Hurricane Helene
- Thread starter Pio1980
- Start date
REMINGTON700
Well-Known Member
On a side note - doesn't the appalachian trail run though general area? I wouldn't be surprised if some trail hikers end up among the missing.
Pio1980
AK Member
Afaik, links without political commentary are allowed.
Perhaps a lack of coordination, dunno.
Surge in Helene relief efforts led to about 30 mid-air close calls over North Carolina in a single day
The close calls resulted from a spike in aircraft that included planes, helicopters and drones arriving in western North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
www.cbsnews.com
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Pio1980
AK Member
Buttigieg dishes on dust-up with Elon Musk over Hurricane Helene: ‘There was an issue with pilots’
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg shed light on the call between him and SpaceX founder Elon Musk last week to clear the air on the tech guru’s public complaints that the government was…
nypost.com
petes'picks
Super Member
I can see why you would want to limit free lance helicopters all over the place, it would need to be be coordinated and assign designated areas for each copter to fly to do it safely. The couple in the video that the copter recorded in their driveway looked nice and healthy with supplies and on high ground so not sure if that is what I would call a life or death situation for the couple, a huge inconvenience yes but they were hardly in a life or death situation at that point.
When that many external resources are called in from different states and counties and the local jurisdiction is already in disarray due to situation its easy to see it may take a few days to figure out who is best to be in charge and setting up command centers for each region. Most of these areas are sparsely populated with limited resources to set up their own command centers for large operations in so many areas. This was a very unique hurricane that traveled at over 20mph and left a trail of destruction 500 miles long and pretty wide when you include the rain bands. Dozens of arm chair QBs that now have perfect solutions would also be being criticized because the overland path changed a bit from its original projections and 50 miles this way or that way makes a huge difference.
I have been through dozens of tropical depressions and hurricanes, one of the worse one was a little ole 75mph one that stalled over the area as soon as it made landfall. It sat and dumped rain for 2 straight days, not something anyone had planned for until after about 4 hours it became clear it had stalled and the resources that were further inland had issues with the flooded roads.
Reminds me of a Mike Tyson quote, "everyone has a plan until they are punched in the face" and mother nature has a wicked and unpredictable straight right.
When that many external resources are called in from different states and counties and the local jurisdiction is already in disarray due to situation its easy to see it may take a few days to figure out who is best to be in charge and setting up command centers for each region. Most of these areas are sparsely populated with limited resources to set up their own command centers for large operations in so many areas. This was a very unique hurricane that traveled at over 20mph and left a trail of destruction 500 miles long and pretty wide when you include the rain bands. Dozens of arm chair QBs that now have perfect solutions would also be being criticized because the overland path changed a bit from its original projections and 50 miles this way or that way makes a huge difference.
I have been through dozens of tropical depressions and hurricanes, one of the worse one was a little ole 75mph one that stalled over the area as soon as it made landfall. It sat and dumped rain for 2 straight days, not something anyone had planned for until after about 4 hours it became clear it had stalled and the resources that were further inland had issues with the flooded roads.
Reminds me of a Mike Tyson quote, "everyone has a plan until they are punched in the face" and mother nature has a wicked and unpredictable straight right.
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Bill Ferris
Lunatic Member
FWIW, Say hello to the Gulf of Mexico`s rapidly strengthening and already very powerful hurricane called Milton, that NHC predicted to slam into FL`s mid state`s gulf coast !
Mercy Sakes Alive, it sucks to live in the still recovering gulf coast Tampa area right now !
Mercy Sakes Alive, it sucks to live in the still recovering gulf coast Tampa area right now !
Govany
Super Member
The Appalachian trail runs further west near the Tenn N.C. state line..but that's also a hard hit area..I'm sure anyone hiking that stretch of trail is seeing many downed trees and maybe some landslides
Bill Ferris
Lunatic Member
Latest NHC reports on hurricane Milton currently indicate sustained wind speeds measured at 155 mph and when it gets into the open water`s of the GULF and starts sucking up all the ultra warm eighty + degree water, well then, can you say high test grade thermal fuel for his thirsty engine !
I`m pretty certain early Thursday morning predicted arrival time is going to be quite a wild ride here in NE.FL. !
Hello from Asheville! As bad as it is here I suspect it will pale in comparison to Milton.
We are on a ridge 500 feet above the flooded areas so remained high and dry with no storm damage. We expect power within the week.
Water...to simplify...we have a huge reservoir in the mountains that feeds 80% of our city water. Luckily the dam on that reservoir did not fail. What did fail was a complete washout of both main and redundant huge pipes coming from that reservoir. Big pipes, 30 inches in diameter. In order to even access the site, a new road had to be built. 72 hrs from now a set of pipes will be installed. However, that is just the start. Cleaning and pressurizing the system is next and who knows how many other leaks there are from washouts in the 1800 mile distribution system.
