What's Your Hurricane Story?
As Hurricane Irene churns toward her rendezvous with destiny, I wonder how many of you have had close encounters with these storms? What's your story?
I'll start: I was stationed in North Carolina in 1996 when Hurricane Fran blasted through. In addition to my active duty obligations, I did a radio show on the local AM talk station. I was on the air the evening that Fran came through the Goldsboro area. Naturally, the electricity went out which put the station on generator power. Our news director decided to take a drive through town and phone in to the station to talk with me on air about road conditions, downed trees, power lines, etc.
He was in the middle of a very compelling narrative when our entire building began to shudder. Since it was a brick building and quite solid, this was unexpected. Then, a violent shudder started on the south end of the building and proceeded down the length of the structure, sounding like a giant zipper being undone over our heads. It was the roof literally being ripped off the building and tossed in the field behind us. Next came the water, pouring all over offices, desks, and the studio itself where I was strapped in to several consoles of electronic equipment.
I stayed on the air, making no mention of what had happened as our news director continued narrating his own adventure of weaving around downed trees and lines while everyone else threw plastic tarps over me and the equipment. The conversation continued on air without interruption until someone handed me a note to the effect that the news director's office was locked and everything inside was likely being soaked. There was nothing left to do but tell him, and our listeners, that the radio station had just become a convertible and would he mind coming back and unlocking his office. He did so with great dispatch and, after securing his papers and belongings, crawled under the tarp so we could talk in studio. The staff and management at the station had managed by that time to channel most of the water away from the electronics. Still, I couldn't resist the mischievous impulse, and so as soon we were back on the air I explained that we were broadcasting while trying not to get electrocuted, and then invited the news director to sit in the newly named "O.J. Simpson Chair." "I can't believe you just said that on the air," he said.
The following day, the program director and I stayed on the air for around 14 hours straight, getting updates from local utility, phone, and water officials, city and county officials, etc. We were able to direct listeners to places where they could find water, and especially ice. I had no idea how many people required ice for medical reasons. Trucks of ice were besieged by crowds. Over the ensuing days and weeks those of us at the station, from our wonderful engineer who kept us on the air, to the people who answered the phones, to those of us behind the microphones, were gratified to have played a part in a community effort to dig out from under one very nasty storm.
What's your story?
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Jun '10
Re: What's Your Hurricane Story?
It was a dark and stormy night...I had boarded up my dog house but now found myself out in the rain and my typewriter getting soaked. I thought perhaps I could take the Sopwith Camel and fly through the eye of the hurricane but then thought better of it...
Re: What's Your Hurricane Story?
Best to have Woodstock install a new typewriter ribbon and fetch a fresh bottle of white-out.
Apr '11
Re: What's Your Hurricane Story?
During Katrina?, I was fixing a copier at ViTran in the Quad Cities. They had CNN on the tube, watching the traffic flowing north out of Florida. Southbound was a single vehicle, a ViTran tractor-trailer. The office people started laughing hysterically about "that crazy s.o.b. Bill, trying to make his drop-off time."
Re: What's Your Hurricane Story?
Somehow, it's not surprising.
Jun '10
Re: What's Your Hurricane Story?
Dave Carter
Best to have Woodstock install a new typewriter ribbon and fetch a fresh bottle of white-out. · Aug 26 at 5:41pm
All I have is a few bottles of Chateauneuf du Pape. They will have to do.
Jun '10
Re: What's Your Hurricane Story?
In thirty years of living in the Florida Keys, crusing a sailboat in the Caribbean, and now in SW Florida I can spend an evening swapping hurricane stories. For now, I want to underscore just how much broadcasts received on battery radios mean to folks that have are isolated in the dark with unpassable roads, dead phones, and undrinkable water. We were without power and phone for ten days after Andrew (1992) hit us in Islamorada down in the Keys. Bryan Norcross, then local Miami now Weather Channel, talked us through the storm preparation as the tension rose, told us what was happening through-out the area as the storm came through, and then kept us posted on the recovery efforts. Bryan talked himself to a croak but he was on-air when we went to sleep and on when we woke in the night, and still on when we woke up. I have never had the chance to meet him, shake his hand, and thank him. Sort of doing that now. Dave, there are doubtless people that remember you with gratitude in their memories of a night of dark and fear.
