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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2014 13:34:54 GMT
And you don't have to stock up on any food because of all of the drowned muskrats and snakes that will wash up on your doorstep.
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Post by htmb on Aug 1, 2014 13:50:36 GMT
We pretty much keep the population of snakes and gators down by eating them year round. I didn't know we had muskrats. Perhaps a new source of food.
The last time we lost power my standard foods came out of the can with an occasional treat from the pizza place down the road where they had a generator to keep their food cold as well as gas ovens. At the time I lived in a very rural area and the roads to the nearest grocery store, which was twenty miles away, were flooded and impassable. We also ate any meat from the freezer before it had a chance to spoil, and cooked it on the gas grill. Those were the days of going for a swim in the lake fully clothed and then sleeping on a lounge chair so the breeze, if there was one, and the wet clothes would help to keep us cool enough to sleep.
While typing this I have received two email alerts regarding Bertha. They came from our county emergency management office and stated Berta had formed and, though the storm is not expected to impact us, we should continue to monitor.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2014 14:46:12 GMT
While we are discussing hurricane preparedness I recently found out from a dear friend of mine something rather alarming.
A couple of years ago I purchased a half dozen or so battery operated clip on reading lights. It's always one of the worst inconveniences for me to not be able to read at night and hurricane lamps or candles don't provide enough light.
I gave a few of them to good friends of mine as gifts and kept 2 or 3 for us.
My friend told me that she had been told that these lights were extremely hazardous and had been known to actually catch on fire when they become overheated.
I have yet to have occasion to utilize mine and hope not to.
This sure got my attention and sorely disappointed me.
I'm sure it has to be due to the duration one uses them, in my case, I read for a long time.
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Post by htmb on Aug 1, 2014 14:54:31 GMT
I wouldn't worry too much about it. If it catches fire while you're reading you will be right there to do something about it. For the rest of the time you could just put it next to your tub filled with water, ready for a quick dunk.  One of the things I jealously coveted were the battery operated fans my friends had pulled out of their camping gear (it's times like these when those of us who camp even occasionally start raiding our gear for useful items). |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2014 10:28:13 GMT
I purchased 3 battery operated fans a few years ago (the same time I bought the reading lights) after having suffered 5 days with lack of power.
The hurricane, I believe it was Gustav, but I tend to get them mixed up had been predicted to be much stronger but, aside from some high winds, it was pretty much of a non event save the power outages.
It was ungodly hot during those 5 days and coupled with not being able to read, the lack of air movement made for even more miserable conditions.
I swore that when it was all over I was going to buy the reading lights and a couple of battery operated fans.
In the meantime, Tropical Storm Bertha is headed toward Puerto Rico. It hasn't strengthen much and is not expected to.
Likely more of a heavy rain event.
Relax HTMB.
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Post by htmb on Aug 2, 2014 12:01:45 GMT
Thanks, Casimira. Am relaxed.
I remember that year and being without electrical power for two different weeks. Towards the end of each event my daughter and I had to go to school/work after profusely sweating all night long in the heat. Fortunately we had a lake to wash in each morning before we left the house. Living in a rural area, we were among the last to have our power restored. Others certainly had it much worse. We were just hot and inconvenienced.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2014 12:12:26 GMT
Likewise, we were one of the last blocks to be restored. It had more to do with the incompetent utility company ENTERGY (based in Arkansas) along with the arcane lack of updated power grids in NOLA. Friends of ours who live only a block away got power back fairly quickly, some nearby never lost power at all.
It was maddening, especially given their exorbitant rates. We are "powerless" in more ways than one.
Lucky you to have a lake to jump into.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2014 17:59:44 GMT
Remembering things like that from that past and knowing how my parents suffered in Florida, I am absolutely thrilled to live in a city where every single power line is underground and it is almost impossible to lose power under any circumstances.
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Post by htmb on Aug 2, 2014 18:23:59 GMT
Yes, I was thinking of the stories you've told us about your parents' experience. Weather hardships can be especially difficult on the elderly and infirm. We were inconvenienced, hot, sweaty and tired, but in the grand scheme of things we had it pretty good. Of course, no lake to swim in now. If my power goes out for any length of time I'll just have to learn to be smelly.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2014 10:46:47 GMT
It appears that Bertha's only major threat to the US at this point is minor rip currents on the East Coast. It is more of a tropical cyclone with winds of 45mph, barely a tropical storm.
Puerto Rico received her rains which were actually quite welcome as they are currently in a major drought with water rationing measures in effect.
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Post by htmb on Aug 3, 2014 10:48:31 GMT
So I should be careful when surfing?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2014 10:54:18 GMT
It would probably make for great body surfing further North where I would love to be. One of my all time favorite pastimes. I never did too well on a surf board, not that I didn't try....
