We had to leave our place after Beryl bc of the power. When it gets back up we'll go clean up.
Then repack more compactly & be able to leave again more easily bc this is just the first storm.
I grew up in Hou & I've never seen it so energetically frail. Last year's heat dome cooked us and all the trees here are weakened/sick for a while. So they fell everywhere. Those winds were not cat 1, I don't care what they say.
Centerpoint was woefully unprepared/greedy/etc & the misleading maps and ineptness have people here angry.
I hope we can all recover enough to get our feet under us bc this was a practice run. I'll definitely remember when Beryl taught us.
Cat, the Cat 1 winds were central winds as measured from a hurricane hunter using dropsondes dropped from the plane. Either that, or the flight-level winds can be translated to surface winds using a factor of something like 10% lower wind speeds at the ground compared to flight level winds. The hurricane hunters could only find no higher than 80 miles an hour sustained; now many hurricane-force gusts were low-end Cat 2 but less than 100 mph. However, it is sustained winds that count. Not gusts. Some of those Cat 2 gusts may have been caused by weak EF-1 vortices that briefly form, last a number of seconds, then you don't see them. Many can be rain-wrapped, making them hard to see and to distinguish from the background noise of the Cat 1 sustained winds. So, they may have SEEMED like Cat 2 winds, but the damage could have also been Cat 2 damage, if you have older structures, weakened trees, and some old structures MAY not be up to code. The problem with the damage assessment is any weak tornadoes that can cause Cat 2 or even Cat 3 damage apart from the background noise of the Cat 1 winds. The Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale only is for wind speed, not necessarily wind DAMAGE. Also, if there are many new structures that are up to code, that can mean less damage, and Cat, you might be saying, "oh that storm wasn't so bad". Get the idea? People's perception of a storm can be skewed one way or another, but the facts are that it was a Cat 1 storm, and even if the bump it up in an after-action report, they usually only bump it up by 5 miles an hour depending on reanalysis of flight radar data. So, it will still be a Cat 1 even if they bumped it up to 85 miles an hour. I do appreciate your thoughts and response on Substack. I hope you are doing well.
We had to leave our place after Beryl bc of the power. When it gets back up we'll go clean up.
Then repack more compactly & be able to leave again more easily bc this is just the first storm.
I grew up in Hou & I've never seen it so energetically frail. Last year's heat dome cooked us and all the trees here are weakened/sick for a while. So they fell everywhere. Those winds were not cat 1, I don't care what they say.
Centerpoint was woefully unprepared/greedy/etc & the misleading maps and ineptness have people here angry.
I hope we can all recover enough to get our feet under us bc this was a practice run. I'll definitely remember when Beryl taught us.
Cat, the Cat 1 winds were central winds as measured from a hurricane hunter using dropsondes dropped from the plane. Either that, or the flight-level winds can be translated to surface winds using a factor of something like 10% lower wind speeds at the ground compared to flight level winds. The hurricane hunters could only find no higher than 80 miles an hour sustained; now many hurricane-force gusts were low-end Cat 2 but less than 100 mph. However, it is sustained winds that count. Not gusts. Some of those Cat 2 gusts may have been caused by weak EF-1 vortices that briefly form, last a number of seconds, then you don't see them. Many can be rain-wrapped, making them hard to see and to distinguish from the background noise of the Cat 1 sustained winds. So, they may have SEEMED like Cat 2 winds, but the damage could have also been Cat 2 damage, if you have older structures, weakened trees, and some old structures MAY not be up to code. The problem with the damage assessment is any weak tornadoes that can cause Cat 2 or even Cat 3 damage apart from the background noise of the Cat 1 winds. The Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale only is for wind speed, not necessarily wind DAMAGE. Also, if there are many new structures that are up to code, that can mean less damage, and Cat, you might be saying, "oh that storm wasn't so bad". Get the idea? People's perception of a storm can be skewed one way or another, but the facts are that it was a Cat 1 storm, and even if the bump it up in an after-action report, they usually only bump it up by 5 miles an hour depending on reanalysis of flight radar data. So, it will still be a Cat 1 even if they bumped it up to 85 miles an hour. I do appreciate your thoughts and response on Substack. I hope you are doing well.
Thank you, Daniel. I always enjoy reading your posts. I learn a lot from you 🌬 ⚘⚘⚘
You are very welcome, and thanks for taking the time to read my thoughts on this storm!! Have a good Sunday, my friend Cat.