Hurricane Season Underway!

[dogzilla]

Here we go!

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at1+shtml/211225.shtml?3day

If you look at Florida, I'm on the panhandle. See where that part in the middle sort of comes down to a point? That's Apalachicola. Just to the right a little, at the apex of the Big Bend, is Tallahassee.

If one of these things hits me, y'all are loading up your food storage, ice and water and caravanning down here to rescue me, right?

Don't forget to bring dog and cat food! :D

[silverfox]

Here we go!

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at1+shtml/211225.shtml?3day

If you look at Florida, I'm on the panhandle. See where that part in the middle sort of comes down to a point? That's Apalachicola. Just to the right a little, at the apex of the Big Bend, is Tallahassee.

If one of these things hits me, y'all are loading up your food storage, ice and water and caravanning down here to rescue me, right?

Don't forget to bring dog and cat food! :D

You better add "as long as it's not wheat" cuz I am sure there are some folks around here who have TONS of wheat they would love to give away. :)

We've had some strange weather in Utard. Cold. Lots of rain. Even snow yesterday. I'm ready to move.

[miss taken]

Hope you have one of those underground bunker thingies to hang out in should they come your way!!!!!

The Twister Movie is about as close as we get to a tornado, though sure enough we do have them now and again!!!

You'd probably categorise ours as dirt devils though!!!

Mary

[noodle]

Here we go!

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at1+shtml/211225.shtml?3day

If you look at Florida, I'm on the panhandle. See where that part in the middle sort of comes down to a point? That's Apalachicola. Just to the right a little, at the apex of the Big Bend, is Tallahassee.

If one of these things hits me, y'all are loading up your food storage, ice and water and caravanning down here to rescue me, right?

Don't forget to bring dog and cat food! :D

Hey Dogzilla - I lived in Pensacola for 12 years (long ago) and I remember prepararing for hurricanes that always seemed to fizzle out in the end. However, this last year was a doozy. Hang on tight! You can always come live with those of us in Utard where you could get swallowed up by the earth. :D

[dogzilla]

Well, now she's upgraded to Tropical Storm Arlene! Looks like she's headed for Mobile Bay, far west of here. While that's good news for me, it's not such good news for the residents of Pensacola who STILL do not have roofs. And there are a lot of them.

No underground bunker thingys here: no basements in Florida. (Elevation = 188 feet) If you dig five feet down, you hit water because the ground water table is so close to the surface. The only thing to do is go to an interior room with no windows and pray your pecan tree does not snap off on top of your roof. Or go to a shelter, which I will not consider because the shelters do not take pets. If it's a big storm (Cat. 3 or higher), I will pack up the animals and drive to Birmingham which is five hours away, where I can stay with a pet-friendly friend.

My coordinates are 30.438 degrees north, 84.281 degrees west. If anyone cares to track the storms this season with me, you can stick a little pin in those coordinates and watch the storms brush by, over, near, whatever. The Weather Channel gives updates at ten minutes before the hour, every hour, during hurricane season. Come along for the ride... it's going to be a long, bumpy season. Again. :duh

[dogzilla]

I wasn't going to resurrect this thread, but I just got back from lunch where I was watching the Weather Channel. Looks like I am in for a rainy weekend.

I don't want to wish this storm on anyone else, but I sure hope it stays far to the west of me. Currently, it's looking like landfall somewhere around Pensacola again (like Ivan), and it's a bad one: Category 4. The path is completely unpredictable as it hasn't even crossed over Cuba yet. Once it does and gets out into the Gulf, it's going to strengthen and then could be turned, or could bounce around in the Gulf for a while. I've seen these storms do some freaky things.

Anybody got a generator I could borrow until November?

[dogzilla]

And, for those of you playing along at home, here's the NOAA web site where you can get all the updates and track this storm with me.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

Diane,
who is stocking up on bottled water after work today

[free thinker]

Hunker down girl. Get yourself some good reading and wine and hold tight.

