"weather-drew" (noun):
A nickname used by a systems administrator, web developer and network engineer living in Oklahoma, working in the weather industry. He does not make donuts.
Previous Blog Entries:
- The Things We Do For Dogs (To Dogs?)
- Dreamworks + Ghost in the Shell
- The Ice Storm
- Beef Ribs, The Triumph
- Laughing Man Hacks You
- Gary Get's National
- SimCity 5 - Societies
- Digital Atmosphere
- New Friends, Old Friends
- Classic Super Cell Anyone?
- (Show More Archives...)
Katrina and the experience of the storm
Chip (a WDT coworker) and I, both for reasons that he needed to help his family and I wanted to experience a hurricane first hand, made our way to Covington, LA late Saturday night. It was Sunny and Hot (94F early afternoon high) for most of the day Sunday, while we boarded up Chip's folks home on the Eastern side of the house. We could see the cirrus crowns of the North portion of Katrina and by late in the afternoon, mid-level cloud cover had made it's way in and the temperature made a quick, surprising drop down into the lower 80's.
By late Sunday, after making a brief appearance at his Brother in law's house to the Northeast of Covington, we retreated back to his parents home and prepared to ride out the storm. Tropical Storm force winds began late Sunday night shortly after midnight. Power, Cable, Internet and Cellphone services remained surprisingly in tact thru most of the night. This fact alone made it bearable since we were able to obtain radar, television footage and monitor for tornado warnings.
Chip and I had previously hurricane-proofed the house and were feeling confident that trees around the home, if they fell - would not threaten the home at all. Pots, chairs, etc were secured in the garage Sunday to prevent "Katrina Missiles" from punching thru the large glass bay windows in the kitchen and living room.
We monitored CMAN and BOUY stations in Katrina's path along the South Shore all night. Winds continued to rise along the Southeast BURA CMAN station and shortly after 4:30am or so, the station failed with winds peaked at 89knots. The local stations had for the most part shutdown and left town, but CNN was showing video of the Lakeside south of our location with trees bent over sideways in relentless 80-90 mph winds.
Shortly around daybreak (6:10am) Sunday, all hell began to break loose. We were watching out the windows and peeking thru the patio doors (the porch was facing Southwest and was recessed, which kept winds and rain almost completely out) we witnessed bright green flashes and loud "booming" all around toward the West. Transformers and Powerline's were beginning to come down, and around 6:15am we lost lights, cable and telephone all in one swoop. Chip's cellphone was still able to pull Internet, and we watched the eye continue to move closer.
As the last few radar images showed the eye moving ashore to our Southeast, it appeared we would be spared the Northeast Quadrant of the Eye in favor of a glance from the Western side of the eyewall. We estimated sustained winds by 7:00am were blowing between 70 and 80 mph - with gusts beginning to approach the century mark. A couple of large Pine trees began snapped in half as we encountered the strong Northeast winds.
By 8:00am, we estimated that the eye was directly east and that we were encountering the left side of the core. Winds were easily blowing at 80 to 90 mph sustained and that's when we began to experience long (5 to 10 second) bursts of winds which had to be at well over 100 mph. Every time one of these bursts would hit, Pine trees would "snap" in the middle and fall toward the South. We began to see large pieces of debris and roof shingles torn from rooftops, fly from North to South at hideous speeds. "Katrina Missiles" were making their presence known. Loud "booming" sounds both from trees snapping and falling as well the remaining transformers exploding could be heard.
There was a brief lull in the gusts. Chip and I concluded that this could have been the eye passing nearby, but the sustained winds didn't subside too much. Shortly after about 9:30 am or so, the second round of Winds set in from the Northwest and continued to blow debris into the back yard. Sometime around that point, a long period of the highest winds we had seen (again, estimated well over 100 mph) pulled the Chimney from the roof of the house and before Chip and I fully realized what was happening, several very large pieces of the chimney landed in the back yard. At this point began to wonder what the hell we were doing there. Water began falling in the living room from the gaping hole in the roof. At this point, both our cellphones ceased working.
The winds continued in this fashion until around 11:00am, and then the sustained winds decreased remarkably, and only isolated peaks of hurricane force continued. We were able to look out the windows again and saw countless trees in the neighborhood had been broken in half.
We toured Highway 190 between the Causeway and North Covington and saw quite a bit of damage. Most buildings were standing, but trees, traffic lights powerlines were lying on the ground all over the place. There was no power, anywhere. We witnessed several pairs of shady looking men walking from store to store on the strip, likely waiting for a good time to loot.
Later, we headed back over to the house for safety concerns, and decided best to pack up and leave for Norman. I-12 was covered in debris, large pieces of trees and down high voltage long span powerlines crossed the road. Crews were just beginning to clear the lanes as we made our way West. While we drove back, we heard on the local radio (the only radio station left in downtown New Orleans) that the I-10 bridge was "missing" pieces. If this was true, it would turn out that Slidell would have been underwater from the Storm surge, and that one of Chip's relatives, has he not been talked out of staying at the last minute, would likely have drowned. Reports from people trapped on their roofs continued to pour into the Radio Stations, and finally they were able to deduce that another one several of the levees had failed.
This was, without a doubt - one of the most exciting experiences I've ever had. There were some very interesting moments where the house began to creek and we lost the Chimney. However because of some adequate planning and careful study of the storm, we were able to stay at a location far enough from the coastline and far enough to the west of the eye to keep us out of extreme danger. However, now that I've seen what a storm of this magnitude was capable of, I'll forgo any additional hurricane chases in the future. Nothing can help me comprehend the damage that occurred, especially now that I'm seeing what happened overall on the National news.
What also strikes me and Chip as uncomprehendable is the staggering elimination of communications ability after the storm, and just how much we as a modern society rely on Power and Information.
