# Oh no! It's Isabel! She's coming right for us!! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 11, 2003, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-its-isabel-shes-coming-right-for-us/201079 "2003-09-11T23:38:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-its-isabel-shes-coming-right-for-us/201079/61 "2003-09-12T17:08:33Z")
> [@](#): > > from _Zebra_ > Watching these hurricanes come in is like watching God bowling. Great. As a Floridian, now I feel like a bowling pin. Oh well, at least I’m not the headpin! (Sorry, **FCM**! :D) ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-its-isabel-shes-coming-right-for-us/201079/62 "2003-09-12T17:20:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Archergal \* > \*\*Yikes, you guys! If you’re going to get out, don’t wait till the last minute! There was a huge amount of traffic on I-16 a couple of years ago when they thought they needed to evacuate some of the Georgia coastal cities. > > I think it would not be good to be caught on the expressway in traffic 5 miles out of town when the hurricane struck. . . \*\* You just reminded me of something. The week before the big hurricane you’re talking about, there was a mass exodus from the coast. It was awesome because on Thursday night downtown I ran into a good buddy of mine who was going to College of Charleston and a bunch of his friends. They were evacuated and had nothing better to do than come to Greenville and party. ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-its-isabel-shes-coming-right-for-us/201079/63 "2003-09-12T17:29:21Z")
Hurricanes _can_ hit JAX, anywhere along the Eastern seaboard, and anywhere along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and many parts of Central America. Not to mention those Pacific storms which are worse usually. Fat Bitch Isabel looks like one of them though. ---
**Author:** ![Isabelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5a626/32.png) [@Isabelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isabelle)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-its-isabel-shes-coming-right-for-us/201079/64 "2003-09-12T17:50:03Z")
> [@](#): > > Oh no! It’s Isabel! She’s coming right for us!! I first saw this and thought 'Oh no, what did I do!"…then I opened the thread. PHEW! I am near you Fairy Chat Mom and I am not prepared either! I own one flashlight (Did I mention it is a Pen light?) and infact just brought it home yesterday. The kidlets were fighting over who it should go to and now I don’t know where it is. I am not prepared for a hurricaine. You hate Florida? what about these damn love bugs?!?! I would rather be living in North Carolina. ---
**Author:** ![Venoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c4cdca/32.png) [@Venoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Venoma)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-its-isabel-shes-coming-right-for-us/201079/65 "2003-09-12T18:12:57Z")
JAX, capital of south GA? Sigh. You southerners confuse me. _stows away all her valuable junk_ Hope it doesn’t hit here… ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-its-isabel-shes-coming-right-for-us/201079/66 "2003-09-12T18:26:26Z")
Hey, **FCM** , would you pass by Gainesville on your way to Ocala? 🙂 I wonder if UF will close classes for a hurricane that is destroying the peninsula two hours north… ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-its-isabel-shes-coming-right-for-us/201079/67 "2003-09-12T19:35:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FairyChatMom \* > How high do hurricanes extend? Can an airliner fly over one safely? OVER one? No. Hurricanes can extend 15 to 20 km (9 to 12 miles, if I’ve done the math right) upwards into the atmosphere. Airplanes flying long distances routinely cruise around 30,000 to 35,000 feet altitude – six to seven miles. As bad as a hurricane may be on the ground, I sure as heck don’t want to fly through the middle of one. Airlines will do almost anything possible, including flying waaaay the hell out of the way, to avoid a hurricane. Flights northward along the coast will likely be cancelled, or diverted through Chicago or somesuch place. Assuming the airport even remains open, that is. ---
**Author:** ![Skeezix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@Skeezix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skeezix)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-its-isabel-shes-coming-right-for-us/201079/68 "2003-09-12T19:46:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kristi \* > **Of course, being a life-long Floridian, I have the “stash” of batteries, boards, sandbags , etc, all ready to go!** Yeah, that used to be us, as well. Unfortunately, the past couple years, we’ve gotten complacent, and have either not replaced the perishable stuff, or slowly used it up when caught short of stuff/money at one time or another. (More people show up at the BBQ than you planned on? There’s some paper plates in the hurricane kit, go get those. We’re out of skeeter repellant? I don’t have any cash on hand, go see if there’s some left in the kit.) When we inventoried our stash, we found we had about 20 paper plates, some plasticware, two rolls pf paper towels… You get the idea. Seeing’s how there’s two and a half months left to the season (give or take) regardless of where Isabel goes, we decided it was time to get off our butts. Oh, and I thought not of **South Park** but the retired flight controller in the first **Airplane** , who dives out of the flight tower, when I saw the thread title. 🙂 [sub]Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit smoking/amphetamines/sniffing glue.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![tramp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@tramp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tramp)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-its-isabel-shes-coming-right-for-us/201079/69 "2003-09-12T20:18:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dung Beetle \* > \*\ ***tramp** , if you’re near Oceans One, maybe I’ll see you there!🆒 \*\* I’ll be chillin at the Mediteranean (spelled wrong, I know) so not that close to Ocean’s One! But if you see a surfboard floating without a rider, you’ll know Isabel got me! ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-its-isabel-shes-coming-right-for-us/201079/70 "2003-09-12T20:28:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FairyChatMom \* > \*\*Where do you get this? Everything I read indicates there’s still no way to predict where it’ll end up. Of course, as soon as I move all my outside stuff inside, that guarantees she’ll come nowhere near NE FL. \*\* I traced the line. Plus, my weather sense is acting up. ---
**Author:** ![atticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/cdc98d/32.png) [@atticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atticus)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-its-isabel-shes-coming-right-for-us/201079/71 "2003-09-12T20:36:46Z")
> [@](#): > > Yikes, you guys! If you’re going to get out, don’t wait till the last minute! There was a huge amount of traffic on I-16 a couple of years ago when they thought they needed to evacuate some of the Georgia coastal cities. After Fran and Floyd, NC put in place a plan to run both sides of Interstate 40 inland from the Wilmington area (i.e. reversing the eastbound lanes) about 120 miles inland (all the way to last exit before I-95, IIRC) for purposes of quicker evacuations, due to MASSIVE backups coming out of SW NC during Floyd. That system will be put into action for the first time if Isabel continues as forecast. FYI, Ocracoke Island, a part of the NC Outer Banks so remote it is reachable only by ferry, has to start its evacuation 48 hours prior to predicted landfall in order to get everyone off in time. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-its-isabel-shes-coming-right-for-us/201079/72 "2003-09-12T22:52:43Z")
Well, on the news tonight, they were showing locals stocking up on plywood. Not something I’ll bother with. We’ve got some working flashlights and candles, and there’s still some gas in the grill bottle. But if we’re at the inlaws, it won’t matter. I talked to my husband tonight and he suggested if we have to go that I take the important papers with me - something that never occurred to me. But they’re all in one place, so that’d be easy. Time will tell… ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-its-isabel-shes-coming-right-for-us/201079/73 "2003-09-12T23:23:03Z")
**E72521** , that’s a good guess. I’m thinking south South Carolina, after looking at a couple of weather websites. Don’t hurricanes paths tend to curl slightly northwards as they near land? ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-its-isabel-shes-coming-right-for-us/201079/74 "2003-09-12T23:40:46Z")
We’re going through and organizing what goes. A storm like this means take it or kiss it goodbye. My car gets three dogs, two cats, and a back crammed full of stuff if we go. **pugluvr** , there are many storms, like Floyd (one nasty storm when it brushed by us), which do. There are storms, like Andrew, which don’t. I’d say that Orlando is on the southernish end of any likely track. We are inland. I’m not going to panic. If I lived on the coast I would. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-its-isabel-shes-coming-right-for-us/201079/75 "2003-09-13T00:02:26Z")
We may be far enough inland that it won’t be too big an issue, but we’ve got lots of trees just behind the house - I don’t want to be here when that big oak crashes thru the roof. I’m not worried about flooding, but the winds could be bad news. So we’ll just split. ---
**Author:** ![Exgineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-its-isabel-shes-coming-right-for-us/201079/76 "2003-09-13T00:37:38Z")
I’ve been watching this thing, and I’m a little bit concerned about some of my buddies. These things get unpredictable once they hit land. You and **swampbear** need to keep your heads down. Please. I need you guys. ---
**Author:** ![Skerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Skerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skerri)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-its-isabel-shes-coming-right-for-us/201079/77 "2003-09-13T02:47:14Z")
Ugh. I move away from my parents in SC, and now they have to go through the hurricane thing again. This thing looks awful. I’d be willing to bet that my mother has already stowed away the lawn furniture and is breaking out the plywood. (She lives in a flood zone, as a majority of Charleston is below sea level.) During Hurricane Hugo, we got the hell out of Dodge. We actually went to Vidalia, Georgia, which still got some of the after-effects. It was awful. We got stuck in traffic on the way back in, and had to sit in an overheating car for hours, wondering if our house would even be there once we got back. Thank goodness it was, but we had no electricity for almost a month and a half. Apparently, we were one of the last areas to get our power back, as the power guys just couldn’t get around to fixing the line that was hanging down the pole. ☹ The brand new floor of our gym at school was completely destroyed by water. Instead of taking basketball and volleyball in gym, we had “Hunter Safety” classes, which required us running around a course with a big rubber gun. (That would never happen these days…) I fucking hate hurricanes. I am so glad I moved out of Hurricane Alley. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-its-isabel-shes-coming-right-for-us/201079/78 "2003-09-13T12:10:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Skerri \* > I fucking hate hurricanes. I am so glad I moved out of Hurricane Alley. [We’ll see how much good that did you; it could be headed straight for us!](http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/at200313_5day.html) :eek: ---
**Author:** ![TwoOnes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@TwoOnes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoOnes)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-its-isabel-shes-coming-right-for-us/201079/79 "2003-09-13T12:46:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Polycarp \* > \*\*Not to worry, **Fairy Chat Mom** : > > I have it on good authority that the Florida State Chamber of Commerce posted a large billboard, pointed out into the Atlantic, somewhere offshore (Bimini?). It reads: \*\* ## quote: ATTENTION: HURRICANES MANDATORY RIGHT TURN CAPE HATTERAS 350 MI. ## ============\>\> :eek: Looks like she read the sign! My kids are doing the hurricane dance right now. It goes something like - “We aren’t going to have school! Where should we evacuate to this time? Can I take the PlayStation with me? When are we gonna leave? I get SHOTGUN!!!” Damn, I don’t need this right now (or ever) Broadcasting live from Cape Hatteras…film at 11 ---
**Author:** ![Yossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/9de0a6/32.png) [@Yossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yossarian)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-its-isabel-shes-coming-right-for-us/201079/80 "2003-09-13T13:12:54Z")
I fell your pain, **Two Ones** … I just moved away from Elizabeth City a month ago–just in time, by the looks of it! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-its-isabel-shes-coming-right-for-us/201079.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-no-its-isabel-shes-coming-right-for-us/201079.md?page=5)