What categorie # cane would you ride out?

[Scorpion]

I do believe he is pulling our leg. He showed it wasn't much fun during wilma from his post right after wilma occurred - see above

I agree. He should be banned.

I am still scared of Cat 4/5 storms, but I wouldn't leave. Sheesh. You really need to calm down.

[MiamiensisWx]

I would prefer not to ride out any storm, but the absolute limit I would ride out would be a Category One, if I had a choice.

[cycloneye]

Ok folks the theme is about what categorie cane would you ride out not about one individual so let's continue to post about what would you ride out.

[MiamiensisWx]

I am still scared of Cat 4/5 storms, but I wouldn't leave. Sheesh. You really need to calm down.

OK. Believe what you want to believe. I am listening to cycloneye and I will not pay attention to you.

[MiamiensisWx]

Hmmm... after Katrina, at least ten people said they still wanted to ride out a Category Three.

If they live on the Gulf coast, we are in big trouble.

[MiamiensisWx]

I apologize if I sounded rude, but I now respect storms even more and don't like to hear people - like Scorpion - who make, in my opinion, foolish remarks.

After this season, it's hard not to get upset...

[Extremeweatherguy]

I have seen Cat. 1/2 force winds and I would stay for that, but a cat. 3 or higher on the coast I would leave, but inland I would probably stay for anything since I have a safe room (room surrounded by like 3 ft. thick concrete).

Your in Spring. Why would you leave? Unless you are worried about trees. Thats about 70-80 miles inland. Personally, I rode out Alicia with a direct hit from the eyewall in the Clear Lake area and thats about 30 miles inland. Not a big deal except it took 3 weeks for power to come back on.

Side note- alot of people evaced Houston that didn't need to during Rita. One of the reasons I went 25 miles in 18 hours and never got anywhere. IMO, people outside the mandatory evac zones should stay put or stay put long enough to let us closer to the coast get out.

Well I meant to say that I would stay for all being inland in spring...but if I was on the coast somewhere or one day lived on the coast, I would leave for a 3.

[southerngale]

I have seen Cat. 1/2 force winds and I would stay for that, but a cat. 3 or higher on the coast I would leave, but inland I would probably stay for anything since I have a safe room (room surrounded by like 3 ft. thick concrete).

Your in Spring. Why would you leave? Unless you are worried about trees. Thats about 70-80 miles inland. Personally, I rode out Alicia with a direct hit from the eyewall in the Clear Lake area and thats about 30 miles inland. Not a big deal except it took 3 weeks for power to come back on.

Side note- alot of people evaced Houston that didn't need to during Rita. One of the reasons I went 25 miles in 18 hours and never got anywhere. IMO, people outside the mandatory evac zones should stay put or stay put long enough to let us closer to the coast get out.

Maybe it depends on the storm. Jasper is 80-90 miles inland and that's where I evacuated to late Wednesday night before Rita hit. I woke up Thursday morning to a mandatory evacuation in Jasper! First time ever. Unfortunately, we were stuck as we had used most of our gas getting there as Hwy.96 that runs through Jasper is an official evacuation route and it was the largest evacuation in history. (good though, as it saved lives) There was no gas in the area and everything was shut down...we had to ride it out there. Scariest night of my life!

Anyway, so I guess depending on the storm as to how far inland the destruction goes. Jasper had signifcant damage. I was shocked at how bad it was that far inland. The winds were ferocious, howling so loud, uprooting trees everywhere, snapping trees and power poles, even metal sign posts were bent in half, roofs were blown off, a house with people inside floated right off its foundation. I had doubts of surviving all night - it was terrifying.

This is a city without power and in peril, rescue workers said Monday, citing a worst-case scenario of two months without electricity for the town nicknamed “The Jewel of the Forest.”
The curtain of trees surrounding Jasper became her enemy when Hurricane Rita roared through.
"We sustained hurricane winds of about 100 to 120 mph for about a nine-hour period, so we have thousands of trees down within our city," said Jasper Police Chief Todd Hunter, who paused during a hectic day to sound a shrill note of alarm. "Our city is without gas. We have no gas except to run emergency vehicles, This city is without food. There were some MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) brought in yesterday, but it was not enough.
"People are becoming desperate. They've been three days without water. They weren't prepared," he added. He asked people to call their state representatives and senators and "try to encourage them to get our food and get our water to us, because we're desperate and we need them now. People have been without all basic needs for days."
Denise Kelley, Jasper's acting city manager, warned the emergency cannot be quickly resolved.

