[Rhodes22-list] Hurricane Lili
Ben Schultz
BenS@ApproSystems.com
Fri, 4 Oct 2002 09:35:12 -0500
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I see the attachment didn't make it. I'll copy/paste the text. For those
of you who aren't interested, sorry to send such a long diatribe!
***************
October 3, 2002
0930
The hurricane weather is blowing into Baton Rouge. Hurricane Lili has come
ashore, and lies to our southwest. It is warm and windy here, with
occasional gusts that are very strong, and occasional short downpours.
Hurricane Andrew was the last major storm to pass through. That was 10
years ago, when Heather and I were college students. The bulk of the storm
came through during the early morning hours after the hurricane party, so
everyone I knew slept through the storm. It wasn't until we drove around
the city and saw the downed trees and power lines that we knew the magnitude
of what has hit.
So today, I have the opportunity to sit through a hurricane and witness its
power in full daylight. There is definitely a lot more trepidation this
time, but a lot of scientific curiosity and excitement as well. Our home is
in the middle of an isosceles triangle formed by three huge trees. The tree
in front of the house is a huge live oak. Its trunk is big enough that it
would take 3 grown men to wrap arms around it. Its branches cover the
entire front of our lot and most of the lot next door. All of our vehicles
are parked right beneath it.
The back yard is canopied by two large pecan trees. Although they have not
nearly the girth of the oak, I estimate the highest branches to be 120 feet
high. We often get some large pecan branches in the yard from regular
storms.
Since the storm is to our southwest, the current wind is coming from the
south and southeast. The sustained winds are fairly light (20 knots or
less), but the gusts are occasionally very strong - unfortunately above my
ability to estimate, but certainly not nearly the 60-80 knots that they are
seeing near the coast. It has rained off and on, although nothing is
falling now.
My current perch allows me a great sheltered view of storms. The north side
of the house has a small balcony upstairs. It is nestled in under the
roofline, so the ceiling above me slopes to a point in the middle.
Amazingly, the ceiling fan provides my only breeze when we are between
gusts. It is dry enough that one of the cats even joined me for a while.
(Poor Oscar is disturbed by today's alteration of his routine. He has been
underfoot all morning, wanting either attention, or a release so that he can
go prowl his territory. In his mind, the yard must be teeming with rodents
without his vigilant watch to keep them away.)
My downward view shows our back yard. It is a small area (about 80 ft.
square) of gardens, deck, and patio. Looking up gives me view over the
rooflines of neighbors' houses, and of the thick of the branches of all of
their trees. The scope is large enough that I can see trees in the distance
swaying wildly while I experience calm, and vice versa.
Predictions for the rest of the day vary from dire to mundane. Almost all
businesses and schools are closed, of course. Hotel parking lots are full
of power company trucks from other cities and states, waiting to restore
power. A frequent topic of conversation this week has revolved around the
amount of time people went without power after Andrew. It took close to two
weeks to get all of Baton Rouge back on line, but some areas didn't lose
power at all.
1110
The wind is picking up now. Gusts are stronger and last a little longer.
There has been no more rain so far this morning, and we still have
electricity. But, we appear to be in one of the calmest areas - between the
outer bands of the storm and the main hurricane. The storm is well over
land and still southwest of here. It has been downgraded to a category 1.
The strong gusts are amazing. If I had to guess, they might be 40-50 knots
. The trees sway wildly, and the noise is like a freight train. It looks
like storm footage that you see on TV, but like most things, the
photographed image doesn't do justice to the real thing. Noise and swaying
from every direction.
I have been sitting on the balcony trying to read, but watching the wind
blow the trees keeps seeming more interesting. Like watching a fire burn, I
can't seem to turn away, and it never seems repetitive or boring.
1117
One thing that is boring is the radio. The few stations that are still
broadcasting are taking calls from people who have enlightening things to
say like, "I'm in River Oaks subdivision off of Highland Road, and we do
still have power out here." AAAUGH.
I think it's time to put on a hard rock CD and switch from coffee to bourbon
and coke.
1217
I hope I'm not tempting the gods, but I'm starting to lose interest a little
bit. There are still some good gusts, and I sometimes see a pecan branch
fall into a neighbor's yard, but still no real rain. Heather is pretty sure
that she saw the house of our friends Clay and Amanda on the local news,
with a small tree down on it. They don't answer their phone, so they may
have evacuated.
