Flooding and Severe Weather

 

Blairsville, high 61, low 48)

 

For at least a week, the weather forecasters were warning of an upcoming multi day severe weather threat, with a possible tornado outbreak.

Tornado’s always get my attention.

Unfortunately some didn’t take the tornado warnings seriously enough and stayed in mobile homes. There were two fatalities, one where a tree fell on a house and one where the mobile home was obliterated by the EF2 tornado.  Such a shame.  Mobile homes and Rv’s are NOT the place to be in a tornado.

We didn’t get any rain or wind during the day Monday, but as the front approached, and the tornados were popping up along the frontal boundary.  The radar showed a solid red squall line from Indiana down to the gulf coast of Florida. There was even a tornado in Crestview (our home of record).

It became apparent the first wave would come in the middle of the night.  We have a clubhouse in the Rv park, but it’s open on both ends and not much of a shelter. There is a laundry room and restrooms that would be somewhat safe, but we didn’t think they would appreciate us bringing the cats. 

We decided to break down and go to a hotel.   At least we’d be comfy and not worried about making a run to the clubhouse in the middle of the night, during a storm. We weren’t in a tornado alert yet, but they were coming in as the storm moved. As it turned out, the hotel wasn’t necessary, but that’s okay.  Better safe than sorry.  Don’t want to be the guy who goes home with the Idol. ( A reference to the Tv show Survivor)

We decided this was a good option for us, since we have animals.  We’ll probably do it again in the event of severe weather.  A little inconvenience and a few bucks is worth the peace of mind.

It rained  off and on most of the on Tuesday, and by the time it stopped, we had 5 inches of rain in our rain gauge in only a 24 hour period. 

The river behind Rivers Edge was raging and had overflowed it’s banks but had receded a lot by the time we went by.

We took a drive to check out all the flooding.  The rivers overflowed their banks and some houses were surrounded by water.   Now, maybe I see the reason they built dams in this area.

The TVA have been keeping the lakes and rivers low for the upcoming rainy season.  Now, I see why.

This is a put-put golf course that is next to the river.

There are leaves everywhere!   I imagine this will put a big damper on leaf peeping.

 

So, onto another subject.

I got the nicest e-mail from the parent of the boys I photographed and blogged about a few days ago.

If you missed that post, you can read about it HERE.

I was concerned that maybe I shouldn’t post the boys picture on the blog, since they were minors and I didn’t want them or their parents to think we were perverts.

This is the e-mail I got.   I assumed they were brothers, but maybe not.

Thank you so much for demonstrating to my son and his friends how cool this big world can be!  He is so proud of your pictures and he could not wait to share the story about meeting you two. We hope you have a phenomenal time on your travels and will continue to follow your blog. And, no, we definitely don't classify you as perverts...just genuinely good hearted people.
Wishing you both safe travels and exciting adventures~

Wasn’t that nice?     We sure enjoyed watching their kayak run over the waterfall.  It made our day, and I was happy to send them the photos I took.

The sun it out, and it looks like a beautiful day.  We’re going to clean the house, then do something fun. 

We are hoping we’ll still get to see some more fall color.  I’m sure most of the leaves we saw on Sunday have blown off, but much of the area was still mostly green, so we’re hoping it hasn’t ruined the rest of the leaf peeping season.  It will be a little to wet for a hike for a few days!

Panties in a Wad?

Wesley Chapel, Florida

The heavy rains let up last night around bed time, and didn’t start again until around 4 am, when the weather radio alerted us to a tornado warning.  

I realize many people do not take tornado warnings seriously, but we do.  When there is a tornado in the county we’re in, it gets our attention.  If the tornado is heading our way, it really gets our attention.

I got an interesting “anonymous” comment yesterday that I was getting my “panties in a wad,” about this tropical storm, and “creating hysteria.”

Well,  Mr. Anonymous, thank you for your comment, however I disagree with some of some of what you said. 

