TD Humberto: Threat Area & Damage Reports: US Gulf Coast

[JSDS]

The High Island damage, part 2 video shows quite a bit of damage. I hate thinking about what they must be going through right now.

[CrazyC83]

The High Island damage, part 2 video shows quite a bit of damage. I hate thinking about what they must be going through right now.

Fortunately it isn't all that heavily populated there.

[southerngale]

Aerial photos of the damage in the High Island, Port Arthur area are looking really bad. Many homes de-roofed and most of the manufactured homes appear to be blown apart. Major damage to large signs including some with metal supports bent over and of course lots of trees into homes and power lines. This area has yet to recover from Rita and now this!!! Truly sad!!!

Do you know where we can see this coverage on the internet, national news hasn't mentioned much about Humberto all day it seems.

I just saw Fox News covering it. They showed some video and pictures and they have a reporter in High Island, Tx.

2 of our local stations are out.

[southerngale]

Shelters in Southeast Texas are being put into place. Current shelters KFDM has been told about include:

Sabine Pass School
Salvation Army
LaBelle-Fannett
Red Cross is looking for locations

[artist]

those are 2 separate budgets. Politics is not supposed to be discussed on storm2k.org

[Derek Ortt]

They do not need the tech that proenza was talking about

Humberto is a glaring example as to why hurricanes must be treated as a national security issue and the research and forecasting must b funded as such. instea dof squabbling over a million here and a million there, this issue must be funded properly. maybe this should serve as a wake up to write to one's congressman and express the need for real funding for hurricane forecasting and research

[Ixolib]

They do not need the tech that proenza was talking about

Humberto is a glaring example as to why hurricanes must be treated as a national security issue and the research and forecasting must b funded as such. instea dof squabbling over a million here and a million there, this issue must be funded properly. maybe this should serve as a wake up to write to one's congressman and express the need for real funding for hurricane forecasting and research

Seems to me, if I lived on the coast (as I do), it is MY RESPONSIBILITY to monitor my surroundings and be prepared for whatever eventuality comes my way - ESPECIALLY WEATHER SYSTEMS IN THE GULF DURING HURRICANE SEASON!!!!!

Surely no one on the TX/LA Gulf Coasts should have been "caught by surprise". This system was evident days ago and ALWAYS had the potential to ramp up into a significant tropical cyclone. Why everyone thinks the government is supposed to wipe their nose every time there's an indication of a sniffle is amazing to me. Next time I feel a cold coming on, I'm gonna blame our government's spending elsewhere if it actually comes to fruition.

As far as I'm concerned, the government did just fine. Satellite pictures, floaters, and investigations were running 24/7. People need to take responsibility for their situations. Especially during hurricane season on a US coastline.

[jasons2k]

They do not need the tech that proenza was talking about

Humberto is a glaring example as to why hurricanes must be treated as a national security issue and the research and forecasting must b funded as such. instea dof squabbling over a million here and a million there, this issue must be funded properly. maybe this should serve as a wake up to write to one's congressman and express the need for real funding for hurricane forecasting and research

Seems to me, if I lived on the coast (as I do), it is MY RESPONSIBILITY to monitor my surroundings and be prepared for whatever eventuality comes my way - ESPECIALLY WEATHER SYSTEMS IN THE GULF DURING HURRICANE SEASON!!!!!

Surely no one on the TX/LA Gulf Coasts should have been "caught by surprise". This system was evident days ago and ALWAYS had the potential to ramp up into a significant tropical cyclone. Why everyone thinks the government is supposed to wipe their nose every time there's an indication of a sniffle is amazing to me. Next time I feel a cold coming on, I'm gonna blame our government's spending elsewhere if it actually comes to fruition.

As far as I'm concerned, the government did just fine. Satellite pictures, floaters, and investigations were running 24/7. People need to take responsibility for their situations. Especially during hurricane season on a US coastline.

I'm all for personal responsibility & I'm as conservative as they come.

That said, you cannot expect the general population to monitor a tropical cyclone 24/7 on their own. There would be no such thing as attaining a degree in meteorology if it were that simple. If that were the case, we wouldn't need the NHC. They wouldn't have a stated mission to "protect life and property".

It may have been "evident" to weather geeks like us that this system could develop, but not the general population....most especially with a system that broke the record for intensification just before landfall.

I agree, the NHC did just fine for the most part. One could certainly argue a Hurricane Watch & Warning should have been issued a little sooner...but this was an unprecedented event.

[Ixolib]

I'm all for personal responsibility & I'm as conservative as they come.

That said, you cannot expect the general population to monitor a tropical cyclone 24/7 on their own. There would be no such thing as attaining a degree in meteorology if it were that simple. If that were the case, we wouldn't need the NHC. They wouldn't have a stated mission to "protect life and property".

It may have been "evident" to weather geeks like us that this system could develop, but not the general population....most especially with a system that broke the record for intensification just before landfall.

I agree, the NHC did just fine for the most part. One could certainly argue a Hurricane Watch & Warning should have been issued a little sooner...but this was an unprecedented event.

I'll agree that not everyone is a weather geek like those of us on S2K. However, surely they:
a. know they live in a hurricane-prone area.
b. know it's typical that storms often form during the months of Jun through Nov.
c. are aware that they may be impacted by a storm at any time - especially during those months.
d. should have been prepared long ago for the eventuality of a landfall in their area.
e. have the common sense to listen to the radio, watch the TV, and read the newspapers for local weather statements and updates - no matter what the NHC does or doesn't do..
f. and so on and so on....

