Hurricane Helene

Pray for the cruise ships.

Great link, moron

But will it slather the beaches with a mint julep mask?

We're doomed!!!!!

Mint julep masks for all, courtesy of our queen!

The Gulf Coast residents are a resilient lot. I always remember Mexico Beach, FL that was essentially flattened by Hurricane Michael in 2018.

You can look on Streetview and see the utter devastation back then (it's like a war zone), then fast forward to the latest Google Maps images in 2023 and it's back to normal.

Anyone need paper towels lobbed at their faces?

Good (for me), bad for others. I'm in Georgia and it's hot as hell. I hope this storm cools things down

[quote] pray for the cruise ships. You really mean, pray for the cute guys on the cruise ships.

By the projections it looks like areas that are PCB-adjacent will see landfall, not Pensacola nor Tallahassee but between the two.

R10 What the hell is PCB?

I think it means Panama City Beach.

"As Florida prepares for a major Hurricane to make landfall this week, don’t forget that Donald Trump’s Project 2025 would eliminate the National Weather Service and NOAA."

Unrelated to the topic, but to R13. I really wish there was a summary document that included points like R13 noted. The document is about 1,000 pages...

When hurricanes hit that side of the panhandle the storm surge is catastrophic; there's nowhere for the water to go but inland- especially if it's high tide.

There's only ONE Helen, baby- and I'm that dame!

Hope she kills many trump voters-you go girl!

"Residents in the storm's potential path have been told to prepare for up to a week without electricity."

couldn't happen to a better part of the country

R8 Hurricanes are packed with humidity.

Have you seen the size of this thing? It's enormous.

It hasn't even passed Cuba yet and it's humongous and growing rapidly. It's going to be catastrophic.

On the plus side, Indiana may get some rain from it.

How long before Indiana becomes a Gulf Coast state?

They act like they want to be in the Deep South anyway.

She really puts in quite a show.

Dear Helene,

Please visit Mar-A-Lardo.

Thx

[quote] Have you seen the size of this thing? It's enormous.

Oops, wrong thread!

It's aiming right for Tallahassee and Governor DeSantis's mansion!

From your lips to Hurricane Central's ears, R27

R28, I know where you are coming from but I live about a half mile from the Governor’s Mansion.

Helene is a monster in size. Long power outages are expected in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.

Wowza!

Queen Helene is mad, bad and dangerous to know!

She's big enough to need at least two threads!

Now projected to hit Cat 4 before landfall in Florida.

The spaghetti models are nearly all in agreement.

[quote] It's aiming right for Tallahassee and Governor DeSantis's mansion!

If God is aiming, it might be for Judge Mark Walker in Tallahassee, so it may be better not to make an assumption.

Ronnie better get his white go-go boots ready

I love these hurricane threads, especially when the Data Loungers tell us what's going on in their area like PR guy did.

No air conditioning for a week with 90+ degree temps and 100% humidity. That's my vision of hell.

VIVIEN! Remove the hyacinth and hydrangea off the balcony NOW! Helene is going to be a Category 4 CUNT!

R39, Boca is not near current path but take plants off balcony anyway.

Is it too much to ask for it to score a direct hit on Mar a Lago?

KAMALA HARRIS IS CONTROLLING THE WEATHER

Keep the ground coverage coming, Southern Belles of DL!

I miss pleasuring myself to the sight of Rob Marciano on CNN in his fiery red rain slicker.

Potentially catastrophic.

Will Trump save us all with paper towel rolls?

I feel like the NEXT one will fuck up the entire eastern seaboard. Until the one after that. We're so fucked and David Muir, GMA, Ginger Zee and all affiliates better be ready.

The forecast says Helene will stall and dump heavy rain onto western Tennessee/Kentucky for two days solid.

That’s probably going to cause more damage than the Florida landfall.

I'm in Atlanta, and it's raining. Wish me luck. Tomorrow night will be the worst of it.

I’m on the other side in Ft Lauderdale, 2 blocks from the beach. Starting to feel the beginnings. Mild effects so far. Windy, rainy, and gloomy. Overnight will be the worst for us, with 2 inches of rain expected. We dodged another bullet. This is the 3rd bullet in 2 years that the West Coast got nailed with.

[quote]I think it means Panama City Beach.

Not Polychlorinated biphenyl? Darn.

A storm surge of 20 feet is predicted and for reference Katrina's was 25 feet. We know what happened there, Helene is not to be taken lightly.

Helene is like a combination of Katrina and Harvey.

Remember, too, how Butterbean rode out a storm years back, passing the time by posting here and sharing updates.

It's been a while since we last heard from you, Butterbean. Please check in.

And Senior Lesbian, we want to know she is safe.

It's now expected to be a Category 4 when it makes landfall in Florida. That's bad, very bad.

Biden/Harris et al would be wise to give FL lots of attention and support......

20 feet tidal surge expected in the Big Bend region.

This is great! Fewer people to vote for Harris in Florida!

Just leave Louisiana alone

They should rename it Hurricane Helenesque

I’m in Atlanta for a work project and we just cancelled tomorrow outright.

I got this..

NYC weatherman was very worried about storm surge into the armpit. Could be 10-18 ft onto flat land.

Fat and sassy

Just waiting in Tallahassee; very calm now. We are 30 or more miles inland and I think the trees are the biggest danger here as we are covered with huge old oak trees. Also, lots of pines which seem to just snap off in hurricanes.

Best of luck, R67!

Sorry to hear that, R67 -- have you evacuated yet? Are you going to evacuate?

I'm on the eastern side of Marion County and have a tropical storm warning for this afternoon/evening, but I too have the trees: three towering pines, seven live oaks, and a bald cypress. If one of those pines goes down, it will land right on my trailer. If any of the oaks that hang over top of my power line decide to lose a limb, my power will go out and I'll have a live power line in my yard. That'd be interesting.

But I'm still hopeful.

I'm posting in the other thread, but I'll check in on this one as well, especially since we've heard from R67. Much luck to you, my friend.

R29 I hope Helene is very focused on 700 North Adams Street, not you.

Good luck - I know what it can be like.

People are calling the storm Hurricane Helen! It is an insult to the entire French-speaking world!

I can't believe you guys have forgotten all about Queen Helene Mint Julep Facial Masque!

You're slipping, boys!

Coastal Georgia here and it's been raining hard all night. The power went out at least once while I was asleep. Scheduled to storm all day today and the bad stuff expected in just after midnight. Just keeping my fingers crossed I won't wake up to major damage. The last big storm to come through here pretty much downed all my big shallow root trees, so hopefully the pines and palms will weather this storm okay. My main worry is any roof damage from high winds. I just had a new roof put on 5 months ago.

Even with all the uncertainty I still love a good ol' storm.

The track has wobbled north east and they now think landfall could be over Tampa.

This guy Josh Morgerman is fun to follow during a hurricane. He's been chasing them for 30 years and has been in the eye of many Cat 5s.

That looks like a wobble before it heads west again, R74. If you watch the track from the beginning, you can see that the bands ahead of it have already turned to the west.

I sure hope I'm right, because my dad's in St. Pete. He and his S.O. have already ridden out a really bad one in the cement-block-built trailer park clubhouse, but that was some years ago and I'd hate for him to have to do it again. He's 88 and too damned old for this shit.

