Here we go again. Another big category 5 gonna slam the coast. This time it looks like it's our turn (Texas). Glad to see lessons were learned. They started to evacuate the infirmed and ill yesterday and notified folks to start leaving. It's due in in two days looks like its going to be pretty nasty. Predict it will still be a hurricane up as far as Austin and be a tropical storm by the time it hits me in Dallas. I guess I won't be camping this weekend afterall. Advise ya'll to fill your gas tanks tomorrow as the prices will jump as the gougers will use it as an excuse to jump the prices . Already saw the effect today. Prices went down yesterday then jumped a nickle at some late this evening.

The best wishes to the guys and girls in the area.

Hi, Best wishes to all of you folks living in this area as well. What with the future predictions over the next ten years of increasingly violent hurricane activity in this general area of the world, it might be a good idea to take a real serious look at moving out, or at least, a little farther away from the general Gulf Coast region. I know that for folks who have jobs here, or who have lived basically in this region all their lives this is a hard decision to make, but things aren't going to be getting any better.

Good luck and take care, Sgirty

Yep, Good luck to everyone down that way.

And i thought i was going to be safe, but no it turned eastern and now little old me in Lafayette, LA i am staring the bad side in the face. But i will made it. Got the day off anyway. More modeling time. :-)

As predicted, the gouging has begun. I bought gas at $2.65 a gallon Wed night. The next day same station was at 2.79. Tonite, there were cars lined up in streets at most stations along my route home from school. And now they are saying the hurricane took a swing north and we probably won't get touched. Well, sure glad I filled up and won't have to worry about a refill for a week or so maybe longer if I skip the weekend activites I had planned. might be a good time to rent a couple of flics and hnker dow with TV, planning my Viet Nam project and reading a good book. or I can go to the Order of Arrow Fellowship down the road and trade patches. I'll deal with it tomorrow.

From my youthful days as an assistant scoutmaster:

Things are al ready looking bad. Apparently a bus of evacuees in Texes had a mechanical problem and exploded. 24 people are reported dead from that accident.

Hopefully this will be the worst of the storm.

We all pray for the people down along the coast.

Wow,

This this thing is huge. Pressure down to 930 mb.
From NOAA:

COASTAL STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 15 TO 20 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE
LEVELS...ALONG WITH LARGE AND DANGEROUS BATTERING WAVES...CAN BE
EXPECTED NEAR AND TO THE EAST OF WHERE THE CENTER MAKES LANDFALL.
TIDES ARE CURRENTLY RUNNING ABOUT 2 FEET ABOVE NORMAL ALONG THE
LOUISIANA...MISSISSIPPI AND ALABAMA COASTS IN THE AREAS AFFECTED BY
KATRINA. TIDES IN THOSE AREAS WILL INCREASE TO 3 TO 5 FEET AND BE
ACCOMPANIED BY LARGE WAVES...AND RESIDENTS THERE COULD EXPERIENCE
COASTAL FLOODING. LARGE SWELLS GENERATED BY RITA WILL LIKELY AFFECT
MOST PORTIONS OF THE GULF COAST.

Hunker down everyone.

Shaun

Hi, All of this truly shows just how insignificant man is to the power of Mother Nature, and the operations of Mother Earth, much less that of the solar system or the universe. We're basically just ants, scratching at the bare surface, hoping to surivive the next ride.

Take care, Sgirty

Thanks for everyone's thoughts and prayers, but Houston dodged this one. We tried to evacuate Thursday, but turned around when we found the all of the freeways one big logjam, which we could not face with a 2 month old infant. We finally left town Friday afternoon just as the first winds were coming in and made it to San Antonio in three hours: faster that I can normally drive it as there was no traffic and nothing open to stop at. We saw numerous abandoned cars, some cars receiving gasoline from State of Texas Dept. of Transportation trucks, but there were no people waiting abandoned on the side of the road to face the storm in their car. We also saw enormous convoys of National Guard vehicles, 18 wheelers loaded with relief supplies, ambulances, communications trucks, buses filled with relief workers, etc. etc. headed east toward the storm. We returned to town Monday and you would not know a hurricane had passed nearby as all we had were a lot of leaves and small tree limbs in our yard. But, and this is a big but, southeast Texas (Beaumont and Port Arthur and other small towns) and southwest Louisiana have been very hard hit. People in southeast Texas are having to deal with not only the terrbile devastation of the storm, but the incredibly hot temperatures we have been experiencing. Please contribute what you can to the Red Cross or Salvation Army and keep these people in your thoughts and prayers.

Keith

Hello all
Linda and I escaped to oklahoma before Katrina and Rita hit.
But sadly not our friends. The club down there in Lake Charles was hit hard. I.ve only talked to one of them and heard about three of the members as of this writing. The one I talked to said his house was hit and he lost part of the roof and a section of wall. They don't anticipate power for about 3 to 4 weeks. And some of the town is still under water. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
Jerry