2017 Hurricane Season

[Isgrimnur]

We bring you this hurricane season already in progress.

Wiki

The first forecast for the year was issued by TSR on December 13, 2016.[ They anticipated that the 2017 season would be a near-average season, with a prediction of 14 named storms, 6 hurricanes, and 3 major hurricanes.

Tropical Storm Arlene came in early, forming in April and doing a doughnut in the Atlantic.

Tropical Storm Bret skirted the northern coast of S. America in June.

Tropical Storm Cindy came ashore at the TX-LA border on June 22nd.

Tropical Storm Don stayed down near South America.

Tropical Storm Emily crossed over central Florida on July 31st.

Hurricane Franklin crossed the Yucatan and made another landfall in Mexico.

Hurricane Gert paralleled the US coast well out to sea in mid-August.

[Isgrimnur]

TS Harvey

The Texas Gulf Coast was bracing for Tropical Storm Harvey to make landfall by Friday, bringing with it powerful winds, torrential rains and the possibility that it could strengthen into a hurricane.

Harvey was about 370 miles southeast of Port Mansfield, Texas, by early Thursday as it moved across the Gulf of Mexico with maximum sustained winds of 45 miles per hour, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

U.S. benchmark gasoline prices hit a three-week high on Thursday as the storm took aim at the center of the country's refining industry.

The storm has also forced energy companies including Royal Dutch Shell, Anadarko Petroleum and Exxon Mobil to evacuate staff from oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.

Hurricane, tropical storm and storm surge watches were in effect for counties along the Gulf Coast.

The biggest threat from Harvey is not its strong winds but the heavy rain, according to NHC forecaster Dennis Feltgen.

Most at risk from floods are the Houston area and the Coastal Bend, a region which includes Corpus Christi.

"We may be measuring rainfall in feet rather than inches," he said. "This is a potentially life threatening flooding situation."

Winds up to 75 mph and as much as 15 inches of rain were forecast, the National Weather Service said on Thursday.

Harvey may strengthen into a hurricane by the time it makes landfall near Corpus Christi, it said.

We'll have pizza! And margarita shooters.

[Enough]

Make that scary ass Hurricane Harvey. It's looking to have a good chance of becoming a major hurricane of Cat 3+ strength with gobs and gobs of rain. This could get interesting.

[Brian]

My company home office in San Antonio lost all power about half an hour ago. This was right in the middle of a company wide awards ceremony. They are currently passing a cell phone back and forth for the WebEx audio.

[Kraken]

The fake news media say it is expected to stall and spin in place for four days, and rainfall will be measured in feet, not inches. This is going to be bad. Good thing it's hitting a red state because they are sure to need some serious federal disaster relief.

[Jeff V]

My company home office in San Antonio lost all power about half an hour ago. This was right in the middle of a company wide awards ceremony. They are currently passing a cell phone back and forth for the WebEx audio.

"And the award for longest uptime without an outage goes to..."

Aw, snap.

[Jeff V]

The fake news media say it is expected to stall and spin in place for four days, and rainfall will be measured in feet, not inches. This is going to be bad. Good thing it's hitting a red state because they are sure to need some serious federal disaster relief.

They better hope nobody whispers in Trump's ear that FEMA was an Obama entitlement program.

[Redfive]

The fake news media say it is expected to stall and spin in place for four days, and rainfall will be measured in feet, not inches. This is going to be bad. Good thing it's hitting a red state because they are sure to need some serious federal disaster relief.

I'll pass on your concern to my Mom and Dad who are about 60 miles inland on the direct path.

Their only real concern is loss of power for an extended time as they aren't in a low lying area, though the winds could get a little ugly.

The North bound lanes of I-37 from Corpus Christi to SA have been packed and they've opened the 'evacuation lanes' which are really just the shoulders. I think in a real pinch they will shut down and reverse the flow of the South bound lanes to use them for evacuation as well but it hasn't gotten there.

Actually, it appears even San Antonio is in the direct path and judging from the way the grocery stores and gas stations have been packed the last couple of days you'd think we were on the coast.

