Tropical Storm Irene on Path to Florida
August 22, 2011
If you live in Florida and have not yet prepared for the 2011 hurricane season, the time to act is now. Tropical storm Irene is now in the Lesser Antilles and it is on a path towards Florida. Once the system passes over Cuba, officials are concerned that it will gain power from the very warm waters and make landfall as a Category 1 hurricane. Irene could make it to Florida by Thursday night or Friday of this week which means that it is time to make an emergency kit and time to secure your property. Residents as far south as Miami, up the Treasure Coast (Fort Pierce, Port St Lucie) and into Georgia should be on high alert for the upcoming storm which is likely to carry wind gusts of 80+ miles per hour and localized heavy rain which could lead to flooding conditions.
Irene is showing every indication that it will become the year’s first hurricane. The National Hurricane Center expects Irene to reach hurricane strength today as it reaches the southern coasts of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Officials in Florida are urging residents not to be complacent and to inspect their homes and businesses and to install storm windows. It is also important to keep yard free of debris as small items can become missiles in high winds. It is essential to cut down dead tree limbs and to remove weak or damaged trees. If you do not have shutters on your home, you can make some out of plywood and install then with anchors. Garage doors should be braced and families should devise emergency plans in case evacuations are ordered.
Tropical storms can pack winds of up to 73 miles an hour and the worst hurricanes can feature winds in excess of 150 miles per hour. This means that roofs should be inspected and repaired if necessary and those homes in low lying and flood-prone areas should be readied for the possibility of flooding. Many homeowners in Florida have not done all they could to prevent property damage caused by tropical storms and hurricanes which struck in the past and the consequences of being complacent can be devastating and even deadly. Now is definitely the time to be ready for tropical storms and hurricanes. Everyone living in Florida should be keeping a close eye on Irene. They also should become familiar with their community’s emergency plans.
Flooding Concerns for Central and Northeastern Ohio
August 15, 2011
Heavy downpours and flooding is on everyone’s mind in the central and northeastern portions of Ohio as it has been a wet couple of days. June and July were relatively dry months across Ohio but August is certainly shaping up to be a very wet month in this Midwestern state – and the month is only half over. Property owners from Cleveland through Akron have been on high alert and dealing with flooding problems for what seems like the entire summer of 2011.
The rainy trend is going to continue over the next few days and in fact, today and tomorrow look as though they may be downright soggy and miserable. The National Weather Services is warning people in many parts of the state that the rainfall coming during the next few days could be excessive which can very well trigger flash flooding. Several thousand residents in central Ohio have already been left without power after thunderstorms moved into the region.
The NWS issued area flood watches to Ottawa, Sandusky, Erie, Lorain, Huron and Medina counties which includes the cities of Port Clinton, Sandusky, Lorain, Fremont, Medina and Norwalk. The watch will remain in effect until at least Monday as periods of heavy rainfall are expected to dump up to two inches of rain on the region. The rainfall rates in thunderstorms coming off of Lake Erie will be at over one inch per hour which could cause rapid run-off, resulting in flash flooding. People living in those areas are being urged to keep themselves informed of changing weather conditions and to warnings of evacuating their homes and/or businesses early this week should flooding develop.
The mayor of Port Clinton, Ohio, which is located in Sandusky county, declared a flooding state of emergency for her city Sunday. Residents are being told to stay off the streets as up to seven inches of rain fell during a four hour period on Sunday, triggering widespread flooding. The Magruder hospital there was closed Sunday because the power had to be shut off due to water rushing into a room which held the hospital’s power distribution panels. Many streets in the city have also been flooded as have many basements. Port Clinton firefighters were asked to help many homeowners deal with their flooded basements as many residents have reported that they have lost everything they had in their basements.
Temperatures in central and northeastern Ohio have been relatively cool for this time of year. And with Lake Erie temperatures in the 70s, lake-enhanced thunderstorms are expected to dump heavy amounts of rain over the region during the next couple of days. Many areas could see more than one inch of rain on Monday alone as thunderstorms move into the region. Residents are being advised to keep an eye on weather reports and those living in low-lying areas are being urged to prepare their homes and businesses for the possibility of flooding.
