Hurricane Plans?

[vengroff]

I just got an email from a local restaurant announcing that they are going to be closed for dinner tomorrow due to the weather. I assume they are not alone in making this decision.

Quick survey: how seriously are you taking this? Are you stocking up on bottled water and canned food at home?

I admit I bought some tuna, canned pineapple, pop-tarts and bottled water yesterday. I think it's enough to survive a few days without any problem.

[hjshorter]

The weather report mentioned 45 MPH winds tomorrow. We're taking in all of the lawn furniture, securing the trash cans, and preparing to lose power for a couple of days. We've got diapers, Parmalat milk, drinking water, canned food, flashlights, batteries, candles, a radio and lots of duct tape.

[haunted_chef]

Hey, here in Texas we just stock up on a lot of essentials...such as food, batteries, candles, water, beer, and liquor and more beer. Then we party till its all over. A hurricane also makes for a great candlelight diner with a significant other if you get my meaning.....

[vengroff]

A hurricane also makes for a great candlelight diner with a significant other if you get my meaning.....

I hear obsetricians up and down the east coast are already cancelling their June 2004 vacation plans.

[Swankalicious]

Anyone know exactly when the storm is slated to hit DC? I have heard many differing reports...

[Monica Bhide]

I hope my Bittman event on Friday does not get cancelled.. !! Mother Nature wins! We have all the essentials as hj mentioned above.. I guess I am cynical -- never sure of these weather reports.

I wonder if schools will be closed

[theakston]

I think I'll write my address on my Weber Smokey Mountain....so when it lands in Ohio it'll find it's way home.

[Varmint]

The outermost bands of clouds from Isabel are just starting to appear in the sky. I'll keep on working!

[hjshorter]

80 degrees with a clear blue sky and puffy white clouds here. Looking outside, it's hard to imagine anything will happen.

We're definitely taking the kids to the park after dinner to blow off some steam before the torrential rains start.

[Malawry]

I swung by REI this morning to buy some more mantles for our camp lantern, and I picked up some batteries while I was there. (I had a refund from when I bought my hiking boots there last year, and I figured I may as well spend some of it on the batteries I needed anyway.) I also bought three gallons of water at Trader Joe's the other day. We have plenty of canned food. I've transferred all pricier frozen foods like shrimp to the side-by-side freezer which I will not open; I'm catering a party Saturday and all of those goods are in the chest freezer, which I will have to open if it's not cancelled. If it IS cancelled, then I guess I'm throwing a party of my own to use up all the goodies!

Giant was insane today. No batteries in most of the checkout lines. A definite run on milk and bread, no Parmalat to be found. I picked up a quart of whole milk, a dozen eggs, and a bunch of fruit, but that was all for aforementioned party. It's almost as bad as when it snows!

[=Mark]

Seems like the media has cranked this up to full blown "Storm Of The Century We're All Gonna Die Horrible Deaths Huddle In The Cellar While The House Blows Away" hysteria mode. Hardware, grocery and liquor stores must be eating this stuff up. Probably won't be able to find a generator stocked, but I'll bet you could get a great deal on a snowblower for the next Storm Of The Century this winter...

[hwilson41]

Malawry, I'm in Fairfax, and I had to go to three supermarkets yesterday before I found water. Finally found some in 2.5 gallon jugs at the Giant on Jermantown Rd near Fair Oaks mall and bought 10 gallons.

At this point, we've accumulated the following:

1. 10 gallons of water;

2. enough candles to start a new Catholic church;

3. enough batteries to stock a small Radio Shack;

4. more canned tunafish that I hope I'll ever have to eat;

5. two gallons of milk, two dozen eggs, and two lbs of bacon;

6. a LOT of beer and wine ;

7. static rope from REI to tie the patio furniture to backyard trees.

There are at least two jokers in the deck that have me concerned. First, Isabel hasn't really gotten into the Gulf Stream yet, and the energy from the warm water could really spin her back up. Second, essentially the same thing could occur on the trip north. Last I heard, supposed landfall is around Cape Hatteras, maybe a little farther north. Once she gets to about the Tidewater (Norfolk, etc.) latitude, if she takes a slight eastward turn, there is a ton of warm water in Chesapeake Bay to feed her again, and things could get very interesting.

If we're lucky, Isabel will only be a ho-hum tropical storm with a lot of rain by the time she gets to the DC area, but don't bet the ranch (or your life) on it.

