2018: Hurricanes and Tropical Storms

[Cartmann99]

Sorry, I'm just now getting around to doing this for the 2018 season:

 

[tabitha2]

Storms Helene and Issac are following her. This is peak season so it’s to be expected and prepared for.

[Briefly]

My daughter and her boyfriend went to New Orleans last Monday.  There was nothing at all before that, they did check the weather forecast just so that the parental units (hers!) would not worry.  They get there and bam!  A tropical storm pops up in the gulf.  We have a joke about the family irony of things like that happening.  The storm went inland way east of them and they had no issues with it, but I still had the mom-worry thing going.  It did bring a lot of rain where it went.  But it was a smaller storm and Florence has the potential to be really bad.  The storms are bigger and worse, last longer, etc. the last few years.

But of course, global warming/climate change is just imaginary.  I'm sure the people of my home Texas agree with that, after last year!  (I hope its obvious that I'm being sarcastic.) 

[TeddyBonkers]

This is my first hurricane season, as I was born and raised in the Midwest. Mr. Bonkers, as an East Coaster from birth, is trying to talk me through this with varying degrees of success. I am trying to figure out what to take if we have to evacuate. Poor Bonkers #1 asked me, "What will we do with the cats?" I had to reassure her that the cats will definitely come with us. 

[Cartmann99]

 

[Howl]

3 hours ago, Briefly said:

But of course, global warming/climate change is just imaginary.  I'm sure the people of my home Texas agree with that, after last year!  (I hope its obvious that I'm being sarcastic.) 

Was in Houston recently, where it is so incredibly flat.  It amazes me that anything escaped flooding from Harvey because there is no place for the water to go. The area where we are staying did not flood although floodwaters came within a few blocks.  

Reading the Category 6 blog at WeatherUnderground, there is some potential for a Harvey-like scenario to develop off the coast of the SE US, i.e.,  the hurricane stalls just onshore or just offshore, dropping staggering amounts of rain. 

Bob Henson and Jeff Masters blog about all things hurricane at Category 6:  wunderground.com/cat6

 

[PennySycamore]

I was talking to my daughter in Columbia, SC this afternoon and telling her that if they (she and her BF and their two cats and dog) needed to evacuate they'd be welcome at our house.  Columbia is in the middle part of the state, but it suffered catastrophic flooding from Hurricane Matthew in 2016.  The apartment that my daughter lived in then was not affected except that they had a boil water advisory for a week,  but the state from Newberry to the coast was devastated. I'm not sure how flood safe the house my daughter shares with her boyfriend is.  I also had a dear friend who was at Camp Lejeune during Dennis and Floyd in 1999.  I remember how Floyd caused the hog waste lagoons to overflow and contaminate the water in the eastern part of the state and they may unfortunately may face more of that from Florence.  (I hope not!)

My oldest daughter majored in history and my youngest (the one in Soda City aka Columbia) majored in meteorology and I'd love for them to write a history of Hurricane Hugo.   I don't think anyone has done that yet.

[Loveday]

I'm in southeastern VA, near the coast, and although we're not at this point supposed to get the direct, eye-above-us hit, I'm pretty worried. Isobel basically paralysed us for a week or two back in 2003, and Florence is a much stronger storm. I'm expecting widespread power outages for long periods of time, plus flooding and storm surge like we haven't seen here in decades. And then there are the trees--I've got a huge one in my backyard that, no matter which way it might fall, will probably hit someone's house. 

[PennySycamore]

@Loveday,  I hope that tree makes it safely through the storm.  If it's the least bit unhealthy I'd get it cut down before the storm hits.  (If you have time.  And money to get some work done. Arborists might be busy right now.)

ETA:  Listening to a statement from Governor Roy Moore of NC about Florence.  It's already a Cat 3 and is expected to strengthen. The fact that Flo is expected to hit on the high tide and that the ground is already saturated from heavy rains this summer are NOT good.)

[Howl]

13 hours ago, PennySycamore said:

I remember how Floyd caused the hog waste lagoons to overflow

OK, this is some major thread drift, but I'll wrap it back around to the topic at hand!  Recently I happened upon an Annie Proulx book titled "That Old Ace in the Hole" and just got about four pages into it before having to leave.   The main character, Bob Dollar,  is sent out from the Denver offices of Global Pork Rind to the Texas panhandle to scout potential ranches for sale to be quietly bought for use for hog farms.  He can't let anyone know he's doing that; people hate hog farms because of the waste lagoons.  I haven't been able to think about reading another book by Annie Proulx since reading The Shipping News when it came out in 1999!  And I didn't realize she wrote Brokeback Mountain!  Now I'm thinking I'd highly recommend Annie Proulx for all hurricane activities: waiting for landfall, enduring the storm, slogging through the aftermath and even waiting to hear from relatives in the path of the storm! 

[Loveday]

21 minutes ago, PennySycamore said:

@Loveday,  I hope that tree makes it safely through the storm.  If it's the least bit unhealthy I'd get it cut down before the storm hits.  (If you have time.  And money to get some work done. Arborists might be busy right now.)

