After 20 years of practicing Hurricane Preparedness, your mind simply cannot drop it because you live in Tennessee. And when you get to see the cone of uncertainty telling you will be visited by a tropical depression, the brain goes ALARM!
The Hurricane trunk has been pulled out and contents checked. The generator is ready and gas has been bought. Pantry was pretty well stocked last weekend and the rest is oiled and loaded.
The hilarious part is we are expecting 20 mph winds or as it is called in SoFla, a light breeze. Not so funny for my brain? Nothing here is built to Miami Dade Hurricane Code. I keep telling it that we do not expect 75 mph winds anytime soon unless a tornado shows up, but the sucker is still churning. Oh well, it will eventually pass, probably when the temp drops below the 45 degree mark.
Now, Winter Preparedness? I am so gonna get it, it ain’t funny.
20 mph winds is no big deal in any part of the country, and not a problem for any building built to any building code, or old enough to still be standing in spite of predating building codes. The bigger problem is rain. 4 inches of rain, as is mentioned here in New England, is a lot more than usual. I’ll probably end up with some water in my basement. No big deal, 1/2 inch is common, more I haven’t seen in 15 years. For those who live in valleys things might be a little more problematic, but flooding is almost entirely a property damage issue.
As for snow, do you have a snow blower? Or a contract with a local plow operator to clear your driveway? Unlike floods and storms, snow is a reliable visitor in the north.
Regarding winter preparedness: Tennessee is in the belt (sorta between I-40 and I-70, with seepage to the north and south) that’s (in)famous for ice. You can get ice storms that will knock down tree limbs and power lines and make road travel almost impossible. As an added bonus, when it snows the ground is often above freezing during the day, so the snow melts and then freezes during the night and you end up with a layer of ice under the snow. The snow protects and insulates the ice so it takes a long time to melt. It’s very dangerous to drive on. When I moved from the Midwest to the Sorta South I used to laugh when the whole place shut down after a two-inch snowfall, but after experiencing the ice-under-the-snow fun, I have a little more respect for it.
You should prepare for it to the extent that you can.
Buena suerte.
@pkoning, we got 6 inches in less than 12 hours time before last in NE.
Migueal, have you purchased a chain saw yet?
Rules on chain saws. If it doesn’t say Stihl or Husqvarna on it, it isn’t something to trust your life to.
I’m going to guess you haven’t any real experience with them. No longer than 18″ bar, go for a 16″. You are looking for a way to clear big branches and fallen trees. Anything that is still standing that needs a chainsaw ***STAY AWAY FROM***.
They are called “widow makers” for a reason.
Then learn how to start the mother. I forget after about 8 months and do the wrong thing then have to fight it into life. Painful.
If you have a tree or branch come down that blocks your travel, you are going to want a chainsaw.
And stop bending the paths of Hurricanes north into NE. It isn’t nice.
An intelligent hurricane vet is prepared for most anything. I say that as a Texan, that has lived and been from here to all states except Maine and Hawaii. Just learn to dress for ice and snow, in layers. First slide will teach you to drive in it.
;-))
“…the snow melts and then freezes during the night and you end up with a layer of ice under the snow.”
Which why I bought a pair of used-but-good wheels for my truck to mount the 2 best tires from the last all-4 replacement; I keep V-Bar chains on those 2 and keep the cordless 1/2 impact charged. November 15 I inflate them to 30 PSI, April 30 take ’em back down to 3-4 PSI and cover them up until next winter. I can swap both rear wheels inside the garage in about 6-7 minutes, toss the 2 “chainless” rears in the bed, put the scissors jack and impact behind the seat and go pretty much anyplace. Hit dry roads, 6-7 minutes swaps them back. Faster and easier than wrestling chains on to each wheel.
The chains also make a big difference in mud.
Spent 30yrs in Fort Laud and the last 20 in Mid TN – Welcome to enjoying (4) mild seasons as opposed to two (Hurricane and Tourist) seasons. Forget the snow blower – you won’t need it. A snow shovel and some ice melt is what you’ll use the most on the day or two is does actually snow. A generator if your area is prone to outages is also not a bad idea.
We’ve seen plenty of tropical systems venture up this way bringing nothing more than a soaking rain leading to flooding. That’s all you should expect this far inland here.
That said – I’ll take a day of tornados, where the thinnest of areas could be impacted versus the wide destruction of a hurricane (I went through Andrew) each and every time.