Preparing for severe weather…

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Here in Maine, Irene is 5-6 days away, currently TWC has us within the cone of uncertainty, Irene could still be a Cat 1 hurricane by the time she reaches us, yet I’m staring to check our preps now, to beat the rush, since I’m big on the preparedness mindset, we are pretty well set already, so all I need to really do is some spot checking…

Check our firewood supply in the cellar, bring up a decent supply for the woodstove
Rotate out our canned goods stock in the pantry, use the older stock and replace with newer stock
Fill the 5 gallon water cooler bottles with tap water, set them aside for potable water use
Go around the yard, move anything that could become a projectile into the hay barn and garage
Fill up the fuel can for the tractor with fresh diesel fuel, mix up some fresh pre mix for the gas chainsaw
Check the fuel level for the oil furnace, propane heater and backup generator
Force a diagnostic run on the generator
Check stock of oil lamp fuel, candles, and batteries, replenesh as needed
Test the battery capacity in the computer UPS
Fuel up the vehicles, do not go below 1/2 tank
Harvest fresh produce and nearly fresh from garden (cherry tomatoes, peppers and butternut squash mainly)
Bring patio plants inside

Thanks to my preparedness mindset, most of the big stuff is either already done or doesn’t need to be, as it’s part of normal routine, it’s just the little stuff left

Yes, we do have a backup generator, but I still prep like it’s not there, I’m working under the assumption that it’s going to fail/not work, even though it’s brand new

How are you preparing, or are you already prepped and ready?

As to why I didn’t call this thread a “weather emergency” thread, well, I don’t think hurricanes qualify as an “emergency”,sure they can be problematic and hugely destructive, but they don’t appear “out of nowhere” like, let’s say, tornadoes, a hurricane builds up over time, and has the courtesy of giving you a few days to a week of warning that it’s coming, time you should be using to prep for it’s arrival…

2

I wouldn’t sweat a Cat 1 hurricane much unless you’re somewhere flood prone, or you don’t trim your trees.

/Gulf coast boy

3

We have a lot of old growth trees around the house, both pine (75 foot pine trees and rock maples) and we live in a heavily wooded rural area, downed trees and power lines are a normal occurrence
When we lose power, it’s typically for 4+ hours to days at a time, in the '08 Ice Storm of DOOM!, we were without power for 6 days, the last major hurricane a decade or so ago, we were out for almost two WEEKS!

4

Yep, here too. Someone sneezes too hard in my neighborhood, and we are blacked out for 48 hours (mind you, I live in a medium-sized town a stone’s throw from NYC!). So I am *always *stocked with water, candles, flashlight, nonperishable food, and mint, limes, sugar and rum for making Mojitos.

5

There are many trees and outside power lines in my neighborhood–a very bad combination. I have a battery operated radio/CD player and light.

Our local Shop Rite has its own generator, so hot food is not a problem.

6

We have a generator that hasn’t run in at least 7 years - dunno if we could even start it. At least 2 of our vehicles are full of gas. I’m thinking the day before it’s due to hit, I may fill the bathtub with water for flushing, since we’re on a well, and if we lose power, we lose water. I’ll probably fill a few pitchers also. But honestly, our electric co-op is aces, and I doubt a cat 1 hurricane would leave us without power for very long. And with the track predicted to be several hundred miles east of us, I’m just not sweating it. My biggest worry is for our aquarium - salt water fish, anemones, and corals - I’m not sure how long they’d survive if the filter, heat, and lights were out.

7

Down here on the Gulf Coast we actually do have to worry about tornados spun off of a hurricane. Hopefully that’s not the case for you.

I’ve got a battery tester and make sure that all my reserves will in fact have some juice to give when they’re called upon. Also, a working fire extinguisher is a must, what with candles and the probability the Fire Department will not be able to respond near as quickly.

One trick too that prevents having to store or secure patio furniture is to throw it in the pool, provided of course they’re metal and not wicker or the like. I also usually secure the outside water hoses too to make sure in high winds they don’t act more like a whip.

