Sonny WX Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 I thought it would be fun and interesting to hear some of the experiences others have had with various hurricanes over the years. My first story happened in September 98. I was in NOLA with my sig other having a good old time in the French Quarter. We rented a room overnight and went back to his house in the burbs the next day. Then is when I found out that the interstate had been closed and I couldn't get back to Baton Rouge. Second was the Wicked Witch herself, Katrina. I was living in BR at the time, and it had me really scared. But let me back up just a little bit. Katrina hit New Orleans on 8/29/05. Over a week earlier, we had been told for days by the NHC that after she crossed the Florida peninsula, she would turn north and hit Pensacola and surrounding areas. I have a friend who works for the NWS, and we watch these things together. I kept watching, and Katrina was not turning north. I asked him what's the deal. Well, on Monday, 8/22/05, looking at some models and warm water eddies in the NE Gulf, he called it... Katrina was NOT turning north, and it would instead be a direct hit on New Orleans. Problem was, the NHC and other pros didn't get around to figuring this out until Fri or Sat of that week. And you all know "the rest of the story". As for me, I was in an apartment that had developed a leaky roof the week before, and I was so worried about having my roof ripped off. I covered everything with plastic sheathing "just in case". It was crazy. My third one was Labor Day of 08. Gustav. A direct hit on Baton Rouge. I was working that day. Our plant had to go on bypass due to power outage, which meant I had to take special samples. I was up on this 20-30 feet high platform trying to get my sample, with 90mph wind nearly blowing me off and down to the ground. After the storm, the power was out forever it seemed. Lines for gas, when you could find an open station. Grocery stores all but bare because deliveries were slow. It was a very slow recovery. Of course, in both 05 after Katrina, and 08 after Gustav, the other side of our state was hit by Rita and then ummmm.... was it Ike? A double whammy like that put us in quite serious straits both times. As a child, I lived in northwestern Louisiana. I watched with great interest as each summer various storms would arise, and loved to see where they went and how they impacted the areas where they landed. I have to say, it's a lot more fun to watch from a distance. LOL But I;d still give anything to be part of a chase operation someday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LithiaWx Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Nice story! I only have one experience and it was in 1995 during Hurricane Opal. I was living in Atlanta and the storm once it hit the gulf coast it came racing north. There were inland Hurricane and tropical storm warnings all over the place. Well what I did not expect was the sustained 60+ MPH winds that went on for hours. It was absolutely incredible, what was left of Opal's eye came very close to my location. I ended up getting the NE quadrant of the storm. pretty much directly over my location in the NW burbs of Atlanta. I remember being afraid to go to sleep that night, worrying about possible trees coming down. It looked like a bomb had gone off when we got up the next morning. I'll never forget walking down my street in pure amazement at all the trees down and how literally everything was covered with some form of tree branch or leaf. It was very intense and something I'll never forget. We were out of school for nearly a week after while the cleanup went on. I live in Marietta lol, ground zero for Opal in Georgia. http://en.wikipedia..../Hurricane_Opal The peak wind gust in Georgia was a 79-mph (127 km/h) gust in Marietta, The peak rainfall in Georgia was 8.66 inches (220 mm) in Marietta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonny WX Posted July 2, 2011 Author Share Posted July 2, 2011 Nice story! I only have one experience and it was in 1995 during Hurricane Opal. I was living in Atlanta and the storm once it hit the gulf coast it came racing north. There were inland Hurricane and tropical storm warnings all over the place. Well what I did not expect was the sustained 60+ MPH winds that went on for hours. It was absolutely incredible, what was left of Opal's eye came very close to my location. I ended up getting the NE quadrant of the storm. pretty much directly over my location in the NW burbs of Atlanta. I remember being afraid to go to sleep that night, worrying about possible trees coming down. It looked like a bomb had gone off when we got up the next morning. I'll never forget walking down my street in pure amazement at all the trees down and how literally everything was covered with some form of tree branch or leaf. It was very intense and something I'll never forget. We were out of school for nearly a week after while the cleanup went on. I live in Marietta lol, ground zero for Opal in Georgia. Wow!! That's pretty much how I remember things around here after Gustav too. The one thing about living in the heart of 'cane country that I don't like, is that if I wanted to evacuate I can't. Because my job requires me to be on duty when I'm scheduled... even in a disaster situation. You can't just leave a sewer treatment plant untended. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.