Here are the 11 AM EDT Key Messages for Hurricane #Florence. There is an increasing risk of life-threatening hazards from storm surge and heavy rainfall from the Carolinas into the mid-Atlantic region later this week https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb pic.twitter.com/cAQTyasGE9
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 9, 2018
Yeah, so that’s pretty darned close to Raleigh, and would mean tropical force winds here. Of course, we have a long way to go to know for sure. And a lot of people say the warnings, because the WalMart I shop at was slammed on certain products (I usually hit the store on the way home on Sunday’s when I go in). Milk was hit pretty hard (I actually needed a small thing of it, gone). So was bread.
People need to remember that if the storm hits and power goes out, they are not making microwave meals, and so few have gas stoves they can’t cook there, either. Sandwiches will be your friend. But, don’t shop too early, especially for things that you’d otherwise have sitting around forever.
But, doesn’t hurt to get batteries and flashlights. You can never go wrong with having them. Buy a little pack of flashlights, do not have to be good ones, put them and some batteries in a plastic bag. Don’t put the batts in the lights. Put them in a special drawer with all the other batteries. I have one drawer where I keep all my batts. Charge up stuff like Kindles, charging sticks, even old phones, especially if one has a built in radio. Have some candles.
Sadly, I have an old handheld TV, but, won’t work anymore because it doesn’t get the digital over the air signal.
We’re keeping an eye on Florence too. After Irma last year, we don’t trust any forecast of a path at all.
We usually stock up on water, rice, canned meats, crackers and some fruit (real and canned.) They never really go bad so even if you don’t need them, you can still use them in the coming year.
We stock up through the year on the free LED flashlights from Harbor Freight. The things are amazingly bright and if they break, who cares?
One thing that we have also fallen in love with are the lights you wear on your head. We have about 4 of them, including one that is rechargeable which doesn’t make sense in a power outage. (see below.) We bought it because of the lumens which is something like 3000. We have tried it on some flat straight roads here and it easily lights up things 3/4 a mile away. It’s also great for biking at night. (We were pulled over by a cop for it being too bright one night.)
The other headlamps are battery powered (usually AAA) and the thing that we love about them is they free up your hands. At night, they are great for reading, doing puzzles, etc.
One other thing we added this year is a portable hand held power device that generates power by cranking a handle. It takes forever, but if you can use it to recharge cell phones, radios, etc, as well as the monster headlamp we have. We are thinking of adding a solar power device as well.
Hang in there and we’ll be thinking about you if Flo comes your way.
The fact that people are preparing early up there is a good thing…..a really good thing.
I have a few of the head lights, too. Also, a hand cranked charging flashlight. If it really starts to look like we’re getting bad winds, I’ll get some more food that doesn’t need cooking, like lunch meat. If it’s coming through, I’m getting a big backup battery for the fish tanks, spent a lot of time with them. Plus, will work for a fan.
Good luck, Teach.
Thanks. Hoping it dies out before hitting the coast
Looks like its going to be a tough hit on NC. Its not looking good for the Wilmington – Morehead City stretch. It may pass south of you but the bulk of the rainfall will happen north of the storm center.
I hope you and everyone else there is safe from floods and winds.
Please be prepared and make sure all of your friends and loved ones have high ground and supplies.
“The storm will stall over land, sit and spin for days, dumping tons of rain”