THW

[jhlurie]

Be fair Mark. Its more likely to be a dud to us than for let's say... Varmint.

[Malawry]

I bought my water on Monday while I was picking up a few other assorted supplies, Hwilson. That may be why I was able to find it! Actually I saw somebody walking out with it as I walked in and I said to myself, "Self, you oughta get some of that." So I did. I used to keep bottled water around but my supply dried up (heh heh) mostly over the course of camping trips. Never a bad idea to replenish anyway.

I had just bought canned tuna at Costco last week. I guess I have good timing with this stuff.

Jon, I wonder if Varmint will have a tennis court to host a pig pickin' on after this whole thing is over.

[=Mark]

Actually it looks as if Varmint will be on the western side of the circulation. Given the current track I'd say the DC area will be hit worse than central NC or Virginia. I'd say some of the worst potential for problems might be east central Pa. which got 6 to 8 inches of rain last weekend. Another foot of rain in a short time would be bad news there.

[Marlene]

Here in Ontario, they are predicting we will see some fall out from Isabel on Friday. They are suggesting 50 - 75 millimetres of rain , and winds up to 75 km per hour. They are suggesting driving visibility will be poor to none at times. No where near the problems the States are going to have though!

We'll be watching and praying for all of you, especially for Varmint's pig pickin to be saved

[Varmint]

All I can say is that most of our unhealthy trees were taken out with Hurrican Fran in 1996. I also vividly remember that when Fran was about 24-36 hours away, it wasn't really supposed to hit Raleigh at all. When it was 6 hours away, they started to realize we might be in for something big. It ended up being the 4th most costly hurricane in US history. The big difference with Fran is that we had had a solid week of rain prior to the storm hitting. The ground was so wet that the roots didn't have anything to hold onto when the winds came. It's been quite dry the past couple of weeks.

Anyhow, we're on the top of the tree guy's list, so the tennis court will be cleared should a few massive oaks fall on it. If something is going to fall, I hope it's one of the hickories, as green hickory is good for pig pickins.

[Al_Dente]

I haven't done a damn thing to prepare. Seems like another "Storm of the Century of the Week" with all the media hype.

(Please send me all your addresses so I can swim over for something to eat, just in case)...

[Basilgirl]

(Please send me all your addresses so I can swim over for something to eat, just in case)...

If you can swim all the way to Burke I've got a freezer full of goodies that I'm scared I'm gonna lose if the power goes out.

I took out turkey cutlets and brats this a.m. One for tonight, one for tomorrow night. I have a gas stove. And a non-electric can opener.

I tried to get D batteries, water, and ice yesterday to no avail. Will re-attempt this evening.

[Basilgirl]

Oh, and they better not be out of Sierra Nevada.

[hwilson41]

Basilgirl;

As of yesterday afternoon, the Radio Shack at Kamp Washington in Fairfax (intersection of Rt 29/50 and Rt 236) still had some D cells (it's in the same shopping center as Borders). Might be worth a call, although they may be long gone by now. Giant also still had Sierra Nevada yesterday. BOL.

THW

[sextons]

I live out in Rappahannock County for those of you who actually know where that is . . . If you do know then you also know that we don't have a grocery store in the county (country/general stores but no bigger). So I'll be braving the nearest Walmart and Giant tonight in search of bottled water . . . I'm scared. But I just got a 1/2 case of wine from the restaurant and have about a case of beer in the fridge so at least the necesseties are covered!

Schools around here (Faquier, Loudoun, Prince William and Stafford) have already started closing for both tomorrow and Friday.

[sherribabee]

I hear obsetricians up and down the east coast are already cancelling their June 2004 vacation plans.

I wonder if we'll see a blackout baby boom in May...

[sherribabee]

Let's see...I've got my Go Bag, a few bottles of wine, a bottle of liquor, and a wad of cash. I'm set!

Oh, and a bike and rollerblades if I need to get out of the city.

[bilrus]

I am firmly in the "Oh, this will be nothing" camp, but my wife is getting it from her family back in Ohio who likes to call up every time they hear a story about a murder (in OHio) and tell her us to be extra careful.

I did buy a case of water yesterday at a Giant in Ashburn and we already had plenty of batteries.

If the power goes out, that means I won't be able to important stuff - like reading about orangutang eating habits of americans.