TS Hanna

[ASammy1]

Well, here in VB, Hanna is supposed to hit sometime late tonight or tomorrow. All of the predictions are saying that it should only be a bad thunderstorm. Mistakenly, I thought it would be ok to go to the grocery store (they have a fantastic deli) on my lunch break. Silly me! It was a madhouse...:eek:

All of the bottled water was gone, the canned food aisle was nearly empty, and the pharmacy had a line of about 25 people.

So my question is... Why are people freaking out about a thunderstorm? :confused: :confused:

[ASammy1]

I guess. It just seems like a bit of an overreaction to me. Keep in mind these are the same people who do the exact same thing if there is even the slightest chance of a dusting of snow...

[divingbiker]

Thanks for the warning; I was planning to stop at Whole Foods to do my weekend's grocery shopping on my way home from work, but maybe I'll wait and avoid the crowds. And if the power goes out, there won't be as much to spoil.

[Blueberry]

Looks like Durham will get hammered. They're calling for 40 mph winds here, and my mom is in a flood prone area of the coast - and it's predicted to hit at high tide. Could cause some serious problems in some areas.

Of course, we're headed to WV to go white water rafting - so we'll miss all of the excitement:)

CA

[bouncybouncy]

I am one of those who will repack emergency kits once year. I will use the contents little at a time as the "season" changes. Therefore when hurricane season was here I usually would go shopping to refill when the first storm poked its evil little head my way. (this was when I lived in FL...now my system has changed a bit since I am in the mountains)

I am thinking most of these people see a storm and another one behind it...and then!!! another one behind that one!!! So they realized they have nothing aside for emergencies so...they shop.

Not that it is what is going on...but at least people are being prepared.

I was in S Florida when a hurricane hit that was SUPPOSED to be a T-storm (Cat 1 at the most) We were slammed!!! No power for weeks (personally 1 week), windows blown out of buildings, roofs blown across the neighborhood, trees down everywhere...etc! (in fact we LOST an entire mtbike trail...yeah it was GONE!) I am glad I prepared for that...I did not have to go begging for water at the park thank goodness! Cause it was crowded!!!

Hope you got your sandwich with little chaos....now don't forget to be prepared and stay safe! and most important...stay patient hehe ;)

[ASammy1]

I hear you! I was born and raised in Detroit and only moved south about a year ago.

In another thread, somebody mentioned the movie "Deliverance" about the area where I live now-cracked me up!

I saw your TNT page and wanted to say that I'm sorry about your Dad. I will be doing the TNT century in Asheville, NC in the Spring and a friend of mine did the TNT marathon in Alaska a few years ago. It's a really great program and our efforts really do make a difference. Good luck with your fundraising-you're doing a fantastic job!

Andrea

[Aggie_Ama]

A few years ago when Rita blew into Texas shortly after Katrina they expected it to hit my home a couple hundred miles inland as a tropical depression or storm. My husband and I have always shopped for groceries weekly and needed to stock up. We went to the store and could not find any bread, canned goods, water, cokes or many produce items. It never rained, the storm turned and we were on the dry side with no groceries for the weekend. :rolleyes:

The funny thing is now that there are so many non-native Texans here they go beserk over the Tornado WATCH. Uhhhh.... That is pretty much daily in the Spring and Fall. I only pay attenion if they say WARNING. But then again, I have seen a funnel cloud and spent a day of elementary school crouched because we had so many tornados that day.

[ASammy1]

bouncybouncy,

We are prepared! I made sure of that at the beginning of the season and the car is packed in case we need to evacuate.

Sorry, didn't mean to offend anyone in case I did. I was just amused that people were not prepared and that the threat of a thunderstorm is what it took to get them off their butts

[bouncybouncy]

haha...no offense taken!

I am just so happy to see people taking Mom Nature serious now! Too bad so many people had to lose their lives, pets, homes...and had to point fingers at everyone else!!! I am caretaker of me, my pups, and my husband! and take the possibility of what nature can do very seriously without trying to worry myself to death! I guess I am just not over seeing what suffering occurred in the wake of Katrina did...

ok...who put the soapbox under me???

You east coast inhabitors take care and send some rain our way (no wind please!!! just rain in little bits at a time...not to be specific or anything!)

My favorite post from another forum...take this with a light-heart and plenty of humor:

FEEDER BANDS!!! FEEDER BANDS!!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!!

Maybe we should all join CA for some rafting...that sounds like fun!!!

:p

[Blueberry]

We're doing the Gauley:eek::eek::eek:

CA

[ASammy1]

CA_in_NC,

Upper or Lower Gauley? I've done the Upper twice and it is awesome!

Andrea

[Blueberry]

We're starting with the Lower. None of us have a lot of experience and we were strongly discouraged from doing the upper...

CA

[ASammy1]

It's not that bad!! My first time, I did the New River in the spring and then the Upper Gauley in Sept of that same year and was fine.

You are going to have a blast. It's a really good time. I want to go again, but all of these adult responsibilites keep bogging me down! :rolleyes:

[withm]

Well the latest marine forecast for my area is still calling for wind gusts to 50-55kt Saturday and Saturday night but looking at the storm track, and they have raised the TS Watch to a WARNING but I'm still guessing it won't happen. Nevertheless I brought in my potted plants, and the smaller deck furniture. Just a little rain now. The radar makes me think this storm is going inland fast and that will cut the wind dramatically. That is good.

The Amish Country Bike Ride in Dover has been cancelled for tomorrow. Still waiting to see if the Fish Hawk Paddling Festival will cancel as well... Though I don't think we'll get the huge winds, for sure we'll get the localized flooding - which will make all the kayak launch areas inaccessible. And even if we get 40-45kt winds that is still significant.

