h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I remember when storms didn't have social media pages of their own. http://www.facebook.com/HurricaneIssac?ref=stream

Back then you had to wait for the weatherman (Pat Shingleton or Mike Graham in this area) to tell you what was most likely to happen. Never quite caught the end of the story because the lights would go out at some point. Mike has retired. Pat is still around for what has to be more than 30 years, even with the switching between two local stations. Jay Grymes is the newer guy on the block.

For a couple of days, my friends and I have been watching Isaac's progression on NOAA, NHC and Facebook. Everyone is mostly prepared. There's always something you have to do without, hopefully nothing important.

It is odd how every passing event has to have a Facebook page these days. It's not like Isaac is posting updates himself, or that the updates keep going for that long either. A fad within a fad.


Geggs

I can't make head or tail of what that facebook page is telling me. So I hope you survive the hurricane OK, Evangeline, if you are threatened by it.

The poster, who doesn't specify their gender is apparently a storm chaser or someone really interested who is compiling data from several news sources and an Iphone app. Another such group (local to me) is Red Stick Storm Spotters: http://www.facebook.com/redstickstormspotters

Thanks, TC. I am in the path of that. I'm more inland than New Orleans. Expecting wind and lots of rain. The plan is to get home and stay inside till it's over. I do have provisions including food, water, extra pet food , lights, and other basic camping stuff.

A hurricane is a rotating storm with winds of 75mph or faster. The center is the eye. The more defined the eye, the tighter the rotation, the worse the damage. Over the warm gulf waters a tropical storm can become a Category 5 hurricane in a few days. That page is logging the path, the windspeed and projected rainfall. In four days Isaac has changed it's path from 'over the Florida panhandle to the Atlantic' (not our problem) to 'right through the middle of Louisiana, landfall near New Orleans'. That's a big difference in which states and where to evacuate. So, we're all watching the news updates.

Tomorrow is the anniversary of Katrina.

That's a big anniversary. I felt so bad for New Orleans when Katrina plowed into it. TGood luck, Evangeline

New England gets clobbered by a Category 4 hurricane once every 135 years on average. In the mid-1950s, Massachusetts got soaked by three hurricanes in less than 20 days. Not much wind damage, but 16 inches of rain tends to raise water levels to unimaginable levels, and they don't drain off very fast. I also felt bad about the Central Americans who endured 20+ inches of rain from Mitch. Whole villages washed right off the face of the Earth.....

Andrew and Gustav were the two worst hurricanes for me. We had friends in Honduras during Mitch.

3.5 hours before expected landfall... off to finish the shelter in place stuff.

Isaac must have enjoyed the warm gulf water. He's looped around and what's left of him has come back.
http://www.goes.noaa.gov/ECIR4.html

Oh great, the latest is that Isaac's ghost may morph into 'hurricane Nadine'. I don't write these jokes, I just report the weather...

http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Remnant-of-Hurricane-Isaac-lurks-3846258.php

A better explanation is here: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/06/13708761-hurricane-isaac-remnant-less-likely-to-spawn-tropical-storm?lite

Apparently the chances of Isaac morphing into Nadine are getting less likely.

We really aren't complaining about that. I mowed grass for two hours this morning. A friend was on my roof this morning/afternoon repairing the damage from Isaac. While he was on the roof, I was gathering limbs and debris for the roadside pickup. Currently no storms in our vicinity and a cooler front moved through this morning.

Glad to hear life is returning to normal where you are, Evangeline.