I guess, yes, there is indeed a TON more social media. I went to school where the worst we had was terrible allergy days, and never had school cancelled due to weather, nor forest fires (OR & CA).
If anyone needs lodging around Asheville PM me for a resource.
@sabaray - if you may have to evacuate, stock up on ziploc bags. Strange, but I remember all those people being rescued during Harvey and trying to hold precious possessions both above the flooding water and out of the rain. Get the big 2 gallon ones too, and you can even put those “bags of air” inside that come in boxes as packing material so the ziploc full of important papers will float if you drop it. Worst case scenario, but you never know…
You could also get “puck lights”. They are shaped like hockey pucks and take AA and AAA batteries. All the flashlights and the C and D batteries might be sold out by now.
The Capital Weather gang at WaPo always has good storm analysis. Very thorough.
I heard that UHaul is letting people in the area have one month of free storage without signing a contract for later months.
University of Michigan and Michigan State University both had their first weather closings since the 60s and 70s while I was attending (thanks, polar vortex!).
But yes, they certainly happened. Obviously, certain areas are more prone to extreme weather than others.
Anyway, I’m just getting caught up and didn’t hear much about this until getting back to the US. Does anyone have suggestions for where to donate to keep evacuees in safe conditions? Too many end up in overcrowded homeless shelters due to a lack of resources 
Lots of emergency response people are heading east from Louisiana today. I assume from other places as well. When we have storms, i always notice how many out of state utility trucks and such see. Something about that makes me feel good.
Tonight’s models say the storm is going to set up shop off the coast of North Carolina for two and a half days. You know how sometimes a storm comes in, and the analysts say how fortunate it was that that storm didn’t come at high tide because that would make the storm surge higher? This one will go through four or five tide cycles right offshore of North Carolina. Urp.
Am supposed to fly to CA from Dulles on Friday. United is making other arrangements for folks at other VA airports, but not Dulles (as least as of now). We are supersaturated here already; we’ve had 250% of normal rainfall in the past three months. Glad we had tree work done last week, but there are still trees that overhang the house that concern me. Have already filled another can with branches in the past few days.
Really worried for friends in NC and southern VA. My SIL’s dad and stepmom have a B&B in Edisto Beach. Be careful out there, friends.
With any luck, our friends arrived at her sister’s house here in town sometime in the last 2 hours or so. Either that or they’re still on the road. It’s been 12 hours since they left on what’s normally a 10 hour drive, but I can’t image that there was normal traffic as everyone evacuated their barrier beach in N. Carolina.
And I’m sure it was a miserable trip, tired and cranky and running for their lives. After all they put into this move, it’s entirely possible that they’ve lost their new home.
But they’re alive. Their children are alive. Their dogs are alive.
They may or may not end up in my house-- the kids, the adults, I’m not sure. The timing could be better; my daughter had the opportunity to get a ride home from school this weekendand jumped at it; we may have to juggle who sleeps where. And I have a meeting till 9 pm tonight; my husband has to work a football game this weekend.
And in a weird twist of fate, I didn’t buy much meat at all when I went food shopping last weekend. We weren’t sure of the track of the storm and I didn’t want a freezer full of meat going bad if we lost power.
But none of that matters. They got out. They’ll understand if we can’t entertain them, but my door is open. If my 15 year old makes them pasta for dinner, it will be fine. If they want to add meatballs, they know the way to the supermarket. And if they’re dying for NY pizza, the same places are open.
I’m just so relieved that they’re OK and that they got out!!
Our other friends in NC are inland. Still not out of the woods, but at least with more options.
And my nieces in Clemson will be OK. The college will make decisions for them, and hopefully they’ll ride it out together.
So it looks like we have an awful lot for which to be thankful!!!
Forecast has turned in VA’s favor but sick with worry for friends and family who are in N.C.; this is going to be a terrible storm.
Here is an excellent source of hurricane and tropical storm information:
Mike’s Weather Page - he has a Facebook page, an app, and website where he tracks and analyzes multiple computer weather models. He transmits on a live podcast regularly during hurricane season, and more often when any hurricane is threatening the US. He was discussing models showing Florence’s possible wobble off shore and jog to the south yesterday morning, long before the national news and NHC were discussing it.
We were down in SC last week, right on the beach, because my sister has a condo there. Not sure if the condo will withstand the storm even though it is on the third floor. My mother went with her to Charlotte after our visit, but I got her on a flight home yesterday.
My parents’ condo building in Corpus Christi, Texas is still undergoing repairs, long after the hurricane hit last year. Apparently the insurance companies are being pills and not paying claims as they should. My folks are out a lot of money at this point. They may or may not get reimbursed. They are fortunate that they can absorb the loss, but I feel for people who can’t.
When I was down there, I thought it was beautiful and wished I could live there, but there is always risk of storms when you are so close to the water.
Keeping my fingers crossed for everyone.
They are talking 45" of rain from Florence! It is going to stay and wring out moisture after landfall. Scary. Stay safe!
@MaineLonghorn we do not have a generator and have really gone back and forth. This morning’s forecast is good news for us, but really bad news for SC. Many friends have houses down there so we’ll see what’s left. We’ve had so much rain this summer and even this week, this makes flooding here more likely.
Never thought about well water contamination from surface water. Good point.
Ugh- the storm is changing paths and we are flying this weekend. Lovely.
@TwinMom2023, it takes just one big storm to make the decision for you, ha. For us, it was the Ice Storm of 1998. 
Do you have a dug or drilled well? If it’s drilled, you don’t have to worry about surface water contamination. Ours is dug, because drilled wells in this area yield salty water.
If you have a generator you can always boil water before use.
@MaineLonghorn Thank you for the info. We bought this house three years ago and it was the first one we didn’t have built so I have no clue about the well. I think it was drilled. I had no idea there were different kinds.
We’ve been through three blizzards (two in DC), Hurricane Fran, a wicked ice storm, and a drought, but this will be our first event on a well. Even w/o power we had hot water in our other houses b/c of a gas hot water heater. I’m ready for a generator!. I’ll take no power in the winter vs. the summer any day.
At least the tall trees in this house are not too close to our roof.
If you’ve got a drilled well, the upper part of it has a casing to prevent contamination from ground water and surface water. At the top of the casing is a well cap to keep out dirt, small animals and insects. But the well cap doesn’t keep out water, so if the flood water goes above the well cap, the well is not protected.