Hurricane season has begun! (Atlanta, Savannah: condo, how much, hotel)

[Sunny_Isles]

The official hurricane season began yesterday. It runs June 1st - November 30th: National Hurricane Center

Is anyone more concerned this year? I was in Atlanta when the tornadoes hit Alabama and North Georgia and actually got scared in my hotel when the lights went out. I don't think I've ever been scared by the weather before.

My husband stocks up on food, water, and batteries, and gets the flashlights and laterns and emergency radio ready. He (not so secretly) enjoys doing all of this each year. Since we've been livng in a condo the most important thing he does outdoors is strap down the grill to the courtyard fence. I find this amusing, although it would be dangerous if it went flying. What kind of preparations do you all do each year?

ETA: How much and what do you usually take when we evacuate? I've never taken anything really sentimental with me. I admit I've never worried that our house would be destroyed. I'm thinking it's time to plan to take some things we can't replace with us.

[I-Ruehl]

I am scared. I have surfed on good size surprise earthquakes, sat glued to the news over tsunamis, but the idea of a hurricanes or tornado freak me out! Earthquakes are like "Surprise your house is bouncing" Not keeping in eye on the sky for a funnel of hell to suck your everything away. Never been in one before, and am not looking forward to it at all.

[Padgett2]

I wish they wouldn't start screaming about evacuations, etc. so early in the season. People soon get tired of listening to it. It's like the little boy crying "Wolf" If a bad one heads our way, it will be difficult to get people's attention. There's nothing new that they can say.

Yeah, we had a bad one back in 1893. And we may have another bad one sometime. I have been through at least a dozen in my lifetime Catagory 1-3. We didn't evacuate. One can be 30 miles off coast and Tybee might have a rain shower. The rest of Chatham County would stay dry.

Use common sense. If it is a bad one, you will know in plenty of time to leave. Hurricanes don't have the surprise factor like tornados.

It's a good idea to always have extra can goods in the pantry. You don't need to have a hurricane coming. You could have a car accident and be unable to get to the store.. Electricity is the biggest problem. If you have a gas stove, or a grill you can still cook. Fill up the bathtub with water. You'll want to flush the toilet. We have water pumps all over the County. Also lift stations for the sewage.. I think (but not sure) that all of them have auxililary gas pumps so that water and sewage supplies are not totally affected.

And even if one should head this way, flooding will depend a lot on when it comes in. Tip top high tide will be a lot more serious than one at due on an out going tide.

In other words, don't worry. We are in an area where it's unlikely, but not impossible. Every little storm that starts up off the coast of Africa doesn't mean a disaster here.

They are interesting to follow. There are several very good internet sites that are devoted to following the storms. The frequent updates allow you to watch them turn and follow safer paths. Sometimes I am tempted to call one of our local TV weather nerds and ask him if he bothers to watch because sometime he is w-a-a-ay behind time.

[Sunny_Isles]

Yes, the good thing about the hurricanes is that you do have plenty of warning. I remember evacuating last minute in 1999 for Hurricane Floyd and going maybe 15 miles in the first hour. It took us something like eleven hours to get to Athens to stay with family. I'll never wait that long again. That's the last time we've evacuated. And the last time we had any real problems was after Hurricane David in 1979. Our area on Isle of Hope didn't get electricity back for almost a week, so we stayed with family elsewhere. The early warnings remind me a little of Fred Sanford: Oh, Lordy! This is the big one!

I'm a little more worried about snakes and the Portuguese Man 'O War at Tybee at the moment. And maybe tornadoes.

[Padgett2]

I had forgotten about our experiences in Hurricane David.

My mother was in a nursing home at Tybee. We were told to come get her. Tybee Island was being evacuated. The drive back into Savannah was bad......we found out why when we got to the toll bridge. The idiot tender was still stopping cars and taking tolls. This was an evacuation, for heavens sake!!!

Anyway, we got her to our house where we stayed. The next day, we got word that power was restored at Tybee and we could take her back.. I don't know how they managed so soon. it was over a week before we got it back in town. Water, gas and sewage worked just fine.

That's when the power company started putting in those horrid big poles to raise the lines above the tree line. Too many trees, too many broken limbs all over town.

[Sunny_Isles]

Yes, same experience, other than a relative in the nursing home at Tybee. I can't believe they were still taking tolls! I remember during the Floyd evacuation they finally opened up both sides of the highway for outgoing traffic so we could all get out of the area faster. Still took a long time.

Words of caution to any non-natives or newcomers: When they say go, go. If they say maybe go, then go if you can or really get ready to go. You don't want to get stuck in that madness. I remember a parent holding their toddler out of their very slow-moving car so the child could pee. Seriously! There was nowhere to stop to do that. I've been meaning to get some, ahem, supplies for that type of problem. And areas of Savannah that look level will flood pretty deeply long before you actually have to get out. It can be misleading. Ask your neighbors. Even if you've been here a long time you still need to know if you are in a new area. This can happen with a bad rain and high tide, too. Also, just in case someone wonders, they can open the highway up for both sides for outgoing traffic because at that point no one is allowed to travel into the area.

[I-Ruehl]

So what happens when you have no family around, and cant get into a hotel? You just keep driving?

[I-Ruehl]

2011's Top 5 Hurricane Overdue Cities - weather.com

[WanderingImport]

Originally Posted by I-Ruehl

So what happens when you have no family around, and cant get into a hotel? You just keep driving?

Your car and rest areas are your friend. They were for me driving across the country when I didn't want to spend the night & the money on a motel room.

[WanderingImport]

Originally Posted by I-Ruehl

2011's Top 5 Hurricane Overdue Cities - weather.com

Savannah is definitely on there. As we say year after year, it's only a matter of time. It's gonna happen. At some point.