CAT 4 / Hurricane Helene !!!

[klinemj]

Crossing my fingers for everyone in the path! Here in ATL, things are OK but winds will be picking up...just at tropical storm level now, but the ground is saturated.

Mark

[tropicallutefisk]

Sept 27, 2024 5:25:47 GMT -5 klinemj said:

Crossing my fingers for everyone in the path! Here in ATL, things are OK but winds will be picking up...just at tropical storm level now, but the ground is saturated.

Mark

Be safe. That is still a nasty storm. 

Hope no one was planning on any air travel today. At least nothing that involved the busiest airport in the US, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson. 

[klinemj]

Sept 27, 2024 5:57:58 GMT -5 tropicallutefisk said:

Be safe. That is still a nasty storm. 

Hope no one was planning on any air travel today. At least nothing that involved the busiest airport in the US, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson. 

Thanks - luckily, it shifted a bit more east so we're not getting the big winds. And, we likely have ~1.5 more hours of rain. But, I'm not going out for at least 3 hours.

Mark

[LCSeminole]

While the power is still out in my neighborhood, other neighborhoods around me are coming back on-line, so it shouldn’t be long now. Until then, my inverter generator is now running and my refrigerator, fiber optic modem and TV are now running. Life is very much bearable in FL when you have ice, cold drinks and Internet!!! Oh yeah, verified I don’t have any house damage, so I am very grateful for that. It also a nice sunny breezy day, 14mph winds(wonder where that’s coming from), 53% humidity 83 degrees. It now looks like Nashville is getting much of the rain that went through here last night.

[tropicallutefisk]

There is one thing about storms that I do like. Yeah sounds weird. I know. I like the smell of the air after the storm.

[LCSeminole]

For a city with a population of approximately 204,000, about 80,000 utility customers are/were without power. There are power utility crews from Ohio, North Carolina, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi (and most likely more that I don’t know about)in Tallahassee and counties around Leon County and greater Big Bend area that were affected by Hurricane Helene. Since they got started at 4am this morning, they have reduced the number of outages down to 37,000 at this time. These utility workers have been a blessing, and being a part of a mutual utility aid group is/has paid dividends when the help is needed. Proud to say that crews in my area of Tallahassee(NE side of town) are kept supplied with food/drinks from the homeowners, as we are extremely grateful for there hard work in restoring power.

[tropicallutefisk]

Sept 27, 2024 11:40:59 GMT -5 LCSeminole said:

For a city with a population of approximately 204,000, about 80,000 utility customers are/were without power. There are power utility crews from Ohio, North Carolina, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi (and most likely more that I don’t know about)in Tallahassee and counties around Leon County and greater Big Bend area that were affected by Hurricane Helene. Since they got started at 4am this morning, they have reduced the number of outages down to 37,000 at this time. These utility workers have been a blessing, and being a part of a mutual utility aid group is/has paid dividends when the help is needed. Proud to say that crews in my area of Tallahassee(NE side of town) are kept supplied with food/drinks from the homeowners, as we are extremely grateful for there hard work in restoring power.

Line workers are heroes and its always encouraging to see them treated as such. As you pointed out, most leave their families and normal lives to come to devastated areas to work in hot, humid and often dangerous conditions to give us back our creature comforts. 

[LCSeminole]

Sept 27, 2024 12:46:46 GMT -5 tropicallutefisk said:

Sept 27, 2024 11:40:59 GMT -5 LCSeminole said:

For a city with a population of approximately 204,000, about 80,000 utility customers are/were without power. There are power utility crews from Ohio, North Carolina, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi (and most likely more that I don’t know about)in Tallahassee and counties around Leon County and greater Big Bend area that were affected by Hurricane Helene. Since they got started at 4am this morning, they have reduced the number of outages down to 37,000 at this time. These utility workers have been a blessing, and being a part of a mutual utility aid group is/has paid dividends when the help is needed. Proud to say that crews in my area of Tallahassee(NE side of town) are kept supplied with food/drinks from the homeowners, as we are extremely grateful for there hard work in restoring power.

Line workers are heroes and its always encouraging to see them treated as such. As you pointed out, most leave their families and normal lives to come to devastated areas to work in hot, humid and often dangerous conditions to give us back our creature comforts. 

Agreed, they are absolutely a profession that deserves praise. The older I get, the more I appreciate professions like these, and to a much much lesser degree politicians, professional athletes and actors/actress.

[klinemj]

Sept 27, 2024 13:12:27 GMT -5 LCSeminole said:

Sept 27, 2024 12:46:46 GMT -5 tropicallutefisk said:

Line workers are heroes and its always encouraging to see them treated as such. As you pointed out, most leave their families and normal lives to come to devastated areas to work in hot, humid and often dangerous conditions to give us back our creature comforts. 

Agreed, they are absolutely a profession that deserves praise. The older I get, the more I appreciate professions like these, and to a much much lesser degree politicians, professional athletes and actors/actress.

As I drove from Cinci, there were utility trucks from Michigan, as well as tree removal experts from somewhere up north rolling through KY and TN on their way to help. Gotta love that.

