Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Donald Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”

Bad people in a position to do bad things will do bad things because they are bad people. End of story.

Giving in to doom is how we fail to fight for ourselves & one another.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

Disappointing to see gov. newsom with his finger to the wind.

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

People identifying as christian while ignoring christ and his teachings is a strange thing indeed.

I don’t recall signing up for living in a dystopian sci-fi novel.

When they say they are pro-life, they do not mean yours.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.

Their shamelessness is their super power.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Helene Peeps, Here’s a Post So You Can Check in Through the Night

Helene Peeps, Here’s a Post So You Can Check in Through the Night

by | 79 Comments

This post is in: ,

Like the threads we had for the wildfires, maybe all the Helene peeps can check in here and let everyone know how it’s going, or keep you company while you wait!

Helene Peeps, Here's a Post So You Can Check in Through the Night

I’m adding a link to this at the top in the sidebar to make it easier for everyone to find, regardless of what else is on the front page.

Reader Interactions

79Comments

  5. 5.

    Andrew Abshier

    The Gulfport Casino in Gulfport, FL (just south of St. Petersburg) has hosted many dance events over the years.   I used to go to the weekly Argentine tango event.

    It hurts to see it flooded–and it’s going to get worse because storm surge is predicted to peak between 10PM and 2AM

    I’m in south Sarasota, we’re getting high TS-strength wind and rain, but I’m secure, and power has never wavered.  The storm is about to move out of our area for the north.

  6. 6.

    Gvg

    Well I am fine for certain kinds of fine. Looks like I survived food poisoning. The hurricane is just a long rainstorm here. Luckily I got my prep done Tuesday because by Wednesday I could barely walk. It’s toast and rice today and very little of that. Been reading the internet when awake, and plant catalogs.

    I have guest pets too. My sister drew a 48 hour shift at the hospital for the duration. So far just not much to report though.

  8. 8.

    beth

    checking in from asheville. our helene adventure starts around 4am when the hurricane-related winds and rain arrive. we’ve been prepping by getting up to a foot of rain, depending on where you are in the french broad river basin, thanks to an unrelated system that parked itself over us wednesday evening so the ground is well saturated and the rivers are primed to reach flood stages that are only exceeded by the 1916 flood. we are looking at almost 3″ of rain between 7–9am.

    if we can get to mid afternoon tomorrow without a tree or three (we live in a tree heavy neighborhood) falling on the house or anyone else’s house, that’s our best outcome. everything we can batten down, has been battened down. we have ice, extra batteries, our devices are charged, and water squirreled around the place… we are hoping for florida and georgia to get through relatively unscathed, also.

  9. 9.

    Betty Cracker

    The eye of the storm is parallel with my location about now (about 80 miles offshore). Lots of wind and rain, but nothing too scary so far. I do wish the storms would quit hitting after dark though. It’s unnerving to hear things like trees falling and not be able to see what’s happening.

  10. 10.

    WaterGirl

    @Andrew Abshier: I’m sorry!

    I worked hard to find an image that wouldn’t be “oh my god, we’re all gonna die!”, and here I find that I used an image that distressed you anyway.

    Well, at least my intentions are good.

    Glad you are safe.

  11. 11.

    hells littlest angel

    @Nukular Biskits:Hoping all in harm’s way make out okay.

     

    Seems unlikely:

    If you or someone you know chose not to evacuate, PLEASE write your, Name, birthday and important information on your arm or leg in A PERMANENT MARKER so that you can be identified and family notified.
    Taylor County Sheriff’s Office – Division of Emergency Management via Facebook

  12. 12.

    WaterGirl

    @Gvg: There’s a reason that food poisoning has the word POISON in it.  I found that out the first time I had it.

    Holy shit, it’s not just that you might have stuff coming out of both ends, but you feel like you’ve been poisoned!  Your entire body aches / hurts.

    I feel you.  It took several days before I could even think about eating anything, so you are doing better than me!

  14. 14.

    WendyBinFL

    Here in Sarasota, an alert on my husband’s phone awakened us before 7am: Tornado Watch until 8pm. Full day of driving rain, almost continuous thunder. Tornado Warning sirens wailed outside around 4:30pm as Helene blew past us offshore at Category 3. I think the worst is past us now. Never lost power, thank goodness. My heart goes out to folks who are bracing for a direct hit!

