Getting ready for Gabrielle |
||
| On Hatteras, we awoke on this morning of Sept. 9, to a sunny, breezy, and humid day. The National Hurricane Center reclassified Gabrielle last evening – from a sub-tropical to a tropical storm. We had some showers overnight, but this morning there has been no serious rain. Islanders and visitors are out and about, checking out the weather and sunning and strolling on the beach. continued from front page.... The most action we’ve had this morning was at the Cape Hatteras Fishing Pier, aka Frisco Pier, where Weather Channel meteorologist Jeff Morrow has been broadcasting live since late yesterday. Morrow often heads this way during storms. His parents, Cliff and Dee Morrow, live in Frisco. |
||
|
||
| The
most action we’ve had this morning was at the Cape Hatteras
Fishing Pier, aka Frisco Pier, where Weather Channel meteorologist Jeff
Morrow has been broadcasting live since late yesterday. Morrow
often heads this way during storms. His parents, Cliff and Dee
Morrow, live in Frisco. It’s now about noon, and it’s still sunny, though the clouds are starting to gather and skip across our sky from the south. The winds are about a steady 20 to 25 mph with gusts close to 35. According to the 11 a.m. advisory from the hurricane center, the center of Gabrielle was located 20 miles east/northeast of Cape Lookout, heading north at 10 mph. Maximum sustained winds are 50 mph with higher gusts. Slight strengthening is possible, forecasters said. “On this track,” the hurricane center advisory said, “the center of Gabrielle will be moving across the North Carolina Outer Banks this afternoon and then back over the Atlantic tonight.” Forecasters are predicting steadily deteriorating weather conditions this afternoon with winds that could be 35 to 50 mph from the south, eventually turning west/northwest at 35 to 50 as the storm moves north or northeast of the Outer Banks. As always with these storms, the big question is “Will there be soundside flooding from the northwest wind shift?” I’ve guess wrong before. I moved on of my vehicles last night, and I’m now out to move the other one. I’ll post an update this evening to let you know how we fared. Getting ready for Gabrielle Hatteras and Ocracoke islands are under a tropical storm warning on this afternoon of Saturday, Sept. 8. It’s a lovely, warm and humid day with winds picking up. Right now they are about 15 mph with gusts over 20.  At
2 p.m., Sub-tropical Storm Gabrielle was about 240 miles southeast of
Cape Lookout, N.C. with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph. It was
moving toward us at about 9 mph. According the latest local update from the Weather Service in Newport, N.C., we can expect the wind to increase this afternoon and reach tropical storm force tomorrow morning. The wind will continue increasing through tomorrow afternoon and into the evening, with 50 to 60 mph expected along the Outer Banks. Weather Service and Weather Channel forecasters are predicting some ocean overwash and beach erosion on the oceanside of the islands, and perhaps minor flooding from soundside tide on southern Hatteras when the wind shifts to the west/northwest. Unfortunately, they say we may not have a major rain event, which we need here. There is apparently, at this time, too much dry air mixing into the storm to cause large amounts of rainfall. Of course, all forecasters advise residents and visitors to stay tuned. Gabrielle is moving over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream. Only slight strengthening is expected, but then you just never know. Dare and Hyde county emergency managers have advised that residents and visitors follow the storm updates, but there are no evacuations. The National Park Service this afternoon closed its campgrounds at Ocracoke, Frisco, and Oregon Inlet, effective at 5 p.m. today. We all remember Hurricane Alex in August, 2004, when there also were not evacuations. When we went to bed the night before the storm, it was Tropical Storm Alex, and we were preparing for rain squalls and some wind the next day. When we woke up the next morning, Alex was a Category 2 hurricane. It blew by Hatteras with much stiffer winds than we expected and when it moved by us and the winds shifted to the northwest, soundside tide began pouring onto Hatteras and Ocracoke. I had about 2 feet of tide in my yard in Brigands’ Bay in Frisco. Both of my vehicles had water up to the floorboards when I moved them to higher ground. Both were totaled by the insurance company. Hundreds of other residents and visitors also watched their vehicles going under the surging tide from the Pamlico Sound. That was not good planning on my part. I just didn’t think the storm would be that strong. Nor did I think the windshift to the northwest would bring in that much tide. I won’t make the same mistake with Gabrielle. I may be a minimal sub-tropical storm with only a little wind and rain. However, I will be prepared. Getting ready for storms is a drill that is familiar to anyone who lives on Hatteras or Ocracoke. The motto is “Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.” Right now the National Weather Service in Newport, N.C., has the usual advice, “Coastal residents should take action now to protect their property.” I do all the things that the weather service recommends. I secure my deck furniture, move outside objects that might blow around, move my potted plants off the deck. I make sure everything underneath my house is put up in case of soundside tide. I’ve already stocked up on bottled water, batteries, and food to eat if the power goes out. All my prescriptions are refilled, and the gas tanks in my vehicles are filled. Tonight or tomorrow morning early, I will move my vehicles to higher ground. I don’t have any boats to take care of, but my neighbors are securing theirs or taking them out of the water. Also, I guess all of us on the islands have our other preparedness rituals. For me that means: --Do the laundry and run the dishwasher. After Hurricane Emily in 1993, my first hurricane after I moved here in 1991, I was left with a pile of dirty laundry and a dishwasher full of dirty dishes. The power was out for about five days, so that situation did not improve. I’ve since learned to take care of this before the storm. --Charge the cell phone and the Coleman battery-operated lantern. Fill up the lamps with oil. Make sure the radio and the weather radio and the flashlights have fresh batteries. --Cook something ahead of time to have some meals. My tradition has been to cook a corned beef brisket to have snacks and sandwiches if the power is off. --Stock up on ice – from the store and out of the refrigerator – so you can put it in a cooler if the power goes out and you don’t have to keep opening the freezer. If the storm is less than predicted, all of this may not have been necessary. But you never know, and I learned an important lesson from Alex. If the storm is less than predicted, at least I’ll have my laundry done, my dishes washed, and food cooked. I hope to be posting regular updates on The Island Free Press Web site tomorrow – as long as the power cooperates. I’ll be in touch with you with a story and some photos. For more information For more information on the storm, check: --National Weather Service radio --The Weather Channel and local television stations --The National Hurricane Center at www.nhc.noaa.gov |
||
