We are so far inland that I imagined we'd get no effects from TS Gaston... yet the sky is dull colored and the winds are picking up.
My heart goes out to you in or near the coast of SC/NC/VA who willl have additional heavy rains from Gaston.
Frances may not be as nice.
TS Gaston
darius, I just got back from Myrtle Beach. My sister has a large travel trailer that she keeps permanently parked there. She drove from Dallas and spent 3 days here in the mountains and then took me with her to the beach.
The weather was up in the 80s but lots of cool breezes, so being on the beach wasn't awfully hot. On the second day, she was a little queasy although her chemo ended in April. The next day she aspirated 18 hours straight and ended up in the emergency room. This has been recurring about once a month. Usually they just give her IVs and anti-nausea medication and send her home. But this time nothing worked and she was in the hospital for 4 days. So my first vacation in years and years was a bust.
Amazingly she got her energy back quickly and drove back to Dallas. The hospital and doctors there were excellent and believe me, after she has been a nurse for 41 years, she really scrutinized them carefully. They found some new medications and she is going to talk to her chemo doctor (strongly) about them when she gets back.
I honestly thought I was going to lose her at one point. I hope this storm doesn't destroy her trailer and I doubt it will as the winds aren't that high. But the next storm is truly scary. Any storm over catagory 2 is a nightmare....
I have a daughter in Boynton Beach, Fla - on the east side and a brother in Holly Hill, SC so I'm hoping for the best also. I can't figure out on the Yahoo map just how far inland Holly Hill, SC is from the ocean. Hope it is far enough.
Darius, hope you stay back in the outback and stay safe.
My friend is in Myrtle Beach visiting her mother right now in an ocean front hotel room and she said the rain is gone just the winds are really bad. Her husband has read 3 novels on this vacation!
lol, daisy, I read two myself while waiting around in the hospital or by the phone at the travel trailer....
Hi guys....we live in Ladson SC and Se-eds, I know where Holly Hill is. My mother and father in law live there. We spend a lot of time up there and that is probably where we will ride out Frances if she comes this way. Holly Hill is about 60 miles from the coast. Here in Ladson which is 20 miles inland, we experienced a great deal of Gaston. My poor willow tree is leaning all the way over. : ( Our power was out for 18 hours. UGH. That is the worst part. We were out looking for a generator last night due to the threat of Frances. Everyone was sold out. Home Depot told us they had another truck coming in at 7 this morning and we were there waiting! Hopefully we won't have to use it though. I was here years ago when Hurricane Hugo came through and it was a nightmare.
Angie
Angie, there are already some comments about Frances here: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/453534/
Glad you got a generator (lucky you!), and that you are going to Holly Hill (with your generator), and I hope that's inland enough but I doubt it in a direct hit.
Frances (now up to 140 MPH sustained winds @ 2:50 EST) will likely be no wimp when she comes ashore. Unless she changes directions, all the FL, SC and NC coastal areas will be hammered even without a direct hit.
Yes, Hugo was a nightmare but not near the potential of Frances. Opal, many years ago, brought 17" of rain to this mountain area in a few hours causing severe flooding, evacuation of the local hospital and ER... and propane tanks floating down main street.
Thanks Darius....I'll be checking out that link in a second. Just watched the news. Not lookin' good. I don't really feel like Holly Hill is far enough inland either. I'm not sure what we will do. If it were up to me, I would send the kids and the dogs inland and I would stay here. We have a brick home. I'm afraid my husband will have to ride it out on the Air Force base. Not real happy about that, but I understand. They've got to keep the flight line free of debris. What makes me want to stay here is the fear of not being able to get back to my house after it's all over. What happened recently in Florida was horrible. I really felt bad for those people. Looting is also a problem. Geez, I don't know what to do. We'll for sure board up all the windows and stock up on water.
Thanks, AKelley. 60 miles inland doesn't sound like a lot for a major hurricane. We live just above Harrisbug in Central Pa. and when Isabelle came in last fall we were without electric for almost 4 days. Many trees down, business shut down but no flooding. Stay safe, people, your posts are highly valued.
It seems I have been tracking hurricanes all my life. The first one I remember was Hazel in 1954. She hit on high tide and full moon. Wiped out most of Carolina Beach, NC and gave severe damage to Wrightsville Beach where a lot of my relatives lived. They were lucky to not be among those that lost their homes.
darius, did you get my e-mail?
Our oldest daughter lives in Richmond. We saw the devastation in downtown Richmond on TV and were really concerned. I finally got her on the phone late last night and learned all was well at that point in time. She and her SO had moved a sickly friend from a less fortunate area in with them until power can be restored to the friend's home. I'm so thankful we live here in midMO and a good distance from any large body of water.
but leaflady, you don't realize how compelling the ocean in. I swear I have some salt water in my veins. I love to swim in it, fishing is great on the shore, piers, and deep sea, crabbing, shrimping, oystering and clamming are a way of life but mostly just staring at it gets ya.