Helene, Helene, Helene, Heleeeeene

Please don't take my roof just because you can

Any DL'ers near Athens, Georgia? Someone I care about but haven't spoken to in awhile lives there and I'm trying to figure how concerned I should be.

R77, good one

I’m lodging in suburban Atlanta and we are the only pocket of the city i see without power, but there is a generator, limited power. Which is great. Had to find the one outlet that worked to make coffee.

Helene is now just 6mph away from becoming a Cat 3, fuelled by the abnormally warm seawater in the Gulf of Mexico. Naples and Sarasota are already seeing flooded streets.

Photos of St Pete flooding at link. Hope your dad got away from the coast R76. 5-8 foot storm surge expected in the area. Landfall still eight hours away.

Hold me, daddy.

Josh is also gay and sweet r75, we chatted on Scruff before.

R67 good luck to you and everyone in Tallahassee!

Check out this forecast. The huge storm is going to stall over Tennessee for two days minimum. The flooding in that entire region will be historic. Hopefully Biden and Harris and FEMA are ready for this.

ps forgot to sign and include the link — latest NHC forecast 10am Thurs.

Okay, that’s weird

[QUOTE] Josh is also gay and sweet [R75], we chatted on Scruff before.

He IS gay and some of his posts are quite camp. I've been following him on Twitter since 2017 and he's been in some monster storms including Dorian in 2019.

I'm pretty sure I know where those photos were taken, R81, and those areas flood in a regular ol' Florida hard rain. I lived in St. Pete for 15 years, so I know where all the flood areas are. Here's a hint: don't buy property in Snell Isle, Shore Acres, or Gulfport.

I've tried calling my dad (he has a cell phone) twice and I texted him, and -- nothing. Right to voice mail.

Of course, he's like that half the time as well. Then the next day he'll call me and say, "I'm sorry I missed your call!"

Drives me crazy.

All here is OK so far. Supposed to be bad by dinnertime, though.

I sure hate that t he fucker didn't make a turn either left or right and get Florida or Alabama.

I just saw a FEMA guy on TV say that when EV batteries get wet they catch fire. And can't be put out like a normal fire. So if you survive the storm surge, your house will burn down.

Well, R90, there's always the shark option.

I already had a small branch come down. Didn't hurt anything. Put it in the back of the truck to (hopefully) take it to the dump tomorrow.

This is getting a little scary. Wind is starting to pick up a bit. Still have power, so that's good. Worst part is supposed to be later in the evening. Guess I'll be up all night listening to the wind and rain. If I'm lucky.

Are you still with us, R67? How are you doing?

We have no wind to speak of here in Atlanta. I guess that will come in the middle of the night when things get more interesting. It's just raining.

Just got two high wind alerts for Friday night into Saturday morning.

I’m in Cincinnati.

I love to watch storms come in from cameras - unfortunately it's going to come at night.

It's one thing for all of this to go down - which sounds horrible - but imagine it happening in the dark when all lights go out? You're tired as shit and water is rising and you can't see shit.

And there will be a lot of people who will refuse to leave - as with every fucking hurricane.

Is David Tyler Muir going to be there?

It's a Cat 3 now.

What will probably happen due to the other weather front in play:

[quote] The combination of that weather event to the northwest, and a high pressure system to the northeast, are creating a fast-moving “conveyor belt” for Helene, steering it and ultimately forcing it to a standstill over Tennessee, northern Georgia and lower Appalachia, Alaka said.

What about DisneyWorld? Relatives who are die-hard Disney fans ( don't get me started. . .) are about to drive down from Kentucky for a big family meet-up. Nothing comes between these idiots and their Lord and Savior, Hickey Mouse. Grandma even sews Mickey‐themed frocks for herself to wear while she's there. Jesus PETE.

There are several youtube channels with running webcams to livestream the storm coming in. If interested, here are few channels to look for:

Livestream Events (this one has four cameras in different locales broadcasting on the same screen)

EarthCam

Tallahassee Democrat

Fox 9

Key West Cam - currently there are idiots taking turns to get take selfies of themselves standing on the southernmost buoy landmark there.

Naples pier.

Guess what? I was wrong, R76. Six-to-eight ft. storm surge in St. Pete. But my dad finally answered the phone and everything in his 55+ park is fine. They had some high winds, but nothing was disturbed and they still have power. So far, so good!

I thought I'd be having higher winds at my place by now -- not that I'm complaining. Now they're saying "tonight." Wish they could narrow that down a little bit! And i guess Marion County isn't particularly worried, because they only have one shelter open, and it's on the west side of I-75, close to 60 miles from me.

I'll keep you posted.

Alabama is in the path. For real.

[quote]Your Favorite President is the only President that can forecast the weather seven years in advance. And if you believe this, I have $100,000 watches of solid gold to sell to you, as solid gold as the handcuffs I offered to Charlie Sheen for his wedding. -- DJT

[quote]This is flyoverstan!

For the next few days it will be flyintoyourfacestan.

Do not live near the Florida coast.

I wish we had some heavy rain in Miami to open my window and sleep really good but is sunny, no luck.

It has poured all day long, but no wind. We've now reached a point of calm. The radar looks like nothing coming our way until late tonight when the main part of the storm moves inland. The weather reports predict 60-70 mph wins and torrential storms after 1am and tornado warnings. Maybe that will be better if the power goes out at least I'll be asleep (hopefully), just like it did last night. I've been working to get all the storm covers attached over all the windows except for 2 I'll do later on this evening so I won't feel like I'm in a cave all day. My only neighbors across the road are an elderly Portuguese couple. I helped them get everything on their property that could be blown around moved into a storage house. They're so sweet. They told me if I get scared to just come on over, no matter what time, and sleep over there. LOL

Save me Jebus.

Josh the storm chaser is expressing serious doubts about staying in a 20 foot house next to the sea in Panacea. He thinks the storm surge will be over 20 foot but hasn't moved yet.

[QUOTE] Six-to-eight ft. storm surge in St. Pete. But my dad finally answered the phone and everything in his 55+ park is fine. They had some high winds, but nothing was disturbed and they still have power. So far, so good!

The hurricane is still four hours away from landfall.

Josh the Storm Chaser, all up in his feelings, needs to GTFO of there while he can. His little coastal town is where it's going to hit as a Cat 4 in just a few hours.

I hope Josh listens Torta. He needs to get his mice ass out of there.

He knows that, Torta. Always manages to intercept the eye of the storm. But he needs a taller, more substantial concrete structure to stay in. Those buildings look flimsy.

Remember all of that judgement during Katrina for the poor black people in New Orleans who had no way to get out? But when they're dumbass white people (with means) that could easily have evacuated, we're supposed to somehow feel sorry for them.

He’ll be fine.

Josh—are you gonna let something named Hélène tell you what to do?

Man up.

If he's staying in that building, he could take a moment now to write his name and SS# on his arm with a big black Sharpie and let that sink in for a few moments.

Just now became a Cat 4.

I'm still amazed by the stall that's supposed to happen tomorrow night thru all Saturday and well into most of Sunday. A storm so big it takes up half the Gulf, and it's just going to shift into park over Tennessee.

