Let's talk hurricanes for a minute.

Well, we're in the start of hurricane season, so I'm on pins and needles about the tropics until late November.

What does the real DJ do for a living? I won't go there, but let's say that after a hurricane or after really bad weather, I'm a very popular man. For the most part, weather doesn't have any bearing on my job, but during clean up after a hurricane, I'm very involved working 16 hour days until things get back to normal.

Up until last year, I just watched the weather like everybody else. Usually watching the guys at KPRC. I didn't know anything more to watch or surf on the web outside of two sites.

My favorite one was http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/ because that site gave some of the tracking models.

My other one was http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ which is the national hurricane center. This one gave no model information.

I found a couple of other sites that I surf when it looks like the Gulf of Mexico or Caribbean Sea would be involved.

http://spaghettimodels.com/ is an OK site, but I like this one http://www.storm2k.org/phpbb2/viewforum.php?f=31 better. The storm2k site actually has weathermen posting in the forums and the discussions can get real deep concerning all sorts of weather information. Most people don't have enough game to post there, but you can learn and get good information.

So we don't forget, here's Ike from 2008. I remember him well. Category 2 winds, category 4 storm surge.

They should all have female names.

They should all have female names. Originally Posted by pyramider

I hear you. I would rather get blown by Alicia, Carla, Rita, or Allison than get blown by Ike.

Good thread DJ....

Yea we use wunderground as well to monitor the weather and upcoming potential hurricanes. Right now tho, I wouldn't mind getting blown by a Latina at this club that I'm at.

^Oh grow up man...

Since I am 64, and have lived in Houston my entire life, you can amagine how many Storms I have been through.

My first that was really bad was a storm on the 50's called Audrey, It glanced Houston, but literally wiped Cameron La off the map. I can remember the National Guard had orders to shoot looters, as they were taking jewlery from the dead.

Carla was pretty bad, but it also hit a little east of Houston much harder.

The worst storm, (before Ike), was one that was not even a Hurricane. It was Tropical Storm Allison. Thats the one that just parked herself right on the coast and dumped about a gazzillion inches of rain on the coast in a couple of hours. Remember all of the pictures where the freeways looked like 10 ft deep rivers, and all the vehicles piled up after the water receeded.

That is something the News Media never get. The wind is not what gets you, most modern structures can take Hurricane force winds, (unless a tornado is involved). It's 6 feet of water in your living room that's the killer.

The dumbest thing we all did? That stupid mass evacuation a few years back. I still cannot beleive all of us, who had been through countless storms, fell for that crap.

And then Ike. This was not the most intense storm to hit us, but the shear size overwhelmed everything. Structures and trees that could take 150 mph winds for 1 hour simply could not stand up to 120 for 6 hours.

Hurricanes are a part of life. Keep your insurance current, take shelter from the wind, and get out of the way of the rising water.

^Oh grow up man... Originally Posted by Eccie Addict

Lol that's funny. Good thing the girl that told me to grow up was from Ukraine and has no idea that I could get her in trouble. Just because I'm young doesn't mean I don't have connections. Damn I'm drunk.

That mess was Rita, no? I am also in Houston. Ike was a hot mess, as was Allison. Thank you for the links, DJ!

xoxo

I was at Escapes the day Allison blew in. Took me 4 hours to get back across town that evening. I was lucky. A lot of vehicles never made it. That was a bunch of rain.

Alicia was just a plain ole bitch. Houston learned a lot from her but forgot most of it by the time Allison came along. Power was out way too long for the storm she was.

The worst rainfall was in the early 80's, or maybe it was '79. I was in Pasadena at the time. It wasn't even a named storm just a depression that parked itself over Houston. The water got 2 feet deep in the apartments I was at. Fortunately we were upstairs. We got 24 inches in 10 hours or something crazy like that. The water receded and there was carpet and wet sheet rock in front of every house in Pasadena. Just about the time they got it all cleaned up (about a month later) and probably 90% of the homes repaired it happened again. Then there was all this brand new carpet and more wet sheet rock out in front of about 1/2 the houses. A lot of the people packed what little shit they had left and hauled ass.

Having spent most of my life on the Gulf coast from just east of Baton Rouge to Houston, I can say that Ike was the worst storm I've been through.

I wasn't in the area when Camille hit Pascagoula in 69' but remember my dad trying to call relatives in S. Louisiana and couldn't get through for days to get word. That was a bad storm. It affected the Mississippi Gulf coast for decades. Most people talk about Katrina but the old timers will tell you that Camille was devastating. The power and speed at which she developed is still somewhat of a mystery to meteoroligists. Some estimates have her coming ashore with 200mph winds though it was never officially recorded.

The dumbest thing we all did? That stupid mass evacuation a few years back. I still cannot beleive all of us, who had been through countless storms, fell for that crap. Originally Posted by Jackie S

I don't totally agree nor disagree, but I think things need to be put into context.

Rita was aiming right at Galveston as a category 5 storm. I remember one weatherman claiming this was a worst case scenario, a cat. 5 heading toward the west side of Houston, putting most of Houston and Galveston on the dirty east side of a cat. 5 storm.

Not only that, but we were just weeks away from the devastation caused by Katrina in New Orleans/Mississippi and we had heard all the stories of evacuees being bussed to Houston, people going for days without food or water. People weren't scared, they were frightened.

Looking back now, Rita glanced our area, but as cat. 3 storm hit the Beaumont/Lake Charles area head on. But for awhile Rita was headed right at Galveston and as mentioned, people were frightened of our area turning into an area like New Orleans/Mississippi. I don't blame a soul for leaving.

Lastly, as an employee for my company, we could have a cat. 5 headed toward my home, but I can't leave the general area. Retirement (in this context) can't happen fast enough.

In addition to the other weather sites, I always liked http://www.moreweather.com/tropics/moreweather.php3 It was one of the earlier sites that was out there.

I'm like DJ, gotta stay when the storm approaches. I own a disaster restoration company and we work all storms along the Gulf. Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and Ike. I had 8' of water in my home after Ike. The best advice is to be prepared. Make sure your car is in good repair, stash some cash, have emergency food and water. Being prepared NEVER hurt anyone. (Remember when you had a condom in your wallet cause you MIGHT get lucky?) So be ready for whatever may come our way.
Even on aboard such as this, it's nice to know people are concerned about each other. During these storms I have seen many acts of kindness that has restored my faith in people.
God Bless You All!

Another excellent site for hurricane tracking and analysis is www.crownweather.com................

A month on active duty...blistering heat and humidity...driving in three feet of water...dealing with dumbass civilians...yeah, I LOVE hurricanes...