Hello Hanna

When it rains…

As you can tell by my blogs, I’ve immersed myself in Hurricane Gustav for the last few days. While I was watching Gustav, Hanna snuck up behind me.

Our meteorologist, Joey Sovine, started off our morning meeting with the news. Hanna is possibly headed to the Lowcountry and could make landfall as a Cat 1 or 2 storm. Isn’t that peachy?

When I lived in Louisiana, I always packed a hurricane work kit on the first day of hurricane season. I’ve gotten a little lazy since moving here to Charleston. I have no previsions set aside yet. We always do stories telling people to make sure they have survival kits and I’m willing to bet that 90% of us in the newsroom don’t have one.

I told our morning show anchor that I’ll shift my focus from Gustav to Hanna Wednesday. Until then, I’ve got to see what happens with Gustav. Especially when it slows down and parks over Central and Western Louisiana later tonight for about 12 hours. That’s where the parents are and that’s a lot of rain and wind. I’m very worried about tornadoes.

We’ll start our Hanna coverage tonight and get deeper into it as we move closer to a possible Friday landfall.

Here’s a look at the current projected path of Hanna. It puts Charleston right there in the mix.

Gustav Eyes New Orleans

I called my parents up for our nightly conversation. I’m a momma’s boy – sue me. They were busy making a list of what they needed in their hurricane kit, because Hurricane Gustav is on the way.

My dad was getting ready to make sure there was enough gas in the emergency generator and my mom was taking inventory of the non-perishable food in the pantry. That’s just what you do in Louisiana when a storm is coming.

Here we are on the eve of Hurricane Katrina’s anniversary and Louisiana is in a state of emergency with the National Guard activated for another storm. Mayor Ray Nagin and Sen. Mary Landrieu planned on leaving the Democratic Convention early to head home. It’s eerie – it stirs up a bit of sadness.

My hometown is further inland and usually hurricanes drop to a Cat 1 or so by the time they reach us, but that's still a major storm. The hotel rooms there are already booked in advance from people getting ready to evacuate from the southern Parishes. It brings back memories that I’m not interested in recalling.

In the days to follow, I’ll blog more about my experiences living through and covering Katrina, but my prayers are with my friends and family in Louisiana as Gustav continues growing. I honestly get a sick feeling in my stomach every time I walk by the Weather Center and see the projected track going right to the mouth of the Mississippi.

Those of us who covered Katrina have an unspoken bond. When we meet each other, even today, we know that we share something special – something tragic. You didn’t walk into New Orleans those first few days and not walk away changed.

It’s hard for me being all the way over here in Charleston while plywood is going on windows and families are making evacuation plans back at home. When that storm finally hits, I will undoubtedly want to be in the mouth of the madness with those I love who are hunkered down riding it out. Though there is nothing I could do to help there… I feel helpless here.

Tropical Storm Fay

The outer bands of Tropical Storm Fay have been dumping inches of ran on us for the past few days. This will sound strange, but there is something rather calming about tropical weather.

Hours before the big storm, when those outer bands first head into your area, the sky is filled large sudsy-looking clouds. It looks a lot like what a bar of soap does in a microwave. You can still see the crystal blue sky behind those monsters and it serves as a picturesque contrast of nature.

The closer the storm gets, the winds starts to pick up. The whole day turns gray – everything. Even the air itself feels heavy with gray. That first wind is calming and cooling in the summer day. It is in fact that proverbial calm before storm. As trite as it seems… it’s the truth.

Not to romanticize these killers; I’ve lived and worked through many – Katrina being one. That storm changed my life and I have an earned respect for tropical weather. Maybe that’s why I’m able to now also see the beauty in it.

I interviewed a couple in Panama Beach City during Hurricane Dennis. They went into a long discourse about Mother Nature being a cruel mistress. They said the rise and fall of the water during a hurricane was amazing to witness, even though deadly. A little like white arsenic in wedding cake.

Later that same year, after Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita was coming our way and I first noticed the pre-storm breeze. I guess it was my first time seeing Mother Nature for the cruel mistress she really is – a deadly splendor.

There is just something majestic about these marvels of nature. Some people see the awe in tornados, rainbows or sunsets. For me, it’s those hours before tropical weather. It’s almost like a small gift as we prepare for the destruction and force that follows those peaceful moments.

Thankfully Fay is just a rainmaker for us with some flooding. Here are some of the effects in our area.

From our Meteorologist Joey Sovine:

From a viewer: