 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion Groups Destinations USA and CanadaEuropeAustralia and NZAsiaLatin AmericaCaribbean IslandsAfricaTravel Types Air TravelCruisesRV Travel |
Travel Forum / Travel Types / RV Travel / July 2008Greetings from South Padre
After finishing my business in Houston last Friday, we decided to make the run down the coast to South Padre Island, rather than hang around the Galveston area. At the time, Dolly was a poorly organized storm system over Cuba. Well, Dolly got herself a little better organized. We evacuated the island yesterday and drove 20 miles or so inland to San Benito, TX. As I write this, the eyewall of Dolly, the area with the strongest winds, is passing over us. It's a non-event. A little wind, a little rain. No worse than your average Hill Country thunderstorm. Except without the awesome lightening that accompanies those Texas-sized events. In fact, I haven't seen any lightening, or heard any thunder at all. Since rainfall is heavy, areas in the Rio Grande valley that are prone to flooding probably will do so over the next couple of days, but that happens with any significant rain. As hurricanes go, Dolly is a pussycat. You wouldn't get that sense from the news media, though, who are trying to sensationalize every fallen tree limb or broken window. As an old Miami boy, I give Dolly a "1" on the Hurricane Fear Scale. Even if I am riding it out in a motorhome. The worst thing about this storm is that it's robbing me of a couple of prime fishing and beach days. Hope the storm isn't bothering anybody else. - Bill (El Alumbrado) > After finishing my business in Houston last Friday, we decided to make > the run down the coast to South Padre Island, rather than hang around [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > ------->>>>>>http://www.NewsDemon.com<<<<<<------ > Unlimited Access, Anonymous Accounts, Uncensored Broadband Access How close did the "EYE" come to San Benito? According to the sundry Weather channels, it should (1500 CDT) be about there. >> After finishing my business in Houston last Friday, we decided to make >> the run down the coast to South Padre Island, rather than hang around [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >> I write this, the eyewall of Dolly, the area with the strongest winds, >> is passing over us. > How close did the "EYE" come to San Benito? > > According to the sundry Weather channels, it should (1500 CDT) be about > there. The "Weather Underground" real time radar image (www.wunderground.com) shows that the "eye" itself is right now a couple of miles to our north. We're getting the worst that Dolly has to offer right now, with what I'd guess to be 70-75 mph gusts from the west. I'm in "Sun and Fun", Encore's park in San Benito. There's an inch or two of water in the grassy areas, but the concrete pads and roadways are not submerged. The Park Model homes that I can see appear pretty much undamaged except for one that lost it's car port roof, and another that's missing some aluminum siding slats. There is a "cheapo" Home Depot plastic garden shed that pretty much burst. It's contents are now probably halfway to Cancun. Power is out, but our generator is keeping us comfy, cool, and entertained. We're rocking and rolling a bit, but nothing to be concerned about. It looks like the worst will be over within the next hour or so. My only concern is that we're going to get dinged by a piece of somebody's flying "yard art". It seems that the residents fled leaving all sorts of junk lying around. Yet another reason to hate wind chimes. - Bill (El Alumbrado) >>> After finishing my business in Houston last Friday, we decided to make >>> the run down the coast to South Padre Island, rather than hang around [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > >- Bill (El Alumbrado) I'm gonna have to start calling you "Pecos Bill". You diddled Dolly, you tamed the hurricane... Bob > I'm gonna have to start calling you "Pecos Bill". Hey, that's a good idea. There's too many "Bills" around here anyway. PecosBill it is. - PecosBill (El Alumbrado) >I'm gonna have to start calling you "Pecos Bill". You diddled >Dolly, you tamed the hurricane... > >Bob He just applied the old Democrat "spin 'TO THE LEFT'" and reversed the action. --- $$$$$$$$$%% Yours truly, Johnny Dollar! >>> After finishing my business in Houston last Friday, we decided to >>> make the run down the coast to South Padre Island, rather than hang [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > all sorts of junk lying around. Yet another reason to hate wind > chimes. The "eye" had 100-120 MPH winds. I'm glad that you didn't have to contend with *them*. Let's all sing "Hooray For Generators!" >Yet another reason to hate wind chimes. LOL. Got enough reasons already. Don't need another one. GB in NC > It looks like the worst will be over within the next hour or so. Oh well. It looks like Dolly's "eye" has stalled just to our north. We've been getting consistently strong winds (I'd guess 50 or so) with higher gusts (70-80?) for the past couple of hours. Looking at the radar, Dolly doesn't seem to be in any hurry to move along. This is my first "weather" experience in a trailer park. All of the "roadworthy" vehicles I can see, fifth-wheels and motorhomes, appear undamaged, but *every* park home in sight has damage, from minor (missing siding) to severe (entire missing roof). I'm guessing that the road vehicles are built for this kind of wind, but the park homes are pretty flimsy. If Dolly had been a real hurricane, I think the park homes would be just plain gone. You couldn't give me one. I only have one problem: do you know those little weep holes at the bottom of motorhome