BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: artbrooks
Date: 14 Jul 05 - 11:12 PM

My folks got home today. Minimal damage; a few shingles off and branches and leaves to pick up. Could have been much worse...the center of the storm apparently went right up their street.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Jul 05 - 10:41 PM

BWL--we'll send over a crew next week to help you clear up the rest.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: harpgirl
Date: 14 Jul 05 - 10:14 PM

Well, that's a relief. Now about Enid, or whatever the hell the next on is called....

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: Bill D
Date: 14 Jul 05 - 09:34 PM

mercy!..well, glad you're ok and the studio is intact.....hang in there!

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 14 Jul 05 - 09:07 PM

I'm back!

Well, Dennis was not as bad as Ivan, but it was damned well bad enough. Instead of taking thirty man-hours of chainsawing, chopping and pulling to get down the driveway to my house, it only took six man-hours. Dennis only knocked down about twenty big trees instead of the 200 or so Ivan took out. Unfortunately, one of those twenty or so trees did land on the house, but damage was minimal. It won't take two hours work to fix and I've got most of the material I'll need laying around. We were only without power for four days and phone service never went down.

I've been driving a chainsaw pretty steadily since Monday afternoon trying to get the downed trees in the immediate vicinity of the house cleared away. There's still a lot to be cut up, but if it's not someplace where I have to look at it every day it can sit until it gets a lot cooler. Like until January. The main impact has been loss of production in our pottery business. We're gearing up for a couple of really big shows next month and didn't need almost a week's down-time. But, hey, at least I still have a studio to work in. It could have been a lot worse.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: GUEST,harpy
Date: 13 Jul 05 - 10:13 PM

The sad part is the local beach communities were wiped out by a storm surge. Both Alligator Point and Shell Point sustained much damage:damage at the beach

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: artbrooks
Date: 11 Jul 05 - 09:15 AM

Pensacola Newspaper

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: gnu
Date: 11 Jul 05 - 09:14 AM

What freaked me was when the authorities said to consider it as a big tornado. It was about 22 miles wide at the eyewall.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 11 Jul 05 - 03:08 AM

Phew... glad to hear some of you are riding it out...... take care all and keep checking in!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: Bill D
Date: 10 Jul 05 - 11:32 PM

The news says it sort of stalled and lost 'some' energy right as it came ashore, so damage is generally a lot less than Ivan last year....no comfort to those who got the worst hits, but will allow recovery at a MUCH faster pace than expected...

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: CarolC
Date: 10 Jul 05 - 10:53 PM

We're still under a tornado watch for another couple of hours yet, but things are pretty calm at this point. The froggies are very, very happy with all of the water lying around.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: artbrooks
Date: 10 Jul 05 - 10:48 PM

Not sure yet, but it seems that (1) the eye went directly across my parents' place, and (2) damage was limited anyway. It may be a few days before power is restored and BWL can check in.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: harpgirl
Date: 10 Jul 05 - 10:10 PM

It's still raining here and the yard is a mess but I sustained no damage other than a flooded garage. BWL is the one I'm wondering about. Carol will probably be okay unless a tornado hits them.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: Bill D
Date: 10 Jul 05 - 09:59 PM

a sad pun kept running thru my head as I watched the news..

"Pennsecola hits the spot, 12 ft. tides, and that's a lot..."

sorry....hope everyone is safe.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: harpgirl
Date: 10 Jul 05 - 09:45 AM

I keep hearing thumps and running outside in the rain to see what fell!
My nightgown is soaked! Only small limbs so far, but the wind whips the trees all around and anything could fall any which way!

The tree that smashed my roof last year was uprooted because of the sogginess of the ground and I wasn't even in the path of Frances. The wind gusts are very strong and we aren't in the direct path, thank goodness. Western Florida and Mobile are going to get hit badly again. Those poor people.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: gnu
Date: 09 Jul 05 - 03:40 PM

PLEASE take GREAT care. And get back to us as soon as you can.

