Waiting for the hurricane that never arrives
I wrote this early this week as Tropical Depression Florence quietly swept through our section of South Carolina. I put it in quotes only to separate it from the rest of this entry.
"My Sunday is as gentle as a rainy day can be. No one expected that when Hurricane Florence was approaching the Carolina coast. Forecasts called for major damage throughout North and South Carolina, including our little corner known as the Upstate. The rain today is somewhere between a drizzle and a mist. The wind barely stirs the upper branches on tall trees.
The forecasts for our area were as accurate as those for the 2016 presidential election. Two days ago, the predictions called for us to get nearly 3 inches of rain, and winds to be nearly 50 mph. Nearby Greenville, only 25 miles to our east, was expected to get nearly 5 inches of rain. What happened? Those big bands on the northern side of Florence veered a little more to the north. The rain-laden storm front didn't dip into our area. No downpour, no gales. I have to look only a short distance to the north to see a different picture. Areas of western North Carolina are expected to get 3 to 5 inches of rain today.
Our good fortune makes me heave a sigh of relief. The southern part of the North Carolina coast is still being hammered by heavy rains. Places such as Wilmington, N.C., have received nearly 2 feet of rain. That's FEET of rain. There have been 14 deaths attributed to the storm. That weighs on my mind. I understand the shock and sadness of those involved in such devastation. I also know how lucky we are to be in much different circumstances.
We dodged a bullet."
My relief was understandable. This was a terrible storm, and the damaging part missed us. The weakest part of this account is that it downplayed the heartache and sorrow of those who weren't as fortunate. The death toll now stands at 43, with 31 deaths in North Carolina and nine in my state. Tropical Depression Florence continued into Virginia, where it spawned killer tornadoes, and into Pennsylvania and New York. I watched video of New York City residents trying to get their cars through flooded city streets.
The impact on those less fortunate continues. The areas of most severe flooding at and near the North Carolina coast are weeks away from getting back to normal. A dam broke and sent water surging toward a closed-down coal plant, meaning dangerous coal ash might be washed into the river. That compounds the problems.
The devastation will continue although Hurricane Florence is well out of the area. South Carolina is the place where many rivers flooded by the storm empty into the Atlantic Ocean. All that water is heading for the coast, and communities along those rivers are being advised to expect flood conditions this week. I wish I could say that this late round of sorrow likely won't result in more deaths, but most of the toll was attributed to people trying to drive through flooding streams. There is nothing that guarantees that won't happen again.
I have great respect for the power of hurricanes. That was evident in my Facebook and blog posts as this storm began its march across our states, and the Upstate was in store for damaging wind and rain. My West Coast roots can't prepare me for this level of damaging storm. The only storm I can remember as having this level of damaging potential in Oregon was the Columbus Day storm. I couldn't remember the exact date, but my research showed it happened in 1962. Winds as high as 170 mph were recorded at Mount Hebo near the Oregon coast. A wind gust of 116 mph was recorded at the Morrison Street Bridge in Portland. But just as good fortune was with us regarding Florence, I was in an area that didn't get hit by these devastating winds. I was in The Dalles, 80 miles to the east of Portland. That area often gets higher winds because the Columbia River Gorge acts as a wind funnel for weather heading from west to east. The winds of that 1962 storm, known as Typhoon Freda, stayed to the west of us and traveled south to north. Yes, we dodged a bullet. I hope I can say that for the rest of my life, but life comes with few guarantees.
"My Sunday is as gentle as a rainy day can be. No one expected that when Hurricane Florence was approaching the Carolina coast. Forecasts called for major damage throughout North and South Carolina, including our little corner known as the Upstate. The rain today is somewhere between a drizzle and a mist. The wind barely stirs the upper branches on tall trees.
The forecasts for our area were as accurate as those for the 2016 presidential election. Two days ago, the predictions called for us to get nearly 3 inches of rain, and winds to be nearly 50 mph. Nearby Greenville, only 25 miles to our east, was expected to get nearly 5 inches of rain. What happened? Those big bands on the northern side of Florence veered a little more to the north. The rain-laden storm front didn't dip into our area. No downpour, no gales. I have to look only a short distance to the north to see a different picture. Areas of western North Carolina are expected to get 3 to 5 inches of rain today.
Our good fortune makes me heave a sigh of relief. The southern part of the North Carolina coast is still being hammered by heavy rains. Places such as Wilmington, N.C., have received nearly 2 feet of rain. That's FEET of rain. There have been 14 deaths attributed to the storm. That weighs on my mind. I understand the shock and sadness of those involved in such devastation. I also know how lucky we are to be in much different circumstances.
We dodged a bullet."
My relief was understandable. This was a terrible storm, and the damaging part missed us. The weakest part of this account is that it downplayed the heartache and sorrow of those who weren't as fortunate. The death toll now stands at 43, with 31 deaths in North Carolina and nine in my state. Tropical Depression Florence continued into Virginia, where it spawned killer tornadoes, and into Pennsylvania and New York. I watched video of New York City residents trying to get their cars through flooded city streets.
The impact on those less fortunate continues. The areas of most severe flooding at and near the North Carolina coast are weeks away from getting back to normal. A dam broke and sent water surging toward a closed-down coal plant, meaning dangerous coal ash might be washed into the river. That compounds the problems.
The devastation will continue although Hurricane Florence is well out of the area. South Carolina is the place where many rivers flooded by the storm empty into the Atlantic Ocean. All that water is heading for the coast, and communities along those rivers are being advised to expect flood conditions this week. I wish I could say that this late round of sorrow likely won't result in more deaths, but most of the toll was attributed to people trying to drive through flooding streams. There is nothing that guarantees that won't happen again.
I have great respect for the power of hurricanes. That was evident in my Facebook and blog posts as this storm began its march across our states, and the Upstate was in store for damaging wind and rain. My West Coast roots can't prepare me for this level of damaging storm. The only storm I can remember as having this level of damaging potential in Oregon was the Columbus Day storm. I couldn't remember the exact date, but my research showed it happened in 1962. Winds as high as 170 mph were recorded at Mount Hebo near the Oregon coast. A wind gust of 116 mph was recorded at the Morrison Street Bridge in Portland. But just as good fortune was with us regarding Florence, I was in an area that didn't get hit by these devastating winds. I was in The Dalles, 80 miles to the east of Portland. That area often gets higher winds because the Columbia River Gorge acts as a wind funnel for weather heading from west to east. The winds of that 1962 storm, known as Typhoon Freda, stayed to the west of us and traveled south to north. Yes, we dodged a bullet. I hope I can say that for the rest of my life, but life comes with few guarantees.
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