TS Hanna

[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!

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.

[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.
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!

[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!

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

[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!

Andrea