Nice knowing you-all!

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

Well, here comes the spirit of my maternal Grandmother for a visit. I figure I had best say my farewells while I can!

We are right on the projected beeline, as it were. All is set here, unless the Army loses the dam on Lake Jordan. Then, my farm is gonna look like Johnstown, PA in 1889. Well, being a stubborn old coot with Old Iron, we are staying put. At least all the old iron and old chainsaws and other old stuff, including the old coot, is ready.

I was in NC for Fran, in a rented place with half of my old stuff, and that was a breeze compared to a blizzard. No trying to find the downed trees under 3 feet of snow.

Stan

[notmeu]

Hey Stan! I wish you and yours the best thru the storm. There’s a lot of prayers being said for all of those in it’s path.
I liked you comment about Johnstown, PA especially since I live on the outskirts of “flood city”. We actually had 3 floods, 1936, 1977 and 1889. I don’t remember much of the 77 flood since I was pretty young. The army core of engineers actually said Johnstown would be flood free in 1943 when they were finished with the flood walls that was built.

[B Town]

Be safe with your shelter-in-place. Wishing you and many others to be safe and sound. Best regards, Bruce

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

Thanks, guys. Looks like we will fare better than we thought yesterday. This morning's update shows the storm heading South of us. Well, the going thru all of the equipment needed to happen anyway. Actually, the worst mess will be if this one wets us down, the next one makes a bigger mess. That is what happened to us with Fran and Floyd. It was the second one that got us but good.

Plus, I did get the 420c cleaned off yesterday. Well, as clean as it ever gets anyway. Now I can take new pics and put it up in the Little Shop O Deeres. After Flo passes thru, whichever way she winds up going.

The joke around here is about Progressive. Here they use Flo to get them business and here comes Flo to make them pay out!

Stan

[Jim B]

Hi Stan,

Just watching the news and even with the track moving south of you it looks like you folks will have more than your share of the storm. Thoughts are with you and others in the area. Hopefully it breaks down quicker than they predict.

Jim

[dtoots1]

keep in touch! and send pics! Be safe!

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

Well, the 11 AM update looks like we get little to nothing. Folks in SC and GA get to worry now. And, we in NC already bought everything in the region out. Which, since the NC governor issued a State of Emergency, cannot be returned. So folks here can't return all those generators the Big Box stores stripped from everywhere else. If they could, maybe there would be time to get them moved South.

It is all a big crap shoot.....

Further bulletins as events warrant.

Stan

[Lavoy]

Sounds to me like you should be buying up generators and making a road trip.
Lavoy

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

I don't think anyone trusts the model enough to have generator buyer's remorse. Yet.

Current forecast for here is 10" of rain between this evening and Sunday morning.

Stan

[Jim B]

Good morning,

Looks like you will fair a bit better than their first thoughts on its path, hope that holds.

I get a kick out of their models at times. Last winter one weather forecaster showed about 3 or 4 models every time there was a snow storm predicted, saying they weren't sure which track it would take or how much would fall. That pretty well covered it so he always gave the prediction that matched the end result.

Hope all remains ok with you.

Jim

[Pat]

Winds picking up here in Jacksonville NC. I'm 24 miles from the beach and it looks like we are bore-sighted. Going to be a lot of high wind from the northeast quadrent for an extended period. 9 foot storm surge (won't get to me) but the projected 3 foot of rain may ruin my day!! Pat

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

So far, wind gusts about 30 and a few intermittent showers.

Stan

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

Winds about 50 now. Rain bands heavier and more frequent. Power crapped about 4:30. Won't see that for a week, I suppose. We are at the end of a 13 mile branch and about as low a priority as one can get. A few months back, in clear weather, I reported a limb getting into the line and bouncing the power and sparking. Took them a week to come out to see, then two more days for them to send a truck.

Jacksonville getting it a lot worse, of course. I was hoping that Pat might be able to chime in before the cell sites run out of Diesel. I figure I had better update now for the same reason.

Stan

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

The end may be in sight. Total rainfall here: 6.5". But we are North and West of the thing. The further South and East you go, the worse it gets. Just walked down to the river. It is at its normal high line. It will flood, but I expect maybe 15 feet. We are 100 feet up here on the farm.

Down near the ocean end, the estimate is for 60 feet of flood. They are evacuating folks all over. The closest to us is about 15 miles downstream where the Little River dumps into the Cape Fear. They have a 1 mile zone around that point. The Cape Fear runs South by East as it flows, so right into Wilmington where this thing came in at.

The USS North Carolina is there. They were wanting to clear the mud out from under her. Well, she is stern sticking out into the river, so I suspect Mission Accomplished..... (!)

Where we are, right near where the Deep and Haw Rivers meet, after which it is called the Cape Fear, didn't get all that much rain. I doubt the flood here will match Matthew, much less Fran, for high water. In fact, I bet it doesn't get up as far as it did when we had 6" of rain from a series of thunderstorms six weeks ago.

Stan

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

It has gone. Total rainfall was 9.3" right here. As I say, we were on the edge of it. Heard from a fellow gourd grower near Jacksonville, NC and their river has flooded them out. The first floor of their house is submerged. Our river is rising. It was at its' top yesterday at Noon. We got 2" more rain after I walked down. We are 100 feet higher here, but some folks have to run for it just a few miles downstream. Someone built riverfront subdivisions.....

I probably won't know how high it gets until it recedes and I can see the waterline on the neighbor's fishing cabin right on the riverbank. It is made from old power poles, so it will still be standing afterwards. The roof was already gone as a tree whacked it during Matthew a couple years ago. Since the neighbor's boy grew up, it had little to no use. He was an Eagle Scout, so they used the spot regularly. But, their use dropped off after he aged out, so things never got fixed. I still keep it mowed as I like to fish there.

Damage was light. Only a few panels popped out of the greenhouse and a few downed limbs. Won't need to fire up either crawler.

Stan