T. S. Dennis

"... The world is a sacred vessel, which must not be tampered with or grabbed after.
To tamper with it is to spoil it, and to grasp it is to lose it...."
-- Lao Tzu
Let Dennis follow his own path, it is the way of the world, nothing bad, nothing good. We will grow from Dennis' presence if he comes this way.

Re: T. S. Dennis

We're preparing to stay put this time around. We evacuated with Ivan, and the stress of it all was a bit too much. It was our first hurricane even though we've been here since 2001. We left Wed a.m. and by the time we got back Fri. night, our power was already on.

Course, its too early to tell about Dennis the Menace.

Re: T. S. Dennis

The water is looking a little rough today

Re: T. S. Dennis

We're headed down Saturday...and are waiting for a better forcast later in the week.

Question...I had someone who owns rental property tell me today that once the hurricane reaches category 1 that evacuation is mandatory along the coast. Since our rental agreement requires a "mandatory evacuation"...wondering what the facts are here??

Thanks!

Re: T. S. Dennis

The water is looking a little rough today

A "little rough" might be a good thing. Perhaps it could take some of the sand that collected just past the break line and deposit it back on the beach.

However, if Dennis makes landfall anywhere east of Biloxi, I shudder to think about what beaches would look like - given their current fragile state.

Re: T. S. Dennis

It really depends on where the property is. Barrier islands tend to go under evacuation orders early because it's not safe to use the bridges or causeways once the winds start picking up. Holiday Isle goes under orders more frequently as well because it's so low-lying. Lots of areas there are in cat 1 surge zones.

We lived through three hurricane seasons on Okaloosa Island. The only mandatory evacuation we had was for George in 1998 when he was looking like a nasty cat 3 storm. Earl (borderline category 1/2) actually made landfall closer than George did, but it was a weaker storm, and the evacuation was voluntary everywhere in the area.

Re: T. S. Dennis

Just recd this from Newman-Dailey




Dear Owners:

With overwhelming relief we would like to let each of you know that Walton County and the City of Destin won their case at the administrative hearing in regards to Beach Restoration. Permitting should begin soon through the Department of Environmental Protection and hopefully progress will begin at our local beaches some time this November after turtle season concludes. Thanks to each and every one of you that have provided your support throughout this ordeal.

Once again, we have several storms out in the Gulf that are occupying our attention. Tropical Storm Cindy brought some light wind and rain, but mainly just churned up the waters. However, we do have a close eye on the path of Tropical Storm Dennis. The National Hurricane center forecasts that the storm will become a hurricane 3 or 4 before landfall and we are directly in the area of concern.

Our reservation staff is steadily receiving calls from guests due to arrive next week and we are doing our best to keep them informed and calm. There have been a handful of cancellations, however we will not be giving out any refunds at this time. This is the first year that we will not refund advance rent payments unless a mandatory evacuation has been ordered for our area.

We will keep all of you posted on our progress and the status of your properties and our local area. If at any time we feel that Hurricane Dennis is imminent for our area, we will be canceling all arrivals for next week. The safety of our guests and our staff is the number one priority in these types of situations considering our limited infrastructure for evacuation.

Hopefully Dennis will not be one of our visitors this year, but rest assured that we are prepared. Thank you for your support and you will be hearing from us again as news develops. Say your prayers!

The Newman-Dailey Staff

Category 1

Category 1

GO AWAY, DENNIS!! YOU ARE NOT WELCOME!! 😱

GO AWAY, DENNIS!! YOU ARE NOT WELCOME!! 😱

Really! I'm coming "home" on Sunday, and I would prefer to find my beach in relatively good shape.

for all you locals...I am praying that Dennis stays away from all of you. I just got back from a week in Seagrove and thought things were looking pretty good. How much more can the beaches take??? :idontno: hang tight :wub:

Early warnings are a blessing and have doubtless saved many lives. But there is no way to know where this storm will make landfall or its intensity given its current position. If it stalls over the outlying land masses, especially Cuba, it may lose considerable strength. It's own centrifugal force is likely to spin it in a nothwesterly direction if we don't have a front pushing it east. It may move much further west and Grayton would have uncommonly clear weather. In other words, ten thousand variables and that's why it's called weather.

The worst thing about hurricanes anymore is the 24-hr. hyperbole we get from The Weather Channel. And someone needs to let Jim Cantore know that it's not so safe to be tripping around amongst a nest of electrical wires in a thunderstorm. He's likely to end up like one of those fried clams we used to get at Hojo! :floor:

If Dennis does come this way, it is likely that I will be without power, and the cell towers will be clogged for a few days. I am letting you know now, that if you would like me to take some photos(if my batteries hold up), or give you a report of your house in the likely event it does hit us, you should PM me while I still have power. I cannot promise anything, but I will do what I am able for you guys.

Thanks for the support, I almost don't think we could have property there without Kurt and the rest of you locals on this message board. Just keep talking to us, it is harder being so far away from the place we love during these days! God Bless you all!

Thanks for the support, I almost don't think we could have property there without Kurt and the rest of you locals on this message board. Just keep talking to us, it is harder being so far away from the place we love during these days! God Bless you all!

I was just thinking the same thing. I feel as though I've made some good friends. This site helps those of us who live soooooooo far away, feel a little connected in some small way... a little bit closer.
Thanks to ALL of you and stay safe ~