Or you could build a couple of barges. Make them tight like unto a dish with an opening on the top and bottom so that if you are tossed by the monster waves you can plug them up etc.


Just a thought!!

Will be thinking about you as Dennis passes. Hopeing you are well, and that it doesn't mess up your garden!!

free thinker

[peter_mary]

My poor old grandparents in Pensacola don't need Dennis the Menace at the moment. I don't think they've fully recovered from Ivan! :(

I've got plenty of food and water, so just give me a jingle and whip us up a batch of...of...I don't know, what do you whip up a batch of...cookies? I could do that. A batch of Oreos, how about? Or 'Nilla Wafers? Yeah, I could whip us up a batch o' those suckers. It shouldn't take you more than 5 days to get here... ;)

Peter_Mary

[hitchiker]

Well, now she's upgraded to Tropical Storm Arlene! Looks like she's headed for Mobile Bay, far west of here. While that's good news for me, it's not such good news for the residents of Pensacola who STILL do not have roofs. And there are a lot of them.

No underground bunker thingys here: no basements in Florida. (Elevation = 188 feet) If you dig five feet down, you hit water because the ground water table is so close to the surface. The only thing to do is go to an interior room with no windows and pray your pecan tree does not snap off on top of your roof. Or go to a shelter, which I will not consider because the shelters do not take pets. If it's a big storm (Cat. 3 or higher), I will pack up the animals and drive to Birmingham which is five hours away, where I can stay with a pet-friendly friend.

My coordinates are 30.438 degrees north, 84.281 degrees west. If anyone cares to track the storms this season with me, you can stick a little pin in those coordinates and watch the storms brush by, over, near, whatever. The Weather Channel gives updates at ten minutes before the hour, every hour, during hurricane season. Come along for the ride... it's going to be a long, bumpy season. Again. :duhkeep safe . will be thinking of you as we watch the news

[why me]

Does this mean that the barbeque is cancelled? I was looking forward to salad and soy hot dogs with crab soup as a starter. Oh well, maybe next year. Take care of the pooches and keep them safe. If you go out, don't forget to take your umbrella! Stay dry! :)

[dogzilla]

I've laid in supplies, bought mucho gallons of water, and we're all buttoned up. We've had one little squall band go through that wasn't too bad. A second one is in sight as I type. I told the little old lady next door to come over if she gets too scared.

I've checked in with the weather channel and this thing has strengthened back into a Cat. 3. Crap. I've read that there's this weird damage threshold. Most buildings and stuff hold together fairly well up until you hit about 110 mph winds. Dennis just strengthened to 115, which is the breaking point... stuff just doesn't hold up so well.

Anyway, I'll try to check back in with y'all periodically and let you know how it goes. At worst, I expect a lot of rain, some wind and perhaps power outages for extended periods of time. Oh, and I also expect large chunks of my pecan tree to be laying in my yard in the morning. Pecans are very brittle and this one is 40' tall and inches from my back porch. Anyway, they've posted the following warnings for my area: Tropical storm warning, hurricane warning, flood watch and tornado watch.

Fun, fun, fun.

Peter_Mary: Chocolate chip will be sufficient.

I do have a nice cabernet, but it's too bad the new Harry Potter comes out NEXT Saturday. :mad: Guess I'll watch my netflix movies while I still have power.

Later! Thanks, everybody, for your well wishes and kind thoughts.

-- Diane, a hurricane veteran

[peter_mary]

Just got word today that another of our number, Stuckasamo (who's not so stuck any more :) ) evacuated Pensacola today with her dad. I'm sure she'd appreciate y'all keeping her in your thoughts or prayers or chicken sacrificing, or whatever you do these days.

Dogzilla--I can do chocolate chip. You might also be impressed with the tempura tuna roll (that's sushi for the uninitiated) that my boys whipped up tonight. I'll set some aside for you, you know, just in case.