Mark

[LuisV]

Sept 27, 2024 4:28:20 GMT -5 LCSeminole said:

Hemster and LuisV , how did the Tampa area make out? Hopefully the water surge was minimal!

Just a nasty wind and rain event for us... no flooding in our community, minor landscaping damage for us.  However, although 150 miles off the coast, I can't say the same for coastal areas by us.  We were lucky... my heart and prayers go out to those that were affected by this storm.  

[LCSeminole]

So the hurricane cycle is now complete for Helene. My power was just restored thankfully, a big thank you goes out to the power crews from 10 states. Count me as impressed that they have restored 90% of the City of Tallahassee utility customers power since 4am this morning. I went out on a 42 mile bike tour of the NE side of Tallahassee and met 3 different utility crew from Ohio, Louisiana and Nebraska, and thanked each of them. They were all extremely happy to help out.

[novisnick]

Sept 27, 2024 11:40:59 GMT -5 LCSeminole said:

For a city with a population of approximately 204,000, about 80,000 utility customers are/were without power. There are power utility crews from Ohio, North Carolina, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi (and most likely more that I don’t know about)in Tallahassee and counties around Leon County and greater Big Bend area that were affected by Hurricane Helene. Since they got started at 4am this morning, they have reduced the number of outages down to 37,000 at this time. These utility workers have been a blessing, and being a part of a mutual utility aid group is/has paid dividends when the help is needed. Proud to say that crews in my area of Tallahassee(NE side of town) are kept supplied with food/drinks from the homeowners, as we are extremely grateful for there hard work in restoring power.

As in our area here, utility workers are treated as saviors! Blessings from other parts of the country! Food, drink and blessings are poured upon them! Glad to see Louisiana is represented in your area. So glad your plight is minimal and continuing prayers for those who have lost family and friends. These storms always come with a huge expense. 

Unlike the weather you’re experiencing now, here in Louisiana the aftermath usually leaves us with 90% humidity and temperatures in the high 90*’s. I remember Gustav, we were declared the safe zone & everyone came to town, we ended up being ground zero. We were out of power for 15 long days and the weather was crushing. Extreme humidity and temperatures hovering around 95* to 100*.  Pole was down and they finally showed up with a D-10 bulldozer which immediately tore up 200’ of my yard to get to the back, instead of taking the right of way path. 10 years of work wiped out in 10 minutes . Thankfully ( most importantly) minimal life was lost.

[klinemj]

I was just meeting with a colleague who works in the hotel business, and he was saying they provide a special service to find lodging for the out of town workers in their hotel networks! So much logistics needs to happen to just get them there and lodged! Amazing!

Mark

[LCSeminole]

Sept 28, 2024 9:25:43 GMT -5 klinemj said:

I was just meeting with a colleague who works in the hotel business, and he was saying they provide a special service to find lodging for the out of town workers in their hotel networks! So much logistics needs to happen to just get them there and lodged! Amazing!

Mark

It’s the communities that work together to get it done, even when there are no hotel room. I’ve seen linemen sleeping in their trucks, and the word gets out, and the locals will put them up in spare bedrooms and such. It’s times like these that brings the best out in people!!!……..and it’s a shame that these are rare events in these times.

[LCSeminole]

………something to add hurricane preparedness-wise. I bought my Champion inverter generator right after Hurricane Michael in 2018 because I swore I would never go without power for the necessities again, ie: refrigerator, internet modem, TV and fan. Once a year I test start it in June/July and change the oil, whether it was used extensively or not. Until Helene, I haven’t needed the generator and it started on the first pull this time. An inverter generator only runs as much as the power draw requires so it’s not full tilt in my case and is much quieter when running. At the end of the hurricane season, I run the tank and lines dry of fuel(I run non-ethanol gas as it doesn’t dry out the lines and seals when sitting for long periods) and let it sit until the next June/July. With Hurricane Helene, I didn’t worry about it not being ready and that is big worry off anyone’s mind when you absolutely positively need it to work on the first pull. Also its amazing how little fuel it needed for 15 hrs of use.

[Dwayland]

All good here in Raleigh, NC. Had some circulation above our neighborhood that was trying to form a tornado, but fortunately it did not.

Glad to hear some good news coming out of the forum thus far. My son is at APP State in Boone, and the university is closed for the week and his ROTC group is assisting as needed in the area.

[simpleman68]

Sept 28, 2024 13:47:16 GMT -5 LCSeminole said:

………something to add hurricane preparedness-wise. I bought my Champion inverter generator right after Hurricane Michael in 2018 because I swore I would never go without power for the necessities again, ie: refrigerator, internet modem, TV and fan. Once a year I test start it in June/July and change the oil, whether it was used extensively or not. Until Helene, I haven’t needed the generator and it started on the first pull this time. An inverter generator only runs as much as the power draw requires so it’s not full tilt in my case and is much quieter when running. At the end of the hurricane season, I run the tank and lines dry of fuel(I run non-ethanol gas as it doesn’t dry out the lines and seals when sitting for long periods) and let it sit until the next June/July. With Hurricane Helene, I didn’t worry about it not being ready and that is big worry off anyone’s mind when you absolutely positively need it to work on the first pull. Also its amazing how little fuel it needed for 15 hrs of use.

