Florence makes landfall
I asked reader Carolyn to tell us how she made it through Hurricane/Tropical Storm Florence.
She’s sent in a detailed, day-by-day description of the preparations she and her sister made. They live in North Carolina, 133 miles from Wilmington.
The week of September 2-8, we watched as Hurricane Florence meandered across the Atlantic like a weeble-wobble toy. By Monday the 10th, even though the weather people still could not accurately predict where it was going to land, all indications were pointing toward the Wilmington, NC and Myrtle Beach area.
Florence was one of the most erratic hurricanes I’ve ever seen. All of the weather models show the path going everywhere and the tracks looked like a dish of spaghetti.
Monday September 10th, word came out for us to prepare for Florence because she was such a huge storm she would cover most of the state.
Eyewall hits Wilmington
I share an apartment with one of my sisters and we started doing an inventory of what we had on hand and what we were going to need to get us through several days.
First we went through the freezer to see what we could cook so that it would hold for a little longer. Some things went into the Crock Pot and were made into homemade soup. Some ground beef went into a pan and was browned for whatever we chose to use for.
Other things were placed in the refrigerator to thaw for preparing the next day. After cooking, these items went back into the freezer until such time as the power went off. Most cooked food will hold a bit longer than raw (particularly meat).
Next we went through the pantry where we store some non-perishables for emergencies. Items such as canned meat for making sandwiches, beans in small cans with pull top lids, and vacuum packs of tuna. Not the healthiest choice of foods but you need to have food that can be preserved easily.
I don’t know about others but I live on a fixed income and can’t be throwing away food. As we went through everything we prepared a list of what items we’d need. Items such as bread, wipes for hands and counters, and batteries.
Rough seas hit Wilmington
We had on hand oil lamps (they don’t provide much light but it’s enough to move around a room without bumping into things), lanterns, flashlights. We checked batteries in all to make sure they were in good condition. I also started filtering water and filled all available containers.
On Tuesday the 11th, I did laundry, cleaned house to help prevent stale odors after the power is off. While I was doing that my sister went to the store and picked up the things that we needed and a solar charger for the cell phones. She cooked remaining food from the refrigerator. Some of this we shared with another sister.
On Wednesday the 12th, Florence was a Category 3 hurricane and still moving toward Wilmington, though expected to slow down as it reached closer to land. We brought in plants and hummingbird feeders. I left one feeder out because I saw birds looking for food. Secured the trash can to the fence with a bunji cord, the rest of the day was quiet.
Thursday the 13th Florence is down to a Category 2 and tropical-storm winds are reaching this far inland. I live about 133 miles from Wilmington. Brought in recycle bin and plant from the front and a small lightweight table from the back. We were as prepared for Florence as we could get. Winds are picking up but not bad.
After Florence in Wilmington
Friday the 14th Florence, has now dropped to a Cat 1 and has slowed down to moving at only 3 miles an hour and then picked up to 6 mph. Winds are sustained at 23 with gusts to 40 miles per hour. With the drop in intensity winds will not be as big a problem. Better chance of keeping power. Harder rains will cause more flooding everywhere. We still have power right now but a lot of flickering .
Saturday the 15th, power went off around 9:00 am . It remained out until late Sunday afternoon (around 6:30). Florence was now down to a Tropical Storm and we received 6.37 inches of rain. I’m getting tired of watching it rain.
Sunday the 16th, Florence was down to a Tropical Depression and we received another 6.58 inches of rain during the day. The weather station here went down Sunday so I was unable to get the rain amounts for the night, but it would have been a higher number as it rained harder and for longer periods of time. As a guess I would say 8 inches or more.
Florence seems to have a mind of her own. She meandered around the Atlantic and was torn apart by wind shear; then she rebuilt herself to the Category 4 storm she was originally. She was expected to build to a Cat 5 by the time she reached land where the storm surge and flooding at the speed she was moving would have been much more devastating.
Instead of building, she dropped to a Cat 2. Then – another unusual thing – she did not turn north after hitting land. She turned south into South Carolina On Friday she was a Cat 1 at Myrtle Beach, SC; on the 15th, in Florence, SC, she was a Tropical Storm; on the 16th she was a Tropical Depression at Greenville, SC. She then made the turn to the North and picked up speed to finally move on out. Throughout the week she had crawled across the two Carolinas at 3 to 6 miles an hour. She did a through cleaning job on all of us.
We were truly blessed not to have been in the part of the state that took the brunt of the storm. The North and South Carolina coastlines are a mess, and there are still things to come as all of the rivers impacted will crest in a few days. The last one to crest will be the ones in the hardest-hit areas. Many areas that did not flood from storm surge and rain will flood from the overflowing rivers. It is in one of these towns that the Brunswick Nuclear Plant is having some kind of issue.
Pray for all of the people in these areas that have been hit the hardest. They are going to need all the help they get to get back on their feet. Crops that are lost will include sweet potatoes, tobacco and, cotton.
Blessings,
Carolyn