They are expecting 10-12" here which could be ugly if it all comes in a short time frame. We have so many low water areas around that you have to be careful if someone spills a Big Gulp.

I don't really see it as a big deal for us since heavy rain is just..heavy rain as far as I'm concerned, but I have family members that don't agree.

[RunningMn9]

Godspeed Texans.

[pr0ner]

Yeah, this one looks to be epic, in a bad way.

[coopasonic]

As long as I can still stream Netflix, I will make it through. Being 250 miles from the coast should help.

[Kraken]

The fake news media say it is expected to stall and spin in place for four days, and rainfall will be measured in feet, not inches. This is going to be bad. Good thing it's hitting a red state because they are sure to need some serious federal disaster relief.

They better hope nobody whispers in Trump's ear that FEMA was an Obama entitlement program.

Does FEMA even have a director yet? Last I heard it was still rudderless.

I hope Redfive's folks (and everyone else down there) don't find out the hard way.

[Chaz]

The fake news media say it is expected to stall and spin in place for four days, and rainfall will be measured in feet, not inches. This is going to be bad. Good thing it's hitting a red state because they are sure to need some serious federal disaster relief.

They better hope nobody whispers in Trump's ear that FEMA was an Obama entitlement program.

Does FEMA even have a director yet? Last I heard it was still rudderless.

I hope Redfive's folks (and everyone else down there) don't find out the hard way.

I read this morning that yes, FEMA has an appointed director, and he's actually competent.

[Isgrimnur]

The fake news media say it is expected to stall and spin in place for four days, and rainfall will be measured in feet, not inches. This is going to be bad. Good thing it's hitting a red state because they are sure to need some serious federal disaster relief.

I'll pass on your concern to my Mom and Dad who are about 60 miles inland on the direct path.

Their only real concern is loss of power for an extended time as they aren't in a low lying area, though the winds could get a little ugly.

The North bound lanes of I-37 from Corpus Christi to SA have been packed and they've opened the 'evacuation lanes' which are really just the shoulders. I think in a real pinch they will shut down and reverse the flow of the South bound lanes to use them for evacuation as well but it hasn't gotten there.

Actually, it appears even San Antonio is in the direct path and judging from the way the grocery stores and gas stations have been packed the last couple of days you'd think we were on the coast.

They are expecting 10-12" here which could be ugly if it all comes in a short time frame. We have so many low water areas around that you have to be careful if someone spills a Big Gulp.

I don't really see it as a big deal for us since heavy rain is just..heavy rain as far as I'm concerned, but I have family members that don't agree.

If it's anything like I-45 out of Houston, the evacuation lanes are the opposite direction's lanes.

And as far as rain, Texas leads the nation in flooding deaths pretty much every year. Flood Safety.com shows a 'flash flood alley' that runs from San Antonio to Dallas.

[malchior]

The fake news media say it is expected to stall and spin in place for four days, and rainfall will be measured in feet, not inches. This is going to be bad. Good thing it's hitting a red state because they are sure to need some serious federal disaster relief.

They better hope nobody whispers in Trump's ear that FEMA was an Obama entitlement program.

Does FEMA even have a director yet? Last I heard it was still rudderless.

I hope Redfive's folks (and everyone else down there) don't find out the hard way.

I read this morning that yes, FEMA has an appointed director, and he's actually competent.

But no head of the NOAA Hurricane Office or Hurricane Specialist Unit. Let's see if Trump gives a damn. My prediction is...not really.

[Enough]

The fake news media say it is expected to stall and spin in place for four days, and rainfall will be measured in feet, not inches. This is going to be bad. Good thing it's hitting a red state because they are sure to need some serious federal disaster relief.

I'll pass on your concern to my Mom and Dad who are about 60 miles inland on the direct path.

Their only real concern is loss of power for an extended time as they aren't in a low lying area, though the winds could get a little ugly.

The North bound lanes of I-37 from Corpus Christi to SA have been packed and they've opened the 'evacuation lanes' which are really just the shoulders. I think in a real pinch they will shut down and reverse the flow of the South bound lanes to use them for evacuation as well but it hasn't gotten there.

