Hurricane Florence

[SouthernLady]

I hope you find solid shelter and don't take risks to post vids southernlady. It sounds pretty serious. You are worth more than any house or material possession.

Don't worry, I had my fill of risks with tropical storms/hurricanes in September/October 2010. I had a conference in Myrtle Beach, SC, for three days and then another meeting to drive to in Little Washington, NC, the next day. Tropical Storm Nicole changed directions while we were driving through the night to Little Washington, and we got extremely close to getting in a few bad situations with flash flooding.

We just made the decision to close our school tomorrow in case of power outages and flash floods. There's a creek just below us that runs through a horse farm that will most likely cover the road for a period of time if we get the rain they expect. The winds are picking up here, but so far the gusts haven't been any worse than typical spring winds. I am sure that will change in the next 24 hours, though.

My grandmother has determined to ride out the hurricane in her third-story apartment. I reminded her how well that worked for her the last time a major hurricane came through.

She literally said she had to fix her hair, and she could do that better in her apartment.

[phil]

from the reports I see it seems to be slowing which might mean more flooding and less wind speed so hopefully you don't see any flying cows

[SouthernLady]

To give y'all an idea of the current situation here in the Tar Heel State, specifically the "Triad" region I am in (Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point):

[mjt]

Be smart and stay safe.

Stuff can be replaced and repaired a lot more easily than people can.

[SouthernLady]

Just posted a live video over on my Instagram account. The rains are starting a little bit in my area and the wind gusts are picking up, but so far nothing too bad. The folks out east are really having it bad. Thoughts and prayers appreciated for my fellow Tar Heels!

[phil]

Hoping all is OK with Southernlady. I suspect she may be in a power outage now, but others probably have a much better concept of the geography and areas hardest hit. Sounds like there is a lot of flooding so I hope she's on high ground.

[awomanwithahammer]

I just came from Hilton Head Island in SC yesterday. I have friends who live there, and I was already planning to go for a visit on Wednesday. If they have to evacuate, they usually come here to us in East TN, but their mandatory evacuation order was canceled. They were of the belief that it was going to turn north, so quaking and trembling, I drove into an uncertain situation. We never saw any signs of the hurricane. We are forecast to get more rain here than they will there. I do hope that Southern Lady's hair (and house) are OK.

[SouthernLady]

We made it through! Prayers were answered, and the storm drastically weakened compared to what was expected. The chimney made it, although some good-sized branches didn't. I had some minor flooding, but nothing too serious. Nothing like the folks out in the eastern part of the state are experiencing.

Some of my friends near Wilmington had to be rescued by some of their church members in a big truck. They couldn't evacuate due to some recent health issues. Other friends in the Pinehurst area are surrounded by flood water and have no power, but they're ok. They were prepped for it. A friend's son who lives in Wilmington has been floating in his living room for the past few days on a chicken pool float. He got hungry and heard of a Burger King that was open and serving food, so he hopped on his chicken pool float, made a makeshift paddle, and rode the chicken to higher ground to get his burger. (I have pictures. The boy ain't right)



The worst in my area was over the weekend. I haven't heard how much rain we got, but roads are washed out all over my area, large trees are down, and the NCDOT issued a warning last night for all drivers to get off the roads because conditions were deteriorating rapidly. In my county, so many roads washed out that emergency personnel ran out of barricades to set up so folks were blocking roads with their vehicles. Mudslides have happened on the same road I live on, but about 30 minutes south of me. Two dams in my area also broke, causing evacuations. The big river in our area, the Yadkin River, is over its banks and some evacuations were underway throughout the night. The mountains, which I am closer to, have been hit with historic flooding.

You can see a little bit how bad it was in my area. Some of the fine country boys in my county reporting on local conditions as the storm worked its way in:

https://www.facebook.com/blair.jones.98284/videos/313361536063387/

Trucking companies are rerouting their drivers to completely avoid the entire state. It's gonna be a mess for quite a while.

[Manalto]

A friend's son who lives in Wilmington has been floating in his living room for the past few days on a chicken pool float. He got hungry and heard of a Burger King that was open and serving food, so he hopped on his chicken pool float, made a makeshift paddle, and rode the chicken to higher ground to get his burger. (I have pictures. The boy ain't right)

I know - Burger King? Yuck. He must have been hungry.

Glad to hear you're OK, and the damage isn't too severe.

National news coverage is helping us get an idea of what a terrible mess the eastern part of the state is. New Bern is a place I like and where I have some memories; I was especially dismayed to see all the destruction there.

[Gothichome]

Southernlady, glad your safe and dry. Also happy to hear your chimney is still standing. The fellow posting the weather report made me laugh. Very creative satire. I just hope he didn’t get any water in his beer.