side windows? Well, 70-mph rain will turn them into little fountains. - PecosBill > We've been getting consistently strong winds (I'd guess 50 or so) with higher >gusts (70-80?) for the past couple of hours. <SNIP> >I'm guessing that the road vehicles >are built for this kind of wind, but the park homes are pretty flimsy. They better be... I've had my Airstream going 70 mph..... and the roof stayed on. Hunter > On Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:07:18 -0500, "Bill" > <w8j6c4o7l2l9u4m5@yahoo.com> wrote: [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > They better be... I've had my Airstream going 70 mph..... and the roof > stayed on. Sideways? - PecosBill >> They better be... I've had my Airstream going 70 mph..... and the roof >> stayed on. > >Sideways? No, but what difference would that make? You said "built for this kind of wind" presumably saying they won't come apart... you said nothing about tipping over. Maybe I misunderstood. Hunter > "Bill" wrote: > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Maybe I misunderstood. No, not really. Most of the morning, the wind was out of the north, right on our nose. No problem, as an 80 mph wind on the nose just simulates highway speed. Later, the wind backed around to the west, which put it right on our beam and that of the nearby park model homes. That's when pieces started flying. All of the travel trailers and motorhomes that I can see appear to be fine even though the strongest winds of the storm hit them from the side, but *every* park model in view has been damaged to a lesser or greater extent. I'm sure that an Airstream, as aerodynamic as it is, would have been fine in these conditions. Providing that it didn't roll over. My motorhome is probably 5 or 6 times heavier than a typical trailer, but has a pretty good "sail area" if the wind is from the side. The owner's manual says that an 85mph side wind might tip it over. I filled my water tanks, adding weight down low for added stability. I also dumped the air out of my suspension, lowering the coach about 8 inches. I then dropped the hydraulic jacks until they took some of the weight, but didn't raise the coach any. As the wind veered to the west, I tilted the coach to the left, into the wind. We tossed around a bit, but I never felt unstable. We're still tossing around now in high winds and heavy rain. There's not an electric light to be seen. - Bill >> "Bill" wrote: >> [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] > >- Bill Hard to believe you went looking for this. Bob Pecos Bill, I sent you an email. Janet, hoping her home is okay > Well, Dolly got herself a little better organized. We evacuated the island > yesterday and drove 20 miles or so inland to San Benito, TX. As I write > this, the eyewall of Dolly, the area with the strongest winds, is passing > over us. At work today, a co-worker mentioned that his parents used to live in the Rio Grande Valley. He was speculating that the area is so flat and low that a major hurricane might bring a storm surge many miles inland, and the rain would have nowhere to go. Did you hear of any water problems with the Cat 2 storm today? Any ideas on what kind of a flood a Cat 4 might leave behind? -john-  Signature====================================================================== John A. Weeks III 612-720-2854 john@johnweeks.com Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com ====================================================================== >> Well, Dolly got herself a little better organized. We evacuated the island >> yesterday and drove 20 miles or so inland to San Benito, TX. As I write [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > >-john- http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a3OUUBR.33EY&refer=us > On Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:32:29 -0500, "John A. Weeks III" Any ideas on >> what kind of a flood a Cat 4 might leave behind? >> >> -john- http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:OPE5j74xdZYJ:hurricanes.tamu.edu/bret_psa/c hapter_3.pdf+site:hurricanes.tamu.edu+kleberg/kenedy+county+hurricAne+bret&hl=en &ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us A follow up report on Hurricane Bret in 1999. LZ > http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml > > http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a3OUUBR.33EY&refer=us > Did you hear > of any water problems with the Cat 2 storm today? Any ideas on > what kind of a flood a Cat 4 might leave behind? I don't know of any specific problems. I can see some grassy areas with a few inches of standing water, but I haven't driven around today. Dolly certainly wasn't a CAT II for very long after she came ashore, and has decayed to Tropical Storm status now. There are flash flood warnings all over the place, and I suspect that the result will be what we see in the hill country after a day or two of strong thunderstorms: some downed tree limbs, low water crossings with 2-4 feet of water, and poorly drained areas with a foot or so of standing water for a day or so. A CAT IV hurricane is a whole different animal. I'm sure that would burst the levees along the Rio Grande and make a real mess. I doubt that Dolly will have any such major effect. I hope not, anyway. - PecosBill >> Did you hear >> of any water problems with the Cat 2 storm today? Any ideas on [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > - PecosBill The storm's track speed will pretty much decide how much rain falls in any given area. I'd worry more about location than wind speeds. LZ > The storm's track speed will pretty much decide how much rain falls in > any given area. I'd worry more about location than wind speeds. > LZ http://www.wunderground.com/radar/radblast.asp?zoommode=pan&prevzoom=zoom&num=1& frame=0&delay=15&scale=1.000&noclutter=0&ID=BRO&type=NTP&showstorms=0&lat=26.185 61935&lon=-97.66464233&label=San%20Benito,%20TX&map.x=400&map.y=240&scale=1.000& centerx=400¢ery=240&showlabels=1&rainsnow=0&lightning=0&lerror=20&num_stns_m in=2&num_stns_max=9999&avg_off=9999&smooth=0 How to decide whether you chose a good location. LZ > After finishing my business in Houston last Friday, we decided to make the > run down the coast to South Padre Island, rather than hang around the [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > > - Bill (El Alumbrado) I'm really worried about my house. Not so much from the wind, but the water. Are you in Fun & Sun? If you are, you are close to my house. >> After finishing my business in Houston last Friday, we decided to make >> the run down the coast to South Padre Island, rather than hang around [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > I'm really worried about my house. Not so much from the wind, but the > water. Are you in Fun & Sun? If you are, you are close to my house. According to radar measurements, 20 inches of rain have fallen just north of San Benito. http://www.wunderground.com/radar/radblast.asp?zoommode=zoom&num=1&delay=15&rbsc ale=0.21304347826086956&scale=1.000&noclutter=0&ID=BRO&type=NTP&lat=26.18561935& lon=-97.66464233&label=San%20Benito,%20TX&showstorms=0&map.x=391&map.y=217¢e rx=400¢ery=240&lightning=0&smooth=0&showlabels=1&rainsnow=0 LZ > Janet Wilder wrote: >> I'm really worried about my house. Not so much from the wind, but the >> water. Are you in Fun & Sun? If you are, you are close to my house. > > According to radar measurements, 20 inches of rain have fallen just north > of San Benito. No obvious flooding that I can see. Grass is a little soggy, but the pavement is not submerged. Janet, we'll try to check on your place tomorrow. - Bill >> Janet Wilder wrote: > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > - Bill Thanks so very, very much. > Bill wrote:= >> Janet, we'll try to check on your place tomorrow. >> >> - Bill > > Thanks so very, very much. http://forecast.weather.gov/showsigwx.php?warnzone=TXZ255&warncounty=TXC061&fire wxzone=TXZ255&local_place1=3+Miles+W+Indian+Lake+TX&product1=Flood+Advisory Warning update. LZ >Well, Dolly got herself a little better organized. We evacuated the island >yesterday and drove 20 miles or so inland to San Benito, TX. As I write >this, the eyewall of Dolly, the area with the strongest winds, is passing >over us. Not doing news, I didn't know that hurricane season had arrived again. I was curious about yesterday's installment of my favorite web.comic. I thought you'd get a kick out of too. http://xkcd.com/453/ I especially like the one named "cos(x)" :-) John -- John De Armond See my website for my current email address http://www.neon-john.com http://www.johndearmond.com <-- best little blog on the net! Tellico Plains, Occupied TN So you're a feminist... Isn't that cute! >>Well, Dolly got herself a little better organized. We evacuated the island >>yesterday and drove 20 miles or so inland to San Benito, TX. As I write [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > >John If you have ever been or contemplated being in grad school, you might like this one. I got hooked, and read the whole series from the start. Took a couple of days. :o) They come out about once a week. This site always has the current one: http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php And here's some random picks: http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=986 http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=976 http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=966 http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=946 Bob >If you have ever been or contemplated being in grad school, you >might like this one. I got hooked, and read the whole series >from the start. Took a couple of days. :o) Never done grad school but having sponsored a bunch of commercial academic research (that's where you try to get a college prof to actually do what he's contracted to do before he figures out how to turn the project into a perpetual money machine), I can certainly identify. I particularly liked this one >http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=976 Furrier transformer indeed :-) This is my other favorite web.toon http://www.daybydaycartoon.com I liked him a lot better before he hit the big time with a syndication deal. Many of his political and current event snipes go right over my head since I don't do news. John -- John De Armond See my website for my current email address http://www.neon-john.com http://www.johndearmond.com <-- best little blog on the net! Tellico Plains, Occupied TN There is room for all of God's creatures.... Right next to the mashed potatoes. >>If you have ever been or contemplated being in grad school, you >>might like this one. I got hooked, and read the whole series [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > >Furrier transformer indeed :-) That's a good one. Kind of a doubletake gotcha. First all the obvious gobbledegook from the undergrad. Then the spectacle of the myopic techhead teaching assistant who's been doing this for so many years she can't even see the bullshit he wrote, rushing right by to desperately focus instead on what he should have been, could have been, maybe inDiracly was trying to write, but if so got wrong anyway. And thus she performs an obliviously indiscrete transform of her own. :o) Who's the deeper in the doodoo? Bob |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2009 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.