Holy Hurricane, Batman (Part Deux)

[Explorer]

Well, the law came just around and ordering me to leave in the next few hours. Period. Go.

175 MPH (that's 280 kph) winds and still gaining; has a 22 foot storm surge and rising (maybe to over 32 feet as I'm now hearing). This is likely all she wrote for my house and all my property.

But, then again, I've always like the ocean and the smell of salt water in the morning.

[mubs]

Sorry to hear that, Explorer :( All indications point to the beast increasing in strength, with the water at about 86F. Things can always be replaced, just take care of yourself and your near & dear.

[Mercutio]

Well, if we don't hear from you in a while, good luck out there, Gary.

[Splash]

Right now it's triage with what I own, and, believe me, plenty of it is not replaceable. I wasn't completely done with my fortification procedures outdoors. I was planning on finishing fortification and clean up of missile objects tomorrow and then possibly evacuating. But, it looks like that has been dashed.

I guess I made the mistake of driving up and parking my car outside a while ago and they spotted me. Everything in the whole area is closed -- as I found on my short drive.

[jtr1962]

Best of luck riding out the storm, Gary. I hope it's not as bad as they say and you find something left to return to. I don't know what I would do if I had to pick which of my possessions to take on short notice.

If you can check in after Rita passes.

[Splash]

If you can check in after Rita passes...

Likely in a week or 2 at worst. But then again, who knows.

This place is a lot more resilient than New Orleans (it's actually above sea level), so I doubt it will be months.

[Pradeep]

Good luck Splash. Are you near the coast? *shows complete lack of knowledge of Texas geography*

[Tea]

Yike! There is always room in my banana tree if you need somewhere to stay for a while till the water goes down.

[time]

Jesus.

I hope it goes better than you fear, Gary. Good luck.

[Bozo]

Good Luck. Hope to hear from you soon. :D

Bozo :mrgrn:

[Groltz]

Good luck Gary.

I hope get through this safely.

[CougTek]

Good luck Gary. Try not to be stroke by lightning for a third time. And get out of there, your stuff IS replaceable, not you.

[DrunkenBastard]

Only a crazy Canook would be trying to stroke lightning :mrgrn:

[Mercutio]

I dunno. I guess it depends on whether or not she's cute.

[Santilli]

Splash!!!!

Good luck, and God Bless you and yours.

Down to 140 miles per hour, last time I looked.

This is REALLY NOT good news:

http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=42038

http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=42001

Good thing about this is the waves could be going out to sea....


http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=42019

The last link, closest to shore, indicates waves bigger then Sunset beach, but smaller then Wiamea Bay size...

Again, God Bless and good luck. Might not be as bad as it looks...

gs

[CougTek]

Only a crazy Canook would be trying to stroke lightning :mrgrn:
Ok smart ass. Would "being hit by lightning" be better? You all understood what I tried to say.

[Mercutio]

I didn't. I thought you were talking about a girl. Or maybe a horse. I knew a horse named Lightning once. :P

[mubs]

Sheesh. Give the guy a break.

[Handruin]

You guys are too serious sometimes. :rofl:

[CougTek]

Gary will be ok. Rita was weaker than a farmer's fart in Houston area. Assuming he hasn't been killed by some freak on the road to leave Houston, we should see him back online in a few days.

[Explorer]

Well, I'm back -- actually a little earlier than I was supposed to be, but screw 'em. :x

According to my anemometer, I got at least a gust of 107 MPH / 170 KPH after I set it to remember all the peak settings (high/low temperature, wind velocity). Supposedly, the wind got up to 90 MPH sustained for about an hour in this general area of town. Otherwise, everything here is essentially fine. No damage at all to house (it's supposed to be rated to take a Category 3 hurricane). The oak, ash, sweetgum, and palm trees seem absolutely fine. I keep them trimmed so that none of the branches or limbs cause undue swinging -- especially towards the house or roof. However, I do have a bunch of other folk's branches and leaves in my front and back yards and what looks like the top of a Norfolk Island pine in my backyard. Ouch.

On my sojourn, I got caught up in a few hellations traffic jams way out in the middle of nowhere, which were simply part of what was reportedly "The largest traffic jam in US history." I avoided the Interstate highways and other freeways / tollways throughout the metro area, taking only back roads to my destination.




...has a 22 foot storm surge and rising (maybe to over 32 feet as I'm now hearing).

A little later I re-heard that radio report: the guy explained that this was waves on top of the storm surge out at sea, so that was actually over 50 feet, or 30+ foot waves on top of 20+ foot storm surge. So, if you were on an island about 50 feet above sea level, like Bermuda, you'd probably find yourself under water every time a wave hit. Meteorologists can calculate storm surge and wave heights fairly accurately for storms out at sea, if they know the correct wind speed. If the hurricane moves in a straight line for a long time, it can build up a really large storm surge on the "dirty side."

The Rhode Island hurricane in the 1930s churned a long way up the Atlantic Ocean in a straight line at Rhode Island (and Long Island) building a huge storm surge along the way. As it approached, just ahead of the gale force winds, the survivors (there weren't many) thought it was a rapidly moving fog bank until it was on top of them.

[Handruin]

Glad to hear things turned out OK for you. Welcome back.

[mubs]

Glad you and yours are fine, Gary. :)

[Splash]

Thanks everyone for your support.

If it turned out for the worse, I was going to request a burial at sea. Instead, I'm planning on a weekend surfing trip in a couple of weeks... :o

[LOST6200]

Yay, Gary is OK! I did not know all of your names (e.g., Explorer).

[Splash]

I did not know all of your names (e.g., Explorer).
Even though it started out years ago on the original SR as a mistake, then a joke -- then somewhere along the way -- yet another mistake, then maybe another mistake after that, there are now 10 of me, which is probably 7 too many.

Welcome to my 10 dimensional world:


http://garyhendershot.com/sf/

[Santilli]

This storm ripped 2 of 3 buoys in the middle of it, out of their moorings...

gs

[Groltz]

Thanks everyone for your support.

If it turned out for the worse, I was going to request a burial at sea. Instead, I'm planning on a weekend surfing trip in a couple of weeks... :o



In a couple weeks or for a couple weeks?? :wink:

[Groltz]

On second thought, steer clear of the surfing or you might get shot by a dolphin. (http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1577753,00.html)

[Corvair]

This storm ripped 2 of 3 buoys in the middle of it, out of their moorings...

Well, hopefully one of those stray buoys won't suddenly pop up in the surf and hit me in the nuts.




In a couple weeks or for a couple weeks?? :wink:

One wave, two weeks. Helluva ride. Been there, did that. Ride of yer life. Sun goes down, sun comes up, etc etc etc. Then, suddenly, a sign that reads, "Welcome To Jamaica." Must stay awake throughout ordeal, because just one little waddle in the wrong direction and you'll see a sign that says, "Welcome To Cuba."

[Adcadet]

Got official word today that I'll be part of a 20-day deployment from my university to Lafayette, Louisiana. We've sent 2 teams down already, a third is on it's way, and I'll be part of #4. My team's goal will be to transition our work from more of a primary care mission to one focused on public health and turning things back over to the LA Dept. of Public Health.