The Bryan/College Station area barely got any rain from my vantage point - at the most 1/10 of an inch.
We are getting a nice breeze - gusty at times. Clouds look menacing.
I was hoping we would get a good shower at least.
We went to Wal Mart Foods on Wednesday and there was not a whole lot of food on the shelves. Stocked up on what was left (Peanut Butter with Honey mixed in--yuck) and then looked for gas. We went to quite a few gas stations and finally found one. This was still on Wednesday. Tried to get batteries for flashlights and they did not have any C's or D's.
Kept up with the storm on FR and the TV and looked like the storm was going to the east of Houston. I was not as worried if the storm went to the east of us but was still concerned if we would have taken a direct hit. I went through Alicia in another house with a lot of trees and we had extensive tree damage but was able to hunker down. I know I am not a weatherman but my gut feeling was this thing was going to the east (see prediction below)Here was my prediction on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. Central time.
"(That is what is so strange right now in Houston. I have lived in Houston most of my life and have never felt heat like this in September with very low humidity. My own prediction is once this thing starts to get close to land, the dry air will suck the energy out of this thing. I think it will be a true miracle of God."
We hunkered down and the family was getting a little stir crazy for 3 days. We were outside until 7:00 p.m. last night talking to our neighbors and actually getting to know them. About 80% of neighborhood evacuated.
Hurricane came in last night very gusty winds, rain and lights flickered on and off a few times but we kept our power (PRAISE THE LORD!) About a million people don't have power right now so this was good. The power was my main concern because when that is out it gets pretty hot. We did not have power after Alicia for 4 days.
TAKE HOME LESSON ON THIS STORM:
1. Have many sources to keep up with hurricanes. This thread had more information that I got than any newscast on the radio, internet and TV. FR was a Godsdend! Thank you all for this thread and I especially thank you NautiNurse. You will never know the impact you have made on so many lives.
2. Don't get into the emotional hype of what the media is saying. I know they want to err on the side of caution because they are talking to a lot of people but they are also wanting to get a name for themselves and are looking for ratings. I think a lot of these newscasters and so called meteorologists have a sense of power during this time that some of them cannot handle. They give out hyped up information that is an attempt to get people to fear and tune in. Their justification is that they are protecting the public and would rather be safe than sorry. I think they have other motives. It says in the Bible (Phil 4:6-7) "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." This is very important to know because if you keep watching the news or listening to the radio, you will be paralyzed with fear. Do not be fearful but have a sound mind during these events. Have some common sense.
3. Ask God for wisdom! In James 1:5 he says, "But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God . . . and it will be given to him." My wife and I prayed to God what to do and we did not feel good about leaving and it was confirmed by my brother. God really guided us through this and I have a lot of responsibility having 4 kids to care for and a pregnant wife. Trust your gut feeling because if you pray to God for wisdom he will let you know what to do.
4. Prepare a lot earlier than 4 days before a major hurricane. I was not prepared (flashlights, food, fuel, propane tanks, water, etc.) I had to do a lot of scrambling around and this caused a lot of stress on my pregnant wife. I am going to prepare a lot better even for a biological attack. There is still not gas and if we did not find a station on Wednesday we would be out of luck like so many others.
People also act different when under duress. I was glad I was armed and protected. That gave me a sense of security knowing if anyone were to take advantage of me at my house I would have been able to defend myself.
I hope all of the other Freepers are okay and for those who left Houston to get away from Rita, you made a good decision at the time. If this storm would have veered to the west and we would have picked up the dirty side of this storm, it would have been truly devastating.
The only thing that I am afraid of is that there will be many people stay around next time when they should get out. If Houston takes a direct hit with a Cat 4, there will be 10's of thousands of people dead. I hope that the State of Texas and Houston have learned that we just don't have enough concrete (roads) in this town for traffic or getting out of a hurricane. I hope we do some things differently next time around.
Alicia happened over 20 years ago and hopefully I won't be talking to you for 20 more years about another hurricane but next time around I will be prepared.
I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE FOR THEIR PRAYERS BECAUSE THEY WERE TRULY ANSWERED!!!
I was without power from about eight o'clock last night until about nine or ten o'clock this morning. I was without phone service from about three o'clock this morning until about ten minutes after my power came back. It's still rainy here, but I hope we're through this one. My computer is making strange noises, and I may have to shut down again.
Present and accounted for! Got some rain, still drizzling, minor tree leaves/twigs down, but we're fine up here south of Conroe.
Ironic... We were talking about evacuating to Tyler, TX. And THEY are now getting it much worse than us down south!
Now all the traffic jams will occur in SOUTHbound lanes. I don't envy all those millions trying to return.
I just lost power. I am on my Edge Card. I hope this will not be days without power. We will see.
Oh MY GOSH..... I'm watching Bush give a news conference on Fox... and he looks BEAT (tired) Bless his heart!!