What categorie # cane would you ride out?

[Cookiely]

I would probably be safe in a Cat 1 where we are situated and that is a big if (no shutters and large trees). Would I leave, in a heartbeat. Could I get my stubborn mother to leave? I doubt it. We were both born under the sign of Cancer and home is everything. I understand how she feels because my intellect says to leave, its not safe, but emotionally home is safety and comfort to us. We have friends with a house that would be safe but I really doubt I could drag my mother out of here. Her motto is "it won't hit here" "don't worry so much" "it will turn at the last minute". "See, I told you Charley wouldn't hit Tampa"(how can I refute this statement). When a hurricane is on the way, she reads or does crossword puzzles and watches movies. I don't think she would even tune into a weather broadcast. "Whatever is going to happen will happen and you don't need to scare yourself to death watching it come" I have essentials to put in the bathroom as a shelter of last resort, and a permanent marker. If you've ever wondered why people stay when a mandatory evac is ordered, this is why.

[HurryKane]

Hmmm. What would I ride out? I don't know, really.

There are no longer any trees left to fall on my house--well, ok, one little pine, and if it falls like the others did during Katrina all it will do is poke a hole or two in the roof--and I live high enough to not get any surge.

Based on just those two facts I might stay through a 2 in my house, and possibly a 3 at my workplace. A large number of people sheltered there and it was basically in/near the western eyewall at second landfall and no one was hurt. And while I know it is essential most times, going through the motions of evacuation can be a real pain in the keister.

Then again, there's the aftermath of the storm to think about. I know I sure appreciated being able to stay in a place with power, water and internet for a couple of weeks after Katrina hit since none of that was available at my home.

Finally, based solely on how much the storm scared some friends of mine who stayed, I will probably just get the hell out of here for anything coming right for the MS/eastern LA coastline.

It's a tough call: for example, I left when Ivan was still trying to make up his mind about hitting MS, AL or FL. We only got winds of around 35 mph here. But I do not regret sticking around for Dennis even though a poster here gave me unmitigated grief about my decision. It was a decision made based on a number of variables and in the end, the right one, as we barely even got any rain from that storm.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that for me, I can't just give a pat category answer, because there are a huge number of other variables that also affect a decision to stay or go.


Will say this, though: a high 2, or a 3 of any strength (low, high, middle, whatever), with any northern motion component headed toward hotter waters south of here and I am GONE, G O N E GONE.

[TexasStooge]

I can ride out a Cat. 3.

[x-y-no]

I'm a maniac. I'll ride out anything.

[Tampa Bay Hurricane]

I would leave in anything above a CATEGORY 1.

BEGIN SARCASM:
I would ride out a category ANYTHING! I am a total hurricane
freak! Just Bring It On Baby! Pump my ADRENALINE HARD!!!
Send a Category 5 up Tampa Bay WHOOHOO!!!

This was a joke.

[Scorpion]

I would ride out a category ANYTHING! I am a total hurricane
freak! Just Bring It On Baby! Pump my ADRENALINE HARD!!!

In Tampa Bay, I would leave for anything above a 2.

[Tampa Bay Hurricane]

I would ride out a category ANYTHING! I am a total hurricane
freak! Just Bring It On Baby! Pump my ADRENALINE HARD!!!

In Tampa Bay, I would leave for anything above a 2.

I would leave in anything above a 1.

[angelwing]

Cat 1 here...I know I live in Philadelphia and I wouldn't have to worry about storm surge, however we recently found out that the apartment complex that we've been living in for the past 8 years used to be condemmed many years ago, and being that it's old and there are a ton of trees around it, not to mention a lot of idiots that live around me, I think we would leave for a cat 1. We were living here when Floyd hit and the way the roads get flooded here, not to mention the idiots on the road, that would be the reason for us to leave, I would be afraid that the 2nd floor of the apartment above us would give way, not to mention some of these older trees come crashing thru the window...plus now I am a caregiver for my husband, so God forbid if anything happened to him while we were riding it out, I would rather go to a motel room with him and wait it out, at least I know that he would be safe.

[terstorm1012]

Given I'm about 200 miles inland, the most I could expect is a Hazel-like situation---Cat.2 at most. In that rate I wouldn't have much choice to ride it out, it'd be here and gone in a heartbeat.

However, given that I am the Susquehanna's floodplain, if an Agnes were to repeat I'd have to evacuate.

Though I am looking to buy a house that's not in the 100yr floodplain........so we'll see.

