It's been five years since our last serious storm. I live in the Graveyard of the Atlantic. When you see North Carolina on that map with the spinning hurricane heading toward the little hook sticking out into the Atlantic? That's where I live.
I have lived here 16 years and through about 40 hurricanes of various strengths. As long as the power holds out, I will tell you what actually happens during these storms, this storm in particular, but maybe some tales thrown in for comparison.
They are scared of this one. They have evacuated the outer banks, Emerald Isle, and Atlantic Beach, all small towns on the barrier island across from Morehead City.
Part of the fear is the potential wreckage. With no major storms over the past years, the trees have become fragile. THere are branches ready to come down and at least 60 mile an hour winds that will start tomorrow.
Around town, tree crews were cutting limbs that seemed vulnerable and everyone was cutting their grass. Debris is easier to clear from short grass. People were harvesting fruit trees that were even barely ready to pick. All vegetables you want to save should be harvested tomorrow at the latest.
One weird thing, you have to wash your garden after torrential hurricane rain for three days. The storm feeds on warm ocean water and spews it down, scoop and dump straight out of the ocean. So you get salt water drenching your plants, trees, garden, and grass. So after three or so days of straight pounding rain, you have to go out and hose off anything you want to live.
We are not leaving unless the power station fails for more than one day. So stay tuned!
Update 1:
Schools are all closed for Thursday and Friday.
This means a five day Labor day holiday with kids fress from the first two weeks of school who will be ecstatic for 5 hours and then bored for the rest. Yay!
Some trivial bits about storm central living-
Evacuating is hard with a dog. Shelters won't take pets, too dangerous and chaotic. So a lot of people with pets who didn't get into the vet boarding line early enough will stay simply to protect their pets.
I have many gallons of pure water and bottled water. We switched the house to county water a few years ago to be able to use the gravity feed towers and the fact that the county water is supported with generators and pumping stations. Our well water was out when the power was out. The grid in action!
We cook with gas, because electric stoves don't work when your power is gone and a hot cup of coffee or tea reduces stress. Hot water makes iced tea possible as long as your ice holds out and a hot humid day with no power will throw you right back to the olden times when sweet iced tea was invented!
I bought hurricane food, stuff I don't usually buy for the kid and the man. Snack chips for foodertainment munching, pop-tarts to be eaten cold and nasty right out of the box, lots of crackers and cheese (normal staples but not in this volume), milk and sugar cereal, and various weird bread (the normal bread they like was all gone).
Hurricane food is comfort food. I will also be cooking everything sensitive in my freezer. Grilled pork ribs cooked on a wood fire outside are a hurricane bonus. I hope we don't have to have them.
The basics are where you are at, food, water, emergency repair for your shelter. It takes the urban angst out of you when nature decides to demonstrate that you are NOT the master of the universe after all!
Got prescriptions filled today, gassed up the car, got cash, lots of cleaning supplies, batteries, small electric candles, charged all electronic devices with internal batteries, and bought sexy new underpants (you can figure out the "need" for those during three potential days without power for yourself).
There are lists somewhere of all these things to do (nobody mentions underpants on this but they ought to). But I don't need them anymore. It is all rote now.
Tired, going to sleep while the ac is working and get ready for tomorrow.
Bored kid adds additional preparations stress, but he's worth it. He may be the straw that makes us evacuate. It is his first blow since he was one year old and didn't notice anything. I think he's going to notice this.
One thing that will be interesting to teach him during this is how we chose our house regarding site location and structure. The features we need in a house here are very different than the normal House Hunters Criteria. How the water drains, proximity of egress, evacuation routes, whether you need a readmittance pass after storms, flood insurance...
Food insurance is funny, btw. It is the wind and rain that blows your house down, so your flood insurance won't pay for hurricane damage. But if you buy within sight of water that will allow the hurricane water to drain away from your house instead of accumulating and flooding it, you have to buy flood insurance. Because you can see the water. Hmmm.
I will update on this same post. I may comment but I will probably keep that stuff up here in the body.
Update 2:
East Coast Hurricanes: How Often?
by Jonathan Erdman, Editorial Meteorologist
North Carolina's Outer Banks
While hurricanes track near the Outer Banks once every 3 years on average, it has been rather quiet there lately.
Since 2000, only 4 hurricanes have tracked near the Outer Banks (see plot below).
Hurricanes within 85 nautical miles of Cape Hatteras, NC since 2000
Image: NOAA
While hurricanes track near the Outer Banks once every 3 years on average, it has been rather quiet there lately.
Since 2000, only 4 hurricanes have tracked near the Outer Banks (see plot below).
Hurricanes within 85 nautical miles of Cape Hatteras, NC since 2000
Image: NOAA
The last major (category 3 or stronger) hurricane landfall at Cape Hatteras was 17 years ago, 1993's Hurricane Emily. That said, 1999's Hurricane Floyd, of course, was a major event, particularly from a flooding standpoint in eastern North Carolina.
That said, since 1950, 24% of U.S. hurricane landfalls have occurred in North Carolina, second only to Florida (31%).
Update 3:
light winds but very steady. even without Jim Cantore scaring the hell out of all of us, I would recognize this wind. It always comes from the same direction, hurricanes always spin the same direction.
After you pass through the eye wall the first time, there is calm and then the wind changes direction and it hits you the second time.
This always seems to happen in the middle of the night when you can really hear it great.
I have a lot to do today. With a six year old that thinks "It's just like Saturday!" No, buddy, Saturday is when the eye wall will hit if it does.
Update 4:
distraction. the ReeTone Ass ads are all over the weather channel. Inspiring me to take a comparative hard look at MY ass to see if I should continue walking in public or just get a muumuu and be done with it. I have determined that *I* ALSO have distinct cheeks that jiggle like two kittens in a spandex sack. I'm wearing the jeans! (to run errands to prepare and clear debris, but in Jeans!)
skies starting to darken and boards going up, but not here. We have all protected windows by a wrap-around porch. friends evacuated form the island and the marine lab starting to shut down.
During one storm, when we hadn't been here long, a dorm (the whole building) was thrown into the side of the building where Jeff works. It also threw a truck into the loading dock. We were photographed in the rain directly after and it made the national news ap photo feed. Welcome to Carteret County.
Son wants to go swimming but the pool is closing and I am staying in if possible. I have an eye exam this morning and I am going. It would be cancelled if it were afternoon.
Our road is on an evacuation route. The traffic is starting to pick up.
A friend told me she had just stocked up to stick it out on the island and then was forced to evacuate this morning. I almost offered her my extra coolers to save her food and then realized I need my coolers to save my food.
This sucks. That just needed to be out there.
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fingerlakeswanderer
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Comments
Count me in your audience out here in Oregon.
Interesting about the salt water.
Also, most of all, hope you and your family are safely tucked away.
I hope you fare well and can keep us up-to-date on what's happening in your area. Hang on--it could get exciting!
Rated. D
complete contents of this post there as well