I don't mean this in a bad way, but hurricanes really fascinate me. I can remember being in a tropical storm (Tropical Storm Cristóbal) in 2002 while on vacation in the Bahamas. I remember how bad the wind and rain was. I keep thinking how much destruction Hurricane Arthur will cause and how big it'll get. 100 mph, Category 2, that's a lot. I'd like to know your experiences with hurricanes/tropical storms and stuff. Have you gone through one? What was it like and what are your thoughts about it? What is some good advice that you could give to those in the path of an oncoming hurricane/tropical storm? What precautions?
Being in a place that pretty often gets hit, I always love the fact that its the only time I can get out of this city. It always means traveling to Dallas, which is great. The destruction... Not so much.
East coast Floridian here; they've always been frequent, but for awhile, hurricanes were like the rising and setting of the sun. They are very interesting beasts though. I got to see the eye wall winds of 2003's Hurricane Jeanne (Cat 3 at first if I recall) in the middle of the night. All the trees were bent sideways and the rain and howling sound were insane. Then it was still for a few minutes as the eye passed over us, then everything started blowing the other way with the same intensity. Damn nature, you cray. I don't mind them so much because no one close to me at the time suffered more than trivial damage, but the power outages afterwards are the worst part.
I have been through a few.... Here in the middle of Ga it doesn't get too bad.... but it does cause severe weather.
Hurricane Charley (Category 4 in 2004) destroyed the home my parents lived in. They caught it on video and I have a ton of pictures of the destruction. Myself have been through Ivan, Jeanne & Frances and tropical storms Gaston (that was South Carolina) and Debby. NOT FUN I'm terrified of them. I'm terrified of the house being destroyed. I'm terrified of evacuating and not being able to come back. I used to love storms as a kid. Growing up in Wisconsin we had tornados and yeah, I've been in a few of those too (well not in but you know what I mean) and hurricanes are 110% more scary. One of the many reasons I hate living in Florida. edit: As far as advice - Put stuff in your pool if you have one. Throw furniture in there. It'll be safe and won't damage anything. Freeze gallon water jugs. They'll help keep your food cool longer in the fridge if your power goes out. If the power does go out, expect it to be out for a long damn time. Fill the bathtub. It might be the only water you'll get for a while. For the love of cake, don't go outside during the eye! The storm is only half over and that second half will be on you before you can run back to safety. Board your windows if you can. Don't leave your vehicle parked near trees or power lines. Battery operated things - have them. Hurricanes SMELL. They literally leave the scent of death behind. No one ever mentions that part. Not much you can do about that though.
The great thing about being like really inland (North Texas) is the precipitation from the tropical storm