8

Better to be safe than sorry, or some such comment. Here in the mountains we have to prepare for blizzards that can close roads, bring power lines down, cut off electricity, and leave us marooned for many days. It has happened, it will probably happen again. So we head into winter prepared. :slight_smile: Nope, we don’t worry about hurricanes, but other disasters can and do happen. Best of luck to you in dealing with Irene. She sounds like she could be very nasty. :frowning:

9

MacTech - Are you using your woodstove already? It’s not even September!

StG

10

No, it’s a backup to the generator, the generator is capable of powering the whole house (20 KWh model), best case scenario in the event of an outage, the generator would work for the entire duration of the outage, in a worst case scenario and it doesn’t, the woodstove would be used for cooking

11

The storm is passing us by here in south Florida, but before we were sure that was happening, our preparations were: find our two flashlights and confirm that one is working; find our battery- and crank-powered lantern, which only works by crank; buy batteries, a loaf of bread and a box of Wheat Thins. We live in a cat 1 evacuation zone and have two little kids.

12

I changed the oil on the generator today, fill the jerry cans tomorrow, fill some 5 gallon buckets with water for flushing the toilet (can’t run the pump with the generator, don’t ask).

This projected pathsays it is going right over my house in southern New Hampshire. I hope it doesn’t do as much damage as the 2008 ice storm; we lost power for 11 days. Plus, there are some big-ass trees (60+ feet) right near the house.

13

If the current speculations on TWC are to be believed (I remain a skeptic, I predict a minor non-event, perhaps a extratropical depression, maybe gusty winds around 40-60 MPH), Irene may hit New England closer to a Cat. 2 hurricane than Cat 1…

That said, I’m still going forward with preps and expecting a Cat 2, mainly because;

1; we live in a rural wooded area, it’s pretty much a given we’re going to have trees down and downed power lines, heck, Central Maine Power can’t keep stable power going on a bright sunny day, to say nothing of a Cat 1 or Cat 2 hurricane…

2; We live about a ten minute drive away from York Beach, Maine (Long sands and Short Sands) , and the immediate coast typically gets hammered in tropical cyclonic storms

3; we have a salt marsh on our property, and there should be a significant storm surge, as well as abnormaly high lunar high tide, it’s possible that the marsh may rise over the road, it’s come close, but never quite gone over the road

4; there are three locations that could flood over and cut us off, Shorey Pond, Barletts Brook, and the aforementioned salt marsh, if we lose the road in all three locations, well, we’ve kinda’ become an island then…

5; there’s really no down side to being over-prepared anyway

oh yeah, one more prep, gotta go down to the pond and either put the kayaks in the horse barn, or tow them back up to the house and shove them in the garage…
Darnit, and I was looking forward to introducing my nephew to trapshooting at the range this weekend, darn you Mother Nature…
And a wider view showing how close we are to the beach, the house is located to the right of the yellow Street View icon on the zoom slider, see how the marsh hooks right up to York Harbor?

Besides, Murphy’s Law of Prepping states;
“The severity of the event you’re prepping for is inversely proportional to the extent, quality and readiness of your preps”, IOW, that “Monster Storm” you put major prepping efforts into will not hit you, fizzle out, or go far out to sea, and you’ll have prepped for “nothing”, conversely that “Monster Storm” you decide to ignore, because “they never amount to much anyway” and prepping is a “waste of time and money”, will be the storm that goes all “Wizard of Oz” on your ass and destroys EVERYTHING near and dear to you, and no, doing the “Auntie Em, There’s no place like Home” thing never works, never has, and never will…

14

I suppose I should go to Giant and get milk, bread, eggs and TP. It’s the standard preparation.

15

Now there’s someone who knows preparedness!
And I find it interesting that north of the Carolinas, plywood does not seem to be a major component of storm prep… :wink:

16

You must stop throwing stones at NYC, my dear; that’s where your problem lies! :stuck_out_tongue:

17

I’m down in South Florida, a little more inland than vix. I take hurricane season VERY seriously - I have a closet full of supplies.