Anyone else remember when Hurricane Harvey did that to Texas a few years ago? Days of downpour and flooding. So many people lost everything.

Damn! Just became a Cat 4.

[QUOTE] Anyone else remember when Hurricane Harvey did that to Texas a few years ago

Yep. Houston became a lake.

There's still a lot of hot Gulf water yet to cross, it may yet become a Cat 5.

Quite a few people have decided to stay in life threatening areas. That's nuts.

What is the estimated time of landfall? I hope reckless Josh has moved away from Panacea.

CNN said the wind field of Helene is about the distance from Indianapolis to Washington D.C. That's huge.

*

Terrible mudslides in the Appalachian mountains forecast.

Flooding and landslides predicted for the southern Appalachians tomorrow through the weekend.

Stay safe, you all in the hollers

Jinx!

Cat 4 now.

People who stayed behind in danger zones probably won't survive. Terrible.

Landfall expected in three hours time.

10 40pm EST

3.40am GMT

Why do people continue to live in these areas? They’re at risk every damn year.

Tonight's the night the lights go out in Georgia!

Jesus Christ. Look at the size of this motherfucker. Josh, you in danger Girl!

R96 David was sitting on his Lovense in the ABC studio this evening. Whit Johnson (wearing his glasses) is reporting from Florida.

Storm chasers flying above Helene took this lovely shot a while ago.

[QUOTE] Storm chasers flying above Helene took this lovely shot a while ago.

Beautiful, yet lethal.

Just saw a clip of a house being blown to bits in Cape Coral and Helene hasn't even made landfall.

Helene is making landfall in the Panhandle, you fools! Cape Coral's damage has nothing to do with that.

Unfortunately the tide is coming in, high tide is around11pm and so is landfall.

What is Atlanta expected to get?

[QUOTE] Unfortunately the tide is coming in, high tide is around11pm and so is landfall.

Damn. The surge is going to be almost Katrina level. That was 28 foot in places and swept the old wooden houses on the Mississippi coast off their concrete foundations.

Hurricane expert Bryan Norcross is sporting a nice new chestnut-red wig.

How will the wild animals survive this?

Atlanta = probably high-end tropical storm winds and 10-12” of rain when it’s all over.

[QUOTE] How will the wild animals survive this?

They have great instincts and will have headed inland days ago. Birds too.

Up here in Chicago, we expect the pressure gradient to start affecting us tomorrow, with 40 mph gusts coming off Lake Michigan. Since the storm will be to our south and winds are counter-clockwise around low pressure, that means winds roaring off the lake.

The Redneck Riviera had a nice ass, but ...

But also too, the huge swath of the the Southeast will away from the coat under Tropical Storm Warnings. Tropical Storm forecast winds are defined as between 39-73 mph. Since this thing is moving at 23 mph, it'll bring Hurricane force winds inland very quickly. All the truck stop boys in Valdosta are in danger!! Don't blow tonight, boys!!

Josh the Gay Storm Chaser has left Panacea and is heading east as is the eye of the storm.

Ha, so Josh is running east to try to get even *closer* to the eye. Chasers gotta chase. Well, hope he makes it.

Winds are getting worse. Lights flickered a minute ago. Just checking in to let you know I still have power. So far.

How is it possible that in Miami we had such a good weather all day long? And when I see the radar Miami is covered in clouds, that’s wierd.

R149, Tallahassee here. Panacea is right on the coast about 30 miles due south of Tallahassee. Helene has strengthened to 4 but shifted a bit east to possible landfall and track over less populated area. Actually, Tally is the only “big” city for 90 miles in any direction. Rain just starting here.

Wow R153. Front row seat! Hoping you stay okay tonight.

Good luck to you as well, senior lesbian!

The worst of the storm has passed in Lakeland. We were on the dirty side that gets tornadoes, but we only had one brief warning. Lots of high winds in the bands, but the rain has been minimal. I’ve heard a few transformers blow, but we’re good.

In further news, I once again have schnitzel in the freezer because of ALDI’s German week. Why must every Octoberfest be threatened!

I'd be terrified of what's swimming around in that storm surge: alligators, pythons.

The tide is high but I'm holdin' on

I'm gonna be your number one

I'm not the kinda girl who gives up just like that, oh no

R157, we have lots of gators in Big Bend (not just in Gainesville) but the pythons are all in S. Florida/Everglades so far.

Sustained wind of 130 MPH. I assure you no one is walking around, it would be impossible to stay upright.

We hope all the pets are safe. Please look after them.

Right, r157? Fuck that shit!

140 wind! I got knocked on my ass hiking on the cone of Mt Washington in less than that.

I can't comprehend the magnitude of danger.

It's too much, way more than what I put up with in January, Feb, and March.

I live in the upper midwest.

Stay safe everybody.

It's most unfortunate that this is happening at night. It must be terrifying.

What can't they pass an infrastructure bill to bury all the electricity lines in the country?

"It would be impossible to stay upright"

I'm window shopping right now in Pensacola..

I feel sorry for all the democrats living in that area, however, I know that most people in its path are Maga and I feel good that they are going to be crushed.why? Because most of them are anti government and now they will be asking for federal help and money to the government. These are the people who are against student loans forgiveness and in Florida insurance sucks, so I’m looking forward for the next few days to watch some Maga tears on tv.

Ian arrived in central Florida at night and it was terrifying. Crazy wind. Someone’s chimney cap hit our roof at one point. It was mentally worse because we just watched Ft. Myers Beach being devastated before our electricity went out.

We just lost a few shingles and a small ornamental tree in the end. I think electricity was out about 20 hours.

[quote]I'd be terrified of what's swimming around in that storm surge: alligators, pythons...

...Floridians

Who's there?...

Extreme wind warning issued — “treat it as if it’s an approaching tornado.”

Well, R168, you can fap to that fantasy if you want to, but Leon County (Tallahassee) has the highest percentage of registered Democrats of all the counties in Florida.

If you don't believe me, look it up.

On NHC the satellite image looked like the eye had quickly gotten tinier and more well-defined, which I think means stronger.

I hope you and your neighbors are safe senior lesbian, we're rooting for you.

Hey, there’s a hurricane, let’s go out for a drive!

Probably that Ramada sign.

Mayor of Florida: “Massive flooding throughout the region.”

D’oh! Mayor of Tampa Bay.

[quote]Hey, there’s a hurricane, let’s go out for a drive!

I'd be willing to bet someone in my neighborhood is doing that as we speak. Probably one of these guys with a jacked-up loud 4-wheel-drive truck went out to the Forest to go muddin'.

Wouldn't surprise me.

Someone just DIED on live TV.

Latest Update: A Strong Category 4

Hurricane Helene Tropical Cyclone Update NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL092024 900 PM EDT Thu Sep 26 2024

...HELENE SLIGHTLY STRONGER AS ITS EYE APPROACHES THE COAST OF THE FLORIDA BIG BEND... ...900 PM EDT POSITION UPDATE...

A University of Florida Coastal Monitoring Program tower located on Cedar Key recently reported a sustained wind of 55 mph (89 km/h) and a wind gust of 73 mph (117 km/h).

