I've done tornados, earthquakes, and blizzards...
I guess we'll try a hurricane next... it is 2020 after all.
Sitting in Cozumel, wondering how it's going to go.
https://yucatanexpatlife.com/hurricane-watch-for-yucatan-peninsula-as-marco-takes-shape/
August 21st, 2020 at 12:45 PM ^
I got trapped in Barbados during the first hurricane to hit the island in 55 years back in (IIRC) 2010. It hit as a category 1, "no big deal" hurricane. Frankly, it was horrifying. Everything about "sounding like a freight train going by" is correct. I was staying at a Hilton. The entire staff just left. The water was off, no food for 24 hours, not even any alcohol. etc. It was quite an experience. So, enjoy! :-D
August 21st, 2020 at 12:57 PM ^
I've been through two or three (depending on where you are, a hurricane might not reach hurricane force wind, yadda). A cat one all depends on the storm surge. If the you are on the wet side, and tides are up, plus the rain, it can get really bad in terms of flooding. In terms of wind, a cat one is dangerous to be near windows, or God forbid, outside, but if you are in a concrete building, you should be safe. To your point, kiss electricity and water goodbye for a few days. The Hilton, though, should have had a gas powered, independent generator.
Advice:
Gallon of water per person per day.
Lots of whiskey
Deck of cards
Durable food (sardines are handy, I know they aren't everyone's favorite), peanut butter, nuts, etc.
I hope you stay safe and tell us the details once done.
August 21st, 2020 at 1:32 PM ^
That would be terrifying. I will say, I thought the “freight train” sound was supposed to refer to tornadoes. I’m sure it was loud and shaking the walls at 80-ish mph. The sound would be much greater at 150-200mph (medium strength) like a tornado. I can’t imagine what that’s like.
August 21st, 2020 at 1:50 PM ^
Wait! Did you say "no alcohol"???? Your assessment of "horrifying" falls way short of the mark.
Living here in Florida now, I've been through a couple of them. Nasty things....
August 21st, 2020 at 1:55 PM ^
Never EVER again be so unprepared that you forget to stock up on alcohol.
Did you learn your lesson, young man??!
August 21st, 2020 at 7:03 PM ^
If the staff left, I'm breaking I to the liquor cabinet.
August 21st, 2020 at 12:58 PM ^
I've been through many hurricanes having grown up on the Connecticut shoreline and now splitting my time between NYC and Long Island. I've also been through tornadoes in Ann Arbor, Moscow (first one in recorded history of that city, 1998), and in NYC. And typhoons in Japan and Taiwan. I think the tornadoes were the least frightening because they happen so quickly and go away quickly too. Maybe I'd feel differently if one had hit my home.
August 21st, 2020 at 3:00 PM ^
You honestly might be the only human in all of history to have been around a tornado in Ann Arbor, Moscow, and NYC. Aren't those each once-in-a-century type events?
On a related note, can you kindly update the board as to where you live now and if you ever move in the future? I need to know if should get tornado insurance.
August 21st, 2020 at 5:09 PM ^
Sadeto doesn't have the proverbial black cloud following him around but is instead a tornado magnet.
August 21st, 2020 at 1:01 PM ^
Everyone at school keeps saying I've been hit by a train.
I DIDN'T GET HIT BY A TRAIN.
August 21st, 2020 at 1:57 PM ^
Maybe it was a pony...
August 21st, 2020 at 2:03 PM ^
Probably not, 'cuz then his screen name would be ThePonyLoser.
August 22nd, 2020 at 5:39 AM ^
Please keep trying.
August 21st, 2020 at 1:05 PM ^
I was sitting at my desk the other day, watching smoke pour off the Cameron Peak Fire. Hurricane please!
August 21st, 2020 at 8:42 PM ^
The hurricane hitting Baja is likely to push winds up through the various California fires, leading to further lightning storms and expanding the fires:
https://www.sfchronicle.com/california-wildfires/article/Bay-Area-could-see-another-round-of-dry-15505252.php
So please be careful what you wish for ...
August 21st, 2020 at 1:11 PM ^
I've eaten fettuccini alfredo for dinner three nights in a row. I'm a little curious how that's going to turn out also.
August 21st, 2020 at 1:15 PM ^
Category 5 shitstorm is imminent
August 21st, 2020 at 1:19 PM ^
Are you claiming to have gotten it on with weather?