Oct '10
Re: What's Your Hurricane Story?
The Columbus Day storm in Portland was quite something in my youth. To stand outside and observe Nature was a learning experience as debris flew about. The surreal visuals of corrugated sheets of metal drifting by like so much paper soon inspired wisdom in a young mind.
Having the Northridge quake invite one out of bed and a presumed escape onto a parking lot of undulating waves of asphalt and whitecaps in the pool were enough.
Have since retreated to a mountain locale at a level of 7,200 ft. in Mexico.
Truly impressive to view the tops of storm fronts moving in and the light shows.
Have no desire to be a flatlander anytime soon.
Jul '10
Re: What's Your Hurricane Story?
Back in 99, I hadn't paid much attention to the weather and drove down to SC to visit a friend for Labor Day weekend. The weather was nice when I left, so I decided to take the top off the Jeep and leave the windows and doors at home. Unfortunately, Dennis was moving up the coast. I got the pleasure of driving home at night with only the canvas top up through most of SC and NC while trying to mop the inside of the windshield with a towel and the squeegee side of my ice scraper. I got ahead of the storm around the VA state line and got home in time to get inside before the rain came through central VA.
Re: What's Your Hurricane Story?
wilber forge: The Columbus Day storm in Portland was quite something in my youth. To stand outside and observe Nature was a learning experience as debris flew about. The surreal visuals of corrugated sheets of metal drifting by like so much paper soon inspired wisdom in a young mind.
Having the Northridge quake invite one out of bed and a presumed escape onto a parking lot of undulating waves of asphalt and whitecaps in the pool were enough.
Have since retreated to a mountain locale at a level of 7,200 ft. in Mexico.
Truly impressive to view the tops of storm fronts moving in and the light shows.
Have no desire to be a flatlander anytime soon. · Aug 26 at 5:58pm
Wilbur, aren't storms even more ferocious at high altitude? Seems like the lightning and such would be all around you, not just up above you someplace. The wind has got to be incredible too, no?
May '10
Re: What's Your Hurricane Story?
1985, right here in Connecticut, Hurricane Gloria. Most people had no power for days. I lived next door to the hospital and never lost power. I had people's food in my refrigerator. Everywhere I went I brought pump pots of coffee and hot water. The eye passed right over us. I went outside and took a picture. Wind, rain, trees falling everywhere, wires down and sparking. It was scary. It may happen again tomorrow into Sunday. I'll report more in this space. Stay tuned.
Edited on Aug 26, 2011 at 6:12pmRe: What's Your Hurricane Story?
We had lots of people at the station put in very long hours to keep us on the air. The free pizza wasn't bad either...
Re: What's Your Hurricane Story?
PJS: 1985, right here in Connecticut, Hurricane Gloria. Most people had no power for days. I lived next door to the hospital and never lost power. I had people's food in my refrigerator. Everywhere I went I brought pump pots of coffee and hot water. The eye passed right over us. I went outside and took a picture. Wind, rain, trees falling everywhere, wires down and sparking. It was scary. It may happen again tomorrow into Sunday. I'll report more in this space. Stay tuned. · Aug 26 at 6:11pm
Edited on Aug 26 at 06:12 pm
Please do keep us up to date, but most importantly, stay safe. Thoughts and prayers with you and others in the area.
May '10
Re: What's Your Hurricane Story?
Dave, sounds to me like your hurricane spawned a tornado. Was Fran the one that ran through all the hog farms down east and left thousands of dead hogs floating around? Nastiest footage I've ever seen. Disgusted, I could only turn off the TV, pick up the newspaper, and finish the rest of my bacon.
Re: What's Your Hurricane Story?
Matthew, yep, I believe that was the one that redistributed almost as much pork as a legislative earmark from Robert Byrd. By the way, a little tobasco sauce on the bacon would have helped.
Oct '10
Re: What's Your Hurricane Story?