A NOAA National Ocean Service tide gauge located at Clearwater Beach recently reported a water level of 5.07 feet above mean higher high water, which is an approximation of inundation in that area.

SUMMARY OF 900 PM EDT...0100 UTC...INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------- LOCATION...29.1N 84.2W ABOUT 65 MI...105 KM W OF CEDAR KEY FLORIDA ABOUT 90 MI...145 KM S OF TALLAHASSEE FLORIDA MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...140 MPH...225 KM/H PRESENT MOVEMENT...NNE OR 20 DEGREES AT 24 MPH...39 KM/H MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...941 MB...27.79 INCHES

Extreme Wind Warning for Tallahassee and the Coastal Big Bend. These are only issued for Cat 3 and above land-falling Hurricanes.

The National Weather Service in Tallahassee has issued a

* Extreme Wind Warning for... Lafayette County in Big Bend Florida... Northeastern Wakulla County in Big Bend Florida... Northwestern Dixie County in Big Bend Florida... Taylor County in Big Bend Florida... Jefferson County in Big Bend Florida... Eastern Leon County in Big Bend Florida... Madison County in Big Bend Florida...

* Until midnight EDT.

* At 859 PM EDT, National Weather Service Doppler radar indicated extreme winds, associated with the eyewall of Hurricane Helene, were moving onshore 39 miles southeast of Carrabelle, moving north at 35 mph. THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND LIFE-THREATENING SITUATION!

* Locations impacted include... Tallahassee, Woodville, Monticello, Mayo, Steinhatchee, St. Marks, Perry, Madison, Horseshoe Point, Wakulla, Greenville, Lee, Horseshoe Beach, Alma, Cody, Pinetta, Perry-Foley Airport, San Pedro Junction, Natural Bridge, and Lake Miccosukee.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TAKE COVER NOW! Treat these imminent extreme winds as if a tornado was approaching and move immediately to the safe room in your shelter. Take action now to protect your life!

The safest place to be during a major landfalling hurricane is in a reinforced interior room away from windows. Get under a table or other piece of sturdy furniture. Use mattresses, blankets or pillows to cover your head and body. Remain in place through the passage of these life-threatening conditions.

&&

A Tornado Watch remains in effect until 1000 PM EDT for Big Bend Florida. A Tornado Watch also remains in effect until 600 AM EDT for Big Bend Florida...and south central Georgia.

Thanks Weather Fairy.

We'll see the devastation tomorrow, unfortunately. I'm hoping everyone in it's path survives.

It’s crazy shit, man.

I mean, here when there’s a tornado, we get to the basement, but if it’s flooded, where the fuck can you go?

R132, I’m in Atlanta and we have now power most of the day. It came back on at 6PM, it flickered about an hour ago. . .

Kinda kooky question: I counted at least 14 prisons in the "absolutely unsurvivable in the next 8-hours" section of Florida alone. Does anyone have any idea how they evacuate that enormous number of inmates and where they would put them?

R188: Florida, where prisoners come to die.

No clue

If I were in Tallahassee or however you spell it, I’d be scared shitless

[quote]Someone just DIED on live TV.

And that was just the Ellen comeback special.

Damn - Josh did not get to a hotel in time and is stuck by the side of the road near Perry enduring 'the inner core'.

There was an episode of Bull where all of the guards left the prison during a hurricane and the prisoners had to fend for themselves while locked in their cells, r188. I assume it's like that.

R194 Holy shit! That's inhuman levels of cruelty.

It is, but Florida is like that

There will be people swept out to sea in their homes. Some just won't budge.

Stay away from churches

All the prisons within the mandatory evacuation zones were evacuated yesterday and prisoners taken to prisons in Miami Dade.

The sheriff's office in Tallahassee told people who wouldn't leave to write their name and date of birth on their skin in permanent marker.

Yikes. Good story from the Tampa Bay Times:

[quote]In the Sunset Reef neighborhood in Redington Shores, Gary Forbes’ sliding glass door looked like an aquarium as water pressed against it. At 5 p.m. he sent a selfie to his grandkids, decked out in a life vest and hard hat, a goofy grin contorting his handlebar mustache. But the joke didn’t seem so funny three hours later, as he stood in the four inches of flood water that had begun to infiltrate his home. His van was toast, he said. His front door was sealed shut by surging water and beating wind. The option to leave was gone. ”This is astronomical,” he said. “I’ve never seen it this bad, never imagined it could be this bad. There’s no way I would have stayed if I’d known.”

[quote]That’s what Susie Thome was doing two hours later. She stood in disbelief on the second floor of her Boca Ciega Isle home in St. Pete Beach as she watched water rush into the floor below. Thome sealed the bottom of every downstairs door with tape, but it wasn’t enough. [bold]”The water is coming in through every orifice it can find[/bold] — it’s unbelievable. I’ve never seen anything like it,” she said.

TAPING doors to keep water out? Good luck to Susie and her orifices.

Adventures with Trump Voters...

Writing identifying info on their skin was probably the sheriff's last scare tactic to make them leave. Doubtful they will ever be seen again if they stayed.

Hey! Weather nation correspondent is also in Perry, FL. He’s near a McD’s after the gas station they were broadcasting from started to lose the awning over the pumps.

So they bolted. The power went off and he said tiles are flying everywhere.

I live about 1,000 miles away from Florida and my small municipal electric company is sending a bucket truck and five employees to Florida to help restore power.

That is mind blowing.

I just looked at a satellite photo and wow. It looks like a bomb of a storm.

1100 PM EDT Thu Sep 26 2024

...HURRICANE HELENE VERY CLOSE TO MAKING LANDFALL IN THE FLORIDA BIG BEND... ...ACCOMPANIED BY A CATASTROPHIC STORM SURGE AND LIFE-THREATENING WINDS...

At 1100 PM EDT (0300 UTC), the center of Hurricane Helene was located near latitude 29.9 North, longitude 83.9 West. Helene is moving toward the north-northeast near 24 mph (39 km/h). A turn toward the north is expected overnight, taking the center over Georgia. The center of the hurricane should make landfall very soon in the Big Bend region of Florida. After landfall, Helene is expected to turn northwestward and slow down over the Tennessee Valley on Friday and Saturday.

Maximum sustained winds are near 140 mph (220 km/h) with higher gusts. Helene is an extremely dangerous category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Weakening is expected after Helene moves inland, but the fast forward speed will allow strong, damaging winds, especially in gusts, to penetrate well inland across the southeastern United States, including over the higher terrain of the southern Appalachians.

Hey Senior Lesbian are you ok?

Landfall just minutes away now. Already one confirmed tornado on the ground.

Meanwhile, further east:

The National Weather Service in Jacksonville has issued a

* Tornado Warning for... Northern Columbia County in northern Florida... Southeastern Hamilton County in northern Florida...

* Until 1130 PM EDT.

* At 1104 PM EDT, a confirmed tornado was located near Belmont, or 7 miles northeast of White Springs, moving north at 30 mph.

HAZARD...Damaging tornado.

SOURCE...Emergency management confirmed tornado.

IMPACT...Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. Damage to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur. Tree damage is likely.

* The tornado will be near... Belmont around 1110 PM EDT.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

To repeat, a tornado is on the ground. TAKE COVER NOW! Move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows. If you are outdoors, in a mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris.

