Hot Rods For Those Of Us In Texas...... Latest On Approaching Hurricane

Here is the latest information on the approaching hurricane. Projected landfall near Corpus Christi, then it is expected to stall just inland and then double back offshore or very near to shore and move towards Houston.

Projected rainfall amounts have been increased to over 30 inches in some areas. Rains are expected to begin Friday and continue through Tuesday and possibly Wednesday as the storm moves towards Houston after doubling back off shore.

Expected storm surge increased to 12 ft. in some areas. That means if the sea were calm and flat with no waves, the median water level would be 12 ft. above where it would otherwise be. And if the storm surge occurs during high tide, add that amount to surge height plus the height of waves near shore.

Here are some links. The one at the bottom is an animated satellite weather radar that will refresh each time you pull it up......

http://abcnews.go.com/US/harvey-expected-make-landfall-major-hurricane/story?id=49397270

https://www.wunderground.com/weather-radar/united-states-regional/tx/san-antonio/animated

Grocery stores are sold out of water here. If you need some and cannot find any at grocery or convenience stores, you can sometimes find bottled water at office supply places.

I managed to fill up my wife's car at a local Shell station around 7:30 PM Thursday. Long lines. Tanks were dry except for premium, which is what we use anyway. Shortly after I topped off, they ran out of premium and shut down the pumps. Manger told me they were supposed to get another delivery Tuesday. Maybe. E**on across the street still had gas when I headed home.

My '57 Chevy is in the garage so we park our daily drivers in the driveway. We have both cars pulled up as close to the garage as possible to get them as high as we can because we know the street will flood if we get as much rain as is projected.

Best regards to all,

Harry

P.S. >>>>>> My apologies for typo in ***le. Can't figure out a way to go back and correct it.

 

I saw the Weather Channel last night.. 30" of rain in places! Can you put the '57 on jack stands in the garage just in case. With Sandy in 2012 our storm surge was 19' over high tide, I saw water where I never saw water before. Good luck amigo!

 

May the higher power be with all of you guys on the gulf coast. Stay safe out there

 

Be safe to all .

 

I have been through a few myself very scary,good luck

 

Dang storm anyway. Yesterday I picked up my 46 coupe from the shop in Victoria after they fabbed up the brackets & installed the 4 new tube shocks and did a bunch of small dent repair and paint touch up. Car was last painted in 1990 and it is unreal how well the paint has held its color without fade. After they finished the touch up's on the rear quarters, front fenders, hood/cowl area they buffed out the entire car and it really looks good.
All this just in time to shut it up in the garage awaiting the storm.
I am 25 miles north of Victoria out in the country and smack dab in the middle of the area thy are projecting 20" - 30" of rain. At least my house & shop are high and will not flood & I will be ok unless I lose a roof.
I am 1/4 mile off the Hwy with a low water crossing between me & the Hwy so I will be locked in here once it hits tonight.
All you guys down here within 100 miles of the coast get your rides where they will stay dry and take care.
My computer is on Satellite and I surely will have that go out sometime this evening or tonight.
Get yourself and your families safe.
Jimmie

 

You guys got whacked over there as I recall. I'm in West Islip and we had water up by Montauk Hwy. where it meets 231. I'm closer to Sunrise, high and dry.

 

Prayers for all in the path of this storm. Pull your pants up and keep your head down!!

Report back as soon as you can so we all know you're safe!

 

Good thoughts from here, I hope things don't get as bad as the predictions.
I love Texas.

 

Bob, the old girl is up on heavy wooden timber blocks about a foot off the floor in our little car and a half attached garage. She's been 'resting up' there for 20 years now. I have her registered here in Texas as an antique car (costs $80 for 5 years) but she still wears her '76 Saskatchewan plate and bias ply tires with tubes for now.

Finished floor elevation of our home is around 3 ft. above curb level out front and floor of garage is 4" lower than house floor. Over the past 21 years here, we have gotten through some really bad hurricanes and a tropical storm that stalled over Houston without getting water higher than a foot shy of coming in our home. Just hoping we will be as fortunate his time 'round, as there is some road construction about a quarter of a mile from us and they have the ditches and storm lines over there pretty well torn up.