Yes, I believe our rig would be okay from tropical storm force winds.  We can take the rain and the area is in no danger of flooding.   But, we cannot handle any tornados that may be spawned from this storm.

We lived in Tampa when Hurricane Charley hit.   I remember it quite well because it was supposed to make a direct hit on the  Tampa Bay area.  We were preparing for it,  (in our concrete block house),  but it took a last minute right turn and made landfall in Port Charlotte instead of Tampa.  We were on the “good” side of the hurricane, so we didn’t get much wind or rain from it.

Hurricane Charley caused  7.5  billion dollars in damage and killed 25 people.  Yes, I realize it was a much stronger storm, than what we are experiencing now.  It made landfall as a Cat 4 storm.

You said it passed right over you and there were no rigs damaged in your campground.   I guess you were extremely lucky.  I distinctly remember many, many mobile home retirement communities that were destroyed, including one where the mother of a friend of mine lived.  

The following picture is the before picture of one of those mobile home parks.

The next picture shows the same park after Charley.

The fact that you took a direct hit from a Cat 4 storm and that  “no rigs were damaged in your campground”, was truly a miracle.

Remember, this storm made landfall on the west coast of Florida, went northeast  across the state causing damage all the way until it exited the state as a Cat 2 Hurricane.   Much of the damage was caused by tornados that were spawned from the hurricane.

So,  yes.  We are taking this tropical storm seriously. 

Yes, it’s currently  “going away” from us, and yes, it’s only a tropical storm.”    ……..for now………

 

I have lived in Florida long enough to know that:

1.  storms are unpredictable

2.  The weather forecasters are normally much better predicting where the storm is going than the strength at landfall.

3.  Tornados are frequently spawned from tropical storms and hurricanes.

 

So, in answer to your question.  Yes, I think our rig could sustain tropical storm force winds.  Do I want to ride out a tornado in a motor home?   No,  I do not.

I remember a very sad story about an entire family of 5, that was killed by a tornado last spring.  There were warnings days in advance that this was going to be a very bad system and that a lot of deadly tornados would form.     You are not supposed to ride out a tornado in a mobile home (or rv), but these people went to sleep in their mobile home knowing strong storms were coming their way.  The young mother, and father died right away along with two of their small children.  Their 15 month old was found alive in a field after the tornado.  She died in the hospital a few days later.   Did they take the tornado threat seriously?   I guess not.   I imagine they had time to realize their mistake before they died. 

I don’t want to be in that position.   

I’m sorry if you think I am trying to “create more hysteria.”   That is not my intention.

 

Enough said about that……

 

After our heavy rain this morning, the rain has stopped and we actually see the sun!   The storm is still here, but for now at least the feeder bands are to our east.   I hope they stay there.

Storm Update

We have had rain all day, sometimes pretty hard rain.

According to my Weather Bug phone app, the strongest gust is 24 mph…..so far.

We are in a tornado watch and the weather radio has gone off twice telling of a tornado warning.  You can bet that gets our attention!

One motor home left earlier this afternoon.  I hope they get out of Florida safely.

I got a question from a commenter named Robert.   I don’t know what happened to the comment, but he was asking what he should do.   Robert is at Gulf Shores Alabama camping in a fifth wheel.

Boy, Robert, that is a tough one.   We talked about heading north as well, but we decided it would be safer to stay put.   We are further south than you and would have to go through a lot of bad weather before we got to a better location.   It looks like you might be in a better area to evacuate.   I wish I could give you better advice, but the truth is, I just don’t know.

How is the weather right now?  Windy, rainy?   What is the forecast for your area?  

If you left now, you would end up traveling in the dark and possibly getting some storms.  It’s a tough call and I don’t know what to tell you.  

It’s such a fun day.   Gotta go, the weather radio is bleeping again!   This sucks

The Hurricane Weather Center still doesn’t  know where landfall will be, but it’s now looking more like Florida, probably the Panhandle or north Florida.