  15. 15.

    Doc Sardonic

    So far so good where I am in the center of the state, we get the occasional outer band and are under a tornado watch. But all told power is holding so far, we get an occasional blink but that is just tree limbs brushing the lines. I guess Duke will have the tree crews out for some trimming again

  16. 16.

    WaterGirl

    @Betty Cracker: Yes!  Light is much better.

    When the 7′ diameter tree hit my house, it was 10:30 at night.  I will never forget when the sun came up, walking from window to window saying “holy fuck” at each one, as I saw what was all around me outside.

    At every fucking window and door.  Looking out the sliding door to the deck was the worst.  It looked like a war zone.

    So I feel all of you guys.

  17. 17.

    Gloria DryGarden

    The Pollyanna from hell near Rome Georgia reports lots of rain. He’s not going into town for Internet, but he seems ok.

  19. 19.

    emrys

    Waiting is.  I figure about 10pm to about 2am will not be any fun.  Hopefully Helene has edged enough east that we won’t be in the bullseye.

  20. 20.

    JPL

    When the eye is 35 miles wide you know this is a monster.   If it ends up moving through the Atlanta area with close to hurricane force winds, we should touch base tomorrow.    My freezer is full.

  22. 22.

    AliceBlue

    We’re under a hurricane watch in my area of west central Georgia–wind gusts as high as 80 mph are possible in the early morning hours.  We’ve already had two days of rain from a front that stalled out.  We’re as prepared as we can be.

  23. 23.

    JPL

    @WaterGirl: ha   I vacuumed today just in case a tree would fall.   If someone had to come in the house tomorrow, I would not want dog hair mixed up with ceiling, leaves and tree limbs,

  29. 29.

    Sallycat

    In St. Petersburg (FL), wind and rain, more wind than rain.  Too much wind.  I think the worst has passed here.  The people in the Panhandle need all of the good thoughts, prayers, etc., right now.

  31. 31.

    Betsy

    @Betty Cracker: Fran went over where I was all night in 1996.  There was no sleeping.  Morning light brought shock as most people had not had any news of the storm until just a few hours prior. The main immediate effect was not being able to go more than a half block in a vehicle since thousands of trees came down.

    We used our bikes to get around, portaging them over another tree trunk every hundred feet or so.

    Also could not get gas, chain saws, cash, or ice for love or money for nearly two weeks. My power was out for 11 days, but I still had to show up for work.

    Anyway, I agree,  a night hurricane is not a good experience.

    All good thoughts and wishes to you and yours.

  35. 35.

    Geminid

    @beth: I tuned into the Harrisonburg, Virginia radio station and found them broadcasting a high school football game. It was moved up from the normal Friday night on account of the storm.

    They interrupted coverage at 8 o’clock to report cancellations and severe flood warnings. Flooding is a real danger even up here. In 1969, after Hurricane Camille killed more than 250 people in Mississippi, floods killed more than 150 in Nelson County, 25 miles southwest of Charlottesville and 800 miles from the Gulf.

    The exact toll in Nelson isn’t known because some small communities were totally wiped out. The worst flooding occurred late at night and when people woke up it was too late.

  36. 36.

    Doc Sardonic

    @WaterGirl: Villages are getting more outer band action since they are north and east of me. Depending on which village they are in, may have some power issues, and tree branches.

  38. 38.

    Andrew Abshier

    @WaterGirl: Don’t worry about the image, you had no way of knowing.   I’m feeling happy that we have sustained no damage in my apartment complex and have kept our power.  The Casino will be rebuilt, if it comes to that.

  40. 40.

    weasel

    @emrys: Sounds like you might be near Tallahassee. I spent twenty years there after college and still have many friends in town so I’ve been watching the storm with them in the center of my thoughts. Looks like The Magnet may have pushed it just east enough so the town escapes the worst of it. Fingers crossed!

    Been refreshing this live blog from someone in SE Tallahassee for most of the afternoon…
    weathertiger.substack.com/p/weathertigers-hurricane-helene-landfall

    Stay safe!

  42. 42.

    Joy in FL

    Checking in from west Pasco County. I’m not on the coast, but coastal Pasco had a mandatory evacuation order due to expected storm surge. I’m west of Tampa and a little north of it.

