Hurricane Idalia
Aug 30, 2023
As I write this, Hurricane Idalia is tracking towards Florida and, most likely, the Outer Banks.
For me, once I see a hurricane tracking towards the Outer Banks, I keep an eye on my WindAlert app.
I want to see if this storm is going to be an oceanside event for our area or a soundside event.
Since most of the locals, including myself, live near the soundside, the wrong wind direction and force can cause major flooding and a huge mess.
At this time, the wind forecast is showing speeds of 40mph out of the northeast.
This is a good direction for soundside dwellers as we will be under the lee.
Because these high winds will last for more than a day, we will probably see the sound waters pushed out.
This makes for a good time to:
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Pick up debris
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Look for "treasure" in the shallow areas
As a precaution, many people are pulling their boats out of the water. Myself included.
Because I live in a wooded area, I may relocate the boat and trailer to the elementary school so no tree limbs fall on it.
This will be a lot easier if school is cancelled due to the storm, which I expect it might.
Because this storm will have plenty of time to diffuse its strength, I'm not worried enough to consider evacuating.
That being said, I'll probably make sure my chainsaw is ready to go in the event I have to take care of fallen trees or branches.
A lesson I learned the hard way is to make sure the vehicles have plenty of gas in them.
The gas stations may be open, but they will be unable to pump fuel should we have a power outage.
Losing power is always a valid concern, but it's usually only for a few hours.
Should we lose power for a day or two, it's really all about tolerating the heat and switching our diet to uncooked food or using the gas grill to make some of our meals.
That being said, I should stock up on some instant coffee. I love my morning coffee.
As you may have noticed, we don't panic when we see heavy rain and high winds.
Thanks to meteorology, we can see our risks from a ways out and mitigate accordingly.
Wish me luck!
John Van Lunen
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