My Encounter With Nate

Tom

Tom

An Old Friend
NATE STRENGTHENS AS THE CENTER APPROACHES THE NORTHEASTERN TIP OF THE YUCATAN PENINSULA AND THE YUCATAN CHANNEL... ...HURRICANE WARNING ISSUED FOR METROPOLITAN NEW ORLEANS...
National Hurricane Center

States of emergency declared from Florida to Louisiana in preparation for Tropical Storm Nate
States of emergency declared from Florida to Louisiana in preparation for Tropical Storm Nate

Dangerous winds (55 mph+) from Nate may arrive near Bay Saint Louis around Saturday evening.

Tropical Storm Nate: What you need to know Friday
Tropical Storm Nate: What you need to know Friday
Our Local Newspaper

Gov. Phil Bryant on Friday declared a state of emergency for coastal Mississippi as Tropical Storm Nate prepares to enter the Gulf of Mexico, bringing a storm surge of up to 10 feet.

My place is at 22 ft above sea level
My front porch faces East South East.
New Orleans is behind me angled slightly to the left when standing on my back porch.
There is another Duplex right beside me (appx 15 feet) and it is slightly pushed back along the frontage.
There are new large ditches surrounding this duplex complex and our parking lot. Very rapid drainage.

If the storm hits as a cat 1 or cat 2 hurricane I will be staying put. If it approaches a cat 3 or higher - I am prepared to relocate to higher ground (appx 20 miles north).
A few years ago, I weathered a cat 3 storm at a different location a few blocks to my North East. It wasn't too bad but we did lose power for two days and drinking water for 4 days.

Forecasts say Nate may become a cat 1 hurricane as it approaches the coast. Other forecasts say it will go back to a tropical storm before it hits here. At any rate, there will be high winds and storm surge here because we are on the west side of the storm. It will push the water up on shore.

The only way I will get a direct impact is if it moves into the bay and passes to land in Diamondhead (a small town at the end of the bay). Only then would the storm directionally push water in my direction as a frontal assault. Even then, There is a dense wooded area right in front of me that will slow the winds.

I think my main concern is loss of power and drinking water at this point. I have appx 40 gallons of storage ready to fill with water not counting emergency containers and basins.
I have my laptop on charge (battery is bad tho), my tablet and phone are charged and my phone gets weather alerts and emergency notifications.
My truck's lift kit and larger tires will keep the engine and transmission out of flood waters. I am also very familiar with the pavement around my house so if I need to drive in water I am not completely lost. And, my 4wd works fine.
I have emergency candles and plenty of charcoal and lighter fluid and all of may camping gear is accessible.
This duplex was built after Katrina and uses state of the art hurricane construction.

My plan is to add to this thread as time passes. My internet is on the grid so if power is lost my connection will be also. If it does happen, I will post again as soon as I am able.
 
Cruisin The Coast is nearly a ghost town. I don't blame them. There is a lot of money and work invested in those cars and I wouldn't chance a storm either.

Local stores are low on batteries, bottled water and survival supplies.
Nearly every truck on the road is carrying plywood.
I didn't see any plywood going up yet but its still early.

Me, I'm just sitting here waiting for supper to cook and will watch some movies later tonight.
Perhaps some storm movies and disaster flicks, LOL.

Tomorrow I will be filling containers with water and filling all 3 of my Ice Chests with Ice.
I have already scanned and uploaded my important documents and pictures to online clouds.

Our local utilities have been prepping for a storm all year. There is a chance that even a cat 2 storm will not interrupt services. Water quality may be iffy tho.
I do have a slight concern with sewage backing up into the house from the drains.
Not sure how I would handle that but at least my place is on 5 foot stilts.

I have my handy dandy P-38 ready just in case.
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Current weather cast

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NHC Storm Map

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TS Nate Storm Track

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Nate might be coming to visit you Kevin. He will be pretty tired by then tho.
 
Tom you have your own P-38...congrats! I got mine issued by the US Army to open K rations (before MRIs), actually K rations were pretty good. Liked them better that MRIs, they were just coming out when I got out of the service. Hold onto that P-38.
 
Yeah, mine is on my dog chain.
I had K-rats on my first deployment and then they switched to MRE by the second.
Kept my P-38 cause I thought it was cool.
I usually take it camping with me.
I also have two other manual openers and a machette.
I have used my hunting knife as well but I hate what it does to the edge.

Got an email from the power company

Tropical Storm Nate is expected to bring heavy rains and high winds to Southeast Mississippi in the coming days. Mississippi Power is monitoring the changing weather around the clock, mobilizing crews and preparing to respond to any service interruptions which may occur. Please visit www.mississippipower.com/stormcenter for helpful information on preparing for a storm and to sign up for Outage Alerts, report and check the status of outages, and access useful safety tips.

For the past two years the power, telephone and cable companies have been trimming back foilage all over town. I noticed on my way back from the store (I live about 2 blocks from the substation) that they now have around 30 or 40 huge rolls of wire and a bunch of transformers and pieces parts in their maintenance yard.
About a block away is the AT&T substation and it is stocked up with wire and parts as well. I dunno where the damn cable company is, LOL.