Rather concerned... wish I could help.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: CarolC
Date: 09 Jul 05 - 03:35 PM

I have to get back to you later on that, gnu. I need to make some preparations for the storm first. Thanks for asking.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 09 Jul 05 - 03:27 PM

I'm outta here. Headin' for Tallahassee by roads only us yokels even know about. Catch you guys whenever power & phones are restored.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: gnu
Date: 09 Jul 05 - 03:11 PM

CC... how did you fare with your AC?

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: Bill D
Date: 09 Jul 05 - 02:52 PM

here is last year's thread with much info..especially Lou's Weather Watch, a VERY intense look at the various images and paths.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: Bill D
Date: 09 Jul 05 - 02:46 PM

last year, Blackcatter (where is he now?) posted some links to help follow things...

the one to WFTV seems to have as much info as any place...complete with storm tracking pop-ups.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: gnu
Date: 09 Jul 05 - 02:12 PM

"again"???? Oooookay.... I stilly don't understand.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: CarolC
Date: 09 Jul 05 - 02:11 PM

From the way the map is projecting landfall as I look at it right now, it looks like Bee-dubya might be on the east side of the storm. And it looks like we might just be out of range of it. That is, if these projections turn out to be correct.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Jul 05 - 02:03 PM

I'll try this again--

I wonder what BWL did with his Mexican pot?

;-D

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: harpgirl
Date: 09 Jul 05 - 01:57 PM

I went out in the yard to loll in the hammock and my son woke me up pointing to the sky. I rushed inside ahead of rain, thunder, and lightening. Rain for the rest of the weekend, I'm afraid. But the hurricane is not supposed to make a direct hit here. Poor BWL

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: artbrooks
Date: 09 Jul 05 - 09:22 AM

Thanks, Abby...they're staying with a friend, so should be ok, but I appreciate your offer.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: harpgirl
Date: 09 Jul 05 - 08:53 AM

artbrooks, if you want me to do anything for your folks while they are here, PM me. I gladly do social work for old folks
harpy

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: CarolC
Date: 09 Jul 05 - 12:26 AM

I like the acoustics in our friend's new house for accordion playng. Very echoey. You should come up and watch our friend tear his hair out while I play.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: artbrooks
Date: 09 Jul 05 - 12:12 AM

My folks have evacuated to Tallahassee. Ivan "missed" them...only caused $30,000 worth of damage. Fingers and toes crossed, folks.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: harpgirl
Date: 08 Jul 05 - 11:54 PM

come to my house...bring an accordian and a chainsaw....hehehehehe

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: CarolC
Date: 08 Jul 05 - 11:49 PM

JtS was down in southern Alabama today. He got stuck in an awful lot of evacuation traffic. He said if we want to try to stay in a hotel during the storm, we'll need to go all the way to Tennessee to find a hotel that's not completely booked up.

But we have a friend about 20 minutes from here who just recently bought a house that is made entirely of stone, cinderblocks and cement (except for the roof). We might go spend a day or two visiting him.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: harpgirl
Date: 08 Jul 05 - 11:38 PM

At my gig tonight there was a lady who lost everything, including her house in Pensacola. She was living in a FEMA trailer which they had evacuated and she and her daughter and grandkids were going to Valdosta, Georgia. She thought the FEMA trailer would get wiped out as well. I counted my blessings!

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 08 Jul 05 - 07:52 PM

Well, actually we're hoping it goes a little bit to the east, like over around Panama City. That'd put us on the eastern side of the storm which is preferable to the western side. When Opal hit Fort Walton Beach (an hour east of Pensacola) in '95 it was only like a tropical storm for us. Ivan, last September, hit at the Alabama/Florida line and we got totally screwed even though the eye was twice as far from where we live as was Opal's.

If it's still coming straight at us or west of us by midnight Saturday, we're outta here. If it's headed more to the east, we'll ride it out.

And, by the way, if anyone really wants any of those blueberries or cut-rate steaks, be sure to get here with at least half a tank of gasoline, 'cause there won't be any for a hundred miles for the next few days.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: PoppaGator
Date: 08 Jul 05 - 07:37 PM

Dang, Bruce, buy yourself a bunch of marked-down filets soon as you can, stick 'em in your freezer, and don't open the door until the storm has passed. Even if you do go without power for a couple of days, they'll be OK as long as they get well frozen before the lights go out. And since landfall is still 48 hours away, close as we can tell, they should have plenty of time to get nice and cold.

