Prepare for the worst, and hope for the best. That’s where we’re at this morning. As Hurricane Helene made landfall in Northwest Florida last night, weather advisories went out across most of the Southeast and into the Ohio Valley. This storm is large enough to simultaneously cover most all of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, both Carolinas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. While Florida and Georgia will see the worst of the storm, heavy winds with gusts up to 60 mph and plenty of rain are likely across the rest of the region.
What you need to know right now: If you’re flying Delta, you’re going to be delayed. Atlanta already has numerous cancellations that will affect much of the nation. Don’t expect that situation to get any better until Monday. Friday night football? Just stay home. Make up the game next week. If you have any lawn decorations, they probably should have been brought in last night. At the very least, get them in before noon today. Make sure your phones stay charged as power outages are expected all across the region. Localized flooding is pretty much a certainty; don’t drive into high water. If you can stay in all day, do that.
That being said, G has a school field trip to Fort Wayne today. The good news is that Ft. Wayne is outside the weather-affected area. Barely. The bad news is that they’ll be coming back home when the winds are at their worst. Would I rather they reschedule the trip? Yes. Is that my call? No. Will I worry? Duh, of course. I think Tipper is planning on spending the night with a friend. That makes me anxious because she’s not all that good at keeping her phone charged. If power goes out on that side of town, will she be able to let us know?
This is likely to be a rough day for the dogs as well. Ours don’t particularly like going out in the rain. The rain was rather light when I took them out earlier, and even with that Belvedere was quick to do what needed to be done and run back under the carport for shelter. In the hour since then, rain and wind have both picked up. They’re huddled down, curled up, and under covers. Of course, they won’t go out at all unless I go with them. They’ll just stand there under the carport and whine. So much for having big, brave guard dogs.
Locally, we’re not expecting the really heavy winds until around noon. Once they get here, though, they’ll stay until somewhere around 11:00 tonight. That’s going to make the evening commute something close to a nightmare. Rain is likely to continue most of the weekend. If you have small children, you have my sympathy.
As if that wasn’t enough to worry about, Russia’s Vladimir Putin has extended the list of scenarios in which he is likely to authorize the use of nuclear weapons. No, that’s not good news. Yes, it pushes the planet closer to WWIII. No, there’s not a damn thing you or I can do to stop it. I’m not convinced anyone can at this point.
Matters aren’t looking good in the Middle East, either. Israel’s Netanyahu is saying he’s planning on hitting Lebanon as has Gaza. This comes even as negotiations for a cease-fire are supposedly continuing. I find it difficult to believe that any progress is being made as long as politicians keep shooting off their mouths. Be sure, if Netanyahu was the one at severe risk, he’d be singing a different song. Politicians only care about their own power.
Yeah, things could be better. At the same time, they could get a lot worse. You can still register to vote online in most states. Do that.
Me, I’m pouring another cup of coffee and keeping my eye on local radar. I’m old. This is what I do.
Morning Update: 10/01/24
Welcome back! Our power finally came back on at 11:44 EDT yesterday morning. Crews showed up right at 8:00 and started working. They identified the local problem but then had to find the cause of the local problem and fix that first. The problem on the pole across from our house wasn’t that bad: a blown fuse. It took longer to level and raise the bucket truck than it did to replace the fuse. The crews working our neighborhood were from Ft. Wayne and South Bend. This morning, they’re heading for Kentucky and will be helping restore power down there. We greatly appreciate their sacrifice in getting power turned back on.
Having our power back was nice, but then came the problem of checking the refrigerator and freezer to see what we had lost. We had been careful to not open the doors, but when the power is out for over 72 hours, there’s not much hope. I opened the door with the trash can by my side. The smell caused my stomach to turn. About the only thing that survived was the various jellies. It took three large garbage bags to cart everything out.
Fortunately, we have fantastic family and friends who have helped us be able to restore some of what we lost. As has consistently been the case over the past two years, you again came to our rescue. Food has been ordered and we’ll be okay. There are still some cleanup issues, but we’ll be able to handle those. Through all of this, we have to remember that what we got here in Indy was but a smattering compared to the decimation in other places throughout the Southeast. The search for survivors still continues, especially in North Carolina, where numerous roads and bridges are just gone. As of this morning, 140 are known dead, but that number will have increased by the time you read this. Helene is one of the deadliest storms to hit the US and it will take weeks to even start putting things back together. For too many, the devastation is incalculable. All the help in the world won’t bring back lost loved ones.
Sadly, the Orange Felon has been spreading lies about disaster recovery. Is anyone surprised? No. However, his rhetoric could cause some to experience delays in getting the help they need. President Biden will look over the devastation today and has promised all the help legally possible. The topic will almost certainly come up at tonight’s vice presidential debate. Please remember, when the felon was president, he minimized disaster relief. Haiti is still dealing with severe hunger and crime because they didn’t get the disaster relief they needed. We don’t need that kind of response again.
What is scary is that the hurricane season isn’t over. The National Weather Service is tracking multiple storms forming in the Caribbean. What had been an unusually quiet season seems to be heating up on the back side and could still cause continued problems for the Southeast US even as they’re trying to put their lives back together after Helene. There’s just a lot going on and the next few weeks could have everyone reaching for their anxiety medication.
Oh, and just as millions of people are needing their food replaced, dockworkers have gone on strike across the East and Gulf Coasts. This is going to affect everything from food to fashion, especially fresh foods that have to be imported this time of year. I saw someone on Facebook foolishly question why we don’t “just grow the vegetables that we need here in the US?” We do. The problem is that all that food has been harvested and much of it has been consumed. This time of year, through April, almost all fresh fruit and vegetables have to be imported and come through those docks along the coasts. Even if the strike doesn’t last long, the ripple effect will cause higher prices on almost everything and make some items unavailable through the holiday season.
I’m not going to even try to catch up on all the news that we missed. I know the big headline story this morning is Israel’s incursion into Lebanon, seriously expanding the war.
Today is former President Jimmy Carter’s 100th birthday, which is nothing short of incredible.
Pete Rose, Dikembe Mutombo, and Kris Kristofferson have all died.
A Judge blocks Georgia law banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.
The New York Times editorial board has endorsed Kamala Harris for President.
Life sucks for a lot of people right now. Be nice. You never know what someone’s going through.
Thankfully, there’s coffee this morning!
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