Fort Myers Beach watches tropical system growing

Fort Myers Beach is keeping a careful eye on a tropical system in the Caribbean that is headed north to the Gulf of Mexico.

People at Fort Myers Beach are paying attention to any developments, as it is forecast to affect the Florida west coast. Where exactly, however, remains uncertain.

Jackie Prieto, a Fort Myers Beach parking attendant, said she and her husband are on alert. “Every morning, he turns the TV on to see if there’s anything brewing,” she said. “He wants to know right away.”

Before Hurricane Ian hit, Jackie and her husband watched the Gulf waters and WINK Doppler 3x every day.

For the people who call Fort Myers Beach home, it’s more than property. It’s the memories, the moments and the community.

If the storm brewing in the Caribbean strengthens and heads this way, some are thinking of leaving.

“I’m trying not to think about it. Like trying to suppress it. There’s nothing I can do except get out again. I don’t know how anybody will make it if we get flooded again,” said Marie Proulx, a local AirBnB owner. “I just can’t imagine. Once in, what, 100 years? Could you imagine two years in a row? It just can’t happen.”