That story @ R201 is infuriating.

These are stubborn, self willed & extraordinarily STUPID people who refuse to accept that they are in danger, & thousands of people are working diligently in order to warn them in a timely manner, while making accommodations for them to survive a catastrophic disaster. Yet there they are, pitting themselves at grave risk while their fucking house becomes an aquarium.

These folks are the fucking worst, & these attitudes regarding life threatening situations accurately represent why so many of these assholes vote for the scum of the earth & want another four years of Trump.

They have zero mercy or empathy, even when it comes to themselves.

LANDFALL CONFIRMED

1120 PM EDT Thu Sep 26 2024

...HELENE MAKES LANDFALL IN THE FLORIDA BIG BEND...

Based on NWS Doppler radar data, the eye of Helene has made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in the Florida Big Bend region at about 11:10 PM EDT (0310 UTC) just east of the mouth of the Aucilla River. This is about 10 miles (15 km) west-southwest of Perry, Florida. Based on data from Air Force reconnaissance aircraft, the maximum sustained winds are estimated to be 140 mph (225 km/h) and the minimum central pressure is 938 mb (27.70 inches).

September, 2024 - The Perry Massacre II

(Just another sordid little Florida town with blood dripping from its Spanish Moss)

And, r212, their orange god wants to defund NOAA, The National Hurricane Center AND. FEMA.

They all think they will be just fine on their own. Over half of those dumb cunts would be dead without government help during hurricane season.

Fuck them. Hope they get blown away, swept away or just GO the fuck away.

The water looks deep.

Glad it’s happening before the election.

Senior Lesbian, are you ok?

It's raining in central Ohio, the furthestmost 'finger' of the storm as it flails-out bands of precipitation. This wasn't supposed to happen until this weekend... maybe.

On the plus side, maybe it will alleviate some of the severe drought here.

I'm so over the yearly hurricane drama. You moved there knowing the deal so just deal with it.

Dateline Tallahassee: It went ashore about 45 miles south and east of Tallahassee; around the Bent and close to Perry, FL. Strong winds and power out but missed the big wallop. I actually fell asleep for a bit. Probably lots of damage just south of here but didn’t hear any crashing noises near me. Eye moving into Georgia.

Watching Weather Channel - is this turning into a dud? Or is the predicted 'stall' going to be the major shitfan?

Cuz nothing reported on the ground looks that bad?? Not to minimize it but - it's not looking like a big deal so far on TV.

[quote]Remember, too, how Butterbean rode out a storm years back, passing the time by posting here and sharing updates.

I'm pretty sure that was during Katrina, and he was posting from Baton Rouge.

R222, the dude in Weather Nation said that bitch roared through like a freight train- hit the coast and kept trucking.

He said the eye passed in 20 minutes and the whole thing was fine in about an hour. Now the flooding and storm surge with high tide is the major concern.

Georgia and the southern Appalachians are going to get drowned.

When does it hit Atlanta?

About 5-6 am R225 but they’re getting bands of it now.

R222 = 😳

Take off your bejeweled blindfold while watching the Weather Channel. Also, chill on your obnoxious use of “??”. And learn English. Lose “cuz”.

“it's not looking like a big deal so far on TV”.

Really? Your aloof and uninformed ass needs to be strapped to a pier anywhere on Florida’s West Coast.

Many of the chasers ended up driving round the same car park near Perry. Josh thinks he got hit by a mesavortex!

[quote}Your aloof and uninformed ass needs to be strapped to a pier anywhere on Florida’s West Coast.

That aloof and uninformed ass may be the poster who jumps in to minimize every disaster. Weird kink.

"Hurricane #Helene sets a storm surge record in Cedar Key, FL at 9.3 feet. Previous record was 6.9 in Hurricane Idalia 8/30/23."

Atlanta here. All is well. We have about 40,000 people without power, lots of pockets of streets flooding and creeks flooding, etc. but mostly fine. The storm veered to the east of us, so we got a ton of r ain and some wind but things are calming down. We have been asked to stay off the roads because the soil is soo saturated trees are flopping down all over the place. Cars getting hit by fally trees and branches and killing folks. Lots of not smart people driving into a flooded street needing rescues. South Georgia got the worst of it.

R231 Do you know if Athens got hit hard (since you said it veered east)?

Thanks for the update Atlanta, R231.

Savannah would be better for you.

I think the 20 foot surge was mythical as nobody is mentioning it today. Katrina had 28 foot surge and the aftermath didn't look like this.

In Georgia 11 people died. The governor said August got hit hard but I'm not sure about Athens. The flooding is in pockets. Like we have this constellation of creeks that spill into the Chattahoochie River and they have flooded in to the roads and some cars are actually underwater. Fire r escue has been very busy with apartment buildings that flooded too.

Is this a high death toll for such an event?

Cincinnati burbs here. All was eerily quiet last night when I went to bed around 5am.

Now, wind. Gusting hard. Branches down all over and unsecured lawn furniture in neighbors yards.

Not raining hard, just steady. The wind is bad, though. Glad my old house is built like a bomb shelter, I can't hear it at all, but out the window it looks scary. We have a lot of big, old trees around here.

Hope our Florida people and our Georgia people made it through ok.

So cnn says 25 dead and msnbc says 22

Still pretty devastating 🥺

R239 So far...

One assumes they'll find more once they can get to the bodies.

[quote] "Hello, President Biden, it's Ron! May I please have some socialism?"

😂😂😂

It looks like Josh Morgerman the storm chaser hasn't tweeted since 1am last night during the peak, wonder if he made it. He was hunkered down in his car in Perry -- where he drove to be closest to the eye.

I share your concern Torta but I'm more worried about our own Senior Lesbian.

R242 those waders... we should all chip in for a pair for JDV.

True R244. More curiosity than concern re: Josh.

Hopefully senior lesbian just lost power and is doing OK otherwise. They say approx 4 to 5 million in the Helene impact area have no power right now. That's probably Josh's issue as well, though he is so determined to tell the world about his exploits, I figured he would have posted some way somehow if he were able. But maybe no power means no power.

For you, R243...

Florida man spends night in his Kayak in his flooded house.

Thanks R247, Josh posted that right after I checked and posted at R243.

Interesting how Panacea was so spared. Apparently the eastern side gets pounded harder than the western, for storms that approach landfall from the south, because of the counterclockwise motion of the whole thing.

Josh tweeted from a car park in Perry last night so we knew he'd got away from the coast. Perry is ten miles inland.

I don't think the 20 foot storm surge materialised anywhere.

[QUOTE] Pray for the cruise ships

Why? This storm was forecast a week ago. The ships had plenty of time to divert either north or south. They always do.

I think storm surge predictions are somewhat like the snow fall predictions in blizzards. They predict the worst case scenario if it turns out to be less people in general are grateful, if they predicted the reasonable amount and we got more people would bitch their asses off.

It's like a tropical storm in central Ohio right now: heavy rain and driving winds. I guess the eye is over Tennessee.

They sent us home from work because our headquarters are in S. Carolina and apparently they got flooded out.

Yipes.

Wow R254. A lot of that was probably very flimsy beach house construction, but even so, what a wipeout.