That's what I'd do, anyway.

Who knows, you might get lucky and see the storm hit west of Escambia Bay, leaving you in the clear (or at least only moderately inconvenienced).

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: Bill D
Date: 08 Jul 05 - 07:36 PM

they don't have charcoal in Fla? when our electricity was out for 3-5 days after one of last years hurricanes, there were MANY neighborhood BBQ parties.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: gnu
Date: 08 Jul 05 - 07:28 PM

How much a pound fer a nice porterhouse?

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 08 Jul 05 - 07:22 PM

FREE BLUEBERRIES!!!

That's right, folks! FREE blueberries! Right here on my property! Lots of 'em! Damned near the size of watermelons! And all ya have to do is come pick 'em! But you've gotta do it before Hurricane
friggin' Dennis gets here Sunday afternoon and blows all the berries and most of the leaves off of the bushes.

And, for all you carnivores, there's CHEAP MEAT! Yes, in my recent trip to the local grocer's most of the meat in the case was marked down dirt cheap, but nobody was buyin' it! Who the heck wants meat at any price when there's not gonna be any electricity flowin' through the refrigerator? But if some of you folks who probably won't be without electricity for a week or more could drive down here, scarf up a bunch of cut-rate beef and pork, take it home, stick it in your freezer you'd save a bundle!

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: Bill D
Date: 08 Jul 05 - 06:47 PM

bobert...Gopher wood is what Noah is supposed to have built the Ark from! Guess you don't need it...yet..*grin*. (I'll be interested to hear what you DO have, of course...Persimmon is high on the list)

PoppaGator...I do know about "below sea level"! I might still be in New Orleans if we had lived one block 'higher' in 1947, but when the Hurricane blew water over the seawall and put 2ft. of water IN the house (Metarie), my mother refused to look for another, so my father took a job in Kansas..right near the tornados!

Carol, Bee-dubya-ell, harpgirl....and any others...we'll be thinking dry thoughts at you the next few days....take care, and be safe.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: harpgirl
Date: 08 Jul 05 - 03:05 PM

nacho cheese, chips and cold beer are hurricane preparation staples, DV!!!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: CarolC
Date: 08 Jul 05 - 02:16 PM

Didn't see your post, gnu.

We're on (relatively) high ground, so I'm not worried about flooding. The rains we get are torrential, so a lot of water does tend to accumulate on the ground, and drainage is not good because of the clay soil.

I don't think I would use a hole in the ground for the hurricane itself. I have been told that there is a church just a little way down the road that has been designated as a shelter for hurricanes. But if a tornado were to come up, I might not have time to get to the shelter, and it might not be open. Tornadoes are too unpredictable to plan for.

The instructions I have been reading for dealing with a tornado heading my way is to either:

A. Go to the basement and hide under a workbench or something like that...

(don't have a basement)

B. Go to a room inside the house with no windows, or a closet, and put a lot of blankets around me.

(don't have a room like that)

C. Find a ditch, lie down flat in it, and cover my head with my hands.

I can't find any ditches close enough to where I am to be of much help if a tornado shows up suddenly and I need to find cover.

I don't know if I'll be able to dig anything that would fit the two of us in this hard-packed clay soil. If I did, I would cover the opening to protect it from rain until such a time as we would need it. Once inside, we wouldn't be in there long enough for it to fill up with water.

I'm thinking about suggesting to JtS that we stay in a hotel nearby during the storm. We'll see.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: CarolC
Date: 08 Jul 05 - 02:03 PM

Thanks dianavan.

Good thinking, LtS!

I haven't been in any tornadoes here as of yet (and hope I never am)... but from the damage I've seen in the news from some of them, they can not only destroy the kind of dwelling I'm in (a trailer), they can kill people with projectiles. Our walls aren't sufficient to stop those, and our "wee hoose" could become airborn rather easily.

What I have learned is that the tornadoes form on the eastern side of the hurricane. That seems to be the side we are on more times than not. I suspect that New Orleans tends to be on the west side of the storm most of the time.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: gnu
Date: 08 Jul 05 - 01:59 PM

Ya know, CC, the more I think about a foxhole, the less I like it. Who gives a crap about the wind while they're drowning. Can't you go to a safe place? No local disater shelters... like in a school or some other public building?

