The Hurricane/Severe Weather Thread

[Anthony_JK]

OK....this evening I finally got power and Internet turned back on after surviving some of the fringe effects of Hurricane Beta. Outside of one big wind gust of 75 mph that ended up knocking out our power and costing us a decently sized tree, it really wasn't that bad, as far as Category 2 hurricanes go. The tree didn't crash into our house, thank goodness, but it did snap our electric and cable lines.

I know Vicky has had to survive her share of tropical systems from living on the MILF Coast (aka West Florida), but I'm wondering: What's your most eventful experience with severe weather? Floods, hurricanes/typhoons, tornadoes, tsunami, blizzards....whatever you have faced, and how did you get through surviving it?

We've been hit here in Louisiana with SIX storms this season. That's enough for a decade. Time for some nice fall fronts to put out the blocking shields.

[Andrew35]

we only got some of the rain from Beta. Good you got power back on.

[Davest]

I grew up in Upstate NY, went to school in Buffalo and then lived in Erie, PA, for more than 25 years. So blizzards were always just part of winter for me. First house I owned in Erie was in an older neighborhood where it was house, driveway, next house. Shoveling out after a decent storm would takes hours and leave piles of snow in the front yard taller than I am. Living next to the lake was always an either/or winter. If the lake didn't freeze all the way across, you would get a couple feet of snow anytime the wind shifted to be from the north. If the lake did freeze, you would wake up every morning in January to below zero (Fahrenheit) temps and you be lucky if it got above freezing more than a handful of times each month between December and March.

Eventually I wised up and had my job moved to the Raleigh, NC, area. Since then I have only had to deal with a couple hurricanes at the end of their cycles as they turned back into storms. Raleigh is far enough inland that I've only had to deal with lots and lots of rain. Never even had the power go out. I'm much happier here.

[rokkerr]

Worst experience we ever had in Florida was the Hurricane Irma...

That storm looked like it was going to ravage the entire state and at one point was headed directly where we live...
I kept on getting calls from friends saying 'aren't you terrified.. you should leave!!!'
I was terrified but kept hoping it was going to change course.. .

In the middle of the night I had enough watching the news and impending doom and convinced the wife to grab all personal important documents and computers... and dogs... and jump in the car to head out of Florida. To my surprise everyone had left and we were out of Florida into Alabama in about 3.5 hours. We spent a morning looking for a hotel room and ended up in a crappy ass Motel that was smelling and dirty (all there was left in town). I was concerned the storm would make it's way up to Alabama so I decided to drive away from it and headed towards Texas figuring if the storm turned towards the Gulf Coast we could drive away from it..

Later that same day the news announced the storm that tracked slightly to the right and was losing strength from a Category 4/3 to a 1... it went through Florida in the middle of the night if I recall...

Getting back to Florida was a disaster. 12 hours in wall to wall cars. When we got back there was no power, some damage to the pool cage and some roofing tiles down. The plants and trees were shredded of leaves but otherwise the house was fine...

I'd say that it was a wise decision to leave... just next time i'd book a hotel room in advance out of state someplace safe... getting power back at home took a few days (a week I think). The trees and bushes for the most part grew back in within about a month or two and clean up at the house took about 3-5 days.

[Anthony_JK]

OUCH, Rokkerr. Evacuations do suck if you don't have a plan beforehand.

Welp, looks like we get to do this all over again here in Louisiana, because here comes Zeta.

Fortunately, it's going to be only a strong tropical storm or Cat 1 hurricane, and it will be to the east of where I am, so we won't get the full effects. New Orleans to Mobile, on the other hand, is getting it bad. AGAIN.

After that passes, we get a front going through, and then actual autumn arrives. Mid 40s for lows by Friday morning. Halleujah.

[WalterB]

What happened last night? Was there a terrible wind that blew me all the way to Alaska? The HIGH today is forecast for 35°F (3°C.) It'll get better, 75° by Thursday. But it seems to level out there. Remember 80's last couple weeks? Winter is coming.

[Andrew35]

50 and 60's here, actually having a fall for once here in Memphis, May get some rain from Zeta but the track is tracking away from us so if anything mainly rain