2018: Hurricanes and Tropical Storms

[Nikedagain?]

28 minutes ago, Howl said:

Hurricane Michael looks terrifying.  Wishing safety for all in the path of this horrible storm. 

Just came across info on how to do your own graphics for storm surge using Google Earth: 

HOW TO: Hurricane Surge and Flood Projection With Google Earth

it does look terrifying. People here are already clearing the shelves of water. Ugh. I refuse to get caught up in the hysteria. But OMG the Gulf. This is bad, so bad. Please be safe down there. 

[Cartmann99]

[PennySycamore]

My daughter and her husband had to drive to up Duke Hospital in Durham, NC today as she has an MRI scheduled for tomorrow.  They're head back home tomorrow.  Guess where Michaels' track is predicted to be tomorrow afternoon?  From Charlotte up to the Raleigh/Durham area.  Yikes!  I hate driving in heavy rain!  I hope they stay safe!

I had been thinking how lucky we were that neither my daughter nor my sister had to drive to Durham for one of their neurologist appointments during Florence.  The luck didn't last.

[Howl]

I cannot imagine how one would even begin a cleanup when the damage is of that magnitude.  Saw some other photos; it looked like the area had been hit by a cosmic Cuisinart.  There were piles of lumber and pieces of wood tossed about that had once been houses. 

I know there will be casualties, especially in vulnerable areas where people simply refused to evacuate, but there are so many dangers when the intensity of the storm has passed and people go out and about to check on damage.  Falling trees, downed power lines, snakes, gators, submerged debris, you name it.

@PennySycamore, hope your daughter and husband have a safe drive.  When I saw the hurricane track, my heart sank. It's goes over many areas where massive flooding from Florence has probably only recently subsided. 

[adidas]

Stay safe, FJ sisters (and brothers). I thought we were having some wild weather here but it’s nothing compared to this  

[WiseGirl]

I just saw pictures of Pensacola High School gym. Omg, and the pictures are just coming in now. ??? Stay safe anyone in Michael's path.

[PennySycamore]

We were on the western edge for things weren't too bad here.  Heavy rain this morning which may just about be over.  I'm not sure that the rain is quite over yet, but but does look brighter outside.  The lower part of the backyard is a bloody mess (not right near the house, fortunately) and my Shih tzu only likes to go out to pee to a patch of lawn that's almost impossible to get to.  We got there after her lunch, but it was dicey.  Trinket, who hates rain,  ended up peeing on a piece of plywood on the covered part of the deck.  Neither she nor Gwen went out after lunch.

Several roads were closed due to flooding including some fairly major streets like Laurens Road outbound.  A tree fell across North Main and so that was closed for a while.  We did lose power for about 5 minutes.  I'm glad it wasn't longer because our house is so damn dark when we don't have electricity.  The battery on the electric later was out, too.  My husband wants to get a generator, but we need one of those instant on ones that runs off natural gas.  Getting to one in the backyard would not be easy and probably be unsafe.  

[DancingPhalanges]

This is devastating drone footage of ground zero for Hurricane Michael. 

 

[Howl]

I cannot even imagine how people start to recover from that kind of carnage; the sheer volume of debris is overwhelming.  Feeling anxious about the potential for deaths, because there are  so many concrete slabs where houses and businesses once stood and I've heard that many people refused to evacuate, thinking the hurricane would weaken as it came ashore. 

 

[Nikedagain?]

@PennySycamore are they ok? I live in CH. Because things got very, very serious here rather quickly. No one really expected this, the winds were worse for us than Florence!  (but not 4 days of constant torrential rain) Likely tornadoes, huge trees everywhere. Power is out, schools all cancelled for tomorrow. Flooding. Very surprising! 

BUT OMG the Florida panhandle. I can't even. Just heartbreaking. 

It's a shame there's no climate change going on though...

 

[Italiangirl]

After Michael now the hurricane season should be finish right? I can't immagine how scary it could be.

I hope you all hit by Michael and Florence can recover quickly.

Hugs to all ofor you 

[Don'tlikekoolaid]

Have been watching news coverage.  Absolutely devastating pictures.  There’s no cell or internet in many many towns. Please any fj people stay safe and let us know how you are.  I hear from people interviewed FEMA is doing a good job but the magnitude of destruction is massive.  Sending love and cash through the Red Cross.

[Cartmann99]

12 hours ago, Italiangirl said:

After Michael now the hurricane season should be finish right? I can't immagine how scary it could be.

I hope you all hit by Michael and Florence can recover quickly.

Hugs to all ofor you 

The Atlantic hurricane season isn't officially over until November 30, so we are not out of the woods yet. Hurricane Sandy made landfall in New Jersey on October 22, 2012.