Of course, in an emergency, a hole is better than a mobile.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: PoppaGator
Date: 08 Jul 05 - 01:26 PM

Dianavan asked: Do you all have cellars?

Not in New Orleans, as a rule, since we're below sea level. Our house, like many around here, has a ground-level "basement," with the main first floor raised one full story above the slab. Because our house is one of the oldest in the area, our lot is a few inches lower than the street and the surrounding properties, and we get an inch of two of floodwater in our basement maybe about once every year or two. Not necessarily when there's a hurricane; we flood when rain comes down so fast that the pumping system can't keep up (3 inches per hour or more)

We don't generally get Great-Plains-type twisters that would require hiding underground. The recent "minor" storm Cindy was very unusual in that it seemed to spawn small local tornados, or at least isolated gusts of extremely high-speed winds. It came up suddenly, too, forming in the upper Gulf less than 24 hours offshore; it's more typical for storms to be identified way out in the ocean, a week or more before they approach the US coast.

RangerSteve, the storm whose remnants have already reached NJ has to be Cindy. Dennis is still out in the Gulf, and won't hit the mainland until Sunday night, plus or minus 8-12 hours. We don't know yet where it'll hit ~ mostly likely Pensacola, we're told, but these things are very unpredicatble.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: dianavan
Date: 08 Jul 05 - 12:30 PM

I heard something funny that I will pass on to you.

Why did they name the hurricanes Cindy and Dennis. They shouldn't use such common names. They should use names the make you pay attention to impending disaster.

When someone says that Cindy and Dennis are coming. You automatically get out the nachos and chips and make sure there's cold beer in the fridge.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: RangerSteve
Date: 08 Jul 05 - 08:57 AM

The remnants of either Cindy or Dennis is here in NJ. I don't see any puddles in my driveway yet, so it's not too bad. But it's still early in the morning and it's supposed to rain all day. There's also a flood warning, and with two major floods in the last year in the Delaware Valley, people are worried. Hopefully, it won't be that bad.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: Donuel
Date: 08 Jul 05 - 08:57 AM

My brother built hurricane proof homes in PR. They are poured concrete walls with inset steel roofs. So far all are just fine after 20 years which included Hugo Gilbert etc.. Only one is within sight of the ocean however.

I am betting that Chicago is going to feel the after effects of Hurricane Dennis. Its very rare for a tropical storm to get to the windy city.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: Bobert
Date: 08 Jul 05 - 08:45 AM

What's gopher wood, Bill?

If we got it, you sho nuff can have some of it... That gopher wid it, too...

Ahhhh, when we get a little further toward having the house renovations done, We'll get you and Rita down.... There are a nummer of trees I'm gonna be cutting down and pullin' their stumps out... Maybe somethin' you can use...

As fir Cindy, looks like she blew thru overnight and we mighta got a couple inches of rain... Gonna walk the drive way in a while to see what needs attention...

Bobert

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 08 Jul 05 - 03:55 AM

Hope all goes well... Mother Nature, as I've said many times this year, is very restless this Millennium.....

Carol - if you do batten yourself down in a ditch, leave a drainpipe or big dryer hose or something out at an angle so you've got an airhole.... and tell people where you'll be!

Take care all, and check in regularly.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: dianavan
Date: 08 Jul 05 - 01:49 AM

I don't envy you the hurricanes. I've never been in a hurricane and never want to be. Don't like the looks of twisters either. Seems like every area has its particular force of nature to deal with. Here we worry about earthquakes and I've experienced a couple of those.

I guess you must build accordingly. What do you do, build cement walls around your compound? How do you deal with it? Do you all have cellars?

Hope you will all be safe and for goodness sake, Carol, get out of that trailer! Yes, dig a hole and batten down the hatches. A little straw might be nice. Hope your son is safe.

Subject: RE: BS: Hurricane season ~ it's ON!!!!!
From: Bill D
Date: 07 Jul 05 - 11:46 PM

looks like you'll get a bit tonight, bobert...got any Gopher wood 'round those parts?