I highly recommend following information on Weather Underground. Some of those guys really know their stuff. Watch for Levi32, for instance…and read the main blog by Dr. Masters. You’ll be amazed at how much information is available to someone who does more than watch The “Weather” Channel.

My random tip - the night before a storm hits, cook up a bunch of chicken breasts in a fairly neutral flavoring. You can eat them cold with BBQ sauce, mojo sauce, salsa, etc. Of course, you have a generator and might not have a problem…but…
Be safe, and good luck!
-D/a

18

I agree that The Weather Channel isn’t the best place to follow the storm. My husband is obsessed with the National Hurricane Center site. During hurricane season, he checks it often, and when there’s a storm anywhere vaguely near us, he checks it after every update: multiple times a day. My last post aside, we take hurricanes seriously too, and are prepared to evacuate at a moment’s notice if we have to. We have multiple friends farther inland who can take us in. We have evacuated in the past, and wouldn’t hesitate to do so again.

Be safe, everyone.

19

Don’t forget the strawberry pop tarts!

[No, I don’t know why either, but every time I see one of those reporter questions supermarket employee, they mention strawberry pop tarts as selling out madly.]
We’re in a Boston suburb, and personally our power has never been out for even a solid two days. And that was in the Great Blizzard.

So my ‘prep’ consists of putting the lawn chairs and hoses into the garage and doing my usual weekly shopping tomorrow morning.

Okay, if this hurricane turns out to be a monster, I’m the non-preparer you all can blame. :wink:

20

I was just chatting with Dad , and it turns out our house has stood for 206 years, it was built in 1805, and has weathered many a storm, and will likely weather many more

there’s an inherent solidity about old Colonial New England houses, it feels as solid as the granite stone basement it sits on…

…still, I was able to convince him of the importance of having at least one backup plan, just in case…

“Dad, we should really fill up those reserve water jugs, make sure we have plenty of candles, batteries, oil for the oil lamps and such onhand, and stock up a few more canned goods just to shore up what we already have, y’know, just to be safe…”

“Why, we’ve got the generator now”

“well, what if something happens to it?”

“It’s new, nothing should happen to it, it shouldn’t break down”

“yeah, but what if a tree limb falls on it or something…”

“… <thinking> Hmm, good point, but I still don’t think anything will happen”

“Okay, that’s a possibility, but answer me this, what’s the downside to being over-prepared? …Tell you what, let me make sure our backup preps are in order, and if nothing happens, I give you permission to laugh at me and call me paranoid”

“<laughs> okay”

“On the other hand, if I’m right, I reserve the right to say I told you so… deal?”

“<laughs> sure, it’s a deal, I still think you’re overreacting though…”

I then spoke to Mom along the same lines, she initially thought I was taking this preparedness thing a bit too far as well, until I brought up the “tree limb falls on generator, breaking it” scenario, she immediately saw the value in the backup plan

I just took a perusal of our supplies, and thanks to my “survivalist” mindset, it turns out all I needed to restock was a few packs of batteries for my flashlights, we’re set for wood for cooking on the woodstove, we’re set for water storage, canned goods (and fresh produce from the garden, including a jar of delicious, mouthwatering pasta sauce I made up last week from my overstock of Sunsugar and Supersweet 100 cherry tomatoes, basil, oregano, parsely and a touch of rosemary from the herb garden as well, it’s 99.999 home-made with all-natural, organic produce (no chemicals at all), and the only non-home-grown thing in it was a can of sliced mushrooms

Assuming the generator works as expected, we should be in great shape to weather whatever Irene throws at us (as long as she doesn’t end up throwing the generator at us

One other “prep” thing I’ll insist on, in the event that we do lose power, we will draw all the room-darkening curtains on all the windows to prevent light from being seen outside the house, keep lighting dim in the kitchen (which has no darkening curtains), and generally make it look like we’re out of power as well, just like our neighbors