...and remember, Jasper is 80-90 miles inland. Rita was horrific.

[Extremeweatherguy]

Ok, this is from Charley, and according to his way, since it was a four at landfall, then winds were only at Cat 3, i think this photo speaks for itself, credits Jesse Bass:

Charley was a 150mph Cat. 4 at landfall and a Cat. 3 all the way to Osceola County. By the time it reached Orlando it had just weakened to Cat. 1, but the eyewall had become basically a huge severe storm by that point and gusts over 100mph (up to 115mph) were recorded in Orlando (I think it was still Cat. 2 in Orlando, but "officially" it was a 90mph Cat. 1). As Charley exited the state, 99mph wind gusts were recorded in Daytona Beach. That picture looks to have been taken somewhere near landfall...probably in Punta Gorda where the winds were Cat. 4 strength, but horrible damage stretched from SW Florida to NE Florida. In Orlando I was without power for over 8 days and without water for about 7. Thousands of huge oaks were uprooted or even snapped. Supposedly many tornados surrounded the eyewall when it reached Orlando, so it was basically a spinning ball of 100+mph winds, tornadoes and heavy rains. I still can remember hearing local on-air met Tom Terry say, "I think the NHC is wrong. It is coming towards us!" lol. I have moved to Texas since then (and still can not escape the storms here).

[Ixolib]

Depends on the storm, its track, it's intensity while still 200 miles out, etc. I stayed in this very house in Camille and had no significant damage beyond trees down, power out, etc. I also stayed in this very house for Katrina and suffered significant damage far beyond what Camille showed me.

Before August 29, 2006, I assumed I would be okay (and there are many posts in this forum to reflect my "old" viewpoint) in a cat 5 because I was okay in the cat 5 of August 17, 1969. Obvioulsy that mindset has changed in a big way...

I supposed my new mindset will now have me leaving for a 3 or above.

[O Town]

Charley was a 150mph Cat. 4 at landfall and a Cat. 3 all the way to Osceola County. By the time it reached Orlando it had just weakened to Cat. 1, but the eyewall had become basically a huge severe storm by that point and gusts over 100mph (up to 115mph) were recorded in Orlando (I think it was still Cat. 2 in Orlando, but "officially" it was a 90mph Cat. 1). As Charley exited the state, 99mph wind gusts were recorded in Daytona Beach. That picture looks to have been taken somewhere near landfall...probably in Punta Gorda where the winds were Cat. 4 strength, but horrible damage stretched from SW Florida to NE Florida. In Orlando I was without power for over 8 days and without water for about 7. Thousands of huge oaks were uprooted or even snapped. Supposedly many tornados surrounded the eyewall when it reached Orlando, so it was basically a spinning ball of 100+mph winds, tornadoes and heavy rains. I still can remember hearing local on-air met Tom Terry say, "I think the NHC is wrong. It is coming towards us!" lol. I have moved to Texas since then (and still can not escape the storms here).

Yes it was a very scary night here in OTown, those Cat.1-2 winds were enough for me. I had never been through a hurricane before this, and wasn't quite prepared for what I heard that night, and then what I saw the next morning. Unbelievable what those winds can do. My neighbor has almost completed her new home. The old one was destroyed by massive oak that night. I am happy it fell their way and not mine, and that they were okay. If I lived on the coast I would definitley be gone with anymore than a cat.2. People generally think you are okay if you are inland, but as you can see by my avatar Charley did not fall apart as quickly as most do when they hit land. I hope to never go through anything close to that again.

[thunderchief]

I agree with scorpion. Although I think id find a concrete/steel building to stay behind, instead of the bathtub approach...

I think being in a cat 5 would be epic. I couldnt miss it.

[boca]

I picked a cat 1 due to the fact of Wilma because that was the first storm where I experienced the eye wall. That freaked me out especially watching those ficus trees snap like dominoes.Those trees are now gone looking over a apt complex. Katrina didn't really hit in S Palm Bch County so I thought well this isn't too bad since Hollywood is only 25 miles from me where the eye hit, and that was a lopsided hurricane with all the weather in the SE quadrant.

[Extremeweatherguy]

IXOLIB - - - yes, the eyewall is the area around the eye of a hurricane. The NE side is usually the worst, but each storm is unique. With Katrina, she was weakening at landfall, so in Biloxi you probably saw Cat. 1/2 sustained with gusts possibly to Cat. 3, but it was the surge with that storm that did the worst damage, because the surge was at Cat. 5 levels. Also, Katrina was a fast mover, so even though it was a 3 at landfall, it stayed a hurricane up to 100-150 miles inland. If katrina would have been strengthening at landfall, then the devastated areas probably would have had winds 10-20mph stronger with gusts up to 20-40mph higher...luckily it was weakening or else the damage could have been even worse than what happened...hard to believe, but really you guys missed the worst case scenario. Best of luck to all hurricane victims during the 2006 season!

[Scorpion]

I know that a Cat 4 or 5 is basically the fist of god but its almost like a train wreck, I just want to see it and record it. Something that just can't be missed.

[cajungal]

I have a different attitude about hurricanes than I used to. We used to ride out every single threat. Andrew was the only hurricane I actually rode out where it really got bad here. We got winds in the 100 mph range. So, it could of been a lot worse. We left for Katrina. And a lot of people in Terrebonne and Lafourche stayed even though there was a mandatory evacuation. And the people that stayed said it was nothing. They slept through it even though we still got 80 mph winds. That is only because we were on the western edge of Katrina. If Katrina made landfall only 50 miles further west, we would of been underwater here. It is not the wind, it is the surge that destroys more than anything. New Orleans and the MS coast did not get destroyed by wind, they got destroyed by the water. Louisiana is different than any other gulf coast state. We are mostly below sea level here and we are sinking. For example, if Ivan would of hit Terrebonne Parish last year instead, the surge would of reached 45 miles inland before stopping! That means my house would of been underwater! The surge only went in a few miles when Ivan hit Gulf Shores, Alabama. Rita hit the LA/TX border. But, yet, she flooded Terrebonne Parish. And we were only in the tropical storm force winds. Terrebonne Parish is 200 miles from the Texas border. I live in northern Terrebonne Parish and did not get flooded from Rita. But, the southern part of the parish lost almost everything! My family used to be very stubborn about leaving for hurricanes. But, after seeing what happened for Katrina and Rita, I don't think we will ever stay for another storm. It is just not worth the risk.

[Terrell]

I'd perfer that hurricanes find some other place to attack besides Orlando (even better be a fish), but if I had to ride out a storm a low end 3 would be the max (even though I'm uncomfortable with the idea of doing so)

[Brent]

I'd ride out a Cat 5, even though it is extremely unlikely even in a Category 5 eyewall that I would experience Cat 5 winds. I would simply get into my shower with a mattress or something over my head and hope for the best. Storm surge is not an issue since im 3 miles inland and the shelf runs really close to the shore.

Better get underground otherwise they'll still be picking up your body parts 6 months later...

[mtm4319]

I would ride out a cat 2, but would likely leave for anything worse.

[caribepr]

I'm not sure what *ride out* means in my situation, since "inland" only is measured in about a half a mile. I would certainly not stay in my little house 25/35 feet from the top of the bay. There are relatively safe structures here (frankly, in a Cat 5 I'd not really consider anything safe here, but we do have a plan where we would go that seems better than most choices) that Hugo left basically undamaged...but there is no where else to go unless I tried to fly or ferry out, which could very easily not be an option and I doubt I'd try.
So, like most here on Culebra, I guess we'd be in whatever happens together, prepared as practically as possible for the worst, hoping for the best. Hoping most of all to never have to find out here.