Looks like Tropical Storm Francine is going to develop into Hurricane Francine. They are forecasting that it is going to be a Cat 2 storm.
I certainly don’t miss the days of dealing with Hurricanes. I am certainly concerned for friends in Texas and Louisiana, but especially for those in Louisiana as they are going to on the “dirty” side of this storm.
Prior to living in Louisana I did not know the difference between the “dirty” or “clean” side of hurricanes. The dirty side is the east side of the storms as this is usually the side of the storm that is loaded with precipitation and stronger winds and stronger storm surge. The west side is cleaner because the storm has typically dropped the majority of its precipitation and is circling around to pick up more precipitation.
I was thinking about the first rain storms that Jennifer and I encountered after to moving to Louisiana. Prior to living there I always wondered how people could get stuck in flash flooding situations. Well we were in our apartment in Lafayette and we got one of those strong afternoon storms and I mean it was coming down so hard and fast. It was like someone open a fire hydrant right over your head. I remember we called our folks to tell them about the rain. We even opened the window and stuck our phone out so they could hear the rain coming down, it was crazy. The even crazier part was that the rain water was warm, you could have taken a bar of soap out there and had a good shower.
I am watching the Weather Channel and they have a broadcaster in Lafayette. They are preparing for heavy rains and flooding due to the Vermilion River flooding because it could get backed up due to storm surge in Vermilion Bay.
As I watched the broadcast (they are actually broadcasting right from in this area) I was rembering a time we had our Corporate Physician visiting the Lafayette Office. Jennifer and I went to lunch with him at the restaurant at the Hilton Hotel which looked out on the Vermilion Bayou/River. There was a strong winter storm that came in and dumped a bunch of rain on Lafayette and the Bayou was filling up. We started seeing things that were floating out of yards of homes on the Bayou. I remember we watched a little kids plastic turtle sand box that was floating down the bayou. We ended our lunch and got the heck out of there because it was coming up quickly and we needed to get back on the other side of the bayou to get back to the office and home. This was not the winter storm that dropped 25 inches of rain in 24 hours but it was a strong storm.
So I will tolerate this 100 degree weather vs having to deal with the flooding and winds that coming with the hurricanes. We were so blessed that we dodged bullets for many hurricanes.
Jennifer and I decided early on that we would not be retiring to a area that could be impacted by hurricanes, we had enough of that nonsense. I just pray that people that live in low lying areas heed the messages to get the heck out (they won’t) when authorities tell them too.
Those events can make or break a marriage, fortunately Jennifer and I weathered them ok and actually they helped strengthen our relationship. Although at times it was scary and you do your best to comfort each other while they are occurring, but in the back of your mind you are praying you did not screw up. Like I said we were blessed and made it through them, but no desire to experience one again.
This weekend I watched some football. Unfortunately most of my teams stumbled (Notre Dame and U of M) both got upset by teams they should have beaten. However the MT Tech Ordediggers beat the Carroll College Saints (I am an Alum of both schools) but always pull for the Diggers. Also my old high school team pulled off a big overtime win on Friday night. So you win some and you lose some.
My nephew Heath also had a big week. He got his first start in a high school soccer game and he also got to play some goalie. They lost but they scored three goals in this game, so they are improving. The girls team coach told Chad that Heath was doing a good job, especially since he is only a 8th grader. This week his team will be traveling and they will have a overnight stay. So his first time for that.
Well enough for today.
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