Other than the likelihood of trees falling on your home or spinoff tornadoes as the storm comes through, its the 10 days or so without electric and running water in 100 degree heat along with 100% humidity that really make it rough when the bad ones hit here. I must use a bi-pap machine at night to sleep. So that means sitting up without sleep for days in sweltering heat with our dogs and cats and our guns within reach in case anyone tries to break in. And hobbling down to the bayou on my cane with a 5 gallon bucket to haul water back so we can use it to flush the ****per. A gallon of water weighs 8.33 lb. So hauling around 4 gallons (over 30 lbs.) in a bucket for any great distance in that heat whilst dodging water moccasins and fire ants gets old in a hurry when you're pushing 70.

Wish Jimmie and everyone in this storm's path all the best. Still hoping it won't be as bad as they say (news people can sometimes over hype things). Better to prepare for the worst case scenario and hope for the best, though.

Best regards,

Harry

 

"Some locations may be uninhabitable for weeks" is what they're saying on the Weather Channel. They're also calling it a "once in a lifetime event." I'm not trying to scare anyone down there but when they're calling for 2-3 feet of rain that's pretty damn scary. We'll be praying for everyone down there....

 

Why walk/carry 5 gallon buckets of water through the snakes? Strap all your buckets and trash cans together outside the back door and fill them with the garden hose or wait for the 2-3 feet of rain to fill them (throw a brick in to keep them from blowing over before they fill).
The best trick when you know water/power will be out is to fill the bathtub with water. That's 50 gallons right next to the toilet ready to be bailed into the tank (dogs water bowl too). If that's not enough for 10 days, bring in a couple of clean 30 gallon trash cans and fill them too. 2 buckets on the vanity; one for soap and one for rinsing your hands. When it needs freshening, use the old rinse water for a flush.
Sand bag that front door now.
Candles. Batteries for the flashlights, portable radio for news and music.
Generator/fuel to keep the fridge and a light or two running.
Gather up the old car magazines for reading material.
Canned and dry foods.
Gas cooktop.

 

Praying for all you guys. Secure your "stuff" as well as possible, then get away, if you can. Stay safe & dry, if you can.

 

Thoughts and prayers are with all of you along the Texas coast. Stay safe!

 

Having lived in Florida during Hurricane Andrew and losing everything we owned 25 years ago, my sincere prayers and thoughts are with you all. Please keep us all updated the best you can.

 

The news said there could be as much as 30 inches of rain,I pray they are wrong. HRP

 

If any of you coastal guys need a place, I'm in Brady. And I have a gym at my disposal. Let me know if you need a place to light.

 

Good tips there, Hot Rods! Actually, we do most of those things except we don't have a portable generator. Just so expensive when these hurricanes and days long power outages are a hit and miss proposition. We seem to take a direct hit here from a major storm every 7 or 8 years on average.

For those folks who do have them, though...... Be sure and turn power off to your home at the main breaker when running a generator so you won't feed power back through the lines and electrocute the workers who are clearing downed trees and putting the wires back up. And don't run them in your attached garage even with the garage door raised. There is a danger of carbon monoxide getting into your home and if thieves see a generator after roads become p***able, they will steal them if they can.

On hobbling down to the bayou to fetch a bucket of water to flush the ****per...... We usually run out of water stored in bathtubs and barrels for that sort of thing around the time the floodwaters begin receding. Just seems to work out that way.

Typically, it will take a week or more after the water goes down for electric power and running water to be restored here. Then a few more days before water lines are flushed and disinfected by the city (or out here, the MUD) and water is safe to drink. Takes about the same length of time for spoiled food to be hauled out of grocery stores, stores cleaned and restocked after roads become p***able again. Same for gas stations and refilling the tanks there.

I must say that I miss San Diego. Was stationed there whilst in the service many moons ago. Really enjoyed the weather, the scenery and the people there.

Best regards,

Harry

 

People by me ignored the warnings with Sandy in 2012 and it was a fugly one. Late October and cold.... the next week it snowed and thousands had no power and NO houses. Babylon Town alone lost over 1500 houses. The storm surge was 19' (feet) over high tide and it was a full moon. We didn't get much rain though, this is what does the most damage once the ground gets soaked and the wind knocks everything down.