Peter_Mary

[dogzilla]

Peter_Mary, tell me your grandparents got outta there! Dennis is a stong 4 now and headed maybe slightly east of Pensacola. Either way, I wouldn't want to be in the way. If it was headed this far east, the dogs and I would be in my little red car enroute to my friend in Birmingham.

Anyway, I slept downstairs last night in case large chunks of the pecan fell through the bedroom window, but there is no debris outside right now. Of course, this thing hasn't made landfall yet.

Raining and gusts in Tally of up to 40 mph. So far.

All is well here for now. Will try to check back in later.

[free thinker]

Hey Zilla

Are you ok? Been watching on Fox and Geraldo is out there doin his thing. If you see him say hello for me!!

Hope you are ok, and that everything is in one piece.

free thinker

[peter_mary]

Grandparents came through okay, just a few limbs down in the yard. Nothing like Ivan! And I'm assuming that since you (dogzilla) haven't shown up on my doorstep, soaking wet with seaweed streaming from your hair, two limp dogs and a very upset cat clinging to you, that you don't want the cookies I baked today? Bummer for you...

Peter_Mary

[dogzilla]

If I saw Geraldo out there, I'd kick him. Right in the bony part of the ankle where it really hurts.


All is well in Sogzilla-town. That was a typo and then I decided to leave it, as it's appropriate. :D I have small branches and lots of leaves littering the yard, but we never lost power and everything is okay here.

Which doesn't mean I don't want those cookies...

[why me]

If I saw Geraldo out there, I'd kick him. Right in the bony part of the ankle where it really hurts.


All is well in Sogzilla-town. That was a typo and then I decided to leave it, as it's appropriate. :D I have small branches and lots of leaves littering the yard, but we never lost power and everything is okay here.

Which doesn't mean I don't want those cookies...
That's great! I am glad that you didn't suffer any huge damage. It must be a great relief for you. I just don't understand why people live in hurricane alleys. I know that this perhaps not your case but in parts of the country where hurricanes or tornadoes are likely, why live in those areas? It must be the thrill to live in a dagerous area that can contribute to lure or the actual love for the area itself.

[dogzilla]

Why live in the Utah mountains where you can be snowed in with a horrible blizzard?

Why live in California where you could lose your house to an earthquake or mudslide?

Why live in Oklahoma with the tornadoes?

It used to be that Florida so rarely got hit by hurricanes that it wasn't even worth worrying about. I believe the apparent increase is due to global warming, but if you look at the history pages on the NOAA web site, you can see that the incidence of hurricanes has been unnaturally low in the last 20-30 years and the cycle is swinging back more toward "normal," which, from our perspective, looks like more hurricanes.

Frankly, I sort of like the thrill of a big scary storm. To a point. When it gets to be like Andrew (my first hurricane) and is headed straight for me: not so thrilling. I'll never sit through a bad one again like that.

For all the other advantages I see to living here, a few storms every summer/fall are worth it to me... so far...

Now I could see changing my tune if I lived in Pensacola and they get hit like three more times this season. It's very unusual for the same place to get slammed so frequently. A Cat 1 or 2 isn't all that awful to go through.

[why me]

Why live in the Utah mountains where you can be snowed in with a horrible blizzard?

Why live in California where you could lose your house to an earthquake or mudslide?

Why live in Oklahoma with the tornadoes?

It used to be that Florida so rarely got hit by hurricanes that it wasn't even worth worrying about. I believe the apparent increase is due to global warming, but if you look at the history pages on the NOAA web site, you can see that the incidence of hurricanes has been unnaturally low in the last 20-30 years and the cycle is swinging back more toward "normal," which, from our perspective, looks like more hurricanes.

Frankly, I sort of like the thrill of a big scary storm. To a point. When it gets to be like Andrew (my first hurricane) and is headed straight for me: not so thrilling. I'll never sit through a bad one again like that.

