Big Red X on NC Coast

[Mike Holleman]

Well, We seem to be the magnet for another Hurricane as Irene looks to be headed our way. Of course, there are several days before we will know for sure who will get lucky this time. If you look at the NC coast, it juts out to the east at three Capes. First Cape Fear, then Cape Lookout and lastly Cape Hatteras. I'm about 10 miles west of Lookout. While I love the good surf we get ahead of a storm, a direct hit will be a real bad deal for where ever it takes place. And they are talking like this one could get big and nasty. So everyone focus all your positive energy to push this bad boy away into the open ocean. No one on the Atlantic Seaboard needs to get to know Irene personally.
Mike

[Samckitt]

We moved to Virginia Beach area last November, so I am a little nervous about what we will see here too.

[novamob]

After the last coupla devistating hurricanes the ins co's bumped the premiums so high on coastal homes they're not affordable any more. Ours, in North Myrtle, is uninsured & my folks are 88 & 94 yrs old...they will refuse to be evacuated & ride it out.
Yeah, lets pray this one misses landfall.

[John Wright]

Accuweather is looking for it to come ashore somewhere around the SC/NC line. Predicting a Cat 4 by the time it gets alongside of FL. Their prediction path looks like it will track over us here in VA Sat to Sun. I guess they will know more about it as time goes on.


edit*
http://www.accuweather.com/blogs/news/story/54098/hurricane-irene-to-slam-into-t.asp?partner=accuweather

[Mike Holleman]

After the last coupla devistating hurricanes the ins co's bumped the premiums so high on coastal homes they're not affordable any more. Ours, in North Myrtle, is uninsured & my folks are 88 & 94 yrs old...they will refuse to be evacuated & ride it out.
Yeah, lets pray this one misses landfall.
Uninsured is unfortunate. But if it looks to make landfall at Myrtle and is Cat 3 or higher, go get your folks. If they are not well above sealevel, say 50 feet or more they do not need to be there.
Mike

[Mike Holleman]

It will be a couple of days before the NWS will know with any certainty where the path will lie. Today I'm going fishing. Tomorrow hopefully some good surf will show but by Friday I will be busy getting prepared.
Mike

[moreHP]

Best of luck to all of you in the potential path of that storm. Hopefully it weakens and doesnt do any major damage.

[66SuperSport]

Mike

We'll keep our fingers crossed that you stay high and dry.

For all that may be effected, we hope that this one decides to turn out to sea rather than sweep the east coast.

Stay safe

[brans72]

You can park your cars at my house Mike if you leave me the keys to the Elky. I hope nothing bad happens out your way on serious note and if you need anything etc give me a pm.

[Samckitt]

And an earthquake? You feel it in NC?

[brans72]

I did not feel it in my part but the Capital building which is about 45 mins from me felt it they said on news.

[Mike Holleman]

Chris, As a Surfer, I love the swell that a hurricane sends in ahead of itself. But we don't want the impact of a hit nor do I wish it on anyone else. But we have no control and it is a small price to pay to live in paradise. I am high enough to avoid all but the worst case from a surge. Plus I'm on the mainland, 1/2 mile from the sound which is a mile wide, so close to two miles from the ocean. That offers a buffer but a direct hit from a cat 3 or better would still be very bad for us. We prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Mike
Mike

We'll keep our fingers crossed that you stay high and dry.

For all that may be effected, we hope that this one decides to turn out to sea rather than sweep the east coast.

Stay safe

[Mike Holleman]

Scot, I was in a local business and we did feel the tremor from the quake. At first we thought a train was going by as they are right on the tracks, but there was no train and lots of things shook and swayed.
Mike
And an earthquake? You feel it in NC?

[Mike Holleman]

Hopefully my cars will be fine locked away in the shop. I did have a customer want to bring me his 67 vette that I built several years back for me to store. I told him I wanted nothing in my building that was not mine and not covered by my insurance.He seemed a little miffed. I guess he has more cars than he has garage space.
Mike
You can park your cars at my house Mike if you leave me the keys to the Elky. I hope nothing bad happens out your way on serious note and if you need anything etc give me a pm.

[cornfed]

Stay safe everybody.

I was on vacation at Carolina Beach last week. Glad we're missing the weather. Although, we did have front row seats to the water spout/tornado on Thursday. It was cute until it moved on to the shoreline ~600' away from us.

[Samckitt]

A friend of mine from Florida says Irene is taking a hard right turn & will probably miss the US completely. I haven't turned on the TV tonight so I can't confirm.

[chops101]

Hurricane threats....Earthquakes (I'm in Reston VA this week)..... I'm aging quickly because all of this

[Mike Holleman]

A friend of mine from Florida says Irene is taking a hard right turn & will probably miss the US completely. I haven't turned on the TV tonight so I can't confirm.
Your friend is partly right. It is expected to miss Florida. Most of the models currently are showing a landfall between Cape Lookout and Cape Hatteras late Sat. This can and likely will change. If it follows this path and has the Cat3 strength, the eye would pass maybe 40 miles to my east. And we will see winds approaching 100 mph and all the other storm conditions a hurricane can offer up. Multiple tornados. Flooding rain. Heavy beach erosion. Most of the surge will be to the right or east side. Okracoke and Hatteras would be hit hard. Hopefully it will pass further offshore but then you guys North of us will be in it's path. With a storm this size and strength there is no win win. Hopefully it will decide to turn right.
Mike

[Ishmael]

Good luck.

[Viperlover]

I'm in Maysville, hoping it stays off the coast...

[John Wright]

Buckle down Mike....re-check the updated link in post#4...they have it hitting the OBX as a Cat3 with 7-13ft surge and 100-130mph winds.

[Gitter Dun]

Hope all goes well for you all.

