4PM and ALL IS NOT WELL.. KAT STRENGTHENING STILL

4:18 and all is not well in the world today. Pressure is dropping inside Katrina's eye..

Hurricane Katrina has refused to blink and is intensifying as you read this, as I type this.. her pressure is DROPPING and that would in time correspond with an increase in wind speed. Traditionally anyway. Winds should go up..not down. Planes are in the storm and we await word from NHC on what they will do in their next advisory. Pressure reported as 902 mb.. wind speeds could go over 180. Waiting to see updated advisories. Planes are still flying around inside of Katrina. Can you imagine that flight?

Still moving west... NNW but not due north. Not blinking.

So.. seems she will impact an area somewhere between New Iberia (a beautiful place) and Bay St. Louis and Pass Christian.. somewhere in that area the eye will make landfall. Where specifically depends on a wobble of the eye at landfall or the smallest deviation of path.

Good site to check out is www.nola.com or better their breaking news link.. while they are operational still.
http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_Times-Picayune/archives/2005_08.html#074575

What else?
Max Mayfield on CNN. "No good news here." I can't stare at that storm behind him or I lose my mind and forget what I am doing.

He has used this example before.. a difference in intensity at this point is like the difference between being hit by a "freight train or an 18 wheeler" point being.. you are still dead.

Going to mention a few things here.. Sorry if I have problems staying on track as well as Katrina does. My mind is all over the place.

My older daughter comes out of her room..age 18.. wakes up finally and says "what is going on?" after looking at Katrina. She went to bed and she was 100 mph and wakes up and she is 175. Just looking at the sat she is noticeably upset, shocked and freaked. She loves horror movies, isn't afraid of much but knows what 175 mph winds mean. Don't need to be a meteorologist to understand this one.. Being hit by a tornado between F2 and F3 for a few hours.. nonstop. Devastation. To top it off.. she has picked up speed for the first time in her well documented life and is now cruising along at NNW

Next..
I really do not like the idea of using the SuperDome as a Hurricane Shelter. Let's think on this. It was built in the 1970s. It is a big structure yes.. but water will rise in there unless they have found a way to seal it off. Yes, they only want to use it as a last chance place to go. Sort of like Last Chance Saloon is a better thought and hope and pray it does not become one big Last Chance Above Ground Tomb. Glad I have this blog so I can say this here and not post such a thought on HurrCity or elsewhere.

I just don't like the idea and think it was not meant to withstand a storm with 175mph sustained winds. Any microburst, tornadic cell not to mention the stress of the water and wind on the overall structure and it is a disaster in the making worse than the storm I am afraid.

Better the President who has I am sure all sorts of emergency plans for cities under attack by people on payroll for Homeland Security have sent down trucks.. and used them to evacuate people out of the danger zone than let local officials try to do anything they can to try and offer some protection to the people of New Orleans. That safety can be a false illusion and really not very happy with the thought of all those people in there. Hope I am wrong. Really do hope I am wrong but from every article I have read they aren't sure what the Dome will do in a worse case scenario.

Spoke to a friend who is involved in Insurance and FEMA and he said something that I should have known but hadn't thought of. The pumps to get the water OUT of New Orleans are electric and when they fail.. it will take a while to ... pump the water out.

breaking news.. fighting has erupted in the east side of my house..
I am listening to kids fight over whose hair is on the bathroom floor when there is only one girl age 13 with hair that long and being asked questions which included something gross about pubic hair NOT being THAT long.........ummmmmm wincing... Then.. after a really loud door gets slammed shut my son age 20 walks into the kitchen and starts asking me questions like "why do you have dried chamomille?" This mind you from the son who started the fight with the 13 year old daughter. I guess I bought the chamomille to THROW IT AT SOMEONE and relax me because I am trying to write.. type.. think. And, someone online here wants to know WHEN AM I GOING TO FINISH MY NOVEL???? I'll tell you what.. let's them stay here and listen to questions like "why did you buy dried chamomille" and deal with stuff like this and I will go take a room down in the Keys and finish that novel. Thanks for your faith in my writing ability. Send more chamomille! How bout Maple flavored chamomille?? Imagine my son up north is nodding and cracking up laughing.. no words, really no words.

back to the blog and Katrina.... okay..
so.........

The point is the pumps will fail.. and break.. or fly away. IF that happens. If the worse case scenario happens and Katrina with winds in excess of 175mph careems into New Orleans... the city floods... it will take possibly MONTHS to pump out the water and that has to happen before they can rebuild. Hopefully someone, somewhere has a plan to get the water out. We won't even discuss the worry on body retrieval.

I am very happy to know that the President is going to send troops in AFTER she comes onshore. That by the way is to help in retrieval of BODIES. Something he didn't mention in his nice little news conference.

Also.. oh..I'm remembering things... remember that one of the MAIN things that comes into the Port of New Orleans bound for cities inland is OIL... Gas prices go up. Think on that. Yup, really. Jeannie doesn't blink that oil into your local gas tanks... goes on boats, trains.. 18 wheelers... out of the Port of New Orleans..

Special message for the City of New Orleans.. reposted from elsewhere.

Read it and read it slowly. This is not a dress rehearsal.

I'll be back later.. after I get the problem with the long hair cleaned up off of the bathroom floor, get the 13 year old to open her door and not to tell me to MAKE HIM GO BACK TO ISRAEL, after I figure out what to make for dinner.. after I move around and breathe some fresh air and find out who the Redsox played and if they won or lost.