August 21st, 2020 at 1:20 PM ^
Is this the storm reminiscence thread? I avoided Hurricane Hugo by 4 days because my boat left port for a special op. When it made the unexpected left turn into the Isle of Palms, we had two months to stew about results while on station. That sucked.
I also lost power at halftime of a fun VT-aTm game when Isabella came rolling through VA. Lost a bunch of trees, too - 7, IIRC...
August 21st, 2020 at 1:23 PM ^
And here I was thinking we might be talking about Hurricane's at Pat O'Brien's.
August 21st, 2020 at 1:27 PM ^
I’ve, fortunately, been through very few natural catastrophes. A couple tornados growing up in SE Michigan that never materialized in our town, a couple minor earthquakes that I slept through in Seattle, an avalanche that triggered about 15 minutes after we had crossed the chute (that was a little scary, but mostly from a “what if” scenario). No hurricanes. I worked two summers on hand crews in Montana, one on a hot shot team. But even that was fairly uneventful as the season I was on the hot shot team had historically low fires and as a newbie I was rarely in any real danger.
knock on wood that this streak continues. The earthquakes are the ones that scare me the most given the absolute unpredictability.
August 21st, 2020 at 3:03 PM ^
You slept through earthquakes in Seattle? That's impressive. Those would've made me...
wait for it...
Sleepless in Seattle. *rimshot* #dadjokes
August 21st, 2020 at 3:12 PM ^
heh, i appreciated the dad joke. t.hanks for the chuckle.
August 21st, 2020 at 1:37 PM ^
I've done earthquakes, blizzard, hurricanes, AND 2 typhoons in last 2 years!
I would like to stay away from tornadoes as far as I can.
August 22nd, 2020 at 1:04 AM ^
I've seen and been within about a mile and a half of two killer tornados: the Palm Sunday tornado of 1965 in Alpine Township MI (just northwest of GR) and The Kalamazoo tornado of 1980. I think the '65 tornado killed 7, while the one in '80 caused 5 fatalities.
I was just 10 years old in '65 when I saw that one. Dad and I were watching the ominously thick black sky thru the living room picture window when we spotted the twister thru an opening in the trees just 3/4 of a mile away. I'll never forget that moment of seeing so vividly that dense dark funnel. Truly terrifying.
The one in Kalamazoo was only 2 miles away when it was visable from my location in the Comstock/Parchment area on Kzoo's NE side. That one was surprisingly easy to spot, as the cloud cover was not nearly as thick outside of the actual storm cloud, and my vantage point was on a bit of a hill. It eventually passed about 1 1/2 miles south of me before dissipating.
The worst blizzard? Easily the infamous one in January 1978.
I was then a student at WMU. 32"+ of snow, 6 ft drifts and most residential streets impassable for 3-4 days. I had a part time job too at the time, but even though it was only a couple miles away, what, me work?
Instead, we set out on foot for the nearest party store (also 2 miles away), pulling a plastic sled which we loaded up with beer and liquor and other "essentials" LOL.
August 21st, 2020 at 2:14 PM ^
Assuming you are on a cruise. Hope you don’t get stuck for a lengthy period.
August 21st, 2020 at 3:47 PM ^
No cruise.
Oceanfront condo.
We were supposed to move from current condo to second week condo tomorrow during the whole mess... paying for an extra night in current condo so we don't have to.
August 21st, 2020 at 2:56 PM ^
sardines and whiskey....
i'm not even sure about that....
August 21st, 2020 at 3:23 PM ^
I've done them all. Grew up in Missouri so I experienced tornadoes and blizzards. Was in Atlanta for Hurricane Opal with 9 inches of rain and more than 4000 trees knocked down (no electricity for 5 days). Now live in So Cal so of course I've experienced earthquakes.
I found the hurricane the most interesting. Earthquakes don't unnerve me (was here for a 7.1). Blizzards are meh...3-4 foot snowdrifts are no big deal. Tornadoes to me are the scariest, especially when the sirens go off, but that's probably going back to my childhood.
August 21st, 2020 at 3:37 PM ^
Category 1 or below hardly qualifies as a hurricane, sorry. Enjoy the winds and big waves. NTSH.
