Category 4 Hurricane Florence Heading for the US

[Friends just call me Ross]

Hurricane Florence upgraded to a Category 4, with sustained winds well over 100 mph.

Predicted to hit the East Coast of the US

around midnight Thursday.

Could hit North or South Carolina.

 

[Friends just call me Ross]

South Carolina governor orders a mandatory evacuation of all counties along the Atlantic Coast.

 

To move a million people out of harm's way, he is reversing the travel direction of certain four-lane roads so that ALL traffic is flowing away from the coast.

 

An elder and his wife spend their Winters in Myrtle Beach.  They are very close to the brothers and sisters there.

 

I hope and pray that all of our extended family living in the storm's path have heeded the F&DS's direction and have their GO bags ready, and that they can all evacuate to safety.

[Friends just call me Ross]

Quote

"This will be a storm that creates and causes massive damage to our country," Jeff Byard, Federal Emergency Management Agency associate administrator, said Tuesday morning.

"It is going to be ... a long-term recovery," Byard said. "This is not going to be a storm that we recover from in days."

https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/11/us/hurricane-florence-south-east-coast-wxc/index.html

 

Powerful storm surges and winds will pose deadly threats, as will long periods of heavy rain. Beyond the Carolinas and Virginia, the threat of inland flooding extends into next week to parts of Tennessee, Georgia, West Virginia, Ohio, Maryland and Pennsylvania, forecasters said.

  The lingering for so long, raining all the while, is likely to cause the most loss of life...from all the flash flooding.

[Tortuga]

Over 5 million are affected by the hurricane watch. 

 

If you want to volunteer for Disaster Relief,  make sure your DC-50 is up to date.

[Friends just call me Ross]

Wednesday's Hurricane Florence Update:

 

[Qapla]

My Sister-in-law's sister lives just outside Columbia, SC

[Tortuga]

UPDATE: RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Hurricane Florence has been downgraded to a Category 2 storm but it is still considered an extremely dangerous and life-threatening storm.
As of 11 p.m., the storm was centered 280 miles (455 kilometers) east southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina, and was moving northwest at 17 mph (28 kph). Its maximum sustained winds have dropped slightly to 110 mph (175 kph).
But the National Hurricane Center said Wednesday evening that the storm is expected to bring life-threatening storm surge and rainfall to the Carolinas as it approaches the coast Thursday and Friday.

[Tia]

5 hours ago, Qapla said:

My Sister-in-law's sister lives just outside Columbia, SC

Yes indeed...we  too have family in Columbia and Florence, SC...

and other areas of SC...Thoughts and Prayers for the friends in the path of this storm.

 

[Friends just call me Ross]

Thursday, mid-day update:  500 miles wide hurricane.  So big, the ISS had to use a wide-angle lens to capture it.k

Satellite imagery as of fifteen minutes ago:

 

Quote

Hurricane Florence's heavy rains and tropical storm-force winds reached North Carolina's Outer Banks on Thursday morning, leading the way for a storm packing 105-mph winds. 

"You're going to have damaging winds for a longer period of time," senior hurricane specialist Stacy Stewart said in an update from the NHC. "So instead of maybe 120 mph winds for 30 minutes, you might end up with 90-100 mph winds for a couple of hours, or three or four hours. And that will produce a lot of damage as well as prolong the beach erosion."

https://www.npr.org/2018/09/13/647358237/hurricane-florence-weakens-a-bit-as-it-closes-in-on-north-carolina-coast

[Miss Bea]

We’ve been watching about the storm on Democracy Now! That storm has the potential to be as destructive as this type of storm naturally is. But, more.

There are pig farms. And an open area, (big) that contains fecal matter and other matter, best not stated. Plus something about ash heaps from coal mining. Both results from man just being interested in the Mighty Dollar and not much else. When and if this storm hits these areas, it will be a disaster upon a disaster. 

That aside, take care dear friends. Be as as safe as possible! 

[dove]

They're also concerned about a couple nuclear reactors..😓

[Loopy]

In Kitty Hawk, N C, the police chief there said 25% of those living there are riding out this horrific storm at home.

 

A 71 year old guy is one of them. Good grief, the houses are right near the ocean. In the video he says, “Yeah, storm surge is gonna be a problem.”     No kidding. 

 

Do these people really think they can save their material possessions from surging water? 

 

Well, they’ll be on their own.

[Cushi]

1 hour ago, Loopy said:

In Kitty Hawk, N C, the police chief there said 25% of those living there are riding out this horrific storm at home.

 

A 71 year old guy is one of them. Good grief, the houses are right near the ocean. In the video he says, “Yeah, storm surge is gonna be a problem.”     No kidding. 

 

Do these people really think they can save their material possessions from surging water? 

 

Well, they’ll be on their own.

I just don’t get why anyone would do this other than the fact that they can’t afford to leave or are too cheap to do so. You can’t stop the hurricane from destroying your house. The best you can do is board up, place sand bags around the door, put your valuables in a higher location... and then LEAVE! No house or valuables are worth risking your life over.

[Gary910]

Seems like a cliche, but let us pray for our Brothers and Sisters.

[Thesauron]

[Saffron]

8 hours ago, Brother Jack said:

just don’t get why anyone would do this other than the fact that they can’t afford to leave or are too cheap to do so.

While there are a few probably are just looking to hang onto possessions, I think many people just can't afford to leave. Maybe some of the fortunate ones have friends or family that could accommodate them within a drivable distance, but the ones who don't would be hard pressed to afford a place to stay. 

 

One lady being interviewed said that health problems made her decide to stay. She couldn't even go to a shelter because of them and had no where else to go. Even ones that could at least go there may remember coverage from Katrina and don't want to. Can't say I blame them there. I'd rather sleep in my truck. 