ETA:  Listening to a statement from Governor Roy Moore of NC about Florence.  It's already a Cat 3 and is expected to strengthen. The fact that Flo is expected to hit on the high tide and that the ground is already saturated from heavy rains this summer are NOT good.)

It does need some pruning, but otherwise is a healthy tree. It's an oak, I don't know how deep their root systems go. There's no way we'd be able to get anyone out to cut it back right now, unfortunately. We should have done it ages ago. It's been through a lot of big storms, though, so I'm hoping for the best. Or at least...not the worst.

I'm scared for North Carolina. The Outer Banks is going to be a mess, and Highway 12 will probably be severely damaged yet again, if not entirely wiped out in some places. I think Flo is supposed to move fairly slowly through the state, so they're probably going to be dumped with FEET of rain. 

Just checked the latest news, and evacuation of OBX has begun. I really hope that this time NO ONE stays behind. There are always a few who think they can ride it out, and usually they're right--but this time they'll really be pushing their luck. 

 

[WiseGirl]

18 hours ago, Briefly said:

The storms are bigger and worse, last longer, etc. the last few years.

Nah  */sarcasm/*  that little storm called Sandy? Hugo?  Pffft.... climate change isn't real. (Idiot deniers).

Seriously though after Sandy @TeddyBonkers I fill the tub as well as pails with water, every season I buy big gallon jugs of water, and a few days before freeze ice blocks or put bags of ice in the freezer in the hopes that electricity won't be out long. I have a "hurricane/storm bin" filled with candles, batteries, flashlights, battery operated radio, and firewood. I also make sure to have nonperishable foods, and important papers are in a portable fire safe. There may or may not be stockpiling of vodka, wine, and chocolate as well. ?

Stay safe everyone in the path of Florence (and the other 3 storms right behind this one).

 

[Myomy]

Ships located at the Naval Station in Norfolk, VA have begun to deploy ahead of the hurricane.

 

[Carm_88]

I'm in Newfoundland, we haven't had a truly bad tropical storm/hurricane since Matthew? That wasn't really that bad either. Our last bad one was Tropical Storm Lesley in 2012. Before that Igor in 2010, I would say that we are due. Luckily being in the North Atlantic, these storms tend to slow and lose power. Unless we get the Perfect Storm situation like Igor where he hit another system and got more power. 

Stay safe anyone who is in the path of any of the coming hurricanes! 

[PennySycamore]

@Howl, my favorite thing to read during hurricanes/tropical storms used to be the old article in Yankee magazine about the Hurricane of '38 which devastated Long Island, parts of Connecticut and Rhode Island.  The story focussed on the storm's impact on Westerly Road Island and its villages of Watch Hill (including Napatree Point) and Misquamicut. The summer had been rainy and dreary (not unlike this summer here in the Carolinas) and then they had brilliant weather -just like a summer day should be.  The Mother's Club from the Episcopal Church in Westerly decided to have a picnic at Misquamicut Beach on the very day the hurricane hit.  Everyone at the picnic died including the vicar.  I think there's a memorial for the members of the Mother's Club in Westerly.  One headline read "Napatree Point Gone" and it was.  The spit was breached, the houses completely demolished, and those that survived floated on debris across the bay into Connecticut. 15 people were killed in Napatree Point alone.   A great book on the Hurricane of '38 is Sudden Sea by RA Scotti.  My youngest daughter's ex from SE Connecticut said that he read it for school.  (Yep, that's the same daughter who majored in meteorology.)  Another great book about hurricanes is Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson about the Hurricane of 1900 that hit Galveston, Texas.   My current storm read are those two book although I should probably pick up Al Roker's' book on Galveston, too.

I do wish that Yankee would publish that article from the 80s again as I no longer have that particular issue of the magazine.

[Cartmann99]

5 minutes ago, PennySycamore said:

@Howl, my favorite thing to read during hurricanes/tropical storms used to be the old article in Yankee magazine about the Hurricane of '38 which devastated Long Island, parts of Connecticut and Rhode Island.  The story focussed on the storm's impact on Westerly Road Island and its villages of Watch Hill (including Napatree Point) and Misquamicut. The summer had been rainy and dreary (not unlike this summer here in the Carolinas) and then they had brilliant weather -just like a summer day should be.  The Mother's Club from the Episcopal Church in Westerly decided to have a picnic at Misquamicut Beach on the very day the hurricane hit.  Everyone at the picnic died including the vicar.  I think there's a memorial for the members of the Mother's Club in Westerly.  One headline read "Napatree Point Gone" and it was.  The spit was breached, the houses completely demolished, and those that survived floated on debris across the bay into Connecticut. 15 people were killed in Napatree Point alone.   A great book on the Hurricane of '38 is Sudden Sea by RA Scotti.  My youngest daughter's ex from SE Connecticut said that he read it for school.  (Yep, that the same daughter who majored in meteorology.)  Another great book about hurricanes is Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson about the Hurricane of 1900 that hit Galveston, Texas.   My current storm read are those two book although I should probably pick up Al Roker's' book on Galveston, too.

I do wish that Yankee would publish that article from the 80s again as I no longer have that particular issue of the magazine.