Jim next door is a man in search of a relief effort to join. He heard
something fall loudly, so he came by to check on us. He is decked out in
knee-length rubber boots and the kind of rain gear that the weather channel
people wear as they foolishly report from the worst parts of the storm. I
can hear his generator running next door, so his power may be out. He
offered use of his chainsaw, but there's certainly no need for it yet.
Perhaps once it's safe to get on the road, I'll take him over to Clay's and
let him get to work. Wouldn't they be surprised to return home and find a
tree missing and a stack of firewood next to the door?
I guess I did tempt the gods with my first sentence. The wind has notched a
bit higher, and more small branches are falling. A transformer not too far
from here just exploded, so there must be more neighbors without power now.
The transformer that supplies our house is in my view now, and if it
explodes, the noise will probably be loud enough to cause me to soil my
drawers.
1445
I guess that's all there is to it. The wind never got any worse, and there
hasn't been any rain to speak of. The neighbors on both sides are without
power, but we are still fine. There is still some wind and some drizzle,
but it's definitely better than it was.
Louisiana is lucky overall that this storm stayed west of the major cities.
I'm sure there will be some stories of serious damage, but the news reports
haven't found those stories yet. The footage so far has been a tree down
here, a power line down there. Pretty mundane stuff.
The storm is now 80 mile WNW of Baton Rouge, and it has been downgraded to a
tropical storm. I guess that's the worst we will see. Lunch has been made,
eaten, and cleaned up. I suppose the only item left for the day is a nap.
2200
An evening survey of the neighborhood revealed the extent of the damage.
Several large trees were down, but none of them appeared to do any major
damage. Most came down across streets, completely blocking them. Those
falls tended to pull down power lines. The nearest cross street is a lively
place, with residents and pets in the street keeping each other company out
of lack of anything else to do. Further down the street, a Spanish-speaking
crew from California trims branches away from some high lines that I had
never even noticed.
The neighbors to either side are still without power as our house blazes
brightly in the unnaturally dark night. It's a little obnoxious looking, I
have to admit. The news reports that there are no known casualties yet.
How fortunate that the worst weather missed the major population centers.
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The information transmitted may contain confidential material and is
intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed.
Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of or taking of any
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---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
I see the attachment didn't make it. I'll = copy/paste the text. For
those of you who aren't interested, = sorry to send such a long
diatribe!
***************
October 3, 2002
0930
The hurricane weather is blowing into Baton = Rouge. Hurricane Lili
has come ashore, and lies to our = southwest. It is warm and windy
here, with occasional gusts that = are very strong, and occasional
short downpours.
Hurricane Andrew was the last major storm to pass = through. That was
10 years ago, when Heather and I were college = students. The bulk of
the storm came through during the early = morning hours after the
hurricane party, so everyone I knew slept = through the storm. It
wasn't until we drove around the city and = saw the downed trees and
power lines that we knew the magnitude of what = has hit.
So today, I have the opportunity to sit through a = hurricane and
witness its power in full daylight. There is = definitely a lot more
trepidation this time, but a lot of scientific = curiosity and
excitement as well. Our home is in the middle of an = isosceles
triangle formed by three huge trees. The tree in front = of the house
is a huge live oak. Its trunk is big enough that it = would take 3
grown men to wrap arms around it. Its branches cover = the entire
front of our lot and most of the lot next door. All of = our vehicles
are parked right beneath it.
The back yard is canopied by two large pecan = trees. Although they
have not nearly the girth of the oak, I = estimate the highest
branches to be 120 feet high. We often get = some large pecan
branches in the yard from regular storms.
Since the storm is to our southwest, the current wind = is coming
from the south and southeast. The sustained winds = are fairly light
(20 knots or less), but the gusts are occasionally = very strong -
unfortunately above my ability to estimate, but certainly = not nearly
the 60-80 knots that they are seeing near the coast. = It has rained
off and on, although nothing is falling now.
My current perch allows me a great sheltered view of = storms. The
north side of the house has a small balcony = upstairs. It is nestled
in under the roofline, so the ceiling = above me slopes to a point in
the middle. Amazingly, the ceiling = fan provides my only breeze when
we are between gusts. It is dry = enough that one of the cats even
joined me for a while. (Poor = Oscar is disturbed by today's
alteration of his routine. He has = been underfoot all morning,
wanting either attention, or a release so = that he can go prowl his
territory. In his mind, the yard must be = teeming with rodents
without his vigilant watch to keep them = away.)
My downward view shows our back yard. It is a = small area (about 80
ft. square) of gardens, deck, and patio. = Looking up gives me view
over the rooflines of neighbors' houses, and = of the thick of the
branches of all of their trees. The scope is = large enough that I
can see trees in the distance swaying wildly while = I experience
calm, and vice versa.
