Salute!
Looks like we dodged the bullet over at Tyndall. I am 60 nm west and only had 30 mph winds, and no water due to my 60 feet MSL
Our U.S. weather agency has flown recce over the area at a thousand feet or so, and resolution of the photos is really good. It's a service for refugees to check on their property. One family had a "HELP" message in the yard that they made outta tree sections, heh heh. See:
NOAA's National Ocean Service for damage assessment. The helo tour Friday was very encouraging. Our local special ops runway repair/ clearing and combat control teams got over there and opened the runway by Friday night or early Saturday. Hell, over here we got Osprey's and all kinds of helos, plus Hercules and such.
One survivor over there has video he took when the eye went over the base, and it is eerie.
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The base brings back fond memories, and my bride and I rented a cottage over in Mexico Beach when checking out in the VooDoo. It was paradise, and we wished that the program was a lot longer than two months.
Seciondly, at the end of training, I was over on an island in the bay for water survival and such when Hurricane Alma went ashore within 10 miles of this monster ( June 1966). The instructors evacuated us in the middle of the night on boats as the wind picked up. Scary. We suspected the move after hearing dozens and dozens of afterburners lighting up earlier in the night. They were flying the airworthy jets out.
Gums sends...