 

It's sad, really. I hope the storm surge ends up not being as bad as they were thinking. 

[hatcheckgirl]

I heard about the man who is in the path of the hurricane who refused to evacuate, saying "he's not a 'storm virgin'" and that he's going to ride it out.  Such a prideful attitude.  Pride before a crash.

[Loopy]

This is what happens when people do not listen to warnings to evacuate. 

 

 

https://wgntv.com/2018/09/14/hurricane-florence-makes-landfall-in-north-carolina/

 

WILMINGTON, N.C.  — Hurricane Florence has made landfall in North Carolina, but its crawling pace and overwhelming storm surges are setting up hours and hours of destruction and human suffering — with dozens desperately awaiting rescue in one flooded town alone.

The Category 1 hurricane, with wind of more than 90 mph and dumping 3 inches of rain an hour, made landfall at 7:15 a.m. ET near Wrightsville Beach, just east of Wilmington.

Florence’s center may linger for another whole day along coastal North and South Carolina — punishing homes with crushing winds and floods and endangering those who’ve stayed behind.

 

“In a matter of seconds, my house was flooded up to the waist, and now it is to the chest,” said Peggy Perry, who along with three relatives, was trapped early Friday in her New Bern home. “We are stuck in the attic.”

 

Officials urged residents there to take shelter at the highest points of their homes, including rooftops.

 

Florence’s rain will reach 40 inches in some parts of the Carolina coasts, and gusty winds will send the ocean and rivers spilling into neighborhoods, forecasters said.

[Loopy]

Didn’t hear the full story but in Wilmington NC a mother and child have died and the father has been hospitalized. This was from one of the meteorologists from the Weather Channel.

[Shawnster]

5 hours ago, Loopy said:

 

The Category 1 hurricane, with wind of more than 90 mph and dumping 3 inches of rain an hour, made landfall at 7:15 a.m. ET near Wrightsville Beach, just east of Wilmington.

 

Fortunately it dissipated as much as it could before reaching land.  Category 1.  It could have been a whole lot worse.

 

I would not evacuate for a category 1 storm.  Of course, 2 days ago it was cat 4 and I would have bugged out. 

[Loopy]

Just now, Shawnster said:

 

Fortunately it dissipated as much as it could before reaching land.  Category 1.  It could have been a whole lot worse.

 

I would not evacuate for a category 1 storm.  Of course, 2 days ago it was cat 4 and I would have bugged out. 

Br. Shawn, it may have dropped to a category 1, but it is moving very slowly with a lot of rain. Which makes it potentially dangerous for flooding which can also kill. There has been tornado watches as well, which can be spawned by the hurricane. 

 

9 minutes ago, Loopy said:

Didn’t hear the full story but in Wilmington NC a mother and child have died and the father has been hospitalized. This was from one of the meteorologists from the Weather Channel.

 

 

Found out that a tree fell on these people’s home which killed mom and child. 

 

Yes, personally me (weather coward 🙂) and my puppy woulda got out of dodge days ago. 

 

As much as I hate the snow I’d rather deal with that.

[Tortuga]

After reaching a terrifying Category 4 peak of 140 mph earlier in the week, Florence made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane at 7:15 a.m. at Wrightsville Beach, a few miles east of Wilmington and not far from the South Carolina line. It came ashore along a mostly boarded-up, emptied-out stretch of coastline.

By Friday evening, Florence was downgraded to a tropical storm, its winds weakening to 70 mph as it pushed inland. But it was clear that this was really about the water, not the wind.

Florence's forward movement during the day slowed to a near-standstill — sometimes it was going no faster than a human can walk — and that enabled it to pile on the rain. The town of Oriental, North Carolina, got more than 20 inches just a few hours into the deluge. Other communities got well over a foot.

[Qapla]

22 hours ago, Brother Jack said:

I just don’t get why anyone would do this other than the fact that they can’t afford to leave or are too cheap to do so. You can’t stop the hurricane from destroying your house. The best you can do is board up, place sand bags around the door, put your valuables in a higher location... and then LEAVE! No house or valuables are worth risking your life over.

 

While I agree that "things" are not worth your life - if you do not or never have lived in a hurricane prone area you can't really understand the thinking of those who are willing to "weather the storm"

 

I, for one, cannot understand how people can live in an area where earthquakes are "common" and would leave the area with the first shudder under my feet. I would pack up and find a new place to live. But, as far as I understand, people in California are "used to it" and don't pay any attention unless a quake is "high enough" on the Richter Scale.

 

The same holds true for those who live in a "hurricane state". Many people here in Florida do not even think about evacuating for a Cat 1 hurricane.

 

Is the smart thing - No!

 

Is it common ....

 

[SUNRAY]

We live in Daytona Beach, Florida. It used to be that if a hurricane was coming, you would have an idea where it was going, and if you evacuated, you would go in the opposite direction. However, it doesn't always work out...look at Irma..suposed to go up the west coast..then changed to the middle of the state..we decided to get a room with a kitchen at a newer hotel next to our assembly hall. We were on the 4th floor in the back..felt safe..not far to go home after to our manufactured doublewide in a senior park..Never lost electric there...everything was intact, except the roof from an older home up the street was in our driveway! Each storm is unique and requires a thoughtful, prayerful plan!😎

[Tortuga]

21 minutes ago, Qapla said:

 

I, for one, cannot understand how people can live in an area where earthquakes are "common" and would leave the area with the first shudder under my feet. I would pack up and find a new place to live. But, as far as I understand, people in California are "used to it" and don't pay any attention unless a quake is "high enough" on the Richter Scale.

 

The same holds true for those who live in a "hurricane state". Many people here in Florida do not even think about evacuating for a Cat 1 hurricane.

I'd rather have the ground shaken, but not stirred. James Bond has it backward