[terstorm1012]

Cat 1 here...I know I live in Philadelphia and I wouldn't have to worry about storm surge, however we recently found out that the apartment complex that we've been living in for the past 8 years used to be condemmed many years ago, and being that it's old and there are a ton of trees around it, not to mention a lot of idiots that live around me, I think we would leave for a cat 1. We were living here when Floyd hit and the way the roads get flooded here, not to mention the idiots on the road, that would be the reason for us to leave, I would be afraid that the 2nd floor of the apartment above us would give way, not to mention some of these older trees come crashing thru the window...plus now I am a caregiver for my husband, so God forbid if anything happened to him while we were riding it out, I would rather go to a motel room with him and wait it out, at least I know that he would be safe.

Where in the city are you? Some parts of town are storm surge prone---just depends on how the wind backs the ocean up into the Delaware.

[wxman57]

This poll comes out every season, and every season I point out that we do not have the ability to forecast hurricane intensity very accurately beyond about 6-12 hours. Since you're going to have to make the decision to evacuate or not 2-3 days prior to landfall, how in the world are you going to know what category hurricane you'll be facing at landfall? The answer is - YOU DON'T! A Cat 1 today, forecast to be a Cat 2 in 2 days can just as easily become a Cat 4 or 5. Plan to ride out that forecast Cat 2 and you'll wake up dead. Bottom line is that if you're in the surge zone for ANY hurricane, you need to evacuate for EVERY storm (even tropical storms). Because, as we saw with Wilma last year, a TS can become a Cat 5 within 24 hours, and we just cannot forecast such intensity changes. Every tropical storm is a potential deadly major hurricane from 2-3 days out when you're having to make that decision to evacuate or not.

So the question of what category hurricane you'll ride out is meaningless, as it assumes that you can forecast hurricane intensity 2-3 days out.

[southerngale]

This poll comes out every season, and every season I point out that we do not have the ability to forecast hurricane intensity very accurately beyond about 6-12 hours. Since you're going to have to make the decision to evacuate or not 2-3 days prior to landfall, how in the world are you going to know what category hurricane you'll be facing at landfall? The answer is - YOU DON'T! A Cat 1 today, forecast to be a Cat 2 in 2 days can just as easily become a Cat 4 or 5. Plan to ride out that forecast Cat 2 and you'll wake up dead. Bottom line is that if you're in the surge zone for ANY hurricane, you need to evacuate for EVERY storm (even tropical storms). Because, as we saw with Wilma last year, a TS can become a Cat 5 within 24 hours, and we just cannot forecast such intensity changes. Every tropical storm is a potential deadly major hurricane from 2-3 days out when you're having to make that decision to evacuate or not.

So the question of what category hurricane you'll ride out is meaningless, as it assumes that you can forecast hurricane intensity 2-3 days out.

Amen!!

[x-y-no]

This poll comes out every season, and every season I point out that we do not have the ability to forecast hurricane intensity very accurately beyond about 6-12 hours. Since you're going to have to make the decision to evacuate or not 2-3 days prior to landfall, how in the world are you going to know what category hurricane you'll be facing at landfall? The answer is - YOU DON'T! A Cat 1 today, forecast to be a Cat 2 in 2 days can just as easily become a Cat 4 or 5. Plan to ride out that forecast Cat 2 and you'll wake up dead. Bottom line is that if you're in the surge zone for ANY hurricane, you need to evacuate for EVERY storm (even tropical storms). Because, as we saw with Wilma last year, a TS can become a Cat 5 within 24 hours, and we just cannot forecast such intensity changes. Every tropical storm is a potential deadly major hurricane from 2-3 days out when you're having to make that decision to evacuate or not.

So the question of what category hurricane you'll ride out is meaningless, as it assumes that you can forecast hurricane intensity 2-3 days out.

Well put.

An amendment to my reply above: I may have said "I'm a maniac. I'll ride out anything," but that's predicated on not being in the surge zone. I may be nuts, but not that nuts.

[MiamiensisWx]

This poll comes out every season, and every season I point out that we do not have the ability to forecast hurricane intensity very accurately beyond about 6-12 hours. Since you're going to have to make the decision to evacuate or not 2-3 days prior to landfall, how in the world are you going to know what category hurricane you'll be facing at landfall? The answer is - YOU DON'T! A Cat 1 today, forecast to be a Cat 2 in 2 days can just as easily become a Cat 4 or 5. Plan to ride out that forecast Cat 2 and you'll wake up dead. Bottom line is that if you're in the surge zone for ANY hurricane, you need to evacuate for EVERY storm (even tropical storms). Because, as we saw with Wilma last year, a TS can become a Cat 5 within 24 hours, and we just cannot forecast such intensity changes. Every tropical storm is a potential deadly major hurricane from 2-3 days out when you're having to make that decision to evacuate or not.