[Mike Holleman]

Buckle down Mike....re-check the updated link in post#4...they have it hitting the OBX as a Cat3 with 7-13ft surge and 100-130mph winds.

Yeah John, It's not looking to good right now. I think the eye will pass more easterly than that. But no doubt we are in for a rough day and night Sat. All we can do is tie everything down, haul the boats and sit tight. The Bahamas are taking a beating right now. I have many good friends in the Abacos. Floyd hit them much like Irene and it was not pretty. Then Floyd came here and took 53 lives in NC alone. Mike

[Mike Holleman]

Thanks for the kind wishes. We plan for the worst and hope for the best. Hope the angels can deal with 120 mph winds. Mike
Hope all goes well for you all.

[Yelcamino]

Hold on tight Mike! Carol and I will be thinking about you guys and hoping for the best!

[Mike Holleman]

Hold on tight Mike! Carol and I will be thinking about you guys and hoping for the best!
Come on down for the weekend. All the traffic will be going the other way.http://ablivesurf.com/ Herb, This link is the pier I took you guys to. The live cam is looking due south. Don't know how long it will be working but should show some interesting stuff over the next couple of days. It is on the Mayor's deck. Hopefully he will wipe the seaspray off regularly. Mike

[Samckitt]

Who in VA is evacuating & who is staying? I am near Smithfield, VA & don't know what to do.

[John Wright]

They say this will be a heavy rain producer....hope that we don't get the wind to go with that, because wind and soft ground around the tree roots does not make for a good combo.

Scot, I'd pay close attention down there close to the coast, like that.

[dadto2jays]

been thru hurricanes before....secure the IMPORTANT stuff insurance papers, birth certificates,social security cards, passports etc. all the rest could be replaced. Good luck to you all.....

[Buryingthesun]

I live in Massachusetts, and supposedly this is going to be the worst storm to date. . . Im calling their bluff

[pedro]

Who in VA is evacuating & who is staying? I am near Smithfield, VA & don't know what to do.

I live in suffolk and plan on sticking around. Of course thats if my flight in from colorado springs doesn't get canceled tomorrow...

I am a little worried about the Camaro, but it will be in the garage and its insured.

If you have well water make sure you fill up some big containers or bathtub, power could be out for a few days.

Pete

[Yelcamino]

Who in VA is evacuating & who is staying? I am near Smithfield, VA & don't know what to do.

We're out in Leesburg, so I think we'll be ok... mostly wind and rain to worry about.

[Yelcamino]

Come on down for the weekend. All the traffic will be going the other way.http://ablivesurf.com/ Herb, This link is the pier I took you guys to. The live cam is looking due south. Don't know how long it will be working but should show some interesting stuff over the next couple of days. It is on the Mayor's deck. Hopefully he will wipe the seaspray off regularly. Mike

Yeah, now would be a good time to come visit! Traffic is a normally a bear to deal with!

I think the live cam is OOC right now. I'm just getting a blank box with a red X in the corner.

[Mike Holleman]

Yeah, now would be a good time to come visit! Traffic is a normally a bear to deal with!

I think the live cam is OOC right now. I'm just getting a blank box with a red X in the corner.

Cam is up and running, but it is hard to see for the seaspray. You may try re entering the site instead of using the link. It won't be running much longer. Seas are building rapidly, we are just getting the outer rain bands. I have battened down the hatches and expecting a real bad next 36 hours. We seem to be the bulls eye. I expect to lose internet service by morning but if my generator does it's job hopefully we will have power. Mike

[RS_Customs]

Weather report doesn't look good from what I have seen and read in here. I'm a ways away, but call if you need anything.

Stay safe buddy!

Robert

[Mike Holleman]

Thanks Robert, I just checked NOAA weather for tomorrow. Calling for NE winds 105 kts gusting to 125 kts, becoming West at 100 kts in the PM. Not a good day at the beach. I'm afraid we will see damage unlike anything we have seen since Donna in the early sixties. As worried as I am for our area, I can't help but be very concerned for the folks North of us. This is a badass storm, so folks pay attention. It is not going to end with landfall. There are several million people in the path of this one.Mike
Weather report doesn't look good from what I have seen and read in here. I'm a ways away, but call if you need anything.

Stay safe buddy!

Robert

[buickfunnycar.com]

Best of luck to all in harms way...

[RS_Customs]

I just talked with Mike, he says they came through really well. The storm hit him dead on and he says the eye took over an hour to go over his place! He said no real damage just a bunch of limbs and a mysterious pine tree top from somewhere else.

All in all he says they are doing good and "waving the flag that they are still there" lol just a bunch of clean up to be done.

He is running on a generator, but I'm sure he will give a better update once he gets internet back.

Robert

[John Wright]

Anyone heard from Scot?....just wondering how his place held up.

Basically a non-event for us...everything ugly stayed just East of us.

[Yelcamino]

Basically a non-event for us...everything ugly stayed just East of us.

Same here; Irene saved me the hassle of watering my grass.

[Mike Holleman]

Robert covered our situation well. Little damage at my house. Got power back late Mon. Internet late Tuesday. There is severe damage all over eastern NC. Not just at the coast. It will take months to recover for many. But here most of the tourist related businesses will be back in gear for the labor day weekend. Not So up the coast from us. Okracoke, Hatteras will be awhile getting back to normal.
Mike

I just talked with Mike, he says they came through really well. The storm hit him dead on and he says the eye took over an hour to go over his place! He said no real damage just a bunch of limbs and a mysterious pine tree top from somewhere else.

All in all he says they are doing good and "waving the flag that they are still there" lol just a bunch of clean up to be done.

He is running on a generator, but I'm sure he will give a better update once he gets internet back.

Robert