A good genny is really nice to have after a big storm rolls through. After Ian, I borrowed my Dad's generator for a few days. It's only a 12kW but was enough to power the A/C, fridge, lights and water heater.

I wired it to the dryer breaker and switched off the main so as not to back feed the lines. Most of it is about start up order. A/C was first and once that cycled on, I plugged the fridge back in and then the water heater.

It was very nice to get the humidity out of the air in the house and be able to sleep well to get outside clean up done.

Then I spent the next week helping my neighbors with broken plumbing, water logged outlets on their docks etc. Dragging boats back to their homes etc.

Everybody was doing a little something and it was really great to see.

THIS is how people work together when they're not bickering over the day to day things that don't really matter.

Scott

[klinemj]

The devastation in North Carolina is awful. So many roads and bridges washed out - included part of I-40...a whole lane is washed out in 1 area.

And the losses at Chimney Rock...oh my. Of particular note, the Lake Lure Flowering Bridge is gone. We visited it last year - a beautiful garden, complete with a "rainbow bridge" for people to place remembrances of dearly departed pets.




The rainbow bridge...there were collars, pictures of the pets, and notes about them.

[AudioHTIT]

Sept 28, 2024 14:52:09 GMT -5 simpleman68 said:

Sept 28, 2024 13:47:16 GMT -5 LCSeminole said:

………something to add hurricane preparedness-wise. I bought my Champion inverter generator right after Hurricane Michael in 2018 because I swore I would never go without power for the necessities again, ie: refrigerator, internet modem, TV and fan. Once a year I test start it in June/July and change the oil, whether it was used extensively or not. Until Helene, I haven’t needed the generator and it started on the first pull this time. An inverter generator only runs as much as the power draw requires so it’s not full tilt in my case and is much quieter when running. At the end of the hurricane season, I run the tank and lines dry of fuel(I run non-ethanol gas as it doesn’t dry out the lines and seals when sitting for long periods) and let it sit until the next June/July. With Hurricane Helene, I didn’t worry about it not being ready and that is big worry off anyone’s mind when you absolutely positively need it to work on the first pull. Also its amazing how little fuel it needed for 15 hrs of use.

A good genny is really nice to have after a big storm rolls through. After Ian, I borrowed my Dad's generator for a few days. It's only a 12kW but was enough to power the A/C, fridge, lights and water heater.

I wired it to the dryer breaker and switched off the main so as not to back feed the lines. Most of it is about start up order. A/C was first and once that cycled on, I plugged the fridge back in and then the water heater.

It was very nice to get the humidity out of the air in the house and be able to sleep well to get outside clean up done.

Then I spent the next week helping my neighbors with broken plumbing, water logged outlets on their docks etc. Dragging boats back to their homes etc.

Everybody was doing a little something and it was really great to see.

THIS is how people work together when they're not bickering over the day to day things that don't really matter.

Scott

‘Only 12KW’? that’s a big guy! Our new inverter does close to that for peak power with gas, but we use propane and ‘running watts’ comes in at about 8.5KW. We also have a ‘procedure’ that gets the whole house online, without backfeed, and like you, that lets us turn on the AC. Since ultra hot days are when we usually lose power, having AC with the other necessities and niceties while we hunker down inside is really welcome. 
🫠

[cecilg]

Sept 29, 2024 6:40:50 GMT -5 klinemj said:

The devastation in North Carolina is awful. So many roads and bridges washed out - included part of I-40...a whole lane is washed out in 1 area.

And the losses at Chimney Rock...oh my. Of particular note, the Lake Lure Flowering Bridge is gone. We visited it last year - a beautiful garden, complete with a "rainbow bridge" for people to place remembrances of dearly departed pets.

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The rainbow bridge...there were collars, pictures of the pets, and notes about them.
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I lived near Chimney Rock/Lake Lure for 8 years, moving to FL in 2021. I used to drive 15 minutes to the Lake Lure visitor center for daily walks/runs (it was the nearest flat space and full of natural beauty), with a routine leg over the Flowering Bridge and back to the floating walkway at the marina. Sometimes I'd stop at the brewery at the west end of Chimney Rock village on the way home. As of last Friday, none of those places exist anymore. Chimney Rock village was 3/4 washed away, the bridge entirely, and the wind blew the floating walkway against the boats in the marina, confining them to a heap of trash, which has now spread out to cover the lake, which itself backs up to a dam that threatens to break. On Saturday, a guy was filmed in Chimney Rock putting it well "..alright guys, I'll tell you what's going on here. Chimney Rock's gone, Flowering Bridge is gone.....and the f*****ng road's gone. I don't know what they're gonna do to get us out of here, but this s**t's crazy". Later that day choppers came in and took 100 residents out. Some others stayed, and some of those undoubtedly were dead. In Buncome County, emergency personnel observed cars being taken down the river with people inside, but the current was so fast they couldn't reach them. The death total is nowhere near complete and won't be for weeks. Truly sad and amazing.