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"Cyclone's comin', Em"
Oct. 25th, 2010 08:43 pmBut it won't blow us to Oz. More likely we'll end up in Toronto or something. NOAA is predicting the second worst cyclonic storm here in the upper midwest since their records began. The depth of the low pressure zone at the middle of the thing was exceeded only by the Ohio blizzard of January, 1978. I remember that one, because it buried Chicago in snow too, and I was living near the lakefront at that time so lake effect multiplied the load. The intensity of the storm is expected to exceed that of the Great Blizzard (1913, also called the White Hurricane) as well as the strength of the storm that sank the Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior in 1975. We shall see.
It won't be snow if it hits, just lots of wind with rain squalls or thunderstorms. The duration will be like a hurricane, 36 to 48 hours. Wind gusts to 55 or 60 mph are possible, they say, with continuous background gale force winds. We get storms like that most fall seasons, where the wind roars for 24 hours or so. Power outages are typically the worst damage. So we ran around this evening just before sunset to lock down anything likely to blow away. Gary put cinder blocks on the roof of the duck house, as that has sometimes blown off in the past. We chained the barn doors shut, put extra tarps over the firewood supply, and checked our emergency generator to make sure it starts and runs. The storm is supposed to get here between midnight and dawn.
Of course, when you feel confident that you are prepared, the whole thing is likely to turn into a false alarm, isn't it? The domestic animals seem unbothered about it all, but I could swear that the squirrels and birds are acting apprehensive.
Since we don't watch (don't even receive any more) television here, we are missing the worst of the election campaign garbage. I still laughed to hear on the radio this morning that someone on the Democratic side called the Republican candidate for governor a "racist homophobe," because as far as I can tell, he certainly is that. Of course, the Democratic candidate is just a moron who accidentally fell into the office when they arrested his crooked predecessor and took him away. I'll definitely be voting for the Green Party candidate this time. Neither of the two big party guys deserve my vote.
And that's the news from the predicted storm path...
It won't be snow if it hits, just lots of wind with rain squalls or thunderstorms. The duration will be like a hurricane, 36 to 48 hours. Wind gusts to 55 or 60 mph are possible, they say, with continuous background gale force winds. We get storms like that most fall seasons, where the wind roars for 24 hours or so. Power outages are typically the worst damage. So we ran around this evening just before sunset to lock down anything likely to blow away. Gary put cinder blocks on the roof of the duck house, as that has sometimes blown off in the past. We chained the barn doors shut, put extra tarps over the firewood supply, and checked our emergency generator to make sure it starts and runs. The storm is supposed to get here between midnight and dawn.
Of course, when you feel confident that you are prepared, the whole thing is likely to turn into a false alarm, isn't it? The domestic animals seem unbothered about it all, but I could swear that the squirrels and birds are acting apprehensive.
Since we don't watch (don't even receive any more) television here, we are missing the worst of the election campaign garbage. I still laughed to hear on the radio this morning that someone on the Democratic side called the Republican candidate for governor a "racist homophobe," because as far as I can tell, he certainly is that. Of course, the Democratic candidate is just a moron who accidentally fell into the office when they arrested his crooked predecessor and took him away. I'll definitely be voting for the Green Party candidate this time. Neither of the two big party guys deserve my vote.
And that's the news from the predicted storm path...