August 21st, 2020 at 3:38 PM ^
I've been through 3 in Pensacola FL. 2 in 1995 and one in 2004. Several other storms with relatively brief power outages, too. Erin, Opal and Ivan resulted in multiple weeks without power. My houses survived but some relatives lost theirs.
August 21st, 2020 at 4:03 PM ^
...and you’ve done pandemics. Hopefully no dictatorships are on the horizon.
August 22nd, 2020 at 11:07 AM ^
We are currently living thru a dictatorship.
August 21st, 2020 at 4:11 PM ^
You’ll get some wind and rain.
August 21st, 2020 at 6:59 PM ^
Living in KS, OK and TX, I have the tornado check off. My job sent me to an office in Mobile in 1998 for 6 months and you guessed it, they had a hurricane "George". On a few my CA trips I got to feel some 5 on the richter scale earth quakes. Blizzards every year in Michigan growing up in the 70s. Only thing that worries me is the gulf water temps are very high, so both Hurricanes could be much stronger than what these early numerical model runs are forecasting.
August 21st, 2020 at 7:00 PM ^
As a guy who lived in Florida for 15 years, you have absolutely no reason to worry about this system. Cat 3 and above, pay attention (100ish mph+), otherwise, you have a super bad thunderstorm.
The chances that it hits the gulf/Texas and has the oomph to reach Michigan is almost 0 and if it does you’ll be able to blow out birthday candles outside in it.
The tornadoes locally are so much more extreme (at least compared to a tropical system traveling 1500 miles to Michigan).
August 21st, 2020 at 8:16 PM ^
Nope. I lived on Long Island for Hurricane Sandy. That storm hit as “only” a Cat 1. It destroyed Long Island. I had no electricity for a month. And I was one of the lucky ones. Many people completely lost their houses. I cringe when people say don’t worry about Cat 1 hurricanes. They can be horrible. It depends on the tides. Sandy was at it’s worst during high tide which was also a full moon, which is a very bad combination...I think they call it “astronomical high tide.” The entire coastline from the end of Long Island al the way down to the Jersey Shore was destroyed.
To the OP - I didn’t mean to scare you - Sandy was a once in a 100 year storm. This one won’t be another Sandy. Prepare for the worst but hope for the best. Buy flashlights and batteries, charge your phones and iPads, buy some canned food and bottled water. You’ll be fine but possibly inconvenienced for a bit. Stay safe and check in when you can.
August 22nd, 2020 at 2:44 PM ^
It boils down to the building materials. All stick buildings up north, so when something like a Cat 1 comes by, it does damage. If you are in a concrete structure, no problems.
Living in SW FL through Irma (Cat 4/5) 3 years ago, we laughed as they didn’t show all the concrete homes that were basically fine, but instead focused on the trailer park homes. Uh, what did you think was gonna happen to them?
This isn’t to say people didn’t lose houses or have damage. I had to get a new roof on mine, but ended up putting a metal one on to save insurance cost and to be better prepared. Again, all boils down to building material.
August 22nd, 2020 at 6:43 PM ^
The houses and structures were just fine until either a tree fell on them or the ocean decided to move in. The trees and tides weren’t built to code I guess.
August 21st, 2020 at 8:26 PM ^
Careful of the pythons. They have a real problem there. Many years ago they brought some on island for a film..then reloaded them. Now is ransacked and they can't get rid of them.
August 21st, 2020 at 9:06 PM ^
People are weak here. We have a guy they won't interview for a serious job and people that claim diversity that NEG a different opinion.
Feels like China without the freedom to NEG.
August 21st, 2020 at 10:24 PM ^
I was 12, living in Northern Indiana, when the massive Palm Sunday tornadoes struck. Two struck our place. The second one was a monster that killed several of our neighbors. Ours was the only house left intact for about a mile. We housed a large group that night. Twenty years ago in Indy a tornado went through our neighborhood. We only had minor damage but just a block over several houses were totaled. Here in Kansas we have seen a tornado-five miles away from us.
In the same Northern Indiana area the blizzard of '78 was quite the deal. We were used to a lot of snow but 3 feet and those winds were beyond our knowing.
We have felt light earthquakes both here in Kansas and in Central Indiana. In Kansas we are in danger of flooding. While on the one hand drought is a major issue out here on the other we routinely get huge rain events of 6-10 inches...and in our great flatness it just sits here-what a mess!