# Category 3. Meh. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 3, 2004, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/category-3-meh/262961 "2004-09-03T15:21:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![edwino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@edwino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwino)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/category-3-meh/262961/21 "2004-09-03T21:03:11Z")
Hear, hear, **UrbanChic** This thread is the funniest thing I have read in a long while. But I am perverse and have a total weather geek friend who is just like the OP. But the OP, his replies, and the followup comments have made laugh and laugh. Sue me. OTOH my wishes go out to the people in Southern Florida. Living in Houston and working in the Texas Medical Center, I know the hell even a [tropical](http://www.uth.tmc.edu/ut_general/admin_fin/planning/reports/Allison/overview.html) [storm](http://hydrology.rice.edu/flood/photos/index1.htm) can wreak. TS Allison shut down my school for 2 weeks and still remains [one of the top 10 costliest disasters](http://www.iii.org/media/hottopics/insurance/xxx/) ever in the USA. And we have avoided anything greater than a category two since Alisha (cat 3) in 1983 IIRC. [http://www.usatoday.com/weather/huricane/history/walicia.htm](http://www.usatoday.com/weather/huricane/history/walicia.htm) ---
**Author:** ![edwino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@edwino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwino)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/category-3-meh/262961/22 "2004-09-03T21:09:10Z")
Hear, hear, **UrbanChic** This thread is the funniest thing I have read in a long while. But I am perverse and have a total weather geek friend who is just like the OP. But the OP, his replies, and the followup comments have made laugh and laugh. Sue me. OTOH my wishes go out to the people in Southern Florida. Living in Houston and working in the Texas Medical Center, I know the [hell](http://www.cs.rice.edu/~dwallach/photo/allison2001/) even a [tropical](http://www.uth.tmc.edu/ut_general/admin_fin/planning/reports/Allison/overview.html) [storm](http://hydrology.rice.edu/flood/photos/index1.htm) can wreak. TS Allison shut down my school for 2 weeks and still remains [one of the top 10 costliest disasters](http://www.iii.org/media/hottopics/insurance/xxx/) ever in the USA. And we have avoided anything greater than a category two since Alisha (cat 3) in 1983 IIRC. [http://www.usatoday.com/weather/huricane/history/walicia.htm](http://www.usatoday.com/weather/huricane/history/walicia.htm) ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2004, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/category-3-meh/262961/23 "2004-09-04T07:23:09Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Needless to say, though some people here don’t think it is, neither I nor Trunk wish death, damage, or destruction on anybody but the current ability of the weather people to make long-term hurricane forecasts vs. the nasty surprises from out of nowhere that they were a hundred years ago or less, plus the love of TV news to go into Chicken Little mode the moment there is a possibility that the weather could be something less than perfect, leaves the forecasters ripe for Pitting. I _almost_ agree with that. Unfortunately, I remember the pre-Andrew holdouts: “Bah, they always predict they’re gonna hit us but they never do. I’m not going no place.” Scene 2, post-hurricane: “Where is the cavalry?!?!?!” I watched some clown tonight on one of the barrier islands. “I’m not leaving until Frances is 75 miles out. My van does 90. She’s doing 8. I can out run her.” Yeah, that’s great when it’s 20 people. When you have 100,000 trying to leave that island it sucks. Which is why emergency services are currently looking for people stupid enough to stay - they want to collect IDs so they know where the bodies are. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/category-3-meh/262961.md?page=1)