August 1 - Are You Prepared?

90% of all Hurricanes take place after August 1st and 95% of all major Hurricanes take place after August 1st. The time for finishing up your storm preparations has come. The tropics have become very active the last few days as 2007 is looking to be back to normal levels of storm activity. 2006 saw the jet stream dip further south than normal for almost the entire season creating a large amount of shear and a very unfavorable environment for Hurricanes. Time will tell if 2007 turns out the same way, but my prediction is that it will not. By the time the season is over I predict we will see 14 named storms (already had 3) and 3 Major Hurricanes with at least 2 hitting the US Southeast Coastline.

Today we have a very interesting investigation in the Atlantic, 99L. The hurricane hunters could be flying into the system today. It has been battling wind shear from the south for the last 2 days, but through diurnal pulse storms it has survived and favorable conditions lie ahead. We will be keeping an eye on the system the next couple of days.

Here are some pictures showing the storm preparations we have taken at the new house in Virginia (2 blocks from the Elizabeth River).

Automatic Transfer Switch Installed. This connects to the main power line coming into the house from Dominion Power. If this line gets cut in a storm the ATS will automatically crank up the generator.


A 16kw Quietsource Generac Generator that will run the entire house (then some!). This is a natural gas generator, so there will be no manual intervention with this unit if we have to run on generator for an extended period of time. During Isabel this neighborhood lost power for 12 days, and that was just a tropical storm. Here are some pictures to remind you of how things looked after Isabel. An old neighborhood with above ground power lines equals bad news during a strong storm.


The new house has two White Oak trees that tower over 100 ft in the air. I have had all the dead limbs removed from these beautiful trees and cut back off the house by at least 8 feet.


After a crazy month in the new house, we have done as much as we can to prepare in case a storm hits the Norfolk area in 2007. Let's hope not. Statistically speaking we are due for another storm by 2008!

SCM