I think the bottom line is this. For any of us who choose to live in a particular place that is potentially going to be impacted by a potentially natural phenomenon (tropical waves, tropical depressions, tropical storms, hurricanes, flash floods, tornados, earthquakes, volcanoes, sink holes, etc) we need to be aware that it can and potentially does happen quickly. For each of those possibilities, our government already does quite a lot to keep us informed.

Now, if the government wants to spend billions and go to war on a foreign soil to keep me, my kids, and my grandkids safe from terrorists, I'm all for that since THAT is not a natural phenomenon nor is it one for which I can personally and effectively prepare. In that case, I'm very happy for the millions and billions they are investing in that "national security issue".

[fci]

I'm not a "rules keeper" on S2K; but you really should refrain from taking this conversation beyond the weather. It just opens up the discussion in the wrong venue and can get people suspended or banned from the board.

[Ed Mahmoud]

As far as a budget goes, all I can think of that would have helped is more NDBC buoys in the Gulf. Probably would have gotten Humberto upgraded a little sooner. Might have picked up on the RI between AC missions if there were few more buoys.

I was thinking a 35 year old airframe that NOAA uses for their Hurricane Hunter missions could use replacing. At the very least, I'd think the Navy has newer built Orions, that have flown in a lot less turbulent weather. Maybe if NOAA had newer, and maybe a couple more, planes, NHC could task missions on more questionable invests, and maybe have tasked an extra mission between the 2 successful ones that flew.



On the other hand, while not perfect, this thing was in range of coastal WSR-88D NexRads, and I'm not sure anybody, or any computer model, predicted this. Well, JB called this, in a sense, and even called for a 990 mb Cat 1 by late afternoon, but I don't know if anyone else did.


Of course, JB says he may pull the trigger on a Humberto Part Deux for the Texas from the low level swirl, but while a few models, like the shallow BAM, and the GFDL, show a weak remnant low reaching the Gulf again, not even the NAM predicts regeneration.

[Ed Mahmoud]

BTW, I am a full believer in personal responsibilty, but when very few outlets predicted this to even become a TD 15 hours before it did, including half the board mets, and people didn't get a tropical storm warning less than 12 hours before tropical storm conditions reached part of the coast, and the system wasn't upgraded to a hurricane before most people in the affected area went to bed, it is hard to blame people for being surprised that the roof was torn off their home or their mobile home rolled over.

[Extremeweatherguy]

what a crazy last day and a half this has been! Hard to believe that just 36 hours ago Humberto wasn't even a depression yet. Houston really lucked out this time, but the same cannot be said for coastal areas from Galveston eastward and up through the Golden triangle. Hopefully everyone made it through the storm with relatively minor damages and there will be a quick recovery.

[mahmoo]

i've been an avid weather watcher for some time now......when i went to bed last night, i wasn't expecting to wake up to what happened..........i don't think anyone was expecting it.

I wanted to add.....this shows, speaking for myself only, that as much as we have learned to "predict" the weather...............apparently, sometimes we can't predict it.

[jbgreig]

Does anyone know if Highway 87 to Bolivar and Crystal Beach is open yet? (past High Island). Need to go check on the house in Crystal Beach.

Thanks,
Brad

[vbhoutex]

Does anyone know if Highway 87 to Bolivar and Crystal Beach is open yet? (past High Island). Need to go check on the house in Crystal Beach.

Thanks,
Brad

I haven't heard anything. I know initial reports were that there were lots of poles down over the highway and I believe a couple of wash outs, but I haven't heard anything since that report the other morning. I know some people in that area were still "trapped" due to wires across the front yard yesterday morning.

[southerngale]

Isn't this lovely?

Man Steals Entergy Truck, Leads Police on Chase
Reported by: Scott Price
Friday, Sep 14, 2007 @08:55am CST

A man stole an Entergy truck Thursday night and led police on a high speed chase through Orange County. Around 8:00p.m. crews were working to restore power in the Rose Lawn Subdivision in Orange when police say 31-year-old Jeremy Gore stole one of their line trucks. Gore collided with a parked car in the subdivision, but still did not stop. Police found the truck traveling North on 16th Street. Officers say Gore intentionally struck several cars before getting on Interstate 10. DPS Troopers deployed spikes on the Interstate near Cow Bayou, deflating the front tires on the stolen truck, but Gore continued traveling towards Vidor. Gore hit another Entergy line truck on Tram Road in Vidor. While Gore was trying to once again flee the scene an Orange Police Officer used his handgun to shoot out the back tires of the truck. Gore was arrested and charged with Felony Theft, Evading Arrest, and Aggravated Assault. Other charges are still pending. Police say during the course of the chase, Gore struck a total of nine vehicles. Two people were taken to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.

http://setxhomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=5046

[southerngale]

Several locations across the area are offering water, ice and food for those still without power. Rock Island Baptist Church in Port Arthur on W. 11th St. will distribute ice, dry goods, and hot meals at 3:00 p.m. The LaBelle Fire Department at Hwy. 365 & Williams Rd. will distribute hot meals at 5:00 p.m. Gilham Circle in Port Arthur is distributing water and ice only. Water and ice is also available at the Montagne Center at Lamar University, across the street from Sabine Pass High School and the First Baptist Church in High Island on Weeks Avenue. For more specific locations please call 211.

(If you don't have power, you probably won't see this, but maybe some of you could pass it along to friends & family)

[windsurfer77058]

Brad, I was in Bolivar today emptying refrig. and freezers and you can easily get to Crystal Beach. There was no damage anywhere that I saw from the ferry to Kona Kai/Bolivar Yacht Basin area. I think Hwy 87 is open to High Island. There is no electricity though.

[windsurfer77058]

Brad, I just noticed you're coming from Beaumont so as of this afternoon, I don't think you could get there that way. At our end, very little water and no sign of high winds. We were fortunate. I hope the same at your place.