[Cartmann99]

Well, hell:

 

[Cartmann99]

 

[PennySycamore]

@Nikedagain?,  I should have checked this thread way earlier,  but my daughter and her husband made it safely back from Durham although the drive was a bit treacherous.  The wind and the stuff blowing across I-85 were worse than the rain.  

My daughter's MRI showed no new growth in the tumor. She goes back again for another MRI in 4 months.  Then, if all goes well, it will be six months and then yearly.  

[Howl]

On 10/12/2018 at 3:09 AM, Italiangirl said:

After Michael now the hurricane season should be finish right? I can't imagine how scary it could be.

Just caught the news on GMA that Eastern Pacific Cat 5 Hurricane Willa is set to come ashore in the Mazatlan area.  From CNN

Quote

The storm has supercharged at an incredible rate since it formed over the weekend. From Sunday morning to Monday morning, Hurricane Willa strengthened 80 mph in only 24 hours, and went from forming into a tropical storm on Saturday morning to a Category 5 in less than 48 hours.

It is then projected to churn across the interior of Mexico right up to central Texas around Friday or Saturday. We've had epic, historic flooding across the Hill Country in the past week and we're due for two more days of rain starting this afternoon.  Don't know know exactly when the remnants of Willa are due, maybe by the end of the week or the weekend, but the prospect is terrifying. 

Reservoirs (the 5 Highland Lakes originally built for flood control) are currently overfull and their dams built in the late 1940s to early 1950s were opening all of their flood gates.  I'll post links to some photos and drone footage later if I can find a good link.  If we have another intense round of rain, we'll be facing disaster conditions and if this huge slug of warm rain coincides with a wet cold front.....I can't even imagine.  No really, it's beyond imagination. 

Not forgetting vulnerable Mexican citizens who'll also be dealing with intense rain, flash floods, mud slides as the remnants of the hurricane cross the interior, especially mountainous areas. 

It seems counter intuitive, but citizens in my city are being encouraged to use the minimal amount of water possible, because local rains have overtaxed sewage plants. 

Oh, and Lyin Ted Cruz believes in climate change, because, HEY! The climate is always a changin', every since the world began!  Can't be related to human activities because, uh, well, Jesus.....or something. 

[Coconut Flan]

Willa was one of the first things I saw on the news feed this morning.  I went straight for the maps.   I hope it dissipates on landfall as quickly as it has formed or faster.   That speed up for a Pacific storm is rather terrifying.

[Cartmann99]

@Howl, I'm sorry you guys have been dealing with flooding. The expected path should bring us some rain, but nothing like your area will probably see.

5 hours ago, Howl said:

Oh, and Lyin Ted Cruz believes in climate change, because, HEY! The climate is always a changin', every since the world began!  Can't be related to human activities because, uh, well, Jesus.....or something. 

That lying jackass is gonna run for president again, so he's gotta keep spewing bullshit to keep the oil people on his side.

[Howl]

4 hours ago, Coconut Flan said:

That speed up for a Pacific storm is rather terrifying.

Yes, because there's no time for preparations and notifications to those in the hurricane's direct path. 

[WiseGirl]

Oh boy, does not look good. 

https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2018-10-22-hurricane-willa-pacific-ocean-mexico-landfall

Not a hurricane, but not welcome either. Last time we had a Nor'easter in fall it was bad. 

https://weather.com/forecast/regional/news/2018-10-22-noreaster-october-east-coast

 

[EmainMacha]

There's been appalling flooding in Trinidad. I can't believe the extent of it. Miraculously no-one seems to have been killed but a lot of homes are underwater. And it's raining again. Divali is going to be very bittersweet for a lot of people.

Poor environment controls and building regulations have definitely played a part in the degree of destruction. Some people have been trying to warn about the dangers but til now they were voices crying in the wilderness.

[Briefly]

2 hours ago, Cartmann99 said:

That lying jackass is gonna run for president again, so he's gotta keep spewing bullshit to keep the oil people on his side.

Not all the oil people are on his side.  This one isn't.  And I know a few others who aren't.

[Cartmann99]

17 minutes ago, Briefly said:

Not all the oil people are on his side.  This one isn't.  And I know a few others who aren't.

That's very good to hear!

[nvmbr02]

Typhoon Yutu hit the CNMI islands as a Cat. 5 typhoon last night, with sustained winds of 180mph.  The eye wall went over the islands of Tinian and Saipan. About 53,000 residents (who are US citizens) are suffering.  In Guam we just had tropical storm conditions and not much damage but Tinian and Saipan were especially hit hard. 

Just before the storm hit (islands from the top-  Saipan, Tinian, Rota and Guam. Other islands of the CNMI were also affected by the storm)