Katrina

[marmalady]

Is now a CAT 5 and heading for the Gulf shores, and possibly New Orleans and vicinity. I hope any of you who live within 200-300 miles of that area are getting the heck out of Dodge and not reading this! Please !!! remember that even though you may be a good distance from where they say the 'eye wall' is going to come in, this storm is so huge that there's going to be major damage for miles and miles around.

I remember in Hugo, which came in at Charleston, SC, also devastated Charlotte, NC - a good 175 miles away - as it ripped through the state.

God bless and keep you, everyone!

 

[kleenex]

The whole USA has to worry about this storm. She sure does look pretty.

 

[marmalady]

Pretty is NOT a word I'd use to describe this lady!

 

[texasgirl]

Another thing that is bad, New Orleans is below sea level!! It is going to devistate Louisiana!!
I hope that everyone will take the warning seriously and get out NOW!!
Pray for them all. My prayers and thoughts are with them now.



http://www.weather.com/weather/map/USLA0338?name=southeastusvisiblesatellite_large_animated&day=1

 

[DampCharcoal]

Pray that the storm surge will not top the levee around New Orleans. Hopefully the eye will veer east and spare the city. Not trying to sound overly dramatic but this is New Orleans' worst nightmare that might come true. Sustained winds of 160 mph and the pressure at the center is 908 millibars putting it in the top 5 strongest hurricanes in recorded history. Many people are predicting pressure to drop below 900 mb. For perspective, Hurricane Gilbert had the lowest recorded pressure ever at 888 mb. Pray, folks!

 

[callie]

Kat looks to be a bad one. DH's family is in the Baton Rouge area...prayers will be most appreciated!

 

[mudbug]

My parents finally came to their senses this morning and have left. Hopefully they will find a place to stay sometime much later tonight, now that they will be stuck in traffic with all the other stubborn people.

 

[DampCharcoal]

Mud!!! Long time no talk! I'm glad your parents are leaving, this one ain't no joke.

 

[mudbug]

Hiya, Charc! I've missed you, too!

Yeah, I agree about this one. The folks have offers of places to stay in Houston and Memphis, but I seriously doubt they will get that far today. I hope they will call one of us later to let us know where they are sleeping, and that it's not in their car.

 

[DampCharcoal]

Where are your folks, Mud?

 

[Barbara L]

My prayers are with anyone in that area, and who has family there. Katrina is supposed to affect pretty far inland, with sustained winds of 39-73 mph up to Tennessee, then sustained winds less than 39 mph through Ohio and on up into eastern Canada. And of course the rain that goes with the wind. It was originally thought that it would come over and bother crewsk and us, but now it is supposed to stay west of us.

Barbara

 

[Claire]

The storm managed to miss my family (last year my parents and all three of my sisters got hit in some degree). For this I am grateful. Two family members haven't or are just barely recovering from last year (there was so much work to be done, state-wide, in Florida that to find someone reputable to repair your roof was not easy). I feel for the New Orleans contingent and hope all goes well there.

 

[DampCharcoal]

If y'all know anyone who has decided to ride out the storm, call them and tell them to get the h*ll out. Now.

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
1011 AM CDT SUN AUG 28 2005

...DEVASTATING DAMAGE EXPECTED...

.HURRICANE KATRINA...A MOST POWERFUL HURRICANE WITH UNPRECEDENTED
STRENGTH...RIVALING THE INTENSITY OF HURRICANE CAMILLE OF 1969.

MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. AT
LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL
FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY
DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.

THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL.
PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOOD
FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETE
BLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOME
WALL AND ROOF FAILURE.

HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...A
FEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT.

AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD...AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH
AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY
VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE MOVED. THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATE
ADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION. PERSONS...PETS...AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE
WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK.

POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN
AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING
INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS.

THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLY
THE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED. FEW
CROPS WILL REMAIN. LIVESTOCK LEFT EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BE
KILLED.

AN INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS NEAR
HURRICANE FORCE...OR FREQUENT GUSTS AT OR ABOVE HURRICANE FORCE...ARE
CERTAIN WITHIN THE NEXT 12 TO 24 HOURS.

ONCE TROPICAL STORM AND HURRICANE FORCE WINDS ONSET...DO NOT VENTURE
OUTSIDE!

 

[KAYLINDA]

Just heard on the news that there are many people who think this is just "media-hyped" again...they are not leaving!!!! I have a bad feeling on this one....I think it will be something we don't want to see again in our lifetimes. God bless everyone even remotely involved....and especially all those who give help to those in need during times like this.

 

[texasgirl]

My sister and bil went on a harley ride to N. Carolina last Saturday, just getting back into town today. Thy went through Florida Thursday as Katrina was making land fall and kept going to stay in Georgia. They stopped in Shreveport last night on their last leg of the trip and while there, the hotel that they were staying in, had the phone lines lit up continueously for the 30 minutes they were trying to get their key to their rooms. The man at the desk told them that it had been like that since yesterday morning and that the hotels in Shreveport were booked solid and they were giving the people numbers for hotels and such in Arkansas. Knowing this, I feel better that a LOT of the people down there are taking this seriously. Seeing G.W. on the tv urgin people to leave, made me realize that this storm is growing to to be a devasting storm.
"Dear lord, watch over our friends, families and neighbors in the path of Hurricane Katrina. Keep them safe and well and help them to get through what looks like to be a devastating time in their lives"
Everyone on here, please, I'm not religious, I don't go to church, but I do believe in the lord with all my heart. I urge everyone to say as many prayers that all those people will be safe!

 

[wasabi]

Hawaii is watching and praying for our southern friends. Heaven help us if a storm like this one hits the islands. We have nowhere to run.

 

[DampCharcoal]

Hey, Wasabi, been missing you! Please, everyone pray for all the folks on the Gulf Coast, this is extremely bad, I fear the worst. Our friends in the South need to check in when they can!

 

[Raven]

My MIL just headed out for Baton Rouge. I don't know if she even knows this thing is coming or not (and she doesn't have a cell phone). Fortunantly, we're far enough north that a lot of people are fleeing Louisiana coming here (so there isn't a hotel room to be had in the state) but if that thing hits just right it'll come straight up here, so we're getting our batteries and lamp oil stored.

With all the warm/moist air we have in place the main thing I'm worried about here is Tornadoes

We will keep everyone in her path in our prayers tonight.

~ Raven ~

 

[mudbug]

I turned The Weather Channel and Fox on as soon as our neighbors left this evening. Sure looks like we are for some nasty sh*t. Apparently my folks have made it as far north as Hattiesburg, but I have not heard from them myself and don't know if they intending to keep driving or try to stay where they are.

Even TN and northern AL are not going to escape the effects of this storm.

Best wishes to all who have loved ones in the path of this historic storm.

 

[wannabake]

God Bless all in it's path.........

I pray that everyone took the warning seriously and took themselves, family and pets out of danger. It's sad thing's like this happen at all. I've said a many prayer for those effected and hope everyones safe!!!
God Bless