@PennySycamore, is this the same article? 

Quote

Now a Yankee classic, this article was first published in September, 1988.

https://newengland.com/today/living/new-england-history/hurricane-1938/

[LouisvilleGirl]

Crossing my fingers Florence calms down! I am in Eastern US but not coastal and it still freaks me out! PLUS we have a NC beach vaca planned in October!

[Cartmann99]

PBS did a show in 2003 about the 1938 hurricane:

It's actually only 53 minutes long, they start showing some of it again after that point..

[formergothardite]

6 hours ago, Loveday said:

I'm scared for North Carolina. The Outer Banks is going to be a mess, and Highway 12 will probably be severely damaged yet again, if not entirely wiped out in some places. I think Flo is supposed to move fairly slowly through the state, so they're probably going to be dumped with FEET of rain. 

So am I. I love the Outer Banks,  they can't handle a huge hurricane. I hope everyone leaves because this is going to destroy the area. 

I'm far enough inland that we shouldn't get anything too bad. The meteorologists keep reminding people that this won't be another Hugo so no one needs to panic. 

[Briefly]

6 hours ago, WiseGirl said:

Nah  */sarcasm/*  that little storm called Sandy? Hugo?  Pffft.... climate change isn't real. (Idiot deniers).

Seriously though after Sandy @TeddyBonkers I fill the tub as well as pails with water, every season I buy big gallon jugs of water, and a few days before freeze ice blocks or put bags of ice in the freezer in the hopes that electricity won't be out long. I have a "hurricane/storm bin" filled with candles, batteries, flashlights, battery operated radio, and firewood. I also make sure to have nonperishable foods, and important papers are in a portable fire safe. There may or may not be stockpiling of vodka, wine, and chocolate as well. ?

Stay safe everyone in the path of Florence (and the other 3 storms right behind this one).

 

We are from San Antonio, my Dad and his WWII vet buddies had a a clubhouse on Pt. Aransas.  There were a few times when we all had to go help clean up and repair the clubhouse after storms and hurricanes.  One time, they were so excited because they built an actual garage and as an afterthought, they put a bathroom in the garage.  The next year, a hurricane took out the entire garage - except for the bathroom!

I'm glad you have supplies.  We now live in Tornado Alley and have to have similar supplies.  But I'm going to add vodka to mine!!

Seriously, it does sound like it could be a very, very, bad storm.

[TeddyBonkers]

Update from the Bonkers residence-kids are out of school tomorrow and for the foreseeable future because of evacuations. I've packed up a go-bag of "I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO REPLACE THESE ITEMS" and so have the kids. We will work on actual suitcases full of clothes and toiletries tomorrow. And vodka in mine, thank you very much @Briefly!

 

[formergothardite]

I just saw a post on FB about making sure to pack essential oils when you evacuate. Apparently they will cure all the stress of potentially losing everything in a hurricane. 

[Loveday]

They've announced a mandatory evacuation for everyone living in Zone A in my city (I'm in Zone C). I don't think we've had a mandatory evac in all the 50 years I've lived here.  

[Cartmann99]

1 hour ago, formergothardite said:

I just saw a post on FB about making sure to pack essential oils when you evacuate. Apparently they will cure all the stress of potentially losing everything in a hurricane. 

Shouldn't placing five drops of your favorite essential oil in the corners of your home make the hurricane dissipate? 

[Howl]

9 hours ago, PennySycamore said:

Another great book about hurricanes is Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson about the Hurricane of 1900 that hit Galveston, Texas.  

It is an incredibly well researched and well written book and it was riveting reading. I don't think I could bear to read that book again, though -- the details of the storm and the aftermath were too horrifying: the staggering death toll,  and the magnitude of damage, people climbing trees to escape flood waters begin bitten by poisonous snakes that also climbed trees to escape the flood waters *shudders*, terrifying first person accounts of barely surviving, accounts of black citizens being forced to gather bodies from the wreckage and take them out to sea for burial.

Galveston Bay is the worst place for a hurricane.  The sea floor gradually slopes up to the shore;  water pushed onto shore by the hurricane formed huge waves that battered the houses along the shore, and the debris from those houses acted as a battering ram against the next row of houses and so on. 

Numerous busy port cities along the Texas coast were established and completely demolished by hurricanes in the 1800s; they simply no longer exist.  Indianola, where many of my German ancestors disembarked, is one that comes to mind; it was destroyed by hurricanes in 1875 and 1886.  

This USGS web site has a series of photos of the Bolivar Peninsula near Galveston, TX, taken on Sept. 9, 2008, before landfall of Hurricane Ike, and again on Sept. 15th, showing the devastating aftermath.  Hurricane Ike caused 20-foot storm surges along some stretches of the Texas coast, and yes, several people who refused to evacuate from the area pictured below did die during the hurricane. 

Hurricane Ike: Pre- and Post-Storm Photo Comparisons - Bolivar Peninsula, TX

I'm hoping that all will heed the warnings to evacuate from Hurricane Flo.  Thoughts are with all of you packing your "go" bags.  Top off your gas tanks and stay safe on the highway!