My best to those in Mississippi and Louisiana

[Flitterkill]

Every now and then the Earth decides to step up and say "hello" and this is certainly one of those times.

 

Only three Cat 5 hurricanes in US recorded history.

 

Except none of them teed off on a major US city safely tucked in 6 feet below sea level, conveniently located next to major chemical processing plants.

 

Nice.

 

Never understood why people built houses in floodplains (farm all you want there, just don't *live* there) - but a major city under sea level? And draining and filling in surrounding wetlands that normally serve as a buffer/sponge? Yeah.

 

Only real hope now is that once it makes landfall the winds drop like mad - if they sustain...

 

Best ghoulish quote so far (from CNN):

 

"So, imagine you're the poor person who decides not to evacuate: Your house will disintegrate around you. The best you'll be able to do is hang on to a light pole, and while you're hanging on, the fire ants from all the mounds -- of which there is two per yard on average -- will clamber up that same pole. And, eventually, the fire ants will win."

 

Second best (Washington Post in ref. to Camille - and this hurricane is supposed to be worse):

 

"Those of us who lived though Hurricane Camille will never forget it. Camille struck with the force of several hydrogen bombs, altering forever the topography of the Mississippi coast. Its nearly 200-mph winds and 25-foot storm surge exploded concrete buildings and erased entire communities -- then gouged open graveyards and hung corpses in the live oaks like so much Spanish moss. There was a problem for a time telling the storm victims from those already embalmed."

 

Wish I had a storage tank - hard to believe but it would actually make sense to stock up on gas now - $70 a barrel as I write this - prob more sometime tomorrow. It's not so much that the output from the Gulf has been shutdown until this passes, but that New Orleans is a major port for the off-loading and processing of petroleum - and with that gone...

 

I'd wish the Louisiana National Guard the best in dealing with this but seems that most of them are somewhere else right now... Sure the Governor is loving that. Regardless of where you stand on the war, the National Guard were never intended for the duties they have today - they were intended for stuff like this (among other state things) - too bad they aren't here. </soap box>

 

Good luck folks, best to all GC and non-GC in the path, - pray for that miracle.

 

-Fk

 

EDIT: Some conflicting data on the intensity of the storm now but the sci's all say it will make landfall at no less than Cat 4, may still be Cat 5, and are actually concerned that its structure may be changing - as it may be weakening, another eye wall might be forming, meaning hurricane force winds over a broader area

 

Not used to seeing the NWS use the word "catastrophic" in their forecasts:

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATC...ml/290455.shtml

 

NWS Technical Discussion:

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATC...ml/290249.shtml

[Guest Bilbo]

I today was watching this morning b4 school and it looked terrible i was told that it is going from Floridia to Texas and i'm hoping people with be alright i'm hoping that something bad isn't going to happen to them