We…
…have seen the LIGHTS! They’re on and we’re astounded. I think all our experiences hurricane wise, colored by Bertha (07/96 CAT2) and Fran (09/96 CAT3) in N.C., were forever altered by the beast that that was Ivan. This was also our first experience with the western edge of a hurricane (we have always been beaten up non-stop in the northeastern quadrant) and, while it had it’s moments, compared to what’s been our norm? We were lovin’ life. FEMA contractors fix up a bitchin’ roof ~ proof positive our neighbor’s complete coverage and our two smaller spots still intact, after 100+ mph winds. Our local utilities learned from Ivan, replaced and upgraded their equipment and we had power late into the storm, have power/cable now and never lost the water, cell phones or landline. Outstanding job all around and one feels ever more confident moving into a pretty active season with a bullseye on one’s derriere. Ya know, since there’s already a new Tropical Depression on it’s way and, if it gets a name, it will be ‘Emily‘.
Should we be worried…???
July 10, 2005 11:08 pm 
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Reminded of the old commercial: How do you spell relief?
Glad everything turned out OK.
Hurricane Emily, eh? That does sound rather auspicious. 😉
Seriously, welcome back. Lights one can live without, but having been there, being without air conditioning in Florida in July SUCKS.
Good to know you’re okay, THS. But… Emily? Run while you can.
Ohh…SOB…I have no where to go…I’m a VICTIM!!!
It would make sense, this thing wreaking havoc, having no purpose other than distruction….honestly, it’s totally ME.
Hooray! Glad to hear you came through all right! But the beer…..did the beer survive?
I would be terrified, I’ve heard Emilys are extremely destructive.
Here are the names for this year:
2005 Hurricane Names
Arlene
Bret
Cindy
Dennis
Emily
Franklin
Gert
Harvey
Irene
Jose
Katrina
Lee
Maria
Nate
Ophelia
Philippe
Rita
Stan
Tammy
Vince
Wilma
I dunno…”Harvey”?
“Hurricane Harvey Hates Pickled Herring”
I really wish they’d just bite the bullet and bury all the electricity cables. Sure, it’d be expensive as as git out, but then it would be done; it seems to me that we need to rewire the South after every hurricane and ice storm.
Cool Beans!
Glad it was not as bad as it could have been.
Thanks, WK! (So are we, lol!) You’re outside Et-lanta, right? How’d you do your ownself?
JeffS ~ That’s the marvelous thing.
1. We weren’t out of power long enough to tap it.
2. Miller Light can sit in the garage safely until the next storm.
bury all the electricity cables
Actually, that’s the worst thing they could do down here. Those folks that are going to be out of power the longest are the ones with underground utilities. What happens in our huge rain events is that the transformer junctions (they have a name for them, but it escapes me) underground flood and they have to wait for them to completely drain before they can even go in to see what’s up. So, while I’m online and airconditioned, there’s folk five miles away that could be out for 2-3 weeks. Underground cables only work if they have transformer stations above ground and that doesn’t seem to be the norm.
The line stringing down here has gone 180 out from the old thinking, which was loop them loosely to be able to sway in the wind and not snap. Now they string them tightly, to help one pole hold the other up and there’s also less line movement.
As I recall, the water table in Florida is generally too high for buried cables. This aggravates (or even causes) the flooding of the transformer vaults (that’s what we calls ’em in Washington) during the heavy rains that come with hurricanes.
Good news on the beer! Hurricanes, the gift that keeps on giving! Sort of. 😛
Ah, I guess that would be a problem in your neck of the swamp. Makes sense.
Who’s going to be afraid of Hurricane Philippe?
It might run away from us, Bill.
Or bring a wave of noxious body odor.
It’s ‘Gert’ we’re worried about. Since ‘Bertha’ found us in N.C., we’re wary of the odder names on the list.
I actually used to know a couple named Jose and Irene. They were (still are, I suppose) friends of my asshole ex-stepfather. I think one or maybe both of them wound up spending the night after my mom’s wedding in jail. Real class. Good riddance.
Yeah, we are 3 hours south and west of Atlanta. Got a butt load of rain. I think over 6 inches just yesterday, not counting what fell in the lead up on Sat.
I have lots of pine cones/limbs in my yard to clean up, but even my tomato plants and pepper plants survived without being knocked over.
Ivan and Charlie did more damage our way last year. If Denis had gone more north east instead of north west, we would have been in big doodoo. In 1994 that tropical storm passed over us and hovered over Atlanta for 21 days. It gave us a 500-year flood on our river. I think we dodged a bullet.
It doesn’t look like what’s left of Dennis is in any hurry to cross the Mason-Dixon line. The latest projections have him sitting there dumping rain until Saturday…oy.