Severe Weather

[Lathum]

This is the second floor

News Breaking LIVE on Twitter: "BREAKING VIDEO: Flooding reportedly reaching the second story of a home in Freeport on the Grand Bahama Island https://t.co/ivWXmdmmDm"

[PilotMan]

That is terrifying.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

That is terrifying.

Yup.

Hope everyone in the Carolina's stay safe.

I had toyed with the idea of someday buying a house close to the beach on Jekyll island, I think I'll scratch that idea.

[Edward64]

The pics from Bahamas is pretty bad. The 30+ death toll will likely go up.

[miami_fan]

Check Carolina FOFCers!

IIRC most if not all live more inland than on the coast.

[Thomkal]

Not much to report on here in Myrtle Beach. 8+ inches of rain, lot of small/medium branches down, no standing water in my yard.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

Check Carolina FOFCers!

IIRC most if not all live more inland than on the coast.

We moved from Charleston to Greensboro 5 years ago, so we're in the "inland" group.

Related: the last three text messages I have from a relative of mine are as follows:

10/8/2016
Her: "I hope you guys are ok. I hear the hurricane is hitting North Carolina."
Me: "Greensboro isn't near the coast. We're just getting rain and 15mph wind at most."

10/13/2018
Her: "Are all of you ok from the hurricane? Don't know if your part of NC may have been involved."
Me: "We're fine. Greensboro is nowhere near the coast, at the top of the Cape Fear River basin (so no major flooding), and our house is at the top of a hill."

9/6/2019
Her: "Are y'all ok from the hurricane? I see where it hit North Carolina"
Me: "Yes. Greensboro is nowhere near the coast."

This lady has multiple advanced degrees, and it's not like she's from some tiny state like Rhode Island where the weather is all the same. She has lived her entire life in the largest state East of the Mississippi. There is no excuse for this. None.

And yeah, those are literally the last three texts I have from her. I was soooooo tempted to say "READ UP FOR THE ANSWER!"

[BishopMVP]

Yeah, Florence last year at least still affected the inland area and was trouble for people in low-lying areas. This one's kind of crazy in that the coast is still getting hit very hard but there was literally no rain and maybe high wind gusts of 20 mph here in Charlotte?

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

This lady has multiple advanced degrees, and it's not like she's from some tiny state like Rhode Island where the weather is all the same. She has lived her entire life in the largest state East of the Mississippi. There is no excuse for this. None.

Wait... are you saying that the weather in Atlanta may be vastly different from the weather in Savannah (sub whatever multiple hour drive distance for any other state)? Nooooo!

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

Wait... are you saying that the weather in Atlanta may be vastly different from the weather in Savannah (sub whatever multiple hour drive distance for any other state)? Nooooo!

Shocking to her, apparently.

I take solace in the fact that she is only a relative by marriage.

[rjolley]

I get the same from family and friends when something happened in Cali over the last 5 years. The earthquakes and the fires have prompted multiple calls. Only the Camp fire last year in Paradise was close enough to actually impact us, and that was an air quality issue.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

Shocking to her, apparently.

I take solace in the fact that she is only a relative by marriage.

I'd be tempted to do a "Let Me Google That For You" regarding the distance from your city to the coast.

[Thomkal]

Looks like Dorian might make it all the way to Canada as a Cat 1. Crazy

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

Looks like Dorian might make it all the way to Canada as a Cat 1. Crazy

Just upgraded to a Cat 2!

[nilodor]

Foot to half a metre of snow in the forecast for this weekend.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by nilodor

Foot to half a metre of snow in the forecast for this weekend.

Christ, how do you live there?

[nilodor]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Christ, how do you live there?

They actually just upped the forecast to a meter in places. We've easily got a foot already and I can't see across our backyard.

It's a beautiful place in the summer and the spring and fall are nice. We'll often get a big dump, but it will melt and we'll have blue skies and weather in the low 50's for weeks. Winter's can be long if we don't get chinooks but it is what it is. It's nice to be close to the mountains, it's normally sunny. As far as Canada goes the weather is pretty good overall, not too hot in the summer, some reprieve from the cold in the winter, not too much snow normally. The weather in the interior of BC is nicer, but there's no work and it's more for retirement. Now if you ask me why anyone lives in Winnipeg, I don't have a good answer for you. Maybe they're just masochists .