    Parts of the day have been really nerve-wracking– winds in the 40 mph range, and bands of rain.  I think the worst is over according to the Weather Channel app. Also I have not lost power, although Duke Energy website shows thousands of outages in this part of Florida. As mentioned in other comments, the Big Bend area is the part of Florida that is in danger. I feel for those folks.

  43. 43.

    ssdd

    Watching the coverage from up here in Chicagoland. This storm is a monster. Sending whatever good thoughts are worth to anyone down there tonight.

  45. 45.

    a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)

    We’re bracing for rain here in Nashville and hoping the winds are bearable & don’t involve any tornadoes, which cling to the edges of a hurricane like fringe on an old-school stripper’s costume.
    I do hope they’ve opened the various dam floodgates to drop the river levels before the rain hits, although since we spent the summer in a drought everything is probable low already.
    When I saw people talking about the potential for a 20-foot storm surge I went and checked on Camille’s—that one was 24 feet. It’s a horrendous amount of water, and like any sudden flood will hit like a freight train.

    I know we tend to raise an eyebrow (at the least) at people who don’t evacuate, but there are times people can’t —lack of money (it’s the end of the month but not payday for everyone on Friday—so if you live paycheck to paycheck you’re feeling pretty pinched just now), lack of reliable transportation,needing to care for people or critters who can’t be moved, employers who insist they need to stay open, no matter what the government says—any and all of these. Given the size of this storm, finding a safe place is a real challenge; you can’t just head north & hope for the best. Shelters exist but are often limited and may not be all that safe either.

    tl;dr—not everyone who stays is oblivious to the risk, or happy about their lack of options. Spare some kind thoughts for those stuck between the Devil & the deep blue sea just now.

  46. 46.

    Paul in Jacksonville

    Helene’s center is a tad south of Jacksonville. We’re on the dirty side, so we still might get heavy rain and wind. However, so far it’s been pretty much a nothingburger. Fingers, toes, and eyes crossed it continues in that manner.

  51. 51.

    Fake Irishman

    Good luck Florida and GA and NC jackals . Beryl was no fun here at n Houston (and a night storm), but nothing like what you’re going through.

  52. 52.

    Mowgli

    Checking in from 50 miles north of Atlanta. Worst rain and winds is apparently coming in a few hours. Our property has at least a hundred trees, plus a creek that’s already running high from the rain today, so we’re hoping for minimal destruction.

  53. 53.

    beth

    @WaterGirl: alice has been sheltering in the lower level much of the day — she does not care for rain or wind so we’ve had to take her out on a leash across the street because it’s too scary to do her business in our fenced yard. we are probably going to stick to our bedroom. there’s only a small chance a tree would hit that part of the house and it’s easier to hear if something is happening we need to pay attention to overnight.

    so far, the lower level including the studio are dry.

  54. 54.

    Maxim

    I have many cousins in Florida, mostly in Tallahassee and Tampa. They are all safe, but among their number are a fire chief, policeman, emergency dispatcher, and two RNs who are all on duty tonight. Gonna be a long night.

    I am holding everyone in the path of the storm in my thoughts.

    @a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio): Thank you.

  55. 55.

    dww44

    @Betty Cracker:  we as well. It’s unnerving at night.  We have remained in the center of the cone from the getgo and are supposed to get the strong stuff by 2 a m here in the middle of Ga.   We so hope the path wobbles a bit to the east as it enters the state and we can stay on the clean side.  It’s gobsmacking that there are hurricane warnings this far into the state.

  56. 56.

    a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)

    @Maxim:  You’re welcome! Essential workers are truly stuck—you can “close things down” but you still have to have people ready to handle things.

    @WaterGirl:  Thanks—it’s easy to forget that some folks are just stuck, whether they want to be or not.
    And I’d like a word with whoever decided having a really bad storm just before payday was a good plan.

  57. 57.

    emrys

    @weasel: yes, the magnet does have its uses.😽.   I’m in Killearn.  Did grad work here years ago, went away, then came back to retire near family.   Waiting for the power to go out and to see how much wind we get.  There are definite downsides to trees.

  58. 58.

    John Revolta

    Lights flickering a bit here in Jacksonville……………otherwise just windy and some rain. She’s just about level with us now but pretty far west. Stay safe everybody!

  59. 59.

