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September 23, 2005
Anticipating Rita
Not much has changed this morning...landfall is still predicted to be near Sabine Pass around daybreak tomorrow. That's about 80 miles east of here, and every mile nearer or farther will have an impact on what we'll go through tonight and tomorrow morning. Though I'm not wishing misfortune on anyone, I'd love to see even a ten mile jog farther east. Remember, wind damage is exponential to the wind speed--an 80 mph wind causes four times as much damage as a 40 mph wind.
One good point I noted in the latest bulletins: the threat of tornadoes will be confined mainly to the areas hit by the eyewall. This is important in an area that's covered in trees, like our neighborhood. With uniform winds, the trees tend to shield each other to a degree; tornadoes embedded in the winds have the ability to reach down and cut a swath through the trees, which is exactly what happened to my parent's house during hurricane Alicia in 1983. The backyards of six or seven consecutive neighbors had trees downed--my parents had four oaks blown over.
I'm hoping against hope that the power will not go out; again, a ten mile jog either way will have a tremendous impact on how soon we can get back to normal. With satellite imaging, recon flights every few hours, the internet and cable news--this storm has been our only concern since Monday. I guess media overload is much preferable to the blissful and deadly ignorance endured by coastal dwellers of a hundred years ago, but I'm ready for this thing to come, and be gone.
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