Hurricane's a comin'

[Gulo Blue]

Also, be prepared for dumbasses immediately pushing their pro-gun agenda.

our neighborhood message board was plagued by some idiot who kept sharing false stories of looters and ranting about how the only security any of us had was gun owners.

everyone ignored him as they tried to figure out what a "voluntary evacuation order" meant, what roads were passable, who had gas, what stores were open, etc.

We don't have that type of crazy in my neighborhood (no false reports of looters), but are ready for a Red Dawn situation (and talk if an unknown car is parked anywhere).

 

[Michchamp]

I planned to get a generator, but wasn't sure where to put it.

a couple people warned me they're magnets for theft, and they're REALLY LOUD, so they're easy to find.

 

[tomdalton22]

Also, be prepared for dumbasses immediately pushing their pro-gun agenda.

our neighborhood message board was plagued by some idiot who kept sharing false stories of looters and ranting about how the only security any of us had was gun owners.

everyone ignored him as they tried to figure out what a "voluntary evacuation order" meant, what roads were passable, who had gas, what stores were open, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPeqUICwUnE

 

[sggatecl]

I planned to get a generator, but wasn't sure where to put it.

a couple people warned me they're magnets for theft, and they're REALLY LOUD, so they're easy to find.

I just jotted that down in my zombie Apocalypse survival guide. Excellent tip! :cheers:

 

[Michchamp]

I just jotted that down in my zombie Apocalypse survival guide. Excellent tip! :cheers:

you're welcome.

I'm thinking if you dig a hole, pour some ready mix in there and then stick a bent steel bar in, like a hoop, then you have a reasonably theft proof anchor to chain the generator to.

I remember the other complicating factor: my dad told me you really shouldn't run extension cords from the generator into the house; you should get an intake outlet (or something like that) installed on your box so you plug the generator into your house. then just shut off the circuits you don't need, shut off the connection with the grid (so you don't electrocute linesmen restoring power),
and you're good to go.

I was like, Okay... so I need to call an electrician first, then build a small platform for the generator near the box, then buy a generator...

and it was like a week before the hurricane hit, so I said, screw it

 

[tinselwolverine]

Too bad Texans couldnt pray enough to get Harvey to turn away from the state. Now it appears Floridians were lax against Irma. It would have seemed god knew the hurricanes he created were bad. But alas the 1000's that begged him to avert his storms fell on deaf ears.

Everyone knows why God makes hurricanes happen.

It's because of the gays.

 

[Michchamp]

Local weather blogger here put together a reading list on twitter for news about Florence (here ya go).

The expected rainfall numbers along the coast - 26" - are crazy.

they're projecting it will stall when it hits, which means it's going to get ugly.

that's what made Harvey so devastating... it stalled right along the coast and just kept pulling rain band after rain band from the ocean.

and after a while, it gets dicey... no one had ever seen rainfall totals like that. parts of Houston got over 50 inches of rain over 4-5 days, and things flood that never flooded before.

 

[Thumb]

I live in the sticks, so I lose power about 4-5 times a year for short periods but sometimes for a day or two at a time. Some dipshit is always cutting down a tree without looking up first or something. Anyhow, I have a generator, most common way to use them is to backfeed in to 240v outlet like a dryer or stove plug turning the main breaker to your house off in the breaker panel and turning off any other breakers you don't absolutely need. My generator is rated at 8000 watts running, 10k starting, so I can run my 2 refrigerators and 2 freezers and my furnace no problem, but I don't try the water heater or the A/C. The rest of the house is no problem, the only issue is it's like you left a lawnmower running outside your house all the time.

 

[Gulo Blue]

Local weather blogger here put together a reading list on twitter for news about Florence (here ya go).

Thanks for the link.


I had no idea it was this terrible:
SCARY PICTURE LINK

 

[tomdalton22]

Thanks for the link.


I had no idea it was this terrible:
SCARY PICTURE LINK

holy crap

 

[boogerlovejoy]

Mother in law lives in Wilmington, NC. She?s leaving early in the morning. Luckily for me......she?s staying with relatives in Tennessee.

