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I realize that the area isnt on the coast, but it is close enough to get sone of the results. How much damage can one expect from a hurricane. Is it limited to flooding from storm surge and rain, or do the wind play a major factor. Lastly, do you have hurricane parties?
In the last 7 years that I've lived here we've never had any hurricanes that caused damage in this area. However, not long before there was Floyd and Fran. My dad relayed to me that Floyd was heavily water damage, it rained huge amounts and flooded everything. With Fran the wind played a major factor and there were a lot of trees down and flooding.
I think its a great question! Lot of us transplants here have not witnessed a hurricane so we to wonder that same question. Are we prepared when it comes? We have lived here around 5 years and with the luck of el nina or its cousin el none o we have missed the hurricanes but are smart enough to know its only a matter of time. Everyone hears of Floyd and Fran and the devastation they had here. So everyone needs to be prepared in case a hurricane comes our way again.
Lived in FL for 18 years and never really had much to worry about. If you live in a place and have to deal with them they are a lot less concerning. Of course this is assuming you don't live right on the water. It would take a huge hurricane to have to worry about anything in this area.
The Triangle is far enough inland that MOST of the time, we don't get the severe hurricane winds they do on the coast (at least, the hurricane category drops a couple, so if it's a 3 when it hits the shore, it's often a 1 when it gets here).
Fran did go directly over Raleigh, blowing trees (especially pines, which have shallow roots) ALL over the roads and houses, not to mention power lines. Many places were without power for a week, and that is a LOT longer than it sounds, when you're having to live through it. Ice became a valuable commodity that people stood in line for hours for, when a truckload of it arrived at the grocery store, for example. They say a hurricane going directly over Raleigh is a "40-year event", since the last one to do so had been Hazel in 1954 (Fran was in 1996).
Floyd mostly went East of the Triangle, but we did get a lot of wind and, especially, rain. There was massive flooding in eastern NC near rivers and in low-lying areas, which took months to recover from.
Bottom line is to be prepared: have flashlights, jugs of water, nonperishable food, gas in the car, BATTERIES, a generator is good, coolers, thermoses, alarm clocks etc that don't require batteries (having to get up and go to work for a week with no alarm clock nor coffee is NOT fun, especially when the boss's power was back on the very next day). a small battery-powered TV isn't a bad thing, so you can keep up with the news. I guess a lot of people have laptops now, and could find somewhere with power to go charge them.
Mostly, since we are not on the coast, you're not going to see a Katrina-level type of destruction, but you will see many, MANY trees down across the roads and falling through people's roofs. The sound of chainsaws was so ubiquitous for months, it became a running joke.
Bottom line is to be prepared: have flashlights, jugs of water, nonperishable food, gas in the car, BATTERIES, a generator is good, coolers, thermoses, alarm clocks etc that don't require batteries (having to get up and go to work for a week with no alarm clock nor coffee is NOT fun, especially when the boss's power was back on the very next day). a small battery-powered TV isn't a bad thing, so you can keep up with the news. I guess a lot of people have laptops now, and could find somewhere with power to go charge them.
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I wonder if a small battery tv will be an obsolete item to have after February when the digital tv regulations take into effect.
Thanks to all for the information. A hurricane wouldn't keep us from relocating, I just want to be prepared. Knowing that the area is affected helps in the planning. Thanks again for the information. Just for the record I will host the parties if we have an event.
Something that happens more frequently I think than hurricanes are ice storms. Those have some strange effects on the triangle coming from someone who lived in the north. I wasn't prepared for how this city responds to ice. Once the city was in a grid-lock, it took 5-6 hours for people to get home from work. Another time we had a really bad storm and we were without power for many days, they don't keep the trees trimmed around the power lines so the trees got so heavy and were weighing them down. There are also not many plows so the city shuts down with any snow.
So hurricanes are the rarity. I'd be more concerned about knowing what to expect from the ice storms since we usually have one at least once a year, varying from mild and a non-issue, to middle of rush-hour nightmare.
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