Also it's amazing the kind of footage a drone can capture these days.

Are hurricanes normal in fall?

R256, hurricane season lasts until end of November, so yes.

Check out atlscoop on Instagram. Apparently our area really caught some bad shit. I live in Buckhead. I thought we dodged a bullet and we did, but our area dis get some damage.

Atlanta didn’t have power in the morning. Now it is pretty much fine

Cincy burbs checking back in.

The wind knocked out power for about 6 hours. We just got it back. There are two huge limbs down in my back yard that I will have to take the chainsaw to tomorrow. Smaller limbs and tons of debris all over the roads and yards.

We still made out better than everyone south.

We also needed the rain. The last time I looked this afternoon, we already had 1 1/2”. It’s probably closer to 3” now

Here comes Joyce.

R256 - “ Are hurricanes normal in fall?”

Get educated R256. No, they’re not, but global warming is causing these series of storms to become the new normal.

Of the 41 Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes on record, 2 have been recorded in July, 8 in August, 25 in September, 6 in October, and 1 in November.

September has ALWAYS been peak month for hurricanes.

Oh, JOYCE!

I hope senior lesbian and her father are okay.

R209, R218, Torta @ R246, and all other concerned parties, thanks so much for asking! I only lost my power for 20 minutes in the middle of the night, but I lost the internet for much longer (Spectrum sucks!). And since I run both my computer and my cell phone off the internet, I was incommunicado. But other than a few tree branches falling down (no harm done) and a yard chock full of fallen Spanish Moss (all of which I cleaned up yesterday and took to the dump this morning), everything here is fine.

My dad in St. Pete lost his power [bold]and[/bold] water; I haven't called him yet this morning. I hope he at least has power, because the heat can be brutal in a trailer without AC. It's like living in a sardine can with a heat lamp over top. But I'm sure he and his S.O. are hanging in there; you don't live to be 88 without knowing a few tricks to survival.

Again, thanks for asking about me, and I hope everyone else affected by this storm is OK and has food and shelter. All else can be remedied -- eventually.

Good to hear from you SL.

I was dating a guy for a while and he wanted to go to Florida. Since he was paying I was fine with it until he told me the dates. I told him "You're nuts! It's hurricane season." He laughed and said hurricane season was over . We ended up going and we met Hurricane Andrew! We were in Palm Beach. What a fucking shit mess. The resort lost power and they were trying to feed us but it was slim pickings.

[quote] The Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1 and ends November 30 of each year. Historically, the most active time for hurricane development is mid-August through mid-October.

According to the Monroe County Emergency Management website.

So YES it is still hurricane season in Florida

Devastation at Keaton Beach. 19 foot storm surge measured in places.

How do you all who live in South Florida deal with the threat of hurricanes every year. It just seems like psychological torture.

Joyce is a cunt

I only feel sorry for the animals affected.

[quote]I only feel sorry for the animals affected.

Until now I wasn't aware Ingrid Newkirk posted on Datalounge.

At what point will it be decided that certain parts of Florida are permanently uninhabitable? Maybe when the insurance companies stop providing coverage.

There's another wave in the Atlantic being tracked that has an over 40% chance of becoming a hurricane and heading for the New Orleans area.

I would love to see a category 5 hurricane destroy Havana. I think it could be the one thing that would allow a revolution to overthrow the communist regime.

Info about the wave that has a 40% chance of becoming Hurricane Kirk over the next seven days and entering the Gulf, but further west than Helene. Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana will be at risk.

[QUOTE] would love to see a category 5 hurricane destroy Havana

Why would you want to see that beautiful historical city decimated? Have you ever visited? I was there in 2007 and loved it. Lots of very well built brick buildings in Havana which would withstand a Cat 5 anyway.

[quote] Why would you want to see that beautiful historical city decimated?

I don’t want to see the buildings destroyed, but I want the regime finally to be overthrown and if that’s the sacrifice that is needed to save the rest of the country and generations to come, so be it.

Anyone remember that photo from an elderly black dude during Katrina. He was like— “I got a 40 gauge shotgun, a pit bull, and an ugly woman. Try me if you dare.” Something like that. Iconic.

Hell, all the Cubans who wanted to get out are already here, becoming citizens and voting Republican.

Do we really need more?

40 gauge? Really? Weak sauce

R283 oh lol. I knew I would be off. I’m not familiar with guns at all.

News outlets are saying Joyce is no threat to the U.S. She's starting to swerve north.

Shut your dirty whore mouth R285!

[quote] News outlets are saying Joyce is a massive threat to the U.S.

FIFY

The entire city of Asheville, NC is underwater. Look at this house just floating down the current.

The financial toll of this hurricane will be tremendous.

Maybe these red states should fend for themselves. No assistance from the federal government because that would be SOCIALISM!!!

Republicans do not mind giving federal aid from taxpayers to people who live in these luxurious coastal cities to repair their expensive houses but god forbid students get their loans reduced by the Save program, which is now on hold.

And we can't be spending money on replacing lead pipes in Flint, MI. Reynaldo and Christiana need to rebuild their waterfront mansion in Clearwater.

[quote]Republicans do not mind giving federal aid from taxpayers to people who live in these luxurious coastal cities to repair their expensive houses

You are going to claim that Democrats don't also vote to give federal aid to rich coastal homeowners?

R293 - the point is the hypocrisy - Democrats help everyone, Republicans only want to give aid to help the wealthy. Please keep up.

Is Biltmore House safe?

Some people will never fucking get it and will cut off their nose to spite their faces over and over and over again. I almost feel sorry for her. And the responses are surreal. It's a collective psychosis.

[QUOTE]Dear President Trump, I beg of you to go and comfort the people of North Carolina and Tennessee. The devastation these people are facing is unimaginable. They need to know you will help them, they need reassurance that our government will provide. Not one more penny goes to Ukraine, not one! These people are suffering, our people are suffering. They need to know that this country and it’s government will stop at nothing to give them new homes, new towns with proper infrastructure, peace of mind and safety. Be the beacon of light we know you are Mr. President. Let us continue to pray for safety and restoration over these families and communities.

These idiots think Uncle Joe has a weather machine whipping up hurricanes to attack red voters

Assholes don't realize 90% of the funding for Ukraine is going to our defense contractors who are building the weapons systems and creating jobs here in Murica.

So glad you're ok Senior Lesbian.

Those dumb cunts. Their orange god doesn’t GAF about them.

He can’t even be bothered to post about the storms and condole them, much less throw paper towels at them.

These dumb cunts think that gat fool is President ? What a shock it will be when not only does he never show up, Joe and Kamala show up instead.

[QUOTE] Not one more penny goes to Ukraine, not one!

But the redneck Karen is okay with much more money going to Israel while it wages war with the whole of the Middle East.

Nobody will forget that Bush's government left New Orleans to drown after Katrina. In stark contrast, he immediately sent billions in aid to Florida after Hurricane Ivan the previous year. FEMA was so ineffectual after Katrina that its top execs were fired. 1392 people killed. Bush saw it as an opportunity to get rid of poor black areas like the Lower Ninth Ward.

