(no subject)

[rivka]

Apparently, Hurricane Isabel - now 1mph short of being a Cat 5 storm - is expected to make landfall somewhere on the East Coast, between North Carolina and New Jersey. My local weather report, however, is remarkably bland.

Some houses in Baltimore have big wooden shutters that cover the windows. I've always thought of that as a lovely, quaint decorative touch, but now I'm starting to consider that there might be other uses. We're inland, so you wouldn't think there would be all that much of an issue, but Washington DC is even further inland, and

In Washington, D.C., emergency officials were working on acquiring additional sandbags, and planned to begin a public education campaign and meet with other department and critical services leaders Monday.

"Then we're going to pray," said Peter LaPorte, director of the Emergency Management Agency.

I poked around a little online, looking for hurricane advice, but I didn't care much for what I found. Sure, we'll go out and buy some bottled water, extra batteries, bagged ice, and food that doesn't need cooking - but surely we're not going to need to shut off all our utilities and crouch on the floor in an inside room with our heads covered. Not in Baltimore.

Comments

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

I, too, am skeptical, but don't rule it out. I sat through the remains of a hurricane (downgraded to tropical storm, but windy and scary nonetheless) in Atlanta a few years ago! The power recovered quickly but my parents did lose some trees and I was up the entire night afraid something was going to fall on the house!

NOAA mentions that there might be hazardous weather Thursday or Friday (oh no you don't, rain is NOT messing with my fencing again!), but otherwise nothing is exceptional in their report either.

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

Even if the eye doesn't make landfall in Maryland, there will be fierce weather around the edges, so it's good that you've got your "hole up and be cozy" stuff anyhow.

It's good sex weather. :)

[redbird]

You won't need to shut off all your utilities. Bottled water, batteries (and a battery-powered radio), and food that doesn't need cooking are a good idea. So are candles, in case the power is out for a while (if you have buried power lines you'll probably be okay). In extreme cases, shutters or plywood to cover the windows.

And, standard warning: don't go out to play in the eye of a hurricane.

[/Jewish mother mode]

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

Would it help to install shutters now? (Are there any in stock?)

[geminigirl]

I'm actually not going to worry about shutters/plywood here. I don't really have the space to cut it. What I will do though (aside from laying in the usual emergency supplies) is probably tape my windows/glass doors, in case they do get hit by flying debris.

I'm sort of glad I've been through hurricanes before, so I know what to expect and how to prepare. I see it being far less interesting though on my own, alone rather than with my family. Uno played by candlelight and all.

Ummm...

[gannet.livejournal.com]

You don't know me, I think (you're on my friendsfriends list). I just wanted to say that Chapel Hill, NC was hit by Hurricane Fran a few years ago badly enough that we had to boil water for a few days and power was out for two weeks. We're three-four hours from the coast by car, so the fact of being inland isn't enough...

Not that you should panic.

p.s. Congrats on the PhD!

[txanne.livejournal.com]

Last year, about this time, there was a hurricane whose remains made it all the way to Waco. (I remember this because I was in a two-person sailboat at the time.) Category 5 hurricanes are no joke, ever, and Baltimore will be closer to it than Waco was. So watch yourself, sweet!

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Yikes! You be careful, Miss - whoops, I mean Dr. - Sailing-in-a-Hurricane!

Baltimore is far north enough that if the hurricane gets up here it will have slowed down considerably from all the colder water. But we're still planning to take care.

The National Weather Service is recommending that we plan the same way we'd plan for a major winter storm, so I'm going to go out and buy a big bag of salt and a shovel. ;-)

Seriously: we'll stock up so that we'd be prepared for several days' worth of power outage, and won't plan to do any real travel. I think we'll be fine all snugged up inside our house.

Because I was trained as an engineer long ago...

[rmjwell.livejournal.com]

I recommend increasing your stash of comestibles to a week's duration. When I was at Purdue for an improbable winter storm (it closed down interstates for two days), the recovery period included depleted supplies at the grocery stores for 3 days pas the worst of the weather.

Re: Because I was trained as an engineer long ago...

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I remember that from the 2+ feet of snow we got this winter. For a day or two after the streets were all cleared, the local supermarket looked like something out of Eastern Europe - long empty shelves with just a few brands of a few things stocked.

[ruisseau.livejournal.com]

As you may remember, we live in Charleston, SC. If you're interested, I have a farily comprehensive list of preparation stuff (actually not much more than what other filks up above have said but it could help).

Hoping it doesn't hit anyone I know and praying right along with those DC town officials...