Actually, it appears even San Antonio is in the direct path and judging from the way the grocery stores and gas stations have been packed the last couple of days you'd think we were on the coast.

They are expecting 10-12" here which could be ugly if it all comes in a short time frame. We have so many low water areas around that you have to be careful if someone spills a Big Gulp.

I don't really see it as a big deal for us since heavy rain is just..heavy rain as far as I'm concerned, but I have family members that don't agree.

If it's anything like I-45 out of Houston, the evacuation lanes are the opposite direction's lanes.

And as far as rain, Texas leads the nation in flooding deaths pretty much every year. Flood Safety.com shows a 'flash flood alley' that runs from San Antonio to Dallas.

If the models showing 30"+ of rain over a very large area even partially verify this storm is going to be epic in a bad way. Particularly if the hill country gets prolonged rains on top of the coastal areas. Scary stuff, stay safe all!

[Redfive]

Just got back from lunch and winds are picking up a little. Clouds have moved in but still catch patches of the sun here and there.

Local radio at lunch said we may get up to 24" of rain in some localities.

[ImLawBoy]

Just a request to try to separate the political from non-political elements here. If you want to discuss the presidential/governmental response to the hurricane, please feel free to start an appropriate thread in R&P. Thanks.

[geezer]

Relatively calm here in Austin, but even though we're only 75 miles from San Antonio our rainfall is (so far) looking much much lighter. Still didn't stop a run on the grocery stores this am.

[Smoove_B]

This is really not a message you want to hear from the authorities:

"We’re suggesting if people are going to stay here, mark their arm with a Sharpie pen with their name and Social Security number," Rockport Mayor Pro Tem Patrick Rios said at a news conference this morning.

I guess if you're trying to reinforce how important the evacuation order is and this shocks people into leaving, maybe that's a strategy...but man, that's grim.

EDIT: Oh, it's also been upgraded to Category 4.

[Redfive]

I love Rockport. Family used to have a beach house there and we visit every time we go to the coast.

I can't see it making it through this thing unscathed.

[Blackhawk]

This is really not a message you want to hear from the authorities:

"We’re suggesting if people are going to stay here, mark their arm with a Sharpie pen with their name and Social Security number," Rockport Mayor Pro Tem Patrick Rios said at a news conference this morning.

I guess if you're trying to reinforce how important the evacuation order is and this shocks people into leaving, maybe that's a strategy...but man, that's grim.

EDIT: Oh, it's also been upgraded to Category 4.

Sounds like a fantastic strategy to get people to take it seriously to me. It gets people thinking about someone having to identify their body, which could be sobering to some. If it saves one life, it is worth being grim.

[Smoove_B]

I guess as someone that was a former public official and had to occasionally provide advice (albeit never during a Cat4 hurricane), I'm having a hard time imagining a situation where I would ever say something that dark. I'll be very curious to see if there's any follow up with what he's said - like people commenting it worked to get them to leave.

Regardless...stay safe Texas-area OOers. This one looks absolutely insane.

[Madmarcus]

Both sons are in Houston going to college. They are sheltering in place at Rice.

[Combustible Lemur]

I guess as someone that was a former public official and had to occasionally provide advice (albeit never during a Cat4 hurricane), I'm having a hard time imagining a situation where I would ever say something that dark. I'll be very curious to see if there's any follow up with what he's said - like people commenting it worked to get them to leave.

Regardless...stay safe Texas-area OOers. This one looks absolutely insane.

Watching the radar, Rockport and Aransas are spending hours in the red around the wall. Something I've been pleased about is the blunt matter-of-factness about the public response. People seemed to prep and evac in stride. First responders out in force to facilitate evacuations of those who can't themselves, and non existent silliness that was commonplace in the past. (People on beaches, cars driving, people saying evac is silly). I had a vague sense that people who didn't heed this one needed some darkness.

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[Redfive]

So a week ago my wife's 93 year old grandpa passed in the aftermath of a stroke. He was in an assisted living place after the stroke and never recovered. She was thankful though that the week before he died we were all able to stop in Rockport and see him in his room. My daughters all got to see him and though he couldn't talk, it was clear he knew they were there and knew who they were and was happy.

