Oct 08 2016

Hurricane Matthew update

Well the hurricane was fairly intense with lots of rain and very strong winds. We had 9” of rain in less than 24 hours with a max windspeed of 85 mph at the airport. Actually, it wasn’t all that bad at ground level and the newscaster said it was a category 1 storm.

If this was a Cat 1, I would really hate to be in a category 4 storm. I can already see there are a bunch of things I need to do to prepare for the next big storm.

I did have some damage after all. The gently curved tree in which I used for hanging my freaking huge wind chime couldn’t handle the wind stress and came crashing down this morning. I really wouldn’t have cared that much, but it hit my fence and wood storage rack. I can’t complain because it is an easier fix than if the tree had hit my house. Other than a bunch of small limbs in the yard I came out fairly well.

Luckily, I didn’t loose power or internet at the house. Cant say the same for most of the neighbor, as a large tree took the power lines down for a large section of the neighborhood just down the street from my house. This tree was HUGE and probably 40” dia across at the base. They will need a crane to get out.

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Here are a few shots of tree which came down in my yard….

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Oct 07 2016

Hurricane Matthew

As of right now, Friday, 9 pm the weather in Charleston, SC hasn’t been too bad.  Lots of steady rain thorough out the day, since 1 pm.   I would say 10-25 knt winds.   

Hurricane Matthew  is located somewhere between Jacksonville FL and Savannah, GA.  The forecasters are still not sure if Matthew will pass east, slightly off the coast of Charleston or slowly turn out to sea resulting in a direct hit to Charleston with the eye wall.     The eye wall is where the winds are the strongest, don’t cha know.    

During 1989 Hurricane Hugo, the eye of the storm passed directly over my house in Charleston.  It was really creepy to have the winds blasting from the east, then dead calm for about a few minutes.   You could walk outside, no rain or clouds and the stars clearly visible.   Ten minutes later the winds were blasting from the west with the same intensity.  The two strong hits wind events, 180 degrees apart resulted in lots of damage   Needless to say, I hope this one stays off the coast.   

The real fun in Charleston will start about 2 am (tropical force winds).  At 5 am we will get the the real hurricane force winds (>74+ mph).    5 am – 7 pm will be the worst period for the storm.      

Fortunately, I live inland about 14 nm NW of the nearest coast line and am surrounded by dense tall woods on high lot with no chance of flooding.    When I built the house, I engineered it with the Hugo experience in mind, so I am actually a bit excited, eager but also apprehensive about the next few hours.   Sort of like your first flight in your home built airplane. How good are your building skills and will your survive the experience intact quickly races though your mind as the throttle is advanced.     

As far as my airplane, it is still safely tucked in my garage.    Talk about crazy good fortune….  

I have just completed a year long upgrade on the plane and had planned to take it to my hanger THIS weekend and reassemble it.    

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I am glad the last minute delays of life kept the bird home a bit longer than I had planned.  My hanger at JZI is probably as old as I am and I dont have a lot of confidence it surviving a really bad storm. The only thing that matters at the airport is the wings and if they are damaged it is an easy repair, and heck and they needed to be repainted anyway.  No big deal.  

Time to close.  I still have power and internet and want to make of the most of modern technology watching Luke Cage on Netflix before being returned to the middle ages using candle light at night to read a paper book for entertainment.