So the question of what category hurricane you'll ride out is meaningless, as it assumes that you can forecast hurricane intensity 2-3 days out.

Excellent points.

[Ivanhater]

This poll comes out every season, and every season I point out that we do not have the ability to forecast hurricane intensity very accurately beyond about 6-12 hours. Since you're going to have to make the decision to evacuate or not 2-3 days prior to landfall, how in the world are you going to know what category hurricane you'll be facing at landfall? The answer is - YOU DON'T! A Cat 1 today, forecast to be a Cat 2 in 2 days can just as easily become a Cat 4 or 5. Plan to ride out that forecast Cat 2 and you'll wake up dead. Bottom line is that if you're in the surge zone for ANY hurricane, you need to evacuate for EVERY storm (even tropical storms). Because, as we saw with Wilma last year, a TS can become a Cat 5 within 24 hours, and we just cannot forecast such intensity changes. Every tropical storm is a potential deadly major hurricane from 2-3 days out when you're having to make that decision to evacuate or not.

So the question of what category hurricane you'll ride out is meaningless, as it assumes that you can forecast hurricane intensity 2-3 days out.

still cant believe it, i left wilma early that morn and it was a tropical storm, got back to my dorm late that night and my friend called and said it was a cat 5, i of course thought he was kidding, then i saw it, amazing stuff

[wxmann_91]

Only a Cat 2. Major hurricane and I'm outta there...

[yzerfan]

We're in a well-built house a couple miles inland, and a good 40-50 feet above mean sea level. We took out all the trees that don't handle wind well after Ivan.

For us, the stay/go decision isn't just a max wind speed, it's also looking at the overall size of the storm, and how fast it's moving and how the models are trending. A wee, quick moving beastie like Dennis, well the odds of us getting maximum winds are pretty small and the worst of it would be through the area fairly quickly. On the other hand, we rode out Ivan, and even though the eye was relatively far away, it was really not fun because it was a fat, slow bastard of a storm, and we spent about 18 hours worrying about the winds and tornadoes.

For us, the house plan calls for leaving if it's looking like the odds are good for a direct hit from a moderate category 3 or higher storm. Stayed for Ivan because all the models were trending westward in the days before the storm. I think about half my neighborhood did, and a couple of neighbors were even sheltering friends and family from the Pensacola area because it was looking safer here. Left for Dennis because the models seemed to spend about two days straight calling for eyewall landfall between here and Navarre.

[Extremeweatherguy]

Only a Cat 2. Major hurricane and I'm outta there...

If ANY hurricane were to hit california then we would know that the world was really coming to an end. lol. The closest CA has ever gotten was a tropical storm in 1933. I don't think you will have to worry about a Cat. 2+ in CA (but who knows, I may be wrong). Plus, a strong hurricane would be less of a surge threat in CA (beaches are so long) and more of a wind/rain threat. All the trees there have never faced 100+mph winds, so they would all probably snap quickly. The rain would cause horrible mudslides. The worst would be if an earthquake hit DURING a hurricane. Lets hope we never live to see that day...

[Ivanhater]

We're in a well-built house a couple miles inland, and a good 40-50 feet above mean sea level. We took out all the trees that don't handle wind well after Ivan.

For us, the stay/go decision isn't just a max wind speed, it's also looking at the overall size of the storm, and how fast it's moving and how the models are trending. A wee, quick moving beastie like Dennis, well the odds of us getting maximum winds are pretty small and the worst of it would be through the area fairly quickly. On the other hand, we rode out Ivan, and even though the eye was relatively far away, it was really not fun because it was a fat, slow bastard of a storm, and we spent about 18 hours worrying about the winds and tornadoes.

For us, the house plan calls for leaving if it's looking like the odds are good for a direct hit from a moderate category 3 or higher storm. Stayed for Ivan because all the models were trending westward in the days before the storm. I think about half my neighborhood did, and a couple of neighbors were even sheltering friends and family from the Pensacola area because it was looking safer here. Left for Dennis because the models seemed to spend about two days straight calling for eyewall landfall between here and Navarre.

so true, it was to darn long!

[gtalum]

I'll ride out anything, even a 5, in my home. I fully realize that I may change my mind after the first one.