A bit of trivia I learned while checking out Bertha's status this a.m. All of the most damaging hurricanes since they began naming them have had female names.
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Post by htmb on Aug 3, 2014 10:56:34 GMT
Andrew? Hugo?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2014 11:06:29 GMT
Betsy, Camille, Katrina.....
(I'm only reporting what I read. it would be interesting to investigate the verity)
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2014 17:33:41 GMT
Well, male names for hurricanes have only been used since 1978, so obviously most hurricanes have had female names since they were given names starting in 1953.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2014 15:12:55 GMT
Earlier this morning the report I heard and or read said that Bertha was "fizzling out" and had rained on Puerto Rico (currently in a severe drought with water rationing measures in effect).
I just came back in from outside to cool off a bit and now hear that Bertha has reformed and picked up with winds now up to 80mph heading North and expected to "skirt" the US Eastern seaboard.
Fickle Bertha...
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2014 18:17:35 GMT
I find it appropriate that a hurricane is named Bertha this year since the German "Big Bertha" howitzers were such a major part of WW1 exactly 100 years ago.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2014 18:48:48 GMT
Bertha was mentioned on the French weather report tonight, because if it rides the Gulf Stream as planned, it will arrive in France as a heavy rain storm on Sunday. Therefore, they are not making forecasts for the next weekend yet, because it can just as easily deviate to Ireland, Scandinavia or Spain...
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Post by mossie on Aug 4, 2014 20:03:34 GMT
That explains why our weather man was very unsure about the weekend.
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Post by htmb on Aug 5, 2014 9:26:22 GMT
It seems Bertha, moving between the east coast of the U.S. and Bermuda, is now a hurricane.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2014 11:58:00 GMT
She has been downgraded back to a tropical storm again.
Likely to go East out into the Atlantic and as noted by K2 likely to be a rain event somewhere in Europe this upcoming weekend.
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Post by htmb on Aug 5, 2014 12:01:09 GMT
Really!!!! I just posted two hours ago. How fickle is that Bertha!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2014 19:59:13 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 6, 2014 12:13:55 GMT
After all our fretting, we are glad to oblige y'all.
In the meantime, the Pacific is quite active right now with at least 2 storms threatening Hawaii.
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Post by htmb on Aug 8, 2014 11:03:55 GMT
MIAMI — The Atlantic hurricane season will continue to be even quieter than predicted, thanks to atmospheric and oceanic conditions suppressing storm formation, federal forecasters said Thursday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration still expects three to six hurricanes to form during the six-month season that peaks between mid-August and mid-October.
Officials dropped the number of named storms to between seven and 12 in an updated hurricane season forecast issued Thursday.
The forecast calls for zero to two of those hurricanes to be major storms with winds greater than 110 mph.www.ocala.com/article/20140807/WIRE/140809732?Title=Forecasters-expect-slower-Atlantic-storm-season-
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2014 13:04:57 GMT
Somehow, I don't find that very reassuring...
It only takes one.
And, it's usually during these last months that my anxiety increases.
All this hot weather and the Gulf heating up by the day.
In the meantime Hurricane Iselle swept over the Big Island in Hawaii last night. She was downgraded to a tropical storm just before making land fall.
Not too much damage.
Many folks without power.
There's another one right behind, Hurricane Julio but he is expected to veer North away from the islands.
I spoke with my friend in Kaui yesterday and she had made all the proper preparations, not taking any chances.
She was there in 1992 when Hurricane Iniki struck, destroying half the island.
I saw pictures of the aftermath and it was devastating.
Once one has been through a bad one, you never forget.
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Post by htmb on Aug 14, 2014 17:01:43 GMT
Yesterday was the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Charley, which ranked as the 6th costliest US storm in terms of dollars ($15 billion).
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Post by Kimby on Aug 14, 2014 19:38:26 GMT
Htmb, you beat me to it! Charley roared ashore as a Category 4 storm just North of Sanibel, mere weeks after we'd committed to buy our house on Sanibel, but before we'd closed on the sale. No news for 5 days, but the causeway was closed so little danger of looters (unless they came by boat). We were relieved to find we'd only lost a handful of shingles and lots of branches. Our next-door neighbor lost half his roof and had to gut and rebuild his house.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2014 19:43:15 GMT
Tropical storm Dolly is going to delicately lick Mexico. Very erotic.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2014 20:21:47 GMT
Ha! So your seemingly so "exciting": but, perhaps, that's unfair, such is the sensitivity of some or so it seems, as it thunders outside and the lightning flashes...other memory.
The Gulf of Mexico does indeed conjure them up.
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