He didn't have much, in fact he was quite poor. After his passing the only thing my wife was hoping to get back to Rockport to recover to preserve her memories of him were some pictures of her great-great grandmother, a full blooded Cherokee, wearing 'full Native American garb' (excuse the clumsy wording).

An hour ago we were watching the weather channel and they had a camera in Rockport. As you might imagine everything was blowing sideways and the wind velocity map showed gusts up to 122 mph in town. They had a guy on the phone that was weathering the storm in the new Fairfield Inn (I stayed there myself in March) and he was saying how they had to evacuate the upper floor because the concrete stairs were cracking...

My wife's grandpa's (thankfully empty of humans) ramshackle house he built himself is about a mile from this hotel. After seeing and hearing about the damage we doubt very much that there will even be a house to go back to in search of those photos. Ultimately, there just pictures, and we're thankful remaining family members got out, but she's heartbroken about it.

[Enough]

Redfive, thanks for that post. I can only imagine how she's feeling. Hugs to you all and hope our TX OO friends are keeping safe.

[UnicornPoint]

We're good so far. I'm not liking the looks of our nearest bayou, though.

Hurricane Harvey Album

[Combustible Lemur]

We're good so far. I'm not liking the looks of our nearest bayou, though.

Hurricane Harvey Album

We saw a minute ago Katy's at 6 inches since yesterday. Only 4 more days of that to go

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[Punisher]

I guess as someone that was a former public official and had to occasionally provide advice (albeit never during a Cat4 hurricane), I'm having a hard time imagining a situation where I would ever say something that dark. I'll be very curious to see if there's any follow up with what he's said - like people commenting it worked to get them to leave.

Regardless...stay safe Texas-area OOers. This one looks absolutely insane.

I think they didn't want to order a mandatory evacuation and put first responders at risk, but really want everyone to go. As always happens with these types of events, there are people who refuse to believe it will get bad enough to leave.

[Punisher]

An hour ago we were watching the weather channel and they had a camera in Rockport. As you might imagine everything was blowing sideways and the wind velocity map showed gusts up to 122 mph in town. They had a guy on the phone that was weathering the storm in the new Fairfield Inn (I stayed there myself in March) and he was saying how they had to evacuate the upper floor because the concrete stairs were cracking...

am I wrong in thinking that if the concrete stairs are cracking, they should be evacuating more than the upper floor?

[Isgrimnur]

One reported death so far. In Rockport.

[Redfive]

An hour ago we were watching the weather channel and they had a camera in Rockport. As you might imagine everything was blowing sideways and the wind velocity map showed gusts up to 122 mph in town. They had a guy on the phone that was weathering the storm in the new Fairfield Inn (I stayed there myself in March) and he was saying how they had to evacuate the upper floor because the concrete stairs were cracking...

am I wrong in thinking that if the concrete stairs are cracking, they should be evacuating more than the upper floor?

You would think.

I've seen video posted of that place. The entire side of the building is torn off. There is also a video from inside. Someone walking down the long hallway with rooms on either side and at the end is an empty black hole where it's open to the outside. After seeing that and videos of the other damage we have very little hope that the house I mentioned earlier survived.

[Combustible Lemur]

Garage was floating, house was four inches from inundated. Round two with 10+ more in. starts shortly.

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[Daehawk]

Im surprised someone remembered him instead of just Skorpius

[Captain Caveman]

With days more of rain to go, this has major catastrophe written all over it. The flooding in Houston is already devastating.

[Combustible Lemur]

We had water lapping at our door for a bit, lots of other have had to do roof evacs. Our next rain band is half an hour away ish.

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[Isgrimnur]

Stay safe.

[RunningMn9]

Be safe people. Saw a note that HOU had six inches of rain fall within a single hour. That's incomprehensible to me. The idea that there is still at least a *foot* of rain inbound. Good Lord.

[Holman]

Just awful news. All you Texans stay safe.