That?s two hurricanes averted!

 

[Michchamp]

Mother in law lives in Wilmington, NC. She?s leaving early in the morning. Luckily for me......she?s staying with relatives in Tennessee.

That?s two hurricanes averted!

Nice.

She might be there a long time though.

The only time I'd evacuate is if I were within 20-30 miles of the coast. The storm surge is probably the scariest thing, with hurricane force winds second. It's hard to predict the effects of either of those and they're hard to escape if you decide you underestimated them.

The effects of excessive flooding are at least somewhat predictable; every area has flood plain maps and such.

They criticized the mayor for not ordering a general evacuation for Harvey, but Houston and the immediate suburbs have ~4 million people. The last time they tried that, even after opening the highways both ways, more people died stuck in traffic jams than were killed by the hurricane.

Their cars would eventually crap out or run out of gas in the gridlock, and they'd die of heatstroke sitting there without a/c.

 

[Michchamp]

Looks like Florence is making landfall soon.

Last checklist of things you'll need:

1) American flag and short flag pole you can prop up in the debris of any hurricane wreckage so the media can go take a picture of it in the aftermath and really hammer home that this happened to Americans in America.

2) spray paint, so you can spray paint a christian message somewhere in the wreckage so that Wolf Blitzer knows you're not an atheist and he can safely interview you and ask religious pablum for his brainless audience without risking an awkward conversation like this one.

2a) bonus points to any NC atheists that spray paint religious messages on hurricane debris to lure the media into a trap, and then once the microphone is in their face start ranting about how god doesn't exist and yelling for the sheep to wake up.

 

[tigermud]

METEOROLOGIST DEPICTS HURRICANE FLORENCE FLOOD THREAT WITH CUTTING EDGE GRAPHICS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q01vSb_B1o0#action=share

 

[Michchamp]

yeah, that is horrifying. that's why I wouldn't stay anywhere near the coast when one of these hits. the people who do are nuts.

 

[Polish-Hammer]

yeah, that is horrifying. that's why I wouldn't stay anywhere near the coast when one of these hits. the people who do are nuts.

Nah, more likely just stupid.

 

[tinselwolverine]

Gulo, are you one o' them red necks who's shootin' guns into the hurricane because you heard there was sharks flyin' around in it?

SHARKS SHARKS SHARKS

 

[Gulo Blue]

Gulo, are you one o' them red necks who's shootin' guns into the hurricane because you heard there was sharks flyin' around in it?

No way! There are two kinds of red necks when it comes to sharknados, the gun shootin' kind and the chainsaw swingin' kind. Sign me up for team chainsaw.

 

[Spartanmack]

Nope. I thought about it. Maybe someday. The thing that really stops me is that I don't want a ton of gas sitting here. I either won't really need it at all, or I'll wish I had a ton of gas. And I don't want to be stuck with a ton of gas I didn't use.

too late for this storm, but you can get a nat gas hookup (assuming you already have a feed to your house, otherwise it could be very expensive). most portable are tri-fuel so you have options just in case...

 

[Spartanmack]

you're welcome.

I'm thinking if you dig a hole, pour some ready mix in there and then stick a bent steel bar in, like a hoop, then you have a reasonably theft proof anchor to chain the generator to.

I remember the other complicating factor: my dad told me you really shouldn't run extension cords from the generator into the house; you should get an intake outlet (or something like that) installed on your box so you plug the generator into your house. then just shut off the circuits you don't need, shut off the connection with the grid (so you don't electrocute linesmen restoring power),
and you're good to go.

I was like, Okay... so I need to call an electrician first, then build a small platform for the generator near the box, then buy a generator...

and it was like a week before the hurricane hit, so I said, screw it

the generator doesn't have to be near the box. Our electrician ran a line from the box across our basement, through the exterior wall, under our deck and attached the hookup to one of the deck supports. So if/when we ever need it, we just throw the interlock (device that locks out power from the street when in generator position and vice versa), wheel the generator out of the garage to the edge of the deck, plug it in and turn it on. Assuming I had a generator - I still need to buy the generator.