Of course this may all be wishful thinking, and we will really get hammered.... I live less than a mile from the ocean as the crow flies so certainly I'm HOPING for a less dramatic weekend than originally forecast.

[7rider]

DH was rushing through painting the new front porch today (with the improperly sealed new rain gutters...oh, just found THAT out!). Got the pillars done just as I left work to brave the crowds at the grocery store (needed coffee for us and salad and bananas for the buns...always shop for the important things, first!).
Incredibly, the Civil War Century (http://www.baltobikeclub.org/index.pl/cwc) has been postponed until Sunday. You can bet the Seagull Century (http://www.seagullcentury.org/) would never postpone for a little rain and wind!! :rolleyes:
But...that's great news, as I get to SLEEP IN tomorrow! Yee ha!
I'll brave the hills of the CWC on Sunday.
Batten down the hatches, all ye on the east coast!

[squirrell]

Well, Hanna is a little more than a thunderstorm. I see you said you haven't lived in the area long, so you might be surprised at how much damage even a minor storm like Hanna can do in the Hampton Roads area. Yeah, I've seen just Nor-Easters stronger than Hanna but still--they're not fun and can be dangerous.

One Nor-Easter with 50mph winds left us without power for 3 days back in '98, so even a TS can do some damage.

The issue in that area is more of one to do with flooding, too. And power outages. You'd be surprised at how much flooding can occur and where. Remember, you're living now in a city who's highest point is the former trash dump! :D

Factor in the tendencies of the news stations in the Hampton Roads area to make everything into a "meteorological disaster," and you've got packed stores.

Living in that area, you should always be prepared to lose power in storms. It seems to be a chronic problem--and Dominion Power is not known for it's quick fixes.

[uforgot]

My son is in Virginia on the USS Eisenhower and they were suppose to go out to sea to ride out the storms this morning, but they canceled! Glad the storms didn't hit like they originally predicted.:D

[Crankin]

No riding today, here in New England. We are just finishing the "first waves" of rain, with a lull predicted for part of the day. The real storm comes tonight. We are on the "rain/flood" side of the storm, more wind (4-50 mph) predicted for the south coast/Cape. Tahoe Dirt Girl, right near you!
I am going to pick up my new frame/bike today and look at it, sitting in the living room! We actually had a club ride planned for tomorrow morning, but no one has called to sign up. But, it's looking like tomorrow PM is nice.

[tulip]

It's raining hard here in Richmond, with some gusts. They say the real storm will come this afternoon. I think my parents in NC are getting hit pretty hard right about now. Since I have no kitchen at the moment, I don't have much in the house to eat, so I guess I'll have to go to the store this morning. I do have some canned stuff, but if power were to go out for a few days, I'll run through that pretty quickly. I did fill up my bathtub, however.

I'll have to see how my new rain barrel is working. I don't have an overflow, and I'm sure it'll fill up quickly.

[7rider]

I'll have to see how my new rain barrel is working. I don't have an overflow, and I'm sure it'll fill up quickly.

My overflow doesn't really work. :mad:
I'll be sticking my head out the utility room door every so often today to throw the outflow hose out into the yard to drain the barrel away from the side of the house.

And this, after it sat empty for all of August! :rolleyes:

[wildhawk]

Living in Florida, we have learned to not take any chances with any storm system - we stay stocked up nearly year round. (Tampa Bay area). Our “normal” afternoon thunderstorms have been known to produce serious lightning and tornadoes. We evacuated to Kissimmee when Hurricane Charley (the year of the four famous hurricanes) caused a mandatory evacuation for our area. We faithfully boarded up our house, crated our dog and two cats and took enough supplies for a week and headed to a hotel in Kissimmee. The forecast had Charley heading straight for Tampa. After we settled into our hotel the news showed the storm wobbling slightly and it was that slight wobble that made it come directly into Punta Gorda, and then it continued on towards Kissimmee/Orlando as a Category 3 storm. All we could do was to sit helplessly and watch the thing approach (you could not get back onto the highway to go elsewhere (they were all blocked). It was horrible. The lights were the first to go. We grabbed the animals and barricaded ourselves into the bathroom and then the security guard started yelling to get out as the two-story motel was coming down! We had to go out into hurricane force winds and run towards the front of the complex. At one point the wind lifted my dogs crate straight up over my head and I thought the handle would break - a kind stranger managed to help me hold onto her - my DH had the two cats and his hands full. Tree limbs were flying horizontal and lights and transformers were popping all around. The hotel was pitch black. After the storm passed, my DH and the guard went back to our building - it fell down allright - on our car! Our little station wagon had two stories of bricks on it. I know this is long, but after that experience I never take any storm for granted and I am always thankful when it does turn out to offer up minimal damage. We are now looking down the barrel of hurricane Ike - please keep us in your prayers.

[Blueberry]

It's not that bad!! My first time, I did the New River in the spring and then the Upper Gauley in Sept of that same year and was fine.

You are going to have a blast. It's a really good time. I want to go again, but all of these adult responsibilites keep bogging me down! :rolleyes:

So we did the Lower and LOVED it!! We're probably going back in 2 weeks to do the Upper:eek::eek::eek:

[ASammy1]

CA_in_NC!

I'm so glad you had fun!!! I absolutely love White Water Rafting. On the Upper you actually go down a 10 ft waterfall called Sweets Falls and then you have to maneuver the raft around some giant boulders. Almost everyone flips over. It's so much fun! Definitely fill us in if you go! :D

Andrea