    Primer Gray (formerly Yet Another Jeff

    @emrys: I have a lot of near and dear folks in Tallahassee from living there 2002-2009, still throw a couple of sketches down for Mickee Faust when they let me…

    I was hoping someone would remember to plug in the mag lab…would be great if it could knock that storm surge down 15 feet or so as well…

  60. 60.

    Soprano2

    @WaterGirl: Oh yeah, people underestimate what water can do all the time.

    Reading this thread is giving me flashbacks to the Great Ice Storm of 2007. Please, everyone stay safe

    ETA I wish we were getting some rain from this storm, we’re entering extreme drought conditions in part of the Ozarks.

  62. 62.

    beth

    @raven: ha! oops! bet they thought they left this kind of nonsense behind them. hope they sail through with no excitement. unfortunately i think transylvania county is getting the worst of what’s left of helene.

  63. 63.

    Primer Gray (formerly Yet Another Jeff)

    @weasel: Yeah…hope they can talk the city into buying RR2…or what’s left of it after tonight. Making it through the meeting gateways…

    I’m following friends on FB and whatnot…people started losing power and hearing transformers popping about 11:30. Thank you for that link to weathertiger…wishing everyone down there a safe hunkering.

  64. 64.

    HumboldtBlue

    At least our earthquakes last seconds, have some love from the Lost Coast to those battling the storm.

  65. 65.

    redoubt

    Low Country. Rain, wind with 70+ mph gusts forecast early this morning. Already had two tornadoes touch down in our county, one off Tybee; no known reports of damage/injuries.

  66. 66.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @Geminid: thank you. He reported that his phone had lost 55% of its charge over 11 hours during all the rain today , with only some texts and an attempted phone call that didn’t connect.
    He thinks it’s the phone reaching out hard to find a signal. is this typical? Hopefully he’s turned it off to save charge.

    good luck with the floods in your area; pls keep us posted

  67. 67.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @Soprano2: Water is considered almost a solid; it truly acts like both a liquid and a solid. It’s a chemistry thing.
    for the people living in the areas that get hammered tonight, from winds or waters, I’m holding thoughts for you.

     

    @emrys: to see how much wind we get.  There are definite downsides to trees.

    depending on how this goes, you could write something interesting using that line.

  69. 69.

    Shalimar

    Long-range storm trackers who were right about this one 10 days ago say there will be perfect conditions again for another storm that will hit October 8-10.

  70. 70.

    J.

    Feeling very fortunate this morning. While it was windy and rainy here in SWFL, we didn’t suffer any damage from Helene and didn’t lose power, though it flickered a few times. Sanibel wasn’t so lucky. The storm surge flooded the island. Ditto Fort Myers Beach. As the spouse and I keep saying, we will never live on an island or steps from the coast again. (Though, to be fair, when we lived in CT, we got battered by Nor’easters on a regular basis and would lose power for a week at least once.)

  71. 71.

    Another Scott

    NASA.gov has various near-real-time satellite images – this is GOES East of the continental US. You can play a loop of current rain, etc., from Helene’s remnants.

    Your tax dollars at work. ;-)

    Fingers crossed for everyone.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  72. 72.

    DCrefugee

    Checking in from Out East of Sarasota…

    After a day of increasing wind and intermittent rain, I lost power about 530p yesterday. A couple of tree limbs were already down. Power was restored just after 0900a and all seems well. About to check out the neighborhood, but don’t expect to find much.

    Mainly thanks to not getting much rain from the storm, looks like we dodged a bullet.

  75. 75.

    Shakti

    Lots of rain and wind. There wasn’t as much banging but this is the first time we’ve lost power (since ~10:30 pm last night) So far there’s the usual yard and street trash and the palm trees are denuded. It’s not super hot yet. So many people have lost power here in St Petersburg, FL.
    I’m glad I wasn’t in zone A or near the beaches or in a mobile home on on one of the bridges, because those videos were truly scary. And I could not convince my parents they needed to leave for Ian.
    If the path had been correct, they’d have been fucked.

  79. 79.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    @WaterGirl: ​
    The photo of the I-40 failure I’ve seen is just west of the western tunnel. You can see the semis backed up on the western side of the failure.

    I-26 is closed due to flooding south of Erwin, TN. That kills both major routes through the mountains.

    All roads in WNC are closed.

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