[Thomkal]

Hope none of our Texas contingent were affected by last nights tornadoes. Sounds like a pretty grim scene there this morning.

[miami_fan]

I have never experienced a earthquake so 30 in 24 hours and 531 in 7 days may be no big deal.

Puerto Rico has had: (M1.5 or greater)

30 earthquakes in the past 24 hours
531 earthquakes in the past 7 days
1,469 earthquakes in the past 30 days
4,593 earthquakes in the past 365 days

Compared to LA/ Southern California

LA and Southern California has had: (M1.5 or greater)

14 earthquakes in the past 24 hours
108 earthquakes in the past 7 days
503 earthquakes in the past 30 days
16,265 earthquakes in the past 365 days

[CrimsonFox]

Meanwhile flashfloods across the midwest and this is only the start of a weeklong of rain.

[JPhillips]

In 2018, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, FERC, revoked the license of the company that operated the Edenville Dam, Boyce Hydro Power, due to non-compliance issues that included spillway capacity — essentially an overflow valve — and the inability to pass the most severe flood reasonably possible in the area.

In its revocation proposal, FERC wrote that Boyce had a "long history of non-compliance," and listed numerous offenses. The commission's "primary concern" however, was Boyce's "longstanding failure to address the project's inadequate spillway capacity." According to FERC's 2018 proposal, the spillway was only designed to handle "approximately 50 percent" of potential flooding.

"(Boyce) failed to increase the capacity of spillways to enable them to pass the probable maximum flood (PMF) as required by Regional Engineer directives," FERC wrote. And further warned that "failure of the Edenville dam could result in the loss of human life and the destruction of property and infrastructure."

Like so much in this country, people ignored warnings and now lots of people suffer.

[Kodos]

No power since 4ish after tropical storm Isais came through. Ugh.

[Kodos]

Sounds like it could be days. Like this year hasn’t sucked enough.

[JPhillips]

In theory I get mine back by 10 pm today, but we'll see.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Speaking of weather, somebody with hurricane + large city experience smarten me up a little if you don't mind.

The kid's new place emailed him (and all residents) to remind them that "the cooling towers will be turned off any time forecasts call for sustained winds over 40 mph"

So I know that cooling towers = the a.c. for a tall building, up on the roof.. but why shut them off? I mean, it's not like they're removing them. My best guess is that they're more vulnerable to wind damage internally if they're running as opposed to being idle but that's mostly just a guess.

What's the real deal on that?

[JPhillips]

Woohoo. Power restored.

Now on to cutting up the tree that fell.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Speaking of weather, somebody with hurricane + large city experience smarten me up a little if you don't mind.

The kid's new place emailed him (and all residents) to remind them that "the cooling towers will be turned off any time forecasts call for sustained winds over 40 mph"

So I know that cooling towers = the a.c. for a tall building, up on the roof.. but why shut them off? I mean, it's not like they're removing them. My best guess is that they're more vulnerable to wind damage internally if they're running as opposed to being idle but that's mostly just a guess.

What's the real deal on that?

I am not an electrician but I always was told to shut off all power during a hurricanes to prevent possible damage from power surges. I am guessing the building management made specific mention of the cooling towers and thus the AC just to avoid questions. Also, it is a slight nudge to “encourage” people to evacuate when told.

[kingfc22]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

I have never experienced a earthquake so 30 in 24 hours and 531 in 7 days may be no big deal.



Compared to LA/ Southern California

Generally speaking, you don't really fell anything unless it is 3.5 or higher and even then you'd have to be pretty close to the epicenter to notice.

Once it starts getting to 4.0+ it becomes noticeable.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

I am not an electrician but I always was told to shut off all power during a hurricanes to prevent possible damage from power surges. I am guessing the building management made specific mention of the cooling towers and thus the AC just to avoid questions. Also, it is a slight nudge to “encourage” people to evacuate when told.

In doing some Googling to try to figure it out on my own, I came across that specific thing -- cooling towers -- across a number of similar buildings in Miami, but largely separated from any of the evacuation stuff.

One even went so far as to detail the different tiers of things, and that was like the first one, well in advance of anything approaching evacuations.