Tropical Storm Debby

Wesley Chapel, Florida

We are still watching the spaghetti models and tracking this storm. 

This has been an unusual storm and the forecasters still aren’t exactly sure where it will end up.  The spaghetti models still vary widely.    The biggest change is that it’s now become a tropical storm, which means it’s strengthened.

Hurricanes are categorized by the wind speed.

It became a tropical storm yesterday, which means the winds are up to between 39 and 73 mph. 

A Cat One hurricane will have winds between 75-95 mph.

Our weather yesterday was fine.   It was cloudy, but we only got a few very light sprinkles, and no wind.

Last night all that changed and it started raining in the middle of the night.  I don’t think it’s going to quit for a few days.  Debby has arrived.

I wish we were out of Florida, but I fear we have lost our window of opportunity.  Yesterday, the storm track was too uncertain to know  where we should go.  Today, it may be too late unless we want to travel in a tropical storm.    Maybe we should.  I don’t know.

It’s raining fairly hard right not and the winds are finally starting to pick up a little.  Up until now, we haven’t had any wind.  

We are on the “bad” side of the storm, which is the right side.  No matter which way it turns, it looks like we will be on the right side.

I’m concerned, since we live in a box with holes in it (slides).   Blowing rain can cause more leaks than just a normal rain.  We have had an odd leak coming in from the top corner of the door.  We can’t figure out why, but it appears to be coming in around the rubber door gasket.  Al put some caulk in and around it yesterday, but we still have the leak.

He got up on the roof yesterday,  and checked all the seals and openings.   You may recall several months ago, he applied Eternabond to some of the openings in the roof.

Here are the before and after pictures of the skylight.

We will never have to worry about leaks around the skylight.  I wish we could say the same about all the openings on the roof.

Unfortunately, he never completed the project.  It’s hard work (for an old man) and he intended to finish up a few days later after his body recovered.

Well…..he still hasn’t finished.   He still has a few other places that need Eternabond.

We  learned from experience with the old coach that the Dicor sealant doesn’t last too long in the Florida weather.  The tiniest pin hole will bring water inside.  Our old motor home had fabric ceilings so any and every small leak showed up on the white fabric ceiling. 

This coach has vinyl ceilings, so you’d probably have to have a really bad leak before you would know.   We don’t want to wait that long, so up Al  went yesterday and re-caulked any areas where he  could see problems.   Hopefully we will be okay there,  and as soon as we can, we’ll be finishing up the Eternabond. 

So for now, we are okay.  I’m trying to stay calm, but I get extremely nervous during storms.  I am not one of those people who love to hear the rain falling on the roof!  

We picked up the remaining Dvd’s of  “24”.   That show certainly can take your mind off the weather!

We got some groceries yesterday, so we’ll eat well, but we just realized we’re getting low on kitty food. We may have to make a run to Petsmart.   Baxter would not be happy if we ran out of kitty food.   Fortunately there is a Petsmart very close by.

Spaghetti Models

Wesley Chapel, Florida  (high 84, low 73)

Well, it’s Saturday morning. It’s cooler due to the clouds, but not raining.  Yet.

It rained off and on all yesterday afternoon and evening.  More of the same is expected today.

We are keeping our eyes on the weather, because we may have a hurricane, or tropical storm heading our way. 

There is some sort of low pressure system forming in the Gulf of Mexico.  It will likely develop into at least a tropical storm, and possibly a hurricane, depending on where it goes. 

It’s possible it could come ashore in our area, but it’s also possible it will head west towards Texas. 

They haven’t been able to send the hurricane hunters into the storm yet because they haven’t found the center of development yet. 

Right now, all we have are the “spaghetti models.”

Spaghetti models are possible tracks of the storm that are generated from the many different weather computers.   For now, none of the models agree on the future path of the storm.

 

We certainly don’t want to be here if we get a hurricane, and  we’re not thrilled to be here during a tropical storm either.  They can get pretty ugly and bring tons of rain and wind.  

