Hurricane Dorian: No standing down for county as storm drifts east

The menace known as Hurricane Dorian drifted ever so slightly to the east and to the collective relief of South Florida, but the forecast weary in Palm Beach County refused to stand down - at least, not yet.

From Boca Raton to Jupiter, residents kept busy Saturday shuttering up their homes if not out on the roads, desperate to find plywood and generators as Dorian eyed the Bahamas with winds near 150 mph.

There was just a little less stress, a little less desperation. The throngs of people were more dispersed. Forecasters urged Floridians to keep their guard up even as they shifted focus to the Carolinas.

"Today, everybody's a bunch more relieved than they were yesterday. ... (But) they're still vigilant," said Cy Hollander, owner of Jupiter Hardware and Supply. There was a steady stream of customers, but nothing like it has been the last few days.

Dorian's current prediction was for it do at least do a drive-by the peninsula's east coast and bring tropical storm force winds at a minimum. There remained concerns with storm surge and flooding, and even hurricane-force winds along the coast.

A sense of urgency was still present at the Home Depot in Lake Park where more than 40 people were in line before 6 a.m. Saturday. They were in search of generators, plywood and sandbags.

There isn't much that would get Roy Butler out of bed before the sun comes up, but a brand new generator with a Category 4 hurricane looming is one of them.

The Riviera Beach resident and his wife, Inez, were among those in line. The Butlers got what they came for, snagging one of the 24 generators Home Depot had in stock before sunrise.

The price tag was $860 for a 6500-watt Briggs & Stratton generator.

"Everything else is prepared," Inez Butler said.

Other retailers also were much quieter.

More than 150 people were in line at the Palm Beach Gardens Costco at 7:30 a.m. Friday, 90 minutes before the store opened. Saturday, there were just a handful.

The warehouse opened just after 8 a.m., more than an hour early, and supplies such as generators, gas cans, water and batteries were plentiful.

Adan Valencia of West Palm Beach stopped by to pick up a couple of extra cases of water, and was surprised by the small number of shoppers.

"I thought there was going to be more people," he said.

Michael Miller, also of West Palm Beach, didn't expect the smaller crowds, either.

A survivor of Hurricane Andrew, he said he always keeps plenty of supplies at home, but he decided to pick up a few extra cases of water just in case.

And then he said the refrain of the day: "It's better to be safe than sorry."

Vera and Leo Stremel of Palm Beach Gardens walked out of Costco on Saturday with a generator, gas can and water.

The trip was last-minute, Vera Stremel said.

"We were checking our generator yesterday, and it was broken," she said. "That's why we're here."

And it was back to the dog days of summer for the pooches in Juno Beach.

Even as the Juno Beach Pier was closed and nearby condos were shuttered, the Jupiter dog beach enjoyed a normal weekend crowd.

Among those there were John and Shari Mazzetti of Palm Beach Gardens.

Cigar in hand, John Mazzetti said he wasn't too worried ahead of Hurricane Dorian. He only had one more storm panel to put up.

"We're filled up on gas," the 51-year-old said. "We have water."

The married couple has a backup plan in case forecasts change again, Shari Mazzetti said. They booked a hotel room with a good cancellation policy in Lake City.

"If it shifts again, we'll just drive," John Mazzetti said.

Richard and Ilene Kurlind were looking to fly out of South Florida but were pondering blue skies in Delray Beach on Saturday morning.

"Once again, we overdid it," Richard Kurlind said. They decided to hit the beach after their Delray Beach condominium managers closed the complex pool.

They'll fly out to their second home in New Jersey as planned, but aren't upset about the storm's shift, he said. "The storms are always like this, but I suppose it's better to know about it."

City officials closed public parks, where beachgoers usually find free, prime parking spots.

"We have two more days of beautiful weather, so why did they close the parks?" Kurlind said, pointing to a fence blocking Sandoway Discovery Center, a public nature center with parking spots along the beach near Atlantic Avenue.

In Boca Raton, Sheila Millard said if Dorian ended up being drill, it most likely won't bet the last this year so she isn't taking down her aluminum shutters.

"Hurricane Season is until Nov. 1. They are staying up," Millard said. "Then on Nov. 1, I'm getting impact-resistant windows."

For Bernistine Miller, the hurricane's shift meant her family reunion was back on.

Expecting 80 relatives, many at the Embassy Suites in blue teal matching t-shirts, the Pahokee resident said many stayed away because of the threat of Dorian.

On Saturday morning about two dozen family members were heading to Jupiter to have a beach for a picnic.

"We are just so grateful that it appears to be moving north," Miller said.

Honory and Joshua Wright tied the knot on Saturday after moving up the wedding one day because of Dorian. They were quickly able to scramble to get their guests to the West Palm Beach Lake Pavilion one day earlier.

Dorian also disrupted the music scene. The Rolling Stones moved its concert at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami-Dade County one day forward to Friday night.

Rock star Beck also said he had to change his end-of-tour plans.

Beck said at his concert at Coral Sky Amphitheater, the last show of his current tour, that he planned on staying in South Florida for vacation, but the hotels advised him that it wasn't probably the best idea.

While the attendance for the Stones was definitely down, Beck filled the large venue in West Palm Beach.

Beck planned to see the Rolling Stones on Saturday night, but, alas, when that concert was moved up a day to conflict with his performance, his solution was to play the Stones' "Satisfaction" and "Miss You."

@jpacenti

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