A subsequent Googling (after your reply) may have turned up the answer -- courtesy of some company trying to sell locking systems for cooling towers

As wind speeds increase, unlocked cooling tower fans will rotate, sometimes at dangerous velocities. When wind loads are high enough to flex the fan shrouds into the rotating fan blades, the fan assemblies can shatter. The fan shrouds, gear reducers, drive shafts, drive motors and the cooling tower structure can be affected by the damaging forces of the wind-driven fan blades.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

In doing some Googling to try to figure it out on my own, I came across that specific thing -- cooling towers -- across a number of similar buildings in Miami, but largely separated from any of the evacuation stuff.

One even went so far as to detail the different tiers of things, and that was like the first one, well in advance of anything approaching evacuations.

A subsequent Googling (after your reply) may have turned up the answer -- courtesy of some company trying to sell locking systems for cooling towers

I've never heard of this living in Houston but we have all sorts of crazy weather procedures that I'm not aware of during hurricanes so I guess it wouldn't surprise me. I think your suggestion might be the more right one, though.

SI

[Kodos]

Got our power back around 2 a.m. last night. My initial reaction to the light was “Man, is it morning already?”

[tarcone]

Iowa City and Cedar Rapids got hit with 100+ mph winds today during storms. The news said it was like a hurricane. Trees and power lines down all over the place. Lots of streets shut down.

[JPhillips]

We need to shut things down until we can find out what the hell's going on with these derechos.

[Comey]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Iowa City and Cedar Rapids got hit with 100+ mph winds today during storms. The news said it was like a hurricane. Trees and power lines down all over the place. Lots of streets shut down.

Microburst?

[tarcone]

Straight line winds. Saw a picture of my brothers house. Trees down all over the place.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Straight line winds.

Those things are nasty.

[revrew]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Those things are nasty.

Just checking in after yesterday's craziness.

Who had a hurricane in Iowa as 2020's next disaster? Not me. Didn't even know that was possible.

Worked all night last night to clean up, have a pile of downed limbs 15feet wide, 40 feet long, 6 feet high, but somehow none of our trees were actually uprooted, and somehow none fell on the house itself. My wife and I were both gone when it hit, so our cars were spared as well. Power restored last night, though we have live power lines dangling only a few feet from the ground.

My daughter lost her job yesterday, however, because the restaurant she works for doesn't have a roof anymore. Some of my adult kids in nearby Ames still without power.

Our house was wiped out by tornado in 2005, and this isn't anywhere near as bad, but I gotta say, it brings back memories, and not in a good way.

[tarcone]

Talked to my brother in Cedar Rapids. Said they had 100 mph sustained winds for an hour. The hurricane started in Western Iowa and traveled 700 miles.

Cedar Rapids is a wreck. As is most of Iowa it sounds like.

[Thomkal]

Glad you are okay Revrew. Sucks about your daughter, but at least they are all safe. Hope the midwestern crew here is safe too.

[Lathum]

Tornado warning for the jersey shore. WTF!

[spleen1015]

Mother nature is tired of being abused. She's fighting back!

[Thomkal]

Was just watching some coverage of the California wildfires. Hope none of our CA contingent here are in harm's way.

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

Was just watching some coverage of the California wildfires. Hope none of our CA contingent here are in harm's way.

Whole buncha wildfires in CO right now, too. Been several days when you can smell it, and we're hundreds of miles away from them.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Whole buncha wildfires in CO right now, too. Been several days when you can smell it, and we're hundreds of miles away from them.

Had not heard that CW thanks. Very scary

[Ksyrup]

So it appears there may be a couple of minimal hurricanes or tropical storms in the Gulf making landfall within 12 hours of each other next week. One around New Orleans or a bit west, the other maybe in the Florida panhandle. Just what we need.

[spleen1015]

Mother nature is tired of being abused. She's fighting back!

[JPhillips]

I'm pretty sure Alabama is going to get hit by both.

[sterlingice]

Currently, Houston is at the center of a large cone of uncertainty for what would be hurricane Marco.

SI

[JPhillips]

I have no expertise, but I just can't believe that two storms can get that close and not be affected by each other. I don't know if it will be intensity or track, but I think the forecasts now will change quite a bit before any landfall.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

I have no expertise, but I just can't believe that two storms can get that close and not be affected by each other. I don't know if it will be intensity or track, but I think the forecasts now will change quite a bit before any landfall.

Well, actually, they do:
Fujiwhara effect - Wikipedia

Space City Weather (a wonderful Houston weather blog) talks a bit about it partway through their morning update:
https://spacecityweather.com/tropica...-of-questions/

SI