Staying the Course -- July 21, 2020

[Superbob]

Given the spread of the coronavirus, some South Carolina folks have mused about posting "No Hurricanes Allowed!" signs along our coastlines for the rest of the year. Dealing with a pandemic and another hurricane like Florence in September 2018 or Matthew in October 2016 (or Hazel from back in '54) is painful to contemplate. Nevertheless, Mother Nature does her own thing. And I am fully anticipating at least one major 'cane in the August/September/October timeframe. (After all, could 2020 -- the freaky year of calamities, natural or manmade -- be complete without a few hurricanes?)

Heat fuels these monsters. It's not just that it's been unrelentingly blistering here on the coast and farther inland, with a long series of 100-plus "real-feel"readings and no end in sight. The big deal is that ocean temps in the storm-brewing cauldrons are frightfully high -- way up in the 80s! And the Sarahan sand clouds that have been suppressing tropical-storm development are now dissipating.

So the course I am beginning to stay now is hurricane prep. Having lived through dozens of these starting with Hazel, I am probably ahead of the game. Nevertheless, there are gaps and unknowns in my plan. Such as where would we go in the event we decided to evacuate.

We've only done that once. It was when trackers detected a late wobble by Florence that seemed to put us directly in the crosshairs. (Turns out, it wobbled again after we left, so our home was intact, thank goodness, when we finally were able to return.) The state's official hurricane planner advises that you decide months ahead of time where you will stay when you evacuate. The big problem with that is that hurricanes often set out in directions not foreseen. We headed north to our long-time home city of Richmond, and damned if the remnants of Florence didn't follow us! The swirling winds spawned a record outbreak of tornadoes in and around Richmond -- nearly 20 in one day, and we barely dodged a couple of them. And then in trying to go home we found that Florence flooding had blocked off major southbound routes forcing us to do a long western end run in order to find an opening. So evacuation is no picnic.

We have sheltered in place without harm for several Category 1 hurricanes (74-95 mph). Matthew may have touched Cat 2 (96-110) and it was scary as hell but we survived. Cat 3-5 -- no thank you. Would need to skedaddle -- to wherever. South Dakota maybe.

Whether staying or going, it is important to have a disaster kit at the ready. We are doing well with stocking some things, such as a portable radio, extra batteries, all our meds and first-aid items, a NOAA weather radio, flashlights with extra batteries, and waterproof case for all important documents. We are storing bottled water. You should have drinking water stored in airtight containers amounting to one gallon per person per day. And at least a week's supply. In case you're sheltering in place, you also should have water stored in case waterwater disposal is disrupted. A family of four might need 25 gallons for sanitary purposes. We fill up old two-liter soda bottles and save them for that.

Of course, we would never forget our beloved dog. So extra food for her, leash, carrier, vaccination records. And I guess you really do need to research in advance the location of pet-friendly motels within your zone of possible evacuation. Wouldn't want to be flitting between motels trying to find one at a time of emergency.

Something I need to find is a reliable mobile device charger in the event power goes off at home or if you are at a remote location. Not even sure how those work or where you find them. Maybe someone can educate me. Got to stay connected.

One item on the disaster kit list is hand sanitizer. Thanks to the pandemic, we have tons of that now, though it was hard to find for a while.

My family kids me about being such a disaster planning nut. Maybe someday they will thank me.

Cheers,
Superbob

 

[MartinF]

Just back yesterday from a long weekend to hike in Bryce and Zion National Parks in Southern Utah. This was my first trip there and it was beautiful. Bryce was a 3 hour hike and two days later we did The Narrows in Zion for a 6 hour hike. That's a narrow canyon mostly hiking in the river. We had good weather for that hike with temps around 100F toward the end.
Now back to reality (work).

 

[Superman]

Just back yesterday from a long weekend to hike in Bryce and Zion National Parks in Southern Utah. This was my first trip there and it was beautiful. Bryce was a 3 hour hike and two days later we did The Narrows in Zion for a 6 hour hike. That's a narrow canyon mostly hiking in the river. We had good weather for that hike with temps around 100F toward the end.
Now back to reality (work).

