Non-political 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Megathread

[pbrower2a]

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-Mayor of Rockport

Good god. Can't imagine how terrifying it must have been during landfall.

That's one of the most depressing quotes I've ever read from a public official

I have heard statements with the same effect by numerous public officials -- go ahead, see the hurricane, but make sure that we can identify your body -- as a warning not only to evacuate, but even to keep curiosity-seekers and thrill-seekers  from 'greeting' the hurricane in what in many respects is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. End-of-a-lifetime opportunity, of course.

Big Business such as Wal*Mart knows enough to pull back merchandise before a hurricane strikes. There is no reliable business during a hurricane at its worst. Afterward? Of course -- as repair and replacement.

Whatever it takes to save lives from pointless danger is appropriate. If it takes sardonic humor, like a sign that reads

KLAN MEETING AND HURRICANE PARTY HERE

SIGN COURTESY NAACP

or

NAACP MEETING AND HURRICANE PARTY HERE

SIGN COURTESY K-K-K

then such sick humor could be appropriate.

[pbrower2a]

Will this cause significant population loss in Houston?

It could cause businesses to move operations and offices elsewhere, outside the danger of hurricane-based flooding (Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, or Fort Worth)  which have exactly the same advantages in taxes.

[pbrower2a]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-tweets-hurricane-harvey_us_59a2cb74e4b05710aa5ccfe2?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

Regrettably the President has been praising his own efforts before anyone can determine the results.

The danger is far from over, and self-praise for incomplete efforts is extremely risky -- and unwise.

[pbrower2a]

Houston should have been better prepared for a Category 3 hurricane  than New Orleans. Texas and Louisiana have different political cultures.  But this said, I can think of no city  being prepared for so much rain in so short a time as Houston is getting. No city in Florida, most of which has topography similar to Greater Houston. Not San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, or Fort Worth. San Francisco, San Diego, or Seattle? Definitely not in such hilly terrain.  Los Angeles? The mountains surrounding LA would focus floodwaters like a lens would focus sunlight. Washington DC? New York City? Such rainfall would demonstrate what those cities were before they were cities -- swamps. Boston or Baltimore? No. Philadelphia? Forget it.  Chicago? Detroit? Cleveland? Milwaukee? If the Gulf of Mexico can't serve as a buffer for heavy rainfall in Houston, then the much smaller Great Lakes can't. New Orleans proved how unsuited it is for a hurricane in 2005, which is best described as "not at all".  The only defense I could see of places like Phoenix, Denver, Atlanta, or Indianapolis is that cities so far inland would never get such torrential rainfall. 

[pbrower2a]

NWS forecast has the storm coming straight through Tampa. Winds at 100, gusts at 125. There has been a major increase in the risk for the west coast of Florida in the last 24 hours.

People here are not prepared.

Stay safe.

Related: did anyone see that pic comparing Irma to Andrew? In-sane. All you FL posters, seriously, I hope you're taking precautions to be safe and/or evacuating. God speed.

If I were a Florida resident I might want to spend this autumn no further south than Interstate 70.