Trump left Puerto Rico without power for six months

R73 here. Just woke up & thank the heavens I have a working cell signal now. The news is bad here in the low country of Ga. Power may be out for weeks. I'm using a power inverter the fits into the car cigarette lighter to keep the phone & tablets charged. Most of the power poles on my road are down. Lost at least half the roof shingles on the house, but no leaking, yet. Hopefully there will be no rain for a while. Never thought I'd say this but thank goodness for Walmart. They're open & I was able to get necessities yesterday. Food now consists of cold soup & peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. The winds stripped many of the trees completely of their leaves. I don't even want to think of what it will be like if we don't get power for weeks. People are going to start dying or killing themselves. Will report back as I can.

So sorry to hear that, R73. Imagine just getting a new roof and losing half of it 5 months later! I'd be screaming bloody murder!

I don't think a lot of people understand that with global warming the way it is, these storms are going to go further and further north. It's not just Florida anymore!

And that power inverter is a great idea. A few years back, I bought an external cell phone battery that can be charged up and kept for an emergency and an emergency weather radio/flashlight/cell phone charger. Of course, where you are, people aren't usually anticipating hurricanes and stocking up on food/water and buying generators and such, but perhaps now they will.

Hope your power comes on soon!! Is it hot there? In my neighborhood, when the power goes out for an extended period after a hurricane, I hang out at the library during the hottest part of the day. They always have power.

Good luck to you, and I'll be waiting for you to check in again.

Thanks R305. It's quite warm but not oppressively so. Not very comfy at night in bed. I take 2 benadryls & knock myself out. There are hundreds of power trucks here from all over the country. Ga. Power claims that they should power back on by 10/2 Wednesday. Thousands of power poles have to be replaced. Spoke to a man I saw getting out of a power truck this morning, he and his team were sent here from Texas. He said "that sounds about right" when I asked him if the power would really be back on by Wed. We'll see, I live in hope.

Damn, Georgia @r304!

Glad you are ok and your house is inhabitable. As long as your Walmart is open, you should be good. You can go there if the heat gets too much.

I do a lot of camping, so I have two solar chargers with all of the power cords I need stored in a carrying bag plus dozens of solar lights and flashlights around the house.

I keep a box of oil lanterns in the garage and always pull them and the portable propane burner out if the electric goes out (which it did, but only for six hours).

My camping gear has certainly saved my bacon on more than one occasion.

Keep us posted on your situation.

Glad you're getting help with your power, R73. Power just came back on at my dad's place in St. Pete; he was really suffering in the heat with no AC. He and his S.O. refuse to leave because they have a large, unmanageable dog and two cats, so they wouldn't go to a hotel, and my father is simply exhausted. His S.O. called me to say my dad's going to the doctor tomorrow if he doesn't feel better by then.

Keep your fingers crossed.

Four more brewing... The one in the Caribbean in its fetal stage could be another Helene.

Maybe one hurricane after another is the October surprise.

I'm really surprised there haven't been more hurricanes last year and this year considering how hot it has been and how warm the water in the gulf and atlantic have been.

Obviously, no hurricane is wanted - but it's been a bit of a miracle that there haven't been more. Seriously.

These fucking hurricanes better not affect the election in Dump's favor.

Well, this last one might have ruffled his hair a bit. That's always fun to watch.

R312, Democrats tend to vote early which means those votes are banked in case of some disaster like this striking on Election Day.

If anything, a natural disaster on Election Day would fuck the thugs good and hard. Their voters think voting by mail and early voting is “cheating” so they won’t do it.

So if anything happens on Election Day, it will depress thug turn out.

As long as it only affects Florida and the gulf states we good 😂.

What if a mail truck full of mailed ballots gets swept away in a flood? We all know MAGA isn't voting by mail because Cheatolini told them it was bad.

R316 stop jinxing us you cunt.

I can't help it, this hurricane just added to my election anxiety.

The votes should be stopped getting counted at midnight.

[QUOTE]As long as it only affects Florida and the gulf states we good 😂.

No, were not. It will be majority blue state tax payer money used to rebuild.

^ we're not.

R320 I’m talking about voter turnout you sexy beast.

[quote]As long as it only affects Florida and the gulf states we good

So you think it's great if the blue areas in those states, especially Florida, get taken out?

R323 I mean it’s not ideal but Trump is likely going to win Florida. Florida has never been part of the main game plan. I think KH will turn GA and NC back blue. A hurricane running through there would fuck that up.

The feds need to rush aid to Asheville though. We need to win North Carolina.

At least 89 people killed, mostly in North Carolina.

It should have been named Hurricane Hell.

I wonder if this will finally wake to the climate change deniers.

Maybe we should start with the "nothingburger" poster upthread.

The damage is devastating in multiple states.

89 fewer Trump voters. Nice work, Helene.

WTF r326? That photo looks like every mattress expanded with the water and blew out the doors.

Ahgh juss rebuilt mah back porch from lass months storm. How'm I gon pay for a new house after thiss months storm? Uncla Sam bess kick in, quit sendin them Krauts in Ukraine mah tax dollahs.

[quote]89 fewer Trump voters. Nice work, Helene.

In Asheville? Not likely.

Buncombe County (Asheville) voted for Biden 59.74%, and r331 stealthily celebrates the death of Democratic voters.

Well, the MAGAs now have a conspiracy theory. Biden and Harris have caused the hurricane to chart a path through a swath of Trump supporting states DELIBERATELY!!!!! It is being called a "Directed Weather" event. I am not making this up.

Asheville is a disaster zone. You'll need DeSantis boots.

Death toll climbing...

There are a lot of homeless people now, how awful.

An old DL thread about Asheville. It's not what some of you are assuming.

R336: You left out the land-grab part! Like Maui/Lahaina, this was a "directed weather" event to displace the people of Western NC, so elitists can run a land-grab on one of the largest lithium deposits in the U.S. 🙄🤪

Is it true that that complete asshole desatan said no to federal aid??

I saw it somewhere but can’t fathom it to be true.

What a fucking scumbag, piece of shit he is, if true.

Trump is spreading lies about who is getting aid. He has no conscience.

r342 -- I read it was the Tennessee Governor.

Could be both, r344.

That’s about par the course. And idiots keep voting for these pricks who watch them struggle.

R306 reporting back in. Just got a cell signal back since my last post. Some good news. We have hundreds of power workers here from all over the country. They showed up on my road today & have been working to get new power poles installed. Ga. Power says they hope to have everyone's power back on by Wed. @ 11 pm. Temps in the mid 80's make it very miserable at bedtime. We finally got water back yesterday so I take a bracing cold shower just before I get into the bed let the Benadryl knock me out before I get hot again. Roof man says he's got a 2 week lead time on repairs but says I should be OK if it rains.

I don't think I will ever take anything for granted again. You never know what can befall you.

Forgot to add. Lots of looting and home breakins going on here. They've instituted a 7:30 pm curfew. No excuses. They catch you out you go to jail.

[quote] Forgot to add. Lots of looting and home breakins going on here.

That’s when you want someone with a gun, hopefully many guns, to take out anyone who tries to trespass on your property.

Don't worry. I have mine sitting on the bedside table all night. I also have solar security lights in 3 places on the front and 2 places on the back of the house. If anyone shows up on my property at night this place lights up like a Christmas tree.