For all the other advantages I see to living here, a few storms every summer/fall are worth it to me... so far...

Now I could see changing my tune if I lived in Pensacola and they get hit like three more times this season. It's very unusual for the same place to get slammed so frequently. A Cat 1 or 2 isn't all that awful to go through.
Good points! I live in an underground bunker somewhere in the grasslands of Idaho with a five year supply of food and provisions. I should have no problem with the forces of nature or any other natural disasters or man made disasters. I am prepared for the coming storms of these times...and I can view the sun shining through a telescope. But I do come out for friendly barbeques, if meat hot dogs are served with potato chips and burgers and pickles. :D Ohhh...okay I cannot tell a lie, I don't live in Idaho....

[miss taken]

Dogzilla, been keeping an eye on the weather reports and papers for what's happening out your way, glad the hurricaine calmed down a bit by the time it came your way.

Mary

[dogzilla]

Thanks everybody!

I really appreciate knowing all of you are out there thinking about me when stuff like this happens. This will not be the last Hurricane Watch for Dogzilla, not by a long shot. It is very early in the season.

To contrast all of your love and kind thoughts... My dad called me on Sunday while waiting for my stepmom to leave the church building. He was asking me how to do something on his computer. I made a joke about how he didn't care if I lived or died as long as I still gave him tech support. About ten minutes passed and the light bulb went off. He finally realized I was sitting near the path of a Cat. 3 hurricane and, having seen my Scary Pecan Tree, knew I could be in danger... "Oh yeah, you okay?"

:duh :rolleyes: (I answered the phone, didn't I?)

"Call me back if anything happens and you need me to bring you our generator."

Uh, yeah dad, assuming the cell towers weren't taken out by 140 mph winds and the phones are working... I'll be sure to call you first thing.

I am grateful and thank ALL the gods for the post-mo community.

[miss taken]

You are not going to believe this, but today Birmingham was hit by a .......................................


..................tornado.................(not high category)...but good grief....what is global warming doing to us! We is gonna have to build storm shelters sooner or later!!!!!!!!! (just jesting..I hope!!)

Mary

[helemon]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/science/07/31/hurricanes.globalwrm.ap/index.html
Is global warming making hurricanes more ferocious? New research suggests the answer is yes.

Scientists call the findings both surprising and "alarming" because they suggest global warming is influencing storms now -- rather than in the distant future.

However, the research doesn't suggest global warming is generating more hurricanes and typhoons.

The analysis by climatologist Kerry Emanuel of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology shows for the first time that major storms spinning in both the Atlantic and the Pacific since the 1970s have increased in duration and intensity by about 50 percent.

These trends are closely linked to increases in the average temperatures of the ocean surface and also correspond to increases in global average atmospheric temperatures during the same period.

"When I look at these results at face value, they are rather alarming," said research meteorologist Tom Knutson. "These are very big changes." :eek:

Better be looking for a new home Dogzilla!

[peter_mary]

Looks like Irene is LIKELY to pass north of our good-buddy, dogzilla, but any other folks reading this post in Irene's possible path, know that we're thinkin' of you...

Pray for deliverance, check your food storage, catch up on your tithing, confess and foresake, and you'll probably be okay. Oh...the handle to the wheat grinder turns CLOCKWISE. :cool:

Peter_Mary

[helemon]

Oh...the handle to the wheat grinder turns CLOCKWISE. :cool:

Peter_Mary

But what if it is a magic wheat grinder? I read that story as a kid. It was a Mickey Mouse story I believe. Maybe it wasn't a wheat grinder though. :confused: Perhaps a sausage grinder? :slap: Or an organ grinder? :eek: Memory fading.

My parents still have a huge barrel of red wheat in their basement but they don't own a wheat grinder.

[dogzilla]

I wonder how long it would take a 50 lb. bag of wheat to rot in Florida humidity...

Dogzilla, grateful for Irene's current path...