The reality is that we are 3 days out and no one really knows anything. Whenever there is a storm in the Gulf, I just kind of assume that it might head our way. Usually just means keeping the gas tanks full, checking the generator and stocking up on groceries (before every one else does).
It seems that at 24 hours out, they can usually pick a spot within 50 miles of where the storm will hit. Of course this really doesn't give you much time to evacuate. I would imagine that the coastal cities around here will post evacuations orders (if necessary) this evening or early tomorrow. I would hope the City of Houston would only issue orders 24 hours after the coastal evacuations had been issued. The safest direction for the coastal folks is north....right through Houston. This is another reason to stock up before the storm as a lot of those people wouldn't get much warning and may not have had time to pack accordingly. During Rita, gas and bottled water were really scarce around here!
I just heard from a friend of mine at work that Brazoria county (to our southwest) has issued evac orders for people with special needs. Since my friend has a newborn (1 week), they are headed to see family in Northern Louisiana. Probably a good move.
In the graphic above, forecasters refer to the yellow shading as the "cone of uncertainty". Some of the guys I trust the most are saying that the storm could come farther north as a category 3. This probably means that we would get winds somewhere between 70-100 MPH. The worst winds recorded in Houston were during the Great Storm of 1900. The main killer from that storm was the tides though.
70 MPH winds are bad but I think our house would hold up pretty well. Anything above the 120 MPH mark and I might be a bit concerned. Still I would have a hard time believeing that we would get anything above 100 this far inland.
I'll post more as the storm gets closer.
No comments:
Post a Comment