Has anyone checked in on Miss Valdosta Feed & Grain?

[quote] Forgot to add. Lots of looting and home breakins going on here.

Where?

When I lost power I went to the car in our parking garage, and turned on the air...with the windows cracked... and it helped. I was perfectly safe so I got about four hours sleep in the car. Burned a lot of gasoline though. Remember. When the weather reports are bad fill up your tank.

Thanks for checking in, R346. Hang in there -- when you look back at this, it will seem like the time flew by. But not yet.

When will you have to go back to work, if you're not retired? The great thing about the last bad hurricane I went through (2017) was that I was retired, and I could take care of the easy, non-essential things (like cleaning up the yard) at my leisure. So hopefully you don't have to stress about work on top of everything else.

Glad you stopped by the DL -- come back again soon!

Hurricane Hehe.

I am long retired since 2007. But I'm only 71 so I've got a few good years left on my sell by date (I hope). I just woke up as it has been a miserable night in the heat. More breeze coming thru the windows in the den than the bedroom so I'm here sitting here by the window trying to get as much of it as I can. Can't sit outside due to all the bugs flying.

^that was me.

Thanks for checking in, R356. Hope you have a better day today.

Here's a tip for keeping cool for a couple of hours. Soak a clean long T shirt in cold water, wring it out and then put it on. Will keep you cool until it dries out.

Thanks R357. They're working on the power lines on my road now, on either side of me. Ga. Power still claims they will have all the outages up & running by tomorrow at 11 pm. Fingers crossed!!!

R358 I went to Walmart this am and bought 2 bags of ice. What's not melted by tonight I will put into a hot water bottle and try to cool the bed down.

I've read some interesting books during my powerless exile. I read Henry 'Bombastic' Bushkin's "Johnny Carson". What a total piece of shit that man was. Yesterday I read "Porn King: The Autobiography Of John C. Holmes. Talk about a man who went from the top to the bottom in short order. The sad thing is he was actually a nice man.. Now I'm reading "Bette & Joan". It's hard to pick out which one was the meanest.. I tried to read Kathy Griffin's "Celebrity Run Ins" but gave up after 50 pages. Even reading what she writes and I can only take so much of her. Same with Joan Rivers. I started on her "Diary Of A Mad Diva" and had to stop a quarter way through. It's just too over the top and basically just her act put to paper. I'm about to start "Wonder Bread & Ecstacy: The Life & Death Of Joey Stefano".

In a situation like this, where people may not be able to get food, or exactly what they are used to eating, I wonder if people are able to suck it up and eat what's available. If a vegan somehow had only a can of Spam available to eat, would they be rational and put their veganism on hold for the duration and eat the Spam, or would they treat their dietary choice as some kind of secular religion requiring them to starve to death rather than eat meat?

It's somewhat similar to when people are on vacation and not everything available is exactly what they are used to at home. If a vegan was on a cruise ship for a week and the restaurants didn't have many vegan options or maybe everything that is cooked on the ship comes in contact with meat, can't the vegan suspend the veganism while away from home? They will not go to Hell and they will not die if they eat meat. It's crazy how rigid people can be about their habits.

Oh, look who has boots on the ground (flown in via private plane) for some PR exercise. 😳

Hurricane Helene blows Trump back into White House-forever.

R361 I have a vegan in-law that would prefer to starve to death.Dining out with her is like the Spanish Inquisition for the waitstaff, like if he grilled cheese will be cooked on the same griddle as meat. It's fucking obnoxious.

I don't want to speak for all vegans though. Just anecdotal about this one annoying bitch.

She's not a vegan if she's eating cheese.

^ Sorry, you are correct. She eats cheese and dairy. My bad. And all of her kids have different allergies so the entire restaurant experience is like trying to get the UN together, combined with her waitstaff interrogation.

I was grateful for the pandemic so I didn't have to deal with them.

She’s not a virgin, either, r365

R356, your power's about to come on (I hope!) so that will help to make things better. It sure helped my dad to be able to turn the AC back on!

May your life improve every single day. I'll be thinking about you!

Joe Biden is such a good, decent person. We were lucky to have him and we'll be lucky to have Kamala Harris, another good person.

Any "new" news?

R370 there’s still over 600+ people missing.

How many people are normally missing?

I'm sure they're presumed dead by now.

Thank you R368, I wish I could say you're right but I am not counting on it. I have had little to no data connectivity in the last 2 days until about 20 minutes ago. The Verizon cell towers must be in bad shape. I was able to fill my car up with gas today. The gas tax in GA. has been cancelled for now, so I paid $2.69/gallon. Haven't seen that price in a good long while. If the outage goes into next week it won't be quite so bad as the nighttime temps are supposed to go down into the low 50s with highs only in the mid 70s. Trying to sleep won't be so miserable. I almost packed up and drove back home to Atlanta today but I decided that would be the wrong thing to do. There's so much work to be done here to get things back in order. I have to protect my investment here. A sheriff's deputy stopped by today to check on me and my neighbor and to see if there was anything we needed. That's life in the country for you. That would never happen back in Atlanta.

But again, thanks for your concern.

Maybe Hurricane Leslie will uncover the missing. They're not sure it's going to follow the same path as Joyce and Kirk.

I just had a knock on my door. I almost didn't answer it since it's pitch black outside. It was a lady from the Carholic church in town and she brought me 2 complete vegetable lasagna dinners with green beans and dinner rolls. I will eat one and save the other for lunch tomorrow. It was like manna from Heaven compared to what I've had to eat for the last week. Some of the restaurants in town plan to open back up tomorrow.

For those interested, this fellow in western NC posted a couple videos on his YouTube channel surveying the devastation around Chimney Rock & Asheville on his dirt bike. It's just fucking mindboggling.

2nd video riding through Asheville

Those comments are unhinged on that video. They really want to believe that Kamala and the media are doing a bad job. Or that they want to turn Asheville into a lithium mine. Meanwhile they've been helicoptering in supplies 24/7 for days and the national guard and army are there

That's heart-breaking, R377. I've ridden motorcycles through NC quite a number of times, and it's beautiful country.

In FL, at least we know how to prepare for a hurricane -- these people do not. They were caught completely unaware. My heart goes out to them.

I guess I should send some $ to the Red Cross.

Glad you opened the door, r356!

Good for them for delivering food out there to you!

A friend of mine posted that some mule drivers are headed down to NC with their animals and will use them to get to remote areas where vehicles can’t get.

Was there anything they could have done to prepare for Helene? Rushing water's going to rush downhill. It seems like evacuating is the only thing, but was the amount of torrential rain predicted?

Helene killed a lot of people. Murderer!

The rain was predicted for Atlanta. It suddenly veered to the east. Asheville had quite a few inches of rain in the days before and was utterly unprepared.

[quote]Was there anything they could have done to prepare for Helene?

Yeah, they could have voted for Democrats.

I've brought in about 3 cases of water so things should turn the corner now. I would have brought more but I wanted to make sure we had enough for home too. And this plane doesn't have that much weight capacity. I mean we had our camera crew to think of too.

MTG says those dastardly Dems directed the hurricane to hit Republican areas to depress the R vote in November.

^ You can always count on Cro-Marge for her scientific insight.