New Hurricane Thread

I'm amazed how many people I'm seeing comment to the effect of "Oh, it's down to a Cat 2. It's not a big deal. The media over-hyped it." Not here, but elsewhere.

I almost think it's time we stop using the category system to explain hurricanes. All that tells us is the maximum sustained wind speeds, which are important, but not definitive.

Anybody who thinks a category 2 hurricane making landfall is not a big deal has never had the pleasure of being in the eyewall of a hurricane. It's still a hurricane. Floyd was a category 2 and one of the most devastating hurricanes to ever hit the east coast.

 

That sentiment is going on right now on the RVA reddit. People are mocking others for overpreparing, etc. It's like, dude, five days ago, it looked like we were going to get smacked with double-digit inches of rain. I didn't live here during Isabelle or Gaston, but those were both big time power-loss and flooding events. Worse yet, they're going down the fake news road, blaming the media for overreacting. For fuck's sake, it's a hurricane. Weather changes. Forecasting is an inexact science. I'd rather be overprepared than underprepared any day.

 

My parents live in Wilmington suburb and decided to stay (despite my best efforts). Comment from my father this morning: “If this is a cat 1, I don't think I'd want to ride out a cat 3 or 4.” (Which is what they were originally going to do, of course.)

 

I knew this would happen, re.: the Fake News bleaters taking aim at the experts for the slightest deviation in forecast.
You hate to be cynical at a time like this but these fucks really make it impossible.

 

Yes. I think Katrina was a 3 at landfall.

 

It’s something about elevation or something along those lines. Research home insurance on TS and you’ll figure it out.

 

Awesome interview on NPR this morning with resident of New Bern, NC who had not evacuated. As the host pressed her again and again for some life-threatening, danger-filled quotes, the resident noted that the water had actually just receded, that her street wasn't even flooded, and that it seemed like just another rainy day. "But you realize that first responders will be risking their lives of they have to come get you?" the exasperated host finally said.

"They told us that," the resident said cheerily, "If there's a kitchen fire they I guess we might not be able to call for help."

 

Katrina was a 3++++. A Cat 4 is 125 miles an hour an Katrina made landfall at about 123.

 

I don’t wNt to sound glib and callous, but wind kills a few people. Water kills a lot of people.

Just wait for all the people who are cutoff from everything from washed out country roads or washed out long driveways. It might take a month to get an accurate death toll from this.