Both amazing places. Did you got up or down the switchbacks in Bryce? We finished with the switchbacks. With a four year old on my shoulders for much of it and a seven year old desperate for the bathrooms at the top.

Narrows is a lot of fun too. Had our shoes drying on the dashboard on a drive to the Grand Canyon the next day! Sound like you ventured farther than we did. Seems like one could just keep going for days if they wanted.

Superbob - have to tell your kids, “I’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.” My kids are probably sick of hearing that from me after asking, “Should I bring...?”

Nothing new here. Just work work work after vacation. Debating if any of my pictures are National Park photo contest worthy. Trying to get those edited and narrowing down favorites for the amazing albums my wife puts together in Shutterfly. Hard bound lay flat published books. Really cool stuff. Sure beats stuffing 4x6’s behind sticky paper. Man we had it rough back in the day!

 

[Protimenow]

Superbob -- just a few ideas related to charging:

I've used portable charging devices in the past (one saved my butt when I was at a conference in San Francisco, my phone stopped holding a charge, and the charger in the hotel didn't work). Thee devices are, essentially, large lithium ion batteries in a plastic enclosure. The ones with more amps can hold more energy. I try to keep mine charged, just in case I have a USB device (phone, usually) that needs fast charging, or the power goes out.

I brought it with me to the hospital before learning that there's a USB port on the computers in the room.

These things are great -- if you're driving, hook the charging device (and maybe your phone, too) to a USB charging adapter for your car (it plugs into the 'cigarette lighter' port).

If you're expecting to be away from a power source for a long time, or have a lot of devices to charge or run from this 'battery', you may want to get a few.

They're not real expensive, and could be really valuable when you need them and have no alternative.

 

[Superbob]

Superbob -- just a few ideas related to charging:

I've used portable charging devices in the past (one saved my butt when I was at a conference in San Francisco, my phone stopped holding a charge, and the charger in the hotel didn't work). Thee devices are, essentially, large lithium ion batteries in a plastic enclosure. The ones with more amps can hold more energy. I try to keep mine charged, just in case I have a USB device (phone, usually) that needs fast charging, or the power goes out.

I brought it with me to the hospital before learning that there's a USB port on the computers in the room.

These things are great -- if you're driving, hook the charging device (and maybe your phone, too) to a USB charging adapter for your car (it plugs into the 'cigarette lighter' port).

If you're expecting to be away from a power source for a long time, or have a lot of devices to charge or run from this 'battery', you may want to get a few.

They're not real expensive, and could be really valuable when you need them and have no alternative.

Great info! -- Thanks, Protimenow. Exactly what I needed.

 

[Protimenow]

I'm glad that I could help.

 

[rich01]

Superbob - A problem with hurricanes this year is Covid-19. Many of the volunteers (Red Cross, religious orgs, etc) are senior citizens who may be reluctant to risk getting Covid. There's also the problem of community shelters housing hundreds of people in close quarters.

 

[Superbob]

Yeah right, as I noted, double whammy. But the immediacy of storm surge, flooding rivers far inland, and 120 mph winds renders a pandemic of lesser concern. I doubt hurricane shelters would be turning people away because they weren't wearing masks, nor do I think "social distancing" would be an overriding concern when people were being rescued from horrific storm destruction,

 

[MartinF]

Here's a picture of Bryce Canyon to cheer everyone up.

 

[Superman]

Here's a picture of Bryce Canyon to cheer everyone up.

Didn’t work. Now I’d rather be there than working. You’ll have to post one of Zion so I can double down on my sadness.

I’ll throw another from the Smokies. Saw the sun peaking out from behind a tree early on a trail.

 

[Bryan B]

I have one of those portable lithium batteries that can jump start a car (although I've never needed to use it for that). It also has a bright led light, usb port, and cigarette lighter adapter, so you could recharge the battery using your car in a pinch during a prolonged power outage. I've found it useful during power outages as the light is very bright and I can recharge my phone or other usb devices using the usb port. It also holds a charge for 12 months before needing to recharge it (assuming you haven't used it). I think it cost around 50 bucks.

