Hurricane Cristobal: Third Hurricane of the Season

We have surpassed the midpoint of the Atlantic Basin Hurricane Season, yet we are only on the 4th storm of this year's season.  That means absolutely nothing regarding the potential for impact from storms this season.

It ain't over till it's over...

It only takes one.  Hurricane Cristobal has reached hurricane strength just off the coast of the Bahamas, skirting the coast of that island paradise and disturbing the plans of vacationers and bumping into the funds that generates for residents.

Hurricane Cristobal does make the third named storm consecutively turned hurricane, starting out the season.  What's kind of cool is that such an event hasn't happened in 22 years.  That's right, back in 1992, the first 3 named storms were hurricanes.  In fact, that year was also a slow season, without any real action until August, where Hurricane Andrew made his appearance... It only takes one.

Fortunately, for interests along the eastern sea-board, it looks like Cristobal is taking a turn to the northeast and not even Bermuda needs to really concern themselves with his movements, but you never know.  We refer to Cristobal-type storms as "fish storms".  I wonder what the fish think...

Trajectory models for Hurricane Cristobal

It only takes one...

I think we have a tendency in the United States (or perhaps just as a human race), to nullify things that don't have a direct impact on us. It's some sort of strange and apathetic ego-centrism.  If it didn't have a big media blitz, it must not have happened.  I can't tell you the people who tell me that we haven't had an active Atlantic season in years...

Actually, in 2011, we made it to the letter "S"  storm, and in 2012, we made it to "T".  It didn't impact the United States though, so it might as well have not even happened.  I think we tend to be that way in other storms of life.  We casually watch the news and see stuff happening to people, but do we really get invested?  Do we feel moved to action when those other people are impacted, or do we somehow put "those people" over there?  Way over there.  Surely, it would never happen to us.  It wouldn't happen here.  That happened to them.  And surely other people are helping them. 

Disasters aren't discriminatory.  People caught up in crisis experience real suffering and need help of those who aren't caught up in the crisis with them.  We have some real opportunities to reach out to others, to be a people of a lifted eye.  We can be a people who look for ways to help others in their greatest moment of need. 

For now, it looks like we won't need to provide too much relief for people in the path of Hurricane Cristobal, but it only takes one.

Until next time...
~Dewdrop 

Now is the time to prepare for hurricanes!

In continuing with the Hurricane Preparedness Week schedule, today's focus is preparedness. I'm sure that survivors in the New Orleans 9th Ward could tell you a thing or two about hurricane preparedness or perhaps the potentially devastating consequences of not being prepared, or perhaps you'd rather talk to some of the people from the Bolivar Peninsula (very dramatic link to Hurricane Ike aftermath) in Gilchrist, Texas, whose lives were destroyed as Hurricane Ike plowed ashore.

"Preventing the loss of life and minimizing the damage to property from hurricanes are responsibilities that are shared by all."

Yes, preparedness is EVERYONE'S responsibility. We are all charged with making sure that we educate ourselves and have a disaster action plan for the sake of protecting ourselves and our families. If everyone would take the initiative to do that, rescue crews wouldn't be putting their lives on the line quite so much to save people... Preparation and mitigation are the most important things regarding hurricane safety.

Disaster Prevention should include:

Developing a Family Plan
Creating a Disaster Supply Kit
Having a Place to Go
Securing your Home
Having a Pet Plan

This is a topic near and dear to my heart, so I am going to really break down each of these areas. Weather awareness is the best approach to staying safe. The more educated you are, the better prepared you are. It is my objective to reach as many people as I can with valuable weather knowledge share.

Developing a Family Plan
This morning, I heard that over half of the people on the east coast think they aren't vulnerable to hurricanes, and a striking percentage of coastal residents do not have a disaster preparedness plan. Frankly, anyone on the coast is at risk and at a bare minimum should have a family plan in place. Really, all families should have a written family disaster plan for "what to do, in case...." you can fill in the blank there. Whatever your vulnerability... even if it's a house-fire plan. What will your family do if disaster strikes? Do you have a plan? For a hurricane plan, what's your family's vulnerability??? Storm surge, winds, flooding...? Do you have an escape route? Do you have important documents gathered in the safest spot? Do you have a family member or friend out of the area as a point of contact? Where is your disaster supplies kit? Is your property covered for disaster by insurance? Do you have a NOAA Weather Radio???Have you taken first aid, CPR or disaster preparedness classes?