The estimate is still "weeks" until we get water. I'm amazed at the incredible progress! Meanwhile, we and our neighbors get "flushing" water from a nearby creek that we share with all the bears here. Potable water not a problem as bottled water is readily available all over town. Temporary shower facilities are being setup in the area.
Please everyone stay safe wherever you are and get out of harms way.
We are on a ridge 500 feet above the flooded areas so remained high and dry with no storm damage. We expect power within the week.
Water...to simplify...we have a huge reservoir in the mountains that feeds 80% of our city water. Luckily the dam on that reservoir did not fail. What did fail was a complete washout of both main and redundant huge pipes coming from that reservoir. Big pipes, 30 inches in diameter. In order to even access the site, a new road had to be built. 72 hrs from now a set of pipes will be installed. However, that is just the start. Cleaning and pressurizing the system is next and who knows how many other leaks there are from washouts in the 1800 mile distribution system.
The estimate is still "weeks" until we get water. I'm amazed at the incredible progress! Meanwhile, we and our neighbors get "flushing" water from a nearby creek that we share with all the bears here. Potable water not a problem as bottled water is readily available all over town. Temporary shower facilities are being setup in the area.
Please everyone stay safe wherever you are and get out of harms way.
petes'picks
Super Member
Looks like sustained wind speeds dropped 20mph to 140mph as it ran into another system then winds back up to 150mph for now. Check out the animated IR gif on NOAA before the images are updated for some interesting stuff, it loads a little slow but worth the wait. 911mb of pressure right now which is one heck of system as anything close to 900mb is truly a monster. My guess is it will weaken a bit due to path over Yucatan and fighting with the other system it ran into.
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Bill Ferris
Lunatic Member
As of 3 hrs. ago the latest (15:55 UTC) NHC reported Milton sustained of about 160 mph winds moving ESE @9mph.
And currently scraping the upper North Western edge of the Yucatan peninsular as observed via Noah multi-frame time lapse imagery.
petes'picks
Super Member
You can get hourly updates here https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/?atlc
Good luck to all those in Milton's path.
petes'picks
Super Member
Currently it has the 8th lowest pressure ever recorded for an Atlantic system at 905mb, lowest recorded is 882. Hold on to your shorts Florida. Watched the updated IR gif and it looks like it swallowed up that other system like it was really hungry.
Yesterday I drove to Bostic, NC to assist some friends via I-40 West to Hwy 64 south at Morganton. Bostic is ~30 east of Lake Lure and power, etc., has returned. Lots of creeks in this area but downed trees were the big problem. The number of large trees that had crossed roads and felled power lines was sobering. I can't imagine the devastation in hard hit places. This is a rural community so folks tend to have long driveways snaking through wooded properties of 10 to 50 acres. I brought my chainsaw and helped cut up and drag off fallen trees. That evening some neighbors gathered at my friends house for a pot luck dinner and story sharing. They expressed gratitude for the people that worked so hard to restore their power and roads. Of course, that was only a start toward restoring their lives and property.
During our trip we were amazed at the amount of vehicles heading west to assist. Military trucks, government groups from towns and cities, box trucks of goods, heavy equipment, and bucket trucks streamed west. And since I-40 was closed near the TN line, the normal flow of tractor trailers were diverted west of I-77.
Dang Milton. Just go away!
During our trip we were amazed at the amount of vehicles heading west to assist. Military trucks, government groups from towns and cities, box trucks of goods, heavy equipment, and bucket trucks streamed west. And since I-40 was closed near the TN line, the normal flow of tractor trailers were diverted west of I-77.
Dang Milton. Just go away!
Bill Ferris
Lunatic Member
Yeah, Milton, Go away you 180 mph and probably going to get more intense, you bastard !
Hang in there and good luck, KingBubba, you`re in his crosshairs !
KingBubba
"Too Much Stuff"
Thanks Bill. We are truly in the calm before the storm right now. It is a balmy Florida day, partly cloudy and moderately warm. It is almost hard to believe what is just around the corner. I tried to find a motel two days ago and there are no vacancies within about 200 miles. We will have to ride it out. Our mobile is rated for 150mph. We also have a large steel garage that is rated for 160mph. If the house is compromised, we will escape to the garage. I have been charging all my batteries and flashlights. I have a lot of flashlights and candles; so light will not be an issue for a while. In a short while, I am going to fill many containers with water as we are on a pump system, not city water. No power/no water. I'll fill the bathtub in the main bathroom also. This whole thing is quite nerve wracking for us. The wait is worse than you might think.
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Bill Ferris
Lunatic Member
Careful with the open flames, if it comes down to their use, my friend.
I`m betting possession some kind of reasonably sized generator is in your future after all this is over ? Yes/No ?