My mind is a mess.. works fine for online writing but I am humbled and amazed at the strength of this storm and her desire "to do New Orleans" and am hoping that every worse case scenario article I have ever read is wrong... and when dawn breaks tomorrow over the Mississippi... New Orleans will still be there.

Just heard the word resignation used on CNN.

So true... so so so true. It is sort of this feeling of resignation and the storm is coming and just let it hit me already. Anyone reading this blog remembers how I felt the other day before Tropical Depression 12 (really 10) was about to hit Miami as a small tropical storm and... no one seemed to want to do anything (though they all helped a lot later and it was okay) but there was such a sense of "fine, fine..hit me with your best shot.. fire away" and just let her hit already.

Andrew.. 1992.. no where to go... Andrew barreling west... obvious from news broadcasts... he was coming in for a landing.. no stopping him.

Much like Katrina... even last Thursday night... no stopping her and realizing okay... let's just get through this and see what she will do. Well, lucky for Miami she didn't take her best shot.. she saved her best shot for New Orleans.

And, now I pray for them. I hope all of you will pray for them. They need a lot of prayers.

Have an old friend who lives outside of New Orleans. Jo.. Teresa who I knew from Jr. High and Highschool. She was Sweetheart of the other Boys club.. not Key Club, the other one.. a really nice girl, nice lady. The last time I saw her at reunion she was living outside of New Orleans in some beautiful town. Hoping she is okay, imagine she is still living there. Hoping she is okay. And, as for that guy on the light pole who was living near New Orleans.. hoping he is okay and somewhere else.. maybe Florida restoring electric to someone down here. My best friend in Macon has a father who lives in Metarie. Am sure we all know someone who lives there.. even if you don't... pray anyway. Please.

Going off for a bit... read it slowly... Do you realize HOW BAD this is?
No hype.. just being totally honest.

This is bad...
Urgent Weather Message for Orleans, LA : Top of pageTable of contents for : Orleans, LA : WWUS74 KLIX 281550 : NPWLIX : : URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE : NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA : 1011 AM CDT SUN AUG 28 2005 : : : DEVASTATING DAMAGE EXPECTED : : HURRICANE KATRINA : A MOST POWERFUL HURRICANE WITH : UNPRECEDENTED : STRENGTH...RIVALING THE INTENSITY OF : HURRICANE CAMILLE OF 1969. : : MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE : FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. AT : LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED : HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL : FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL : FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY : DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. : : THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS : WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL. : PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF : FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOOD : FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS : WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETE : BLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN : MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOME : WALL AND ROOF FAILURE. : : HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT : BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...A : FEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL : WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT. : : AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE : WIDESPREAD...AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY : ITEMS SUCH : AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT : VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY : VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE : MOVED. THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATE : ADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION. : PERSONS...PETS...AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED : TO THE : WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF : STRUCK. : : POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS...AS : MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN : AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER : SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING : INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS. : : THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL : BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLY : THE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN : STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED. : FEW : CROPS WILL REMAIN. LIVESTOCK LEFT : EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BE : KILLED. : : AN INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING IS : ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS NEAR : HURRICANE FORCE...OR FREQUENT GUSTS AT : OR ABOVE HURRICANE FORCE...ARE : CERTAIN WITHIN THE NEXT 12 TO 24 HOURS. : : ONCE TROPICAL STORM AND HURRICANE FORCE : WINDS ONSET...DO NOT VENTURE : OUTSIDE! : : LAZ038-040-050-056>070-282100- : ASSUMPTION-LIVINGSTON-LOWER : JEFFERSON-LOWER LAFOURCHE- : LOWER PLAQUEMINES-LOWER ST. : BERNARD-LOWER TERREBONNE-ORLEANS- : ST. CHARLES-ST. JAMES-ST. JOHN THE : BAPTIST-ST. TAMMANY-TANGIPAHOA- : UPPER JEFFERSON-UPPER LAFOURCHE-UPPER : PLAQUEMINES-UPPER ST. BERNARD- : UPPER TERREBONNE- : 1011 AM CDT SUN AUG 28 2005 : : : INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING IN EFFECT : : HURRICANE KATRINA : A MOST POWERFUL HURRICANE WITH : UNPRECEDENTED : STRENGTH...RIVALING THE INTENSITY OF : HURRICANE CAMILLE OF 1969. : : ONSET OF TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS : WILL BE AROUND 3 PM THIS : AFTERNOON AND PERSIST FOR ABOUT 26 : HOURS. HURRICANE FORCE WINDS WILL : ONSET AROUND SUNSET TONIGHT IN LOWER : PLAQUEMINES PARISH AND SPREAD : NORTHWARD BY 3 AM MONDAY : MORNING...PERSISTING FOR ABOUT 12 TO 17 : HOURS. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS IN : EXCESS OF 140 MPH CAN LAST FOR 2 : TO 3 HOURS. : : ONCE TROPICAL STORM AND HURRICANE FORCE : WINDS ONSET...DO NOT VENTURE : OUTSIDE! : :


Next named storm. Navy goes to NONAME designation when it is a storm and is basically waiting for the NHC to "Get Around To It" You heard it here first... or close to first ;)
http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/tc-bin/tc_home2.cgi?YEAR=2005&MO=08&BASIN=ATL&STORM_NAME=13L.NONAME&PROD=track_vis&PHOT=yes&ARCHIVE=active&NAV=tc&AGE=Latest&STYLE=tables&DISPLAY=




http://www.portofwsm.com/ just a nice place.. less populated.. maybe Katrina could go there and spare New Orleans but then again..whichever way she goes right now.. will it be far enough away?