Hurricane Watch 2008

[Keith]

Looks like we're getting some rain from Edouard tomorrow. Don't be the idiot who runs his lawn sprinkler in a rainstorm.

http://www.wunderground.com/tropical.../at200805.html

[Mike]

Funny that any severe weather and Tim Heller comes in for the Sunday night forcast. I bet he is sporting some serious wood with a new storm off the coast. That guy gets happy over the bad weather.

[HPF Bob]

Originally Posted by Mike

That guy gets happy over the bad weather.

I root for hurricanes in the summertime. I'm far enough inland where I don't worry about the damages that happen along the coast. All I'd worry about are some flooding and potential tornados.

So, I cheered for Dolly and anticipate a friendly greeting for Edouard around these parts too. I'd rather have 80-degrees and showers instead of 100-degrees and bone dry.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

I root for hurricanes in the summertime. I'm far enough inland where I don't worry about the damages that happen along the coast. All I'd worry about are some flooding and potential tornados.

I don't share your enthusiasm living about 20 miles from shore. Hey, I could move so that is the price I pay for not wanting to live in a subdivision.

[KJ3]

how strong would a hurricane have to be to reach downtown houston? don't they drop wind speeds quickly once breaking land? it would have to be something massive coming in at the right angle but i see people freaking out now because of a tropical storm. worst thing that's going to happen from edouard is some flooding, which don't get me wrong is terrible but it's nothing compared to actually being caught in a hurricane.

[HPF Bob]

I have family that live all along the gulf coast. As a general rule of thumb, it takes a Catagory 3 or greater hurricane to cause them to evacuate their homes. At that point, a well-constructed home can receive significant structural damage and the likelihood of sustained power outages can occur.

Obviously, if you live in flood-prone areas or in cheap housing, you'd want to be alert to lesser storms.

Houston will never get the sort of damage seen in New Orleans because Houston is not below sea level and is about 50 miles inland. But a direct hit from a Cat 5 would inflict major damage and hardship that would take years to recover from.

[KJ3]

i've got an aunt/uncle in galveston who called us all crazy for even getting worried. if the first line of defense isn't sweating it, i'm certainly not going to but i still see people hording food, all the blinky highway signs saying fill up gas tanks and such and every news channel beeping in "up-to-the-minute" scrolls......for a tropical storm. it's like we went from not giving a crap about a hurricane of any power less than alicia to this ultra-scared group of sillynannies. did edouard even make it to the coast before downgrading to tropical storm?

speaking of alicia, category 5's and how much it would take for a hurricane to make it to houston.....wasn't alicia close to that? i was born right around the same time so i only hear how bad it was....

one more thing-i don't know about you guys, but i think i'm absolutely disgusted with the "naming" of hurricanes. especially names like...dolly...eduoard...even katrina sounds kind of wussy for such an awesome spectacle of nature. i'm sure there is a reason, and other than just counting 1, 2, 3 like anything else that comes in multiples i don't have a better suggestion, but c'mon....hurricane dolly sounds like a female pro wrestler or a crazy drink more than a 50 mile wide hella-storm.

[papabear]

Originally Posted by Keith

Don't be the idiot who runs his lawn sprinkler in a rainstorm.

What about the idiot who's leaving for the beach?