Be Thankful of Modern Advances

[cajungal]

Be thankful you live in today's modern world. We now have advanced warnings of hurricanes. We have satellite, radio, television, computers, the NHC, etc... All warn us when a storm is coming. NHC is getting really good with these tracks. Even making huge advancements within the last few years. It just keeps getting better and better. Just think if you lived in 1900 in Galveston and you had no clue what was going on. Could you imagine what went through those poor people's heads? They probably just thought it was a regular summer day thunderstorm when in fact, a major hurricane was bearing down on them. Just felt like I had to post this and reflect. On all the poor souls that died in terrible hurricanes.

[GalvestonDuck]

Be thankful you live in today's modern world. We now have advanced warnings of hurricanes. We have satellite, radio, television, computers, the NHC, etc... All warn us when a storm is coming. NHC is getting really good with these tracks. Even making huge advancements within the last few years. It just keeps getting better and better. Just think if you lived in 1900 in Galveston and you had no clue what was going on. Could you imagine what went through those poor people's heads? They probably just thought it was a regular summer day thunderstorm when in fact, a major hurricane was bearing down on them. Just felt like I had to post this and reflect. On all the poor souls that died in terrible hurricanes.

If I remember correctly (from what I've read...not like I was there), the Cubans, who pioneered hurricane forecasting, tried to warn the U.S.

http://www.gregorypsherman.com/Hurrican ... edures.pdf

A major reason why the great hurricane hit without warning was because the NSS stop
listening to Cuba’s Meteorology Bureau. Willis Moore, then the director of the NSS, accused Cuba of stealing various pieces of
information during the year 1900. He decided to ignore anything that Cuba would say weather related. Furthermore, Moore decided
to stop all contact with Cuba’s Meteorology Bureau, including hiding weather information from Cuba. The great hurricane of 1900 hit
Cuba first before heading into the Gulf of Mexico. Cuba sent telegraphs to Moore, warning that the hurricane was heading toward
Galveston. Moore dismissed this thought and decided that the hurricane would move up the Atlantic Coast of the U.S., and doing
little harm to the mainland. Back then, it was very difficult to relay hurricane information to the public.

[BLHutch]

Right you are. But the National Weather Bureau was told to ignore Cuban forecasts due to a laundry list of political reasons too lengthy to go into here.

I recommend Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson and A Weekend in September by John Weems. Very good accounts.

Brady

[HURAKAN]

Be thankful you live in today's modern world. We now have advanced warnings of hurricanes. We have satellite, radio, television, computers, the NHC, etc... All warn us when a storm is coming. NHC is getting really good with these tracks. Even making huge advancements within the last few years. It just keeps getting better and better. Just think if you lived in 1900 in Galveston and you had no clue what was going on. Could you imagine what went through those poor people's heads? They probably just thought it was a regular summer day thunderstorm when in fact, a major hurricane was bearing down on them. Just felt like I had to post this and reflect. On all the poor souls that died in terrible hurricanes.

If I remember correctly (from what I've read...not like I was there), the Cubans, who pioneered hurricane forecasting, tried to warn the U.S.

Exactly right. Technology has made a big impact in everything, and Meteorology is no exception. I believe the invention of satellites is the best tool that has transformed hurricane forecasting into a more accurate, and at the same time, more enjoyable science. The future should see better forecasts but worse catastrophes as people continue to invade coastal areas.

[cajungal]

I have the book's Issac's storm. Those people probably still did not realize how much Galveston was in danger. In the book, it says most people did not think it was anything serious. They played on the beaches and the children played in the water having fun. The worry did not set in until the water began to rise really high and the wind got really strong. Then, it was too late.

And then, there was the 1856 Last Island disaster. Last Island used to be a very popular resort island right off the Louisiana coast (below Houma). A Hurricane wiped away all the foundations for fancy hotels. Killed over 250 people. Nobody survived. Now, Last Island is just a wildlife refuge for birds. With the coastal erosion, it is due to be gone by 2008. Leaving us even more vunerable to hurricanes here.

[GalvestonDuck]

Right you are. But the National Weather Bureau was told to ignore Cuban forecasts due to a laundry list of political reasons too lengthy to go into here.

I recommend Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson and A Weekend in September by John Weems. Very good accounts.

Brady

Yup, I have both of those, thanks to Ebay. AWIS is autographed by Weems. I also a children's book called "Dannie" from 1952 by Madeline Horn and "The Complete Story of the Galveston Horror" written by the survivors.

[BLHutch]

I have the book's Issac's storm. Those people probably still did not realize how much Galveston was in danger. In the book, it says most people did not think it was anything serious. They played on the beaches and the children played in the water having fun. The worry did not set in until the water began to rise really high and the wind got really strong. Then, it was too late.

Exactly. Larson also goes into the attitude of the people, who felt that they were somehow immune to major storms. Did you catch the History Channel special they did on the book and storm by any chance?

Brady