It’s a little like arm-chair quarterbacking to be in North Dakota and to be talking about which direction a future hurricane might take. But after Katrina, the subject of a hurricane in the Gulf is suddenly a lot more than just casual water cooler talk.
First of all, check out the latest from the National Hurricane Center before you read anything I write about where any hurricane might be headed. As of this writing, Rita is a tropical storm, just shy of hurricane strength, and just about ready to move past the Florida Keys and into the gulf. While it looks as if Mississippi and New Orleans will be spared, the concern is about the Texas coast.
There is a huge amout of petrochemical industry along the Texas coast, especially around Galveston Bay and southward along the coast to just north of Corpus Christi.
While another Katrina sort of disaster is not likely, Rita will likely be a major hurricane at landfall.
Personally, I’ve never been in a hurricane. However, I did live in Alabama and Louisiana as a child and my grandparents lived in Kemah, Texas, on Galveston Bay. They went through many hurricanes, including the very strong Carla in 1961. I still have my grandmother’s 8mm movies she took of the wreckage after Carla.
I’m wondering if anyone locally (North Dakota/Minnesota) has any good hurricane stories.
As Rita passes through the southern Keys of Florida she has just intensified to a Category 2 storm bringing winds of 100 mph. The 4 day bullseye still points to the Texas coast and all those petrochemical facilities as John mentions. We can only cross our fingers that Rita will decide to turn to the south at least a little bit.
Though no direct hit experience for me listening to fellow meteorologists that have reported live tell their stories is quite compelling. Ranging from the shear sounds of natures fury to coping with no power, little food or water and a limited supply of gasoline is fascinating to hear. But, having been through Hurricane then Tropical Storm Ivan here in Atlanta is something I never could have imagined while growing up in Minnesota. There is nothing quite like it — rain warm enough to grab a bar of soap and shower in it, trees and power lines snapping, and water EVERYWHERE! Hurricane/Tropical Storm Dennis of this Summer brought 10.2″ of rain to my rain gauge within eight hours! Incredible!