Predictions for the rest of the day vary from dire to = mundane.
Almost all businesses and schools are closed, of course.&= nbsp; Hotel
parking lots are full of power company trucks from other = cities and
states, waiting to restore power. A frequent topic of = conversation
this week has revolved around the amount of time people = went without
power after Andrew. It took close to two weeks to = get all of Baton
Rouge back on line, but some areas didn't lose power = at all.
1110
The wind is picking up now. Gusts are stronger = and last a little
longer. There has been no more rain so far this = morning, and we
still have electricity. But, we appear to be in = one of the calmest
areas - between the outer bands of the storm and the = main
hurricane. The storm is well over land and still southwest = of
here. It has been downgraded to a category 1. =
The strong gusts are amazing. If I had to = guess, they might be
40-50 knots . The trees sway wildly, and the = noise is like a
freight train. It looks like storm footage that = you see on TV, but
like most things, the photographed image doesn't do = justice to the
real thing. Noise and swaying from every = direction.
I have been sitting on the balcony trying to read, = but watching the
wind blow the trees keeps seeming more = interesting. Like watching a
fire burn, I can't seem to turn = away, and it never seems repetitive
or boring.
1117
One thing that is boring is the radio. The few = stations that are
still broadcasting are taking calls from people who = have
enlightening things to say like, "I'm in River Oaks subdivision = off
of Highland Road, and we do still have power out here." = AAAUGH.
I think it's time to put on a hard rock CD and switch = from coffee to
bourbon and coke.
1217
I hope I'm not tempting the gods, but I'm starting to = lose interest
a little bit. There are still some good gusts, and = I sometimes see
a pecan branch fall into a neighbor's yard, but still = no real rain.
Heather is pretty sure that she saw the house of = our friends Clay
and Amanda on the local news, with a small tree down = on it. They
don't answer their phone, so they may have = evacuated.
Jim next door is a man in search of a relief effort = to join. He
heard something fall loudly, so he came by to check = on us. He is
decked out in knee-length rubber boots and the kind = of rain gear
that the weather channel people wear as they foolishly = report from
the worst parts of the storm. I can hear his = generator running next
door, so his power may be out. He offered = use of his chainsaw, but
there's certainly no need for it yet. = Perhaps once it's safe to get
on the road, I'll take him over to Clay's = and let him get to work.
Wouldn't they be surprised to return = home and find a tree missing
and a stack of firewood next to the = door?
I guess I did tempt the gods with my first = sentence. The wind has
notched a bit higher, and more small = branches are falling. A
transformer not too far from here just = exploded, so there must be
more neighbors without power now. The = transformer that supplies our
house is in my view now, and if it = explodes, the noise will probably
be loud enough to cause me to soil my = drawers.
1445
I guess that's all there is to it. The wind = never got any worse,
and there hasn't been any rain to speak of. = The neighbors on both
sides are without power, but we are still = fine. There is still some
wind and some drizzle, but it's = definitely better than it was.
Louisiana is lucky overall that this storm stayed = west of the major
cities. I'm sure there will be some stories of = serious damage, but
the news reports haven't found those stories = yet. The footage so
far has been a tree down here, a power line = down there. Pretty
mundane stuff.
The storm is now 80 mile WNW of Baton Rouge, and it = has been
downgraded to a tropical storm. I guess that's the worst = we will
see. Lunch has been made, eaten, and cleaned up. I = suppose the
only item left for the day is a nap.
2200
An evening survey of the neighborhood revealed the = extent of the
damage. Several large trees were down, but none of = them appeared to
do any major damage. Most came down across = streets, completely
blocking them. Those falls tended to pull = down power lines. The
nearest cross street is a lively place, = with residents and pets in
the street keeping each other company out of = lack of anything else
to do. Further down the street, a = Spanish-speaking crew from
California trims branches away from some = high lines that I had never
even noticed.
The neighbors to either side are still without power = as our house
blazes brightly in the unnaturally dark night. It's = a little
obnoxious looking, I have to admit. The news reports = that there are
no known casualties yet. How fortunate that the = worst weather
missed the major population centers.
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
The information transmitted may = contain confidential material and is
intended only for the person or = entity to which it is addressed.
Any review, retransmission, = dissemination or other use of or taking
of any action by persons or = entities other than the intended
recipient is = prohibited.
If you are not the intended = recipient, please delete the information
from your system and contact = the sender.
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
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