The point is, my community is ready for just about anything.
There are huge Ice stations where you buy ice by weight in your own container.
They are automated and I notice there are more parking lots with them there than usual.
They are delivered by roll-off truck as a unit. Cost is about a buck for 10 lbs.
Lots of the residences near the beach have steel shutters as well. I didn't notice anyone putting them up tho.

Like I said, I'm not really worried about the storm. Up to a cat 3 is nothing. What concerns me is the water and lectric. And...say it isn't so...LOSS OF INTERNET!!!!
 
Get you PC and TVs on Surge protectors so you don't suffer any power surges.

I keep my P-38 on my key ring so it is with me always. I have opened many cans with it while camping.
 
Already have them on protection. My PC and internet and my TV are on my battery backup as well.
My game system and stereo are on surges and I have a surge in each room that has electronic devices.
All my clocks have fresh batteries in them as well. Plus I have my watch and my windup radio flash light.
I also have two other windup flash lights one in the truck and one in the camping boxes.
I have a pack of bic lighters and a zippo with fuel plus I have hurricane lanterns and bug-off oil for them.

{gotta remember to tie down my grill to the front porch and secure my trash can.}
 
Hello, still alive, lol.
Yup, Nate called and is still on his way.
Got my water jugs (bout half of them) filled.

Last night before I went to bed I did a video search to see the forecasts I may have missed.
There was one on CNN where the idiot was telling people to expect 160 MPH winds 3-7 meter storm surge.
That's a freakin cat 5 hurricane. NHC says it may get to cat 2, 6-8 feet of storm surge.
CNN is trying to get people all freaked out and is over-hyping this storm.
Typical CNN reporting. People wonder why I don't follow the news anymore.

Will be doing an ice run in a few hours. Lots of traffic outside, guess they were all watching CNN last night.
Expected landfall is around midnight tonight. Will be a night storm, I love those. Problem is, with the last 2 hurricanes I experienced neither had thunder and lightning. I love thunder and lightning.

No rain here yet, just starting to see the cloud bands. I can still see blue sky in sections.
The trees are excited but no serious winds yet either. After lunch I'll start getting my yard ready.
Type at ya later
 
I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be.
The rain is here but nothing special.
Perking a full pot of coffee to shut off and keep
I split my water supply to every room in the house against an interior wall.
I also bought two big bags of ice, one for the freezer and one for the deep freeze.
I threw almost a full pack of bottled water in the freezers too. Will take a bit to thaw and might keep the food good.
I bought an extra bag of kingsford in case I have to hurry up and cook my meat supply.

While I was out I noticed only a few businesses with boarded windows.
I heard a guy taking about how he's worried because his slab sits at 10 ft above seal level and they are expecting surges up to 12 feet.
My floor is 27 feet above seal level.

I brought in a large 38" prybar, a scissor jack, two heavy duty ratchet straps, my ladder and a whole bunch of bungee cords of different sizes. I have my hobby room floor plastic (thick) and a full staple gun and hammer and nails.

Right now, Nate is a cat 1 but it is a rapidly moving cat1. Hopefully it will blow right by. I guess I'll find out.
I'll check in every once in awhile if I can.
Its supposed to hit here around midnight.
Will probably go out and sit on the front porch for a bit.
 
Finally have some action, about the same severity as summer storms but erratic wind gusts.
NHC lists the speed down 5 mph to 85.
The Eyewall is about 20 miles off shore.
Moving North at 20 mph.
Ditches are still pretty mt of water.
Back to my movie...Amityville The Awakening (2017)
 
Just checked the local radar.
Its gone, there is no South wall.
NOLA is clear.
Its barely raining now, still a bit of wind but nothing serrious.
Isn't it amazing how the media fearmongers to sell airtime and gain hits?

Amityville Awakening sucked. Lame scare tactics and utterly stupid characters.
The ending insults New York's police ability.

Well, there ya have it.
Just like most thunderstorms, I get jipped out of the good stuff.
Not one peep of thunder nor one flash of lightning.
Anyone want some coffee?
 
So, I'm drinking coffee and thinking about all the stuff I need to undo just to get back to normal operation.
Much is pretty simple, just put it away.

What I'm wondering is the 48 gallons of water stored all over my house.
I had to pay for that water, well I will next month anyway...

I could use it to wash my truck but it could fall apart.
I could water my garden if I had one and it didn't just rain last night.
I could wash my porch off, but again, it rained last night and the wind blasted it.
I could keep it and hope for another hurricane this season, we have till Nov 1, could happen.
I could take a bath or two but I have a handicapped shower so no tub.
I could wash clothes but not only does my washer have a locked cycle I don't have enough clothes in my hamper.
I could load it all up in my truck and try to sell it at a flea market but since I want to keep my containers nobody will buy just the water.
I could pour it down the drain but I do have to pay for sewage and I'm not one to pour money down the drain, if I can help it.
I could take it to the beach and pour it into the Gulf but with my luck, someone will arrest me for littering or causing an ecological imbalance or something.

So, it just sits there, looking at me and jeering.
 
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