Since our home has wheels, we could leave, but where do we go?  If we head north and the storm heads to the panhandle, we may be putting ourselves right in the middle of it.   Going to the other coast won’t help if it becomes a hurricane. 

So for right now, we’re keeping a close eye on the spaghetti models.  You can see they are all over the place as to where the storm will head.  As they get more information, they will start to come together for a more accurate track.

We’ve learned over the years that the forecasters are pretty good at predicting where the storm will go, but not too accurate on the intensity.   The problem with this storm is that it’s forming close to home, so if it comes our way, we won’t get much warning.

More than likely if it heads our way, it won’t get too strong because it won’t have too much time to strengthen.

So……that’s what we’re doing this week-end.  Watching the weather.

So while we watch it rain, I guess we’ll continue watching “24”.   It’s such an exciting series and very addictive.

Al got most of his pest control accounts done this week, so we’ll have some time to do something fun….if the weather starts cooperating.

For now, it’s  “24”  and spaghetti models!  

The Bad Part of Full Timing

Lutz, Florida

We have been living in our motorhome 10 months now and are perfectly happy.  We never moved out of the motor home last spring when we went back to Georgia to get the house ready for closing. 

However, one thing I hate about living in an rv is when there is severe weather.  Some people seem to take it all in stride and don’t freak out.  I’m not one of those people!

There is huge low pressure system in the gulf that’s heading our way.  They have pretty much ruled out any hurricane or tropical storm development, but it could still produce some strong storms with the possibility of isolated tornados and strong winds.  Yikes…..they said the “t” word!  It’s not coming onshore until this evening, of course.  Why is it that severe weather always comes at  night?

Fortunately, we are near Mom’s house so we could go there for the evening.  Maybe we should  stick it our and see how we do.  We will not always be near Mom’s house.   I am a lot more comfortable in this motor home than old one.  This one is much larger and heavier and wind doesn’t seem to affect us as much.  Plus we must have better insulation in the roof because it’s much, much quieter when it rains.  In our other motorhome, you could barely hear the tv when it rained.  It was noisy and that noise always made me nervous.

So, we’re going to watch the weather and make a decision.   I probably won’t get any sleep tonight…and if I don’t sleep, nobody does. 

Tornado Outbreak

What a horrible day of devastation and destruction across the south.  My heart goes out to all the people that were in the path of those deadly tornados.  Alabama and parts of northern Georgia got hit very, very hard. 

We are fine here, but did end up spending a little time in the Hidey Hole (tornado shelter).  I am sure going to miss that when we move!

Our local weather forecasters said we should be on the tail end of the bad weather and our chance of anything severe was slim.  However, we should stay on alert.

I get extremely nervous whenever any kind of weather is approaching and that is my greatest fear about our upcoming fulltiming lifestyle. 

About 7 this morning, suddenly things changed and there was a possible  tornado forming nearby.  We scooted down to the tornado shelter and sat there for awhile.  Nothing strong came and we headed back to the motor home.

As I type this, there is another tornado watch just south of us forming near Valdosta.  We’re getting some thunder and lightning.  I sure wish this would hurry and get over with. 

These tornado outbreaks we’ve had this week have confirmed my theory to stay out of the southeast during the spring months.  I believe we’ll stay in Florida until May.  The south is just too unpredictable  in the spring.

 

HOUSE SALE NEWS

Yesterday, I decided to rattle a few cages and see if I could get some info on the status of our house sale.  I know this is how these things work, but it’s very difficult trying to move if you don’t know if it’s happening or not.

I don’t know if they are just blowing smoke to shut me up, but the mortgage broker said she is expecting the paperwork to be out of underwriting today and then they will send the appraiser.  Of course I’ve heard that before. She is estimating our new closing date to be around May 20th.  I expected our original May 6 closing date to be delayed, so it was good to hear that I was right.  We can slow down a bit and take a breath.  Of course we’re having a garage sale tomorrow and Saturday, but after this week-end, we may take a day off!