Hurricane Laura

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ilovepaydays

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In the last 24 hours, Hurricane Laura has gone from a Category 1 to a Category 4 storm! It’s at 140mph, still getting stronger, and heading toward being a Category 5! ?

Latest update from the National Hurricane Center.

Laura is about to smack into SW Louisiana! This storm is going to be really bad! ?

I will post all useful links that I can fon this thread as soon as I can get them together.

Any FSUers in the area? Please get to safety and keep us updated.
 
I live just outside of Houston (south side). Laura looks like it's moving a little more east than what was predicted yesterday. Most people -- including us, are staying put. My next door neighbors are new to the area and they booked a hotel somewhere that's actually in the path in northeast Texas, whoops!

We have several gallons of water but not a ton of nonperishables to eat. We're just hoping that the electricity doesn't go out for too long. We went to the store this morning, they had dozens of pallets of water available. Most people bought a lot of water but no one was panic buying anything. We're probably just panic numb by this point.

Ike knocked out all of the trees & power was out for weeks (months out in the country). Harvey flooded this area (my family got lucky, this side of town was fine but everything surrounding it was wrecked). Laura shouldn't hit us directly, but once there is a new Big One, I worry that no one will do anything for it.
 
ABC News - Live Hurricane Laura tracker on Twitter

Update - Apparently, now Laura is supposed to:
  • Hit the Lake Charles, LA area at around 1:00am tomorrow morning as a Category 4.
  • Create 10-20 ft storm surges in Lake Charles, LA.
  • Still technically be a Category 1 hurricane at Shreveport, LA and a tropical storm in Arkansas. ?
  • Bring 6-10 inches of rain in Louisiana & Arkansas, and parts of Mississippi, Tennessee, and Missouri.
 
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Does Laura remind anyone of Camille? For those who weren't around then, in August of 1969 Camille came ashore as a Cat 5 and devastated the coastal areas of MS and AL before taking basically the same path that Laura is projected to take and ended up dumping catastrophic amounts of rain on western and central Virginia where more than 150 people died from flooding and landslides. I was in middle school at the time in southeastern VA and I remember going to the banks of the James River near the Chesapeake Bay and seeing all the dead livestock float down. Since it is being forecast to move quickly, I hope Laura doesn't cause the same type of inland damage from flooding, and I hope the LA and TX locals are able to heed the warnings and get out.
 
I feel really bad for the southwest part of my state as its sooo flat and the storm surge is going to go way inland as there is nothing to stop it.

Unfortunately, there are people in the Lake Charles area that are riding it out so they got the "put your name with a sharpie on your arm" talk to by the police earlier today. One parish, Cameron, the sheriff went door to door and then he and his force left so if anyone stayed, they are on their own.

Godspeed to those that did decide to stay.
 
I really don't understand staying for a hurricane. Someone was on tv yesterday saying she was staying to she could repair her roof if something happened to it. And I'm thinking: how are you going to repair your roof in the middle of a freaking hurricane!!
 
I posted in another thread, but I live in DeSoto Parish which is below Shreveport and above Natchitoches. Laura will hit DeSoto Parish and my town around 1 p.m. The winds in my area will be around 70 mph with wind gusts up to 80 mph. There will be flooding rain and our sheriff stated on the news that he wanted everyone to please stay at home because there's no telling what may happen if we get out to drive. I have to admit that I'm pretty scared about what may happen tomorrow.

When Rita went through my town in 2005, we had 85 mph winds and flooding rains. We never lost electricity, but I'm afraid it may be different this time. My home has a foundation that is two feet above the ground, and I'm praying that the flood waters don't get into my home.

My cousin and her family that live in Lake Charles are staying with her sister that lives in Haughton, La. which is in Bossier Parish. There is a lot of low level areas in Haughton, and there's concern about flooded areas there, too.
 
MacMadame said:
I really don't understand staying for a hurricane. Someone was on tv yesterday saying she was staying to she could repair her roof if something happened to it. And I'm thinking: how are you going to repair your roof in the middle of a freaking hurricane!!
Click to expand...

How would that person repair the roof when it gets blown off entirely? How would that person repair the roof should a tree or any other object crash onto the house?
And then there's the potential of flooding and downed power lines. :wall:
 
Why do the reporters from the weather channel feel like they have to stand out in the open to report during landfall and can't report from a place where they'd be safer?

I understand why they would stand out in the open as the hurricane approaches, to illustrate how dangerous the storm is but this gives me the impression that TPTB are just waiting for something to happen to that they get better ratings.

ETA: They have one reporter inside a building and you can hear the storm whistling. Yeah, if I ever move to a state where a hurricane might hit, I'd be out of there the first chance I get. That is freaking scary. :wideeyes:
 
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ballettmaus said:
Why do the reporters from the weather channel feel like they have to stand out in the open to report during landfall and can't report from a place where they'd be safer?

I understand why they would stand out in the open as the hurricane approaches, to illustrate how dangerous the storm is but this gives me the impression that TPTB are just waiting for something to happen to that they get better ratings.

ETA: They have one reporter inside a building and you can hear the storm whistling. Yeah, if I ever move to a state where a hurricane might hit, I'd be out of there the first chance I get. That is freaking scary. :wideeyes:
Click to expand...

To satisfy the voyeurism of their audience to get higher ratings and higher sponsorship revenue - just like any other "entertainment" programming.
 
This is scary:

A suspected chemical cloud has caused police to shut down Interstate 10 in Louisiana near Lake Charles, in an area Hurricane Laura struck early Thursday.

