HURRICANE CLAUDETTE...

He is??? Someone get that guy a drink, then!

 

Claudette messed up my vacation. My family had picked out this cabin with a pier in Galveston since late last year. (we went last summer and liked it.) We arrived Friday and everything was cool till Monday afternoon when the tide was VERY high. I went to sleep at 6:30 AM and nothing was unusual, but when I woke up at about noon the water was starting to go above the wood on the pier. We went ahead and left with still about 4 days left on what we payed for, though where I live may not be a great place to be either. (kind of close to Port Lavaca.) Oh well, we caught a lot of fish and had a good time, though we were still trying to catch a shark that kept messing with us.

 

stay dry Behad, get the boys sand-bagging!!!!

they keep saying on the aussie radio station i listen too, there are some crazy surfers taking advantage of the 3 metre waves this thing is causing.

 

Aw crap. I've been watching The Weather Channel and they are saying that if it keeps going, it will hit Victoria, which is basically where I live. (just a couple miles south of it.) Though I don't know anything about hurricanes though. It may not make a difference if it hits here...or maybe it will? Not to mention the fact that it can still do anything I assume.

 

Well as of 4:15 (yeah I sleep odd hours) Claudette's still heading due west towards Victoria. However, Houston looks like it's going to get the north edge of the 'cane, and there's quite a bit of red in there. So, we may still quite a bit of rain and wind on Tuesday. Darn I was hoping they'd close the office if it passed right over head.

 

If there is one good thing about having a hurrican/TS hit, is watching the on site reporters (especially channel 13) try to be so dramatic. They go out to the bay or out to the island and stand in the surf. The best part is, when they wear a pancho, yet, leave their head uncovered. Whats the point of wearing a pancho then?? Also, I love it how the guy on 13 is now swaying back and forth like he is standing right in the eye of the storm. Please. And whats the deal with all the dramatic explanations?? "Matagador Bay is very angry this morning".

Ugh.

 

Not the entire island has the seawall.
I was out on the west end last night(near Jamaica Beach) and normally the surfline is 50 -80 yards away from the dune seperating the beach from the living areas.

I went and looked after I got the trailer hitched up, and the surf was already up to the dune. That was before it became a hurricane..and before it made its turn. but I guarantee you the wind is much higher now even if it is going the other way.


codell,
I was just laughing about that. The damn reporters are so desperate to make it look like they are in mortal danger by bringing you the reports.

"Watch us, we may get swept away and you wouldnt want to miss that!"


RC,

I was wondering how you guys were doing when I saw it make the turn your way. Its a shame it ruined your vacation. Time to take precautions, it looks like its heading your way. Stay safe.

 

Anybody else make it into work today?

We're waiting to hear if we will get paroled early today. It's fairly nasty outside but could be worse. I dodged a couple or three tree limbs coming in this morning on Braeswood and on Weslayan.

 

Yea, I made it just in tiime.. right after i got here, it started raining so hard that I can barely hear anything over the sound of the rain hitting the metal sides of the building.


and the wind is blowing pretty hard also.

I'm right on the channel, so if I get lucky the tide will cause them to send us home...but I doubt it.


FYI...Ellington is reporting 51MPH winds...I think we have around 35mph here.

 

Speaking of which, I find myself watching Wayne Dolcefino "battle the surf" and am sadly wishing that the surf would sweep him away and never bring him back.

 

Today is day one of a 17 day VACATION! Not a good omen, huh?

And I have to agree about the reporters...actually, I get pissed off trying to watch those idiots.

 

I made it to work, but my co-worker from Angleton did not. With payroll due, it's going to be rough work today.

 

I made it in, but if anyone is needing to go through the Washburn tunnel, don't! There are a few cars floating upside down and parts of Federal road are completely submerged by bay water.

Fun drive though for those of us in larger trucks.

 

Didja see the report about the numerous waterspouts off of Tiki island? Considering the direction of the winds and the storms..
if they remained active all the way to land, wouldnt they come ashore near your area?

Reporters....bah! Fox has some of the worst ones, and thats the only channel I can get clearly here.

codell,

agreed on that one, I have hated Dolcefino for years...that guy irritates hell outta me.

just saw a report from Galv, and the guy is talking about surfers that are tryin to get out to ride some waves, what a bunch of morons! What are they going to ride up to? the damn rocks? geeze.

Eye is coming ashore just south of BayCity headed for Victoria...

 

taking a turn to the northwest again, apparently. but i think that's insignificant at this point. i mean, ALL of the activity is east of the eye...and looking at the pictures, Galveston may be in store for a pretty rough day. not hurricane force rough day...but no picnic either. i couldn't believe the swells already at Galveston and Kemah last night. the power of the sea and these storms is just amazing.

 

My family has a beach house in Surfside, where we sometimes head on the weekends. Hope it's still up.

 

I was in Kemah last night trying to salvage any dock furniture I could. I had to swim to our boat at the Kemah Shipyard, as the tides were already about 3-4 foot above the dock.

The bay looked very angry last night, so I could only imagine what it's like right now.

 

"like an old man returning soup at a deli."

 

west side of Galveston is underwater...power out on the island

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/topstory/1994410
The hurricane is expected to pose substantial dangers along the coast and as far inland as the Hill Country in the coming days. A tornado watch is in effect from Palacios to Port Arthur today, and a flood watch is in effect for parts of Houston south of I-10, along with coastal areas.

Although Claudette's packing winds of 75 mph -- barely reaching hurricane status -- the ferocity of the storm is taking many north of the main strike zone by surprise, and officials up and down the coast are saying it's too late to evacuate safely.

Galveston is close behind Port O'Connor and Freeport on the National Weather Service's landfall targets, and today some of the biggest waves seen in years are crashing over the seawall, sending awesome arcs of water 30 to 40 feet into the air and scattering debris across the road. Wind gusts of up to 55 mph are being frequently reported, along with tides 7 feet above normal. Power is out on the island's west end, trees are down, and FM 3005 is flooded and blocked off near 8-Mile Road, below the west end of seawall.

 

Yikes. This is not good. You would think after Allison we would never be surprised by a storm again.