Hurricane Gustav
The eye of Hurricane Gustav is forecasted to make landfall anywhere between 10-40 miles from my current location. Most lines, however, say 20.
Gustav is currently a category three storm with sustained winds of 120mph. By the time it makes landfall in the very late evening/early morning Monday, it will be a category 4 or 5 depending on how much it speeds up/slows down its approach.
The local weathermen are predicting it will be somewhere between Hurricane Lily and Hurricane Andrew in strength, length, and damage.
After Lily we went without power for four days. After Andrew, it was twice that. My gut instinct is that this will be the worst one we've ever ridden out. Not that we have any choice of evacuation -- the closest open hotel room is now far beyond the Dallas area or well into the extreme northern parts of Arkansas.
Unless the state declares martial law in the area and forcibly removes us, we're here to stay.
We began preparations yesterday -- gathering food and water. Today, we're getting the plywood to cover the windows, cutting them down to size, and installing them. We're also going to try to get some sandbags for around the doors.
To say that I'm freaking out and slightly sick to my stomach would be an understatement. Lily and Rita were bad, but we were lucky because they shifted at the last minute. I can only hope that this one does, too.
Gustav is currently a category three storm with sustained winds of 120mph. By the time it makes landfall in the very late evening/early morning Monday, it will be a category 4 or 5 depending on how much it speeds up/slows down its approach.
The local weathermen are predicting it will be somewhere between Hurricane Lily and Hurricane Andrew in strength, length, and damage.
After Lily we went without power for four days. After Andrew, it was twice that. My gut instinct is that this will be the worst one we've ever ridden out. Not that we have any choice of evacuation -- the closest open hotel room is now far beyond the Dallas area or well into the extreme northern parts of Arkansas.
Unless the state declares martial law in the area and forcibly removes us, we're here to stay.
We began preparations yesterday -- gathering food and water. Today, we're getting the plywood to cover the windows, cutting them down to size, and installing them. We're also going to try to get some sandbags for around the doors.
To say that I'm freaking out and slightly sick to my stomach would be an understatement. Lily and Rita were bad, but we were lucky because they shifted at the last minute. I can only hope that this one does, too.