The thick gray cloud was pouring from an industrial building just adjacent to Interstate 10, and the cloud was completely obscuring visibility in the surrounding area. Authorities were warning people to stay away.

Louisiana Gov. Bel Edwards tweeted that there is a chemical fire in that area and that residents are advised to “shelter in place until further notice and close your doors and windows.”
Click to expand...
 
ballettmaus said:
How would that person repair the roof when it gets blown off entirely? How would that person repair the roof should a tree or any other object crash onto the house?
And then there's the potential of flooding and downed power lines. :wall:
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Well and also how can you fix anything while it's raining like crazy and winds are over 100 mph?

ballettmaus said:
ETA: They have one reporter inside a building and you can hear the storm whistling. Yeah, if I ever move to a state where a hurricane might hit, I'd be out of there the first chance I get. That is freaking scary. :wideeyes:
Click to expand...
I should clarify that when I said I don't understand people who won't evacuate, I am not talking about people not leaving if they haven't been told to evacuate. I'm only talking about people who are under an evacuation order and won't leave, usually because they value their homes more than is sensible. (IMO anyway.)
 
I just saw images of Capitol One Bank Tower in Lake Charles. That thing looks like it lived through the recent explosion in Beirut :eek:


MacMadame said:
I should clarify that when I said I don't understand people who won't evacuate, I am not talking about people not leaving if they haven't been told to evacuate. I'm only talking about people who are under an evacuation order and won't leave, usually because they value their homes more than is sensible. (IMO anyway.)
Click to expand...

The comment wasn't directed at you, I just didn't want to post again. The sound this hurricane made was so scary that if I'm told to leave, I wouldn't hesitate for a second and I don't know some people always think riding out the storm when you're told to leave, is a good idea.
 
Some luck in that the storm is moving really fast and while the storm surge was bad, maybe a lot of places won't be flooded as badly as it could have been. It's when these storms slow down and dump lots and lots of rain, that the real flooding is an issue.
 
ballettmaus said:
Why do the reporters from the weather channel feel like they have to stand out in the open to report during landfall and can't report from a place where they'd be safer?

I understand why they would stand out in the open as the hurricane approaches, to illustrate how dangerous the storm is but this gives me the impression that TPTB are just waiting for something to happen to that they get better ratings.

ETA: They have one reporter inside a building and you can hear the storm whistling. Yeah, if I ever move to a state where a hurricane might hit, I'd be out of there the first chance I get. That is freaking scary. :wideeyes:
Click to expand...
Your last sentence describes what they are trying to achieve,

As a retired meteorologist Who worked for a company who at the time was the sister company to the weather channel, you would not believe how many people don‘t get the point that these storms are dangerous. By showing the action live, the point is to tell people this stuff is for real and hopefully teach people who may be affected by such storm in the future, don’t hesitate, evacuate!
 
FGRSK8 said:
As a retired meteorologist Who worked for a company who at the time was the sister company to the weather channel, you would not believe how many people don‘t get the point that these storms are dangerous. By showing the action live, the point is to tell people this stuff is for real and hopefully teach people who may be affected by such storm in the future, don’t hesitate, evacuate!
Click to expand...

I get why they're there but outside? Like I said, the storm was freaking me out with the noise it made outside while the reporters were inside. How can anyone not be freaked out by howling and shattering glass?
 
ballettmaus said:
I get why they're there but outside? Like I said, the storm was freaking me out with the noise it made outside while the reporters were inside. How can anyone not be freaked out by howling and shattering glass?
Click to expand...
They want to show you what it is like to be in an 80 mph wind. Not many people have experience with that type of wind speeds. You would not believe how many people venture out during a hurricane, without realizing what they are in for. Looking at Jim Cantore struggling with the wind should send the message of what it is like to try to venture out Under such conditions. I have been in wind speeds to 85 mph. I can’t really describe what it is like, seeing what is like sends an important messge.
 
Nothing happened where I am, literally not even a gust of wind. Everything east of Galveston got pretty messy though apparently.

My aunt & uncle live in Baton Rouge. They've had heavy rains for about 18 hours straight so far. Hopefully it will pass through quickly and not cause any flooding (their house flooded in 2017 after 10 days of rain). They sandbagged their house before everything started, so I think they will be okay.
 
FGRSK8 said:
Your last sentence describes what they are trying to achieve,

As a retired meteorologist Who worked for a company who at the time was the sister company to the weather channel, you would not believe how many people don‘t get the point that these storms are dangerous. By showing the action live, the point is to tell people this stuff is for real and hopefully teach people who may be affected by such storm in the future, don’t hesitate, evacuate!
Click to expand...

Do you think it’s because many people don’t understand what the measurements mean? They just see numbers and don’t comprehend how wind, flooding, etc. at a certain level can do to property and harm your life.

Here are some videos that show great visuals:
Weather Channel - Experience storm surge like you never have before
Weather Channel - The dangers of flash floods
Weather Channel - Why hurricane categories make a difference
 
ballettmaus said:
The comment wasn't directed at you, I just didn't want to post again.
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It's fine. I just used your comment to clarify my original which was too many spaces up to be worth editing. :D

ilovepaydays said:
Do you think it’s because many people don’t understand what the measurements mean? They just see numbers and don’t comprehend how wind, flooding, etc. at a certain level can do to property and harm your life.
Click to expand...
I think it's because dramatic footage increases ratings, myself.
 
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