 

When we lived-in Houston before Hurricane Alicia people were holding hurricane parties, smoking and joking. When Alicia hit we got our ***es kicked and no electrical power for a week. Hurricanes are no joke.

Gary

 

I remember living on the N.C. coast back in the 80s and Hurricane Diane sat off the coast for 2 days. Then made land fall at 2 a.m. We got 18 inches of rain then she moved back off the coast and circuled back in and hit us again. Man I remember all the snakes all over the placed after she moved up the coast. UGH.I HATE snakes. I guess that's why I live on a mountain top in East T.N. now .Hopping for the best for all of you down there.Bruce.

 

Wise counsel, Bob! Better safe than sorry. I rec'd a PM from a fellow HAMB member I picked up some parts from. He lives in New Jersey and told me the same thing regarding Sandy. Have to respect the power of these storms.

Best regards,

Harry

 

Looks like land fall will be Corpus Christi and surrounding areas. Harvey, now a Cat 4, is expected to make a western shift, when it gets on land late tonight. For Houston, it's a heavy rain event. So, I'm doing as advised by the news and staying home. Just wish I had some car stuff to do. On a good note, I'm half way to getting my stretched body.

I have friends in Corpus and they went to Austin yesterday. Everyone else is in my thoughts.

 

Well, t minus one hour to landfall. here we go. hatches battened. See you on the other side.

 

Just an observation of the human condition. I thought I'd stop at the grocery store on the way home to get a steak. Hey, man's gotta eat. Right? Well, as expected, long lines at the registers and all..... ALL the water and bread was gone. But I also noticed that almost all the beer and wine was gone as well. Same thing for the snack aisle. Empty, except for a lone pack of Hostess Ho-hos. Yea, I grabbed it.

While waiting in a VERY long express line, with my steak and Ho-ho, I noticed and heard all the banter of concerned citizens. "How much rain?" "Where is Harvey now?" "Is all that beer for you?" It seemed as though while the concern for the storm was there, the at***ude of the common Houstonian was mild and a bit giddy. Seems a lot of people got off early, so, in a small way, it's a 3 day weekend.

Remembering all that beer and wine sold makes me think, that it REALLY is a good time to stay off the streets. I'm just glad I keep Ramen noodles and water in constant supply, during this time of year. And charcoal. Hey..... a mans gotta eat, right?

 

We live North of Houston and West of Spring now.

When I was a kid, I remember Hurricane Carla in 1961. We were living in Pasadena and the eye p***ed directly over our home. My Mom was born in Galveston and was used to these storms. Her uncle Fritz Apffel was a fireman there when the 1900 storm hit and he was able to save the family and quite a few others.

Well, I reckon Mom was nervous because she gave me some money and told me as the eye p***ed over that we would have calm and sunshine for a half hour and then the wind would pickup again and blow from the opposite direction.

She sent me down to the little neighbourhood grocery store about 3 blocks away to get her a chocolate bar and a pack of cigarettes. The store had walls made from concrete blocks and a flat tar and gravel roof. When I got there, the store was locked, the roof had collapsed from all the rain and all that was left standing were the walls. So I headed home.

The wind kicked up and fortunately was at my back. I ran as best as I could until the wind was too strong to keep standing. The last 3/4 of a block, I got down on my stomach and pulled myself along by grabbing hand fulls of gr*** and occasional shrubbery. I could see the heavy galvanized steel garbage cans we had back then blowing sideways about 3 ft. above the street to my right. I made it as far as our front yard and wrapped my arms and legs around a tree trunk to keep from getting blown down the road past Mr. Broussard's place and into Little Vince Bayou.

I was just too tired from crawling and pulling myself along to try and make it the rest of the way to the house. Pretty soon, my Step-dad came out on the front porch with some rope. He threw a weighted end out to me and had me tie it around the tree trunk. Then he tied the other end to a post on our front porch and pulled himself out to reach me. He untied the rope from the tree and grabbed me and pulled us both back to the porch using the rope and we went back into the house. Took both of us to get the front door shut and latched against the force of the wind. One of those events you never forget. The following year, we moved up to the Texas hill country.

Best regards,

Harry

 

I have a relative in Houston, hope it goes well for everyone there .

 

Thinking of all y'all in the storms path. Stay safe! Check in when you can AFTER everything has p***ed over.