Watching Ernesto approach.

UPDATE: Ernie is out over the warm waters of the Atlantic and he immediately began to strenthen. Wind speed jumped from 35 MPH to 50 MPH. (That's "sustained" wind speed. We're not talking about gusts, which will be higher.) More strengthening is expected today as it churns the waters off our coast. We are looking for a "CAT ONE" strike when Ernie makes his second landfall sometime later today. The outer rain bands have been gliding across us since well before dawn. So far, at 8:39 AM EDT, we have had less than a tenth of an inch of rain. That will change, however.

For more go here:

http://www.wwaytv3.com/global/story.asp?s=5345021
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Here in NC we are awaiting a visit from Ernesto. The only question we have had was whether he will hit us from the east, the west, or from the south. We are now certain we will be hit. If the storm remains no stronger than a CAT one, we will be OK. Minimal wind damage, but we expect a lot of rainfall and flooding.

All this is subject to change in the next hour or less. That’s the nature of these storms.

Currently Ernesto is approaching for the south/southeast. It appears it is going to come ashore on the Northern South Carolina coast somewhere around Georgetown, or Myrtle Beach. Since I am actually farther to the east, than is Myrtle Beach, there is an extremely good chance that the storm will come directly over me.

The scary part for most of us, early on, was that the winds were predicted to hit us during the night. Hurricanes are at their most frightful in the dark. The sounds of crashing, and splintering, and windblown objects striking, only God knows what, can be terrifying. You don’t dare venture outside until daylight. Usually, I just go to bed and go to sleep. Oh, I’m not that brave! I just don’t see the sense in sitting up, listening to the world come to an end around you, feeling totally helpless. So, I “sack out” and preserve my strength for the next day’s tasks, which will arrive at dawn.

Now however the winds are expected to be greatly diminished, and the worst are predicted to strike us later this afternoon and early tonight.

It makes a huge difference which side of the storm you happen to be on. The right front quadrant is the deadliest part of the storm, of any hurricane. The current “predicted track” has us in the sights of that quadrant. Or, very close to being directly beneath what “would have been the eye” had Ernie nor broken up.

The water off our shore is in the 80’s and low 90’s. It offers plenty of energy for the Ernesto’s engine. If the storm stays over water it will strengthen. However, as it rakes the beaches and the forests, of the coastal plain, it will be sapped of a good deal of that energy. But the rain will come down in torrents. We expect flooding.

So now we hunker down and wait. We know the storm is coming. We know it has been downgraded, …all this we know… intellectually. But, I have to tell you, the respect for those storms, especially here in Hurricane Alley, is such that we show them all great respect. We will breath easier… only after the storm has passed us.

That’s it from “Hurricane Alley” in SENC at the moment!

Longstreet