Disaster Supplies Kit
1. Water - at least 1 gallon/day/person for 3 to 7 days
2. Food - for 3 to 7 days (non-perishable packaged or canned food/juices)
3. Blankets/Pillows
4. Clothing - seasonal/rain gear/sturdy shoes
5. First Aid Kit/Medicines/Prescription Drugs
6. Special Items - for babies and the elderly
7. Toiletries/Hygiene items/Moisture wipes
8. Flashlight/Batteries
9. Radio - Battery operated and NOAA weather radio!!
10. Telephone - Fully charged
11. Cash and Credit Cards
12. Keys
13. Important documents - in a waterproof container or watertight resealable plastic bag — insurance, medical records, bank account numbers, Social Security card, etc.
14. Tools
15. Vehicle fuel tanks filled
16. Pet care items - proper identification/immunization records-ample supply of food and water-a carrier—muzzle and leash

Have a place to go
Mikey and I were amazed and disappointed in the lack of evacuation before Hurricane Ike. We didn't feel like the need for evacuation was effectively conveyed to the population and people were waiting until after school, after work... to get out of dodge.
1. If ordered to evacuate, do not wait or delay your departure. If possible, leave before officials order the evacuation.
2. Select an evacuation destination that is nearest to your home.
3. Be prepared to wait in traffic.
4. If possible, make arrangements to stay with the friend or relative who resides closest to your home and who will not have to evacuate.
5. If going to a hotel or motel during an evacuation, make reservations before you leave.
6. If you are unable to stay with friends or family and no hotels/motels rooms are available, then as a last resort go to a shelter.
7. Make sure that you fill up your car with gas, before you leave.

Secure your home!
The best way to prepare your home and property for a hurricane is to reinforce and protect areas where wind could enter. It is important to strengthen the exterior of your home so that debris cannot tear large holes making your home more vulnerable to wind damage. A structure is only as strong as its weakest point. Here are five critical areas where you should focus your protection and reinforcement efforts:

ROOF | STRAPS | SHUTTERS | DOORS | GARAGE DOORS

Typically, garage doors and windows are the first to fail in excessive wind.

Having a pet plan
So many times, during disasters we see pets who have been left behind in horrendous conditions, and they become susceptible to diseases and harm, and left pets can become abnormally aggressive and defensive. It is essential that if you have a pet, that you work your pet into your disaster plan. You can prepare ahead of the disaster by having current on their vaccinations. Have a current photograph of your pet. Make certain that your pet keeps a collar with identification and have a leash on hand to control your pet. You should also have a pet carrier for each animal large enough for the pet to stand and turn around in. Specialized pet shelters, animal control shelters, veterinary clinics and friends and relatives out of harm's way are ALL potential refuges for your pet during a disaster.

Incidentally, the Tropical Depression that formed yesterday poses no threat to land and will not be forming a Tropical Storm as had been forecasted, so it looks like Ana is still up for grabs. It was, however, a great way of alerting people of the upcoming season. Now is the time to prepare. Don't wait until it's too late. Also, guess who has a slight risk for severe weather this afternoon and lots of late morning sunshine... Me!

Have a fabulous day!
~Dewdrop

Tornado vs. Hurricane... and other adventures....

Mini-Dew arrived back from her field trip to downtown Atlanta, where their buses traveled through some of the tornado-stricken areas, and she was so eager to get her pictures back (film camera) to see how her pictures turned out. Unfortunately, she didn't realize that using a flash inside the bus was not the best idea, but she still got some great shots for me of some of the damage (pardon the glare). Thanks, Mini-Dew. Her photographs of the damage from the March 14, downtown Atlanta tornado show a good amount of roof damage and trees down. She said that as they were passing through, news crews were setting up.Now, onto other things... leaving Wally World this week, I noticed this very funny and sadly inaccurate magnet on some one's vehicle. I hope the pic will work... (darn, it won't... I took it with my camera phone in the dark, go figure). Oh wait, they had their URL on the magnet... conveniently enough... www.teamhurricane.com. All I can say is that I hope they are better with martial arts than with weather knowledge... (for those who don't know... that is a tornado graphic, not a hurricane). Kind of like in the "Twister Sisters" TV show where they showed the hurricane graphic for the supercell location... While I am discussing that, maybe I should take this time to really tell you about the differences. This may be redundant for some of you, especially my CWG (Cool Weather Geek) friends, but bear with me, please. According to Wikipedia:

A hurricane (tropical cyclone)... is a storm system characterized by a low pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and flooding rain. A tropical cyclone feeds on the heat released when moist air rises and the water vapor it contains condenses. They are fueled by a different heat mechanism than other cyclonic windstorms such as nor'easters, European windstorms, and polar lows, leading to their classification as "warm core" storm systems. While tropical cyclones can produce extremely powerful winds and torrential rain, they are also able to produce high waves and damaging storm surge. They develop over large bodies of warm water, and lose their strength if they move over land. Depending on their location and strength, tropical cyclones are referred to by other names, such as hurricane, typhoon, tropical storm, cyclonic storm, tropical depression and simply cyclone.

The above graphic is a satellite image of Hurricane Felix as a Category 5 hurricane just before landfall in Nicaragua, on September 4, 2007. Satellite imagery is the only way to effectively view a hurricane. They are MANY miles wide. They do not come in looking like anything... yes, you will see cloud movement, heavily sheared, in a large scale rotation (sort of a curved shear as convective bands turn around the eye of the storm), but they do not look anything like those really spectacular supercell shots that Mike Hollingshead took that have been circulating through email FALSELY as pictures of Hurricane Katrina... she didn't look anything like those shots, folks, impressive as they are, and they ARE AWESOME!

A tornado is a violently rotating column of air which is in contact with both a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, a cumulus cloud base and the surface of the earth. Tornadoes come in many sizes but are typically in the form of a visible condensation funnel, whose narrow end touches the earth and is often encircled by a cloud of debris. Most tornadoes have wind speeds between 40 mph (64 km/h) and 110 mph (177 km/h), are approximately 250 feet (75 m) across, and travel a few miles (several kilometers) before dissipating.

I don't personally (yet) have any pictures of tornadoes. I have only been chasing for two years at this point, and as of yet, have not seen a tornado personally (well, not since chasing), just some awesome shelf clouds, great storm structure, strongly rotating wall clouds and a few funnel clouds, but MANY of the storm chaser links to the right have some incredible photographs of tornadoes. Please check them out. Whew, I feel better now.

I feel inclined to share this story, though I know with my history (see Adventures in Lawn Mowing Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 for more information), I am setting myself up for some ridicule and humiliation. It's just too funny not to share. I guess the picture tells most of the story, you might be a redneck if... your lawnmower currently sits in your driveway on BLOCKS!!! Well, onto the story. Unfortunately, it's that time again. I have had an enjoyable break from yard maintenance, but it was definitely time to hop back on Ol' Red, something about the grass being knee high, makes the neighbors a little testy... anyways, 'tis the season. So, I fire him up and hop aboard for yet another adventure in lawn mowing. Now, I would like to think that I have mastered this machine. I have figured out how to keep it from backfiring. I have figured out how to avoid most obstacles, even gotten a pretty good feel for the turning radius... evidently, not a good enough feel. I was trying to cut in close to the bushes to get the stuff underneath (trying to avoid weed eating, which I HATE!!!) Well, too close, a little too close, to the point where Ol' Red got stuck, so I had to back up, turn hard and kaploo-ey, the doggone tire just up and fell off the wheel. Apparently, my sharp turning allowed the air to escape from the tire (I can almost hear the air now, "Quick, escape while you have a chance!!! Dewdrop is MOWING AGAIN!!!!"... probably somehow in cahoots with Ol' Red... "We'll show that swing/toad/deer statue/horsefly killing woman who's boss!"...) So, with that, I am not able to complete the job. As a result, the beautiful purple weeds that have sprouted up in my yard will stick around for another day. sigh. At least, the weeds are pretty... lolHave a lovely day,
~Dewdrop