Dave Carter
wilber forge: The Columbus Day storm in Portland was quite something in my youth. To stand outside and observe Nature was a learning experience as debris flew about. The surreal visuals of corrugated sheets of metal drifting by like so much paper soon inspired wisdom in a young mind.
Having the Northridge quake invite one out of bed and a presumed escape onto a parking lot of undulating waves of asphalt and whitecaps in the pool were enough.
Have since retreated to a mountain locale at a level of 7,200 ft. in Mexico.
Truly impressive to view the tops of storm fronts moving in and the light shows.
Have no desire to be a flatlander anytime soon. · Aug 26 at 5:58pm
Wilbur, aren't storms even more ferocious at high altitude? Seems like the lightning and such would be all around you, not just up above you someplace. The wind has got to be incredible too, no? · Aug 26 at 6:08pm
Actually, the winds are incredible and the lightning moves in amazing directions. As well as getting up close and personal. Not for the faint of heart. Overall just get wet. Do enjoy the show.
May '10
Re: What's Your Hurricane Story?
It was light on the rum, heavy on the vodka. I was blown away.
I usually skip town when a hurricane comes, so most of my memories involve cleaning up.
I did stay for Ike, and even stood outside a while to watch (the wind was sticking to the treetops at the time), but fell asleep long before the eye reached my area. The next morning, nearly every street had a tree laying on or in a house. One of my sisters lives deeper in the woods. Her three closest neighbors had eleven trees down between them.
As always, the storm turned distant neighbors into close friends. Mine all met in a culdesac every evening with lawnchairs, picnic tables, a firepit and whatever food might spoil soon to have a grand feast. Maybe thirty of us, without power for ten days. The roads in my sister's subdivision were all blocked by fallen trees, so young men took upon themselves to clear it.
Katrina wiped out the New Orleans hospital where I was born.
Ivan (I think) picked up my grandma's beachhouse in Perdido Key, mere months after she sold the land, and placed it gently on the highway.
Re: What's Your Hurricane Story?
Good points, Aaron. We could do a whole conversation thread on friendships born of adversity.
Meanwhile, I'm trying to envision a house being placed on a highway.
Oct '10
Re: What's Your Hurricane Story?
Missed something here, has anyone ever experienced being in the eye of a tornado ? One of these monsters passed over my house as a kid in Ohio. Kind of skipped up over the hill behind the place, seemed to pause then moved on.
There was an absolute stillness in the air, nothing moved and the sky turned yellow. It was as if life came to a standstill and frozen in time. We thought the thing had bypassed us, yet that was my view from the big picture window in the living room.
Needless to say, once Mom saw what was happening, escorted kid to safer havens post haste.
Tall order, save one would like to know if anyone else has been there...
Jun '10
Re: What's Your Hurricane Story?
wilber forge: Missed something here, has anyone ever experienced being in the eye of a tornado ? One of these monsters passed over my house as a kid in Ohio. Kind of skipped up over the hill behind the place, seemed to pause then moved on.
There was an absolute stillness in the air, nothing moved and the sky turned yellow. It was as if life came to a standstill and frozen in time. We thought the thing had bypassed us, yet that was my view from the big picture window in the living room.
Needless to say, once Mom saw what was happening, escorted kid to safer havens post haste.
Tall order, save one would like to know if anyone else.... Aug 26 at 7:26pm
I wasn't here then, but about 80 years ago when there was a barn on the property, a tornado went through and pulverized that barn, killing the horses and cattle inside. When digging around now, we still find debris--rusty nails, hinges, broken glass, old wire netting, and parts of horse halters. I feel a little like a CSI officer when I find that stuff, except there's no crime--just evidence.
May '10
Re: What's Your Hurricane Story?
And I'm trying to find the picture. Stay tuned.
I have more tornado stories than hurricane stories. My county gets a lot, though they're not as big as the ones in the Midwest.
The first tornado I ever experienced must have been boring, because I slept through it. It zig-zagged down my family's street when I was little and put trees into our neighbors' homes.
Again as a little kid, I was lying in the back of a van on a highway in Oklahoma when the sky turned pitch black around noon. There was hail and the wind was pushing hard, but my dad stubbornly drove on until finally the car in front of us was swept into the ditch.
To be continued...