Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
If you are refering to the Jan 2005 "storm" with that huge gridlock, I don't think that was considered a real "ice storm"...about half an inch of snow fell, melted on the roads, and then froze solid. The worst time for icestorms was winter 2002-2003. I believe it was Dec 3 2002 that had the worst...over an inch of ice accumulation, our nextdoor neighbors lost their whole deck and had to have some major roof repairs from a tree. Then a couple months later around Feb 16th 2003 (the day we brought my youngest son home from the hospital) there was another major icing, not as bad as the december storm, but still bad enough that we were EXTREMELY nervous driving a brand new baby home in it!
I'd say Fran and the Dec 2002 icestorm were about the same in damage and inconvenience for the triangle area. Fran probably had a little more beacuse of some of the localized flooding (especially around crabtree valley...the mall had about 8 feet of water in it) They both caused about the same amount of tree damage it seemed, and power was out and school closed for the same amount of time for both. The longest school has ever been closed in Wake County, atleast in the time we lived there, was from the 2000 blizzard with 20+ inches of snow..the kids had about 2 weeks out of school for that one!
Last edited by just_sayin'; 05-10-2008 at 01:51 PM..
Reason: typos galore
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?
Wind and rain are the main issues here. Floyd was a bad rain producer for places east of us. The rain fell after another tropical system "Dennis" just came through maybe a week before. Fran and Hazel were the big wind storms for our area. Hugo ravaged the Charlotte area with wind and rain after making landfall at Charleston. Storm surge doesn't happen here...storm surge is when the ocean surges in and washes away land/property etc. Obviously the ocean wouldn't come this far inland, but if you live off of a lake or something I guess you could see some minor surging depending on the trajectory of the winds.
As for the tree issue. I think people appreciate the trees we have in the area and are very opposed to cutting them down. A lot of the new developments have underground cables and very few trees so you could always live there if you don't like the possibility of trees falling.
Pirateslife, why are you interested in a hurricane party? If that is what you want to do during those violent storms, then move to New Orleans or Bay St Louis. You will get plenty there. I remember during Hurricane Camile, no one survived a hurricane party in Bay St. Louis when the storm surge hit the coast.
I am from New Orleans and went through Hurricane Katrina. IT WAS NO PARTY!!! We had evacuated 45 miles north of N.O., 6 adults and 3 children and a baby and we were scared to death. Trees cracking and being uprooted all around us. Sorry, but I don't see a hurricane party as being fun.
It's interesting....the triangle typically gets tornado watches or warnings atleast once every couple weeks durring spring and summer....but I don't think there has been a tornado actually touch down in Wake County (at least "officially"...there were actually several that spun off from hurricane fran but I don't think they were recorded) since 1988 (before I lived there) that ripped through north Raleigh and caused a lot of damage to houses in a few neighborhoods and took out half of a shopping center (towngate I think it was?). I believe it killed one person, a little girl asleep in her bed...it was in the middle of the night and I remember all the stories they had on it on the 10th aniversary in 1998.
Yeah the F-4 tornado came through N. Raleigh. Missed my house by a mile. Very strong tornado at the end of November. A 3rd grade girl was killed in my elementary school...I was in kindergarten. In daycare we went on a trip around some ravaged neighborhoods to look at the damage. I didn't really understand the impact of it all and I thought it was funny I could see a person's bathroom from the outside. The entire front facade of the house was ripped off.
It was just a freak storm. We see tornadoes here, but they are few and far between...most are straight-line winds, or microbursts that are mistaken for tornadoes. If you must be wary of any aspect of our weather you should watch out for lightning. It kills more people in NC than any other weather event...aside from flooding possibly.
Pirateslife, why are you interested in a hurricane party?
Strength in numbers. Settling fear. A sense of community. Comfort. Companionship. All valid reasons to get a party of people together in the midst of potential disaster. That, or a choice of potentially facing it alone. I'd choose the party.
Did Bertha in '96 hit the Triangle at all? I was in the Coast Guard back then and we stayed hunkered down at our station for Bertha. That one actually did more damage to us than Fran did, although I would say they hit us both equally. For Fran, we left the station all-together and drove up to Raleigh and stayed in some cheap motel (I don't remember where?). Like and idiot I didn't fill up with gas the night before and I had to leave my car at a gas station (yes there were 4 gas stations all next to each other with no power, hence no gas) in Clinton, NC and was able to hop in someone elses car for the Journey back to the coast. Taking some of the smaller 2-lane roads from Clinton to Emerald Isle was a chore since there was debris all over the roads. Once we got back, we had to literally cut our way down the road to our station. There was flooding and it was just pure nastiness for 2-3 weeks after that storm, the whole area smelled of raw sewage. Hurricanes are no fun!
I would chose a party because it is always good to be with friends. I wouldn't imagine that evacuation is something that many take seriously because of the distance from the coast. As for Katrina, warnings went out a week ahead of the storm. I will keep the rest of my opinion to myself. I am use to the snow, ice, and tornado's, but hurricanes are something new. If it is something I need to seriously prepare for then I wanted to start now. If it is something that is a freak incident then I have time to study and learn what I need to know.
Thanks for all the information it is very useful. I appreciate your input and the offer stands to host the first party.
Having lived through, and feared for my life during, one of the worst hurricanes in recent history - Andrew in Miami - I am very much offended by the hurricane party concept. Once you have personally witnessed devastation by Mother Nature that people didn't take as seriously as they should have, you will see it is no reason to "party". Instead of partying, people should be taking it seriously as if it is the worst case scenario, and planning on what to do if the unexpected happens.
Getting together with friends and neighbors to make sure everyone is prepared and safe is one thing. Partying and boozing it up because you're "just going to be stuck inside" is something else altogether.
I grew up in Miami and have gone through more hurricanes than I ever cared to. Didn't have many during my childhood, but my life is now defined as "Before Andrew" and "After Andrew". I still get very anxious during strong storms, always thinking about what saferoom I'll hide in if needed. I used to always love thunderstorms, but 16 years later, there is still some anxiety about weather left over from my experience. I swore after that experience that I would never stick around for another hurricane, but in 2005 I ended up going through three more. I have the utmost respect for Mother Nature, knowing that she can pretty much kill us at her whim.
I feel much more comfortable living inland; however, if a hurricane, or even the remnants, ever comes through Raleigh, I will make sure I am prepared and pay attention to what the weather is doing. Flooding can be just as much of an issue during tropical events as wind. No partying here.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Why?