While I don't live directly on the coast (family has had a beach house on Emerald Isle, NC since '78), I live in central NC which tends to get the leftovers of hurricanes on a regular basis. I was without power for nearly 2 weeks when hurricane Fran's eye went right over us when it was still a category 1. It was the tornadoes it spawned that did most of the damage. But we also get enough severe t-storms that can knock out the power for a couple of hours, and of course the rare ice storm that tends to take down power lines.

 

[Superbob]

I have one of those portable lithium batteries that can jump start a car (although I've never needed to use it for that). It also has a bright led light, usb port, and cigarette lighter adapter, so you could recharge the battery using your car in a pinch during a prolonged power outage. I've found it useful during power outages as the light is very bright and I can recharge my phone or other usb devices using the usb port. It also holds a charge for 12 months before needing to recharge it (assuming you haven't used it). I think it cost around 50 bucks.

While I don't live directly on the coast (family has had a beach house on Emerald Isle, NC since '78), I live in central NC which tends to get the leftovers of hurricanes on a regular basis. I was without power for nearly 2 weeks when hurricane Fran's eye went right over us when it was still a category 1. It was the tornadoes it spawned that did most of the damage. But we also get enough severe t-storms that can knock out the power for a couple of hours, and of course the rare ice storm that tends to take down power lines.

Thanks, Bryan. I will look into the lithium batteries. You are quite right about hurricanes often packing a punch far inland. Our most vivid recollection is from 1969 when we were young marrieds living on the second floor of an old farmhouse near the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, far far away from where Hurricane Camille made a super-destructive landfall along the Gulf Coast. Yet the remnants of Camille came up our way and drenched us with a 32-inch downpour in one overnight causing flooding that swept away dozens of valley-dwelling families to their death. (We will never forget the sound of that rain pounding on the tin roof for an entire night,) We were lucky to be living atop a hill. So that was the beginning of my resolve never to take lightly the widespread havoc that a hurricane can wreak. (Looks from The Weather Channel that the tropics are beginning to brew up a string of tropical storms now.)

 

[stephenismycopilot]

Didn’t work. Now I’d rather be there than working. You’ll have to post one of Zion so I can double down on my sadness.

I’ll throw another from the Smokies. Saw the sun peaking out from behind a tree early on a trail.

Great, now I'm jealous of your trees. Here's one I took on my evening stroll this week. The pandemic may have me trapped in the city for now, but I sure do love my neighborhood.

 

[Superman]

I like your “name”. Glad I can help out.

Along that same trail we passed through old growth forest that the loggers didn’t get to prior to National Park designation. My five kids, aged 8 - 18 with three of them over 6 ft tall were able to stand side by side in front of the trunk for a picture. Now, I’ve been to Sequoia NP and these obviously don’t compare, but for east of the Mississippi- HUGE!

 

[LoveMyBraveHeart]

Mathias is a bit of a nerd when it comes to survivalist type things, and he also has a booster pac, used to jump start cars (they have good, better, and best...of course Mathias got the one that could jump start a semi ) it's got a DC12V plug in for charging devices with adapters.

My particular favorite preparedness device also doubles as a backyard barbeque music machine as well as a house work motivator. It's the ION Block Rocker. It holds 40 hours of battery life while in use, connects via bluetooth and NFC to any compatible device, has USB charging ports (newer models have a wireless charging pad as well), AM and FM radio, and all models come with a microphone which are great for karaoke nights, or amplifying your voice in survival situations. Some models come with LED light bars for visibility, some are waterproof and buoyant! I've had mine for years and I love it to bits. We've gifted them to others because of their versatility. It's only draw back is that they can be bulky, but I'm my opinion it's worth it.

I've always lived in the PNW, so hurricanes and being prepared for them is kind of foreign territory for me. I hope everyone is able to stay safe and healthy!

Be well,
Jill

 

[BillDaThrill]

Here's a picture of Bryce Canyon to cheer everyone up.

Nice pix. Loved that place so much that I named my first son after "Bryce" Canyon.

 

[Protimenow]

You named your son 'Canyon'?