Hurricane Dorian

[LM117]

All NC ferry routes are now closed.

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2019/2019-09-05-ferry-routes-closed-dorian.aspx

[tolbs17]

Knew it. Wilmington NC wind speeds are currently in the 50's, but they are going to go in the 80's. I still have power.

[NE2]

I'm too dumb to live.

[sprjus4]

I'm too dumb to live.

Heh. "Climate change"

[tolbs17]

https://outagemaps.duke-energy.com/#/current-outages/ncsc

This website shows you the outages. Sampson County apparently has 8,809 outages, That's very high.

[1995hoo]

All NC ferry routes are now closed.

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2019/2019-09-05-ferry-routes-closed-dorian.aspx

My wife is supposed to be taking the Auto Train to Florida this Saturday to visit relatives and to bring some items back to Virginia. The train hasn't run all week but hasn't yet been cancelled for Saturday. Somehow I doubt it will be running, especially because the route runs through the Charleston area and there are bound to be issues with downed trees and probably flooding. But I told her not to cancel: If THEY cancel, she gets either a refund or 100% credit via an e-voucher, whereas if she cancels, she gets 75% credit via an e-voucher.

Our former next-door neighbors moved to the area just south of Wilmington last year. Haven't heard from them this week.

[NE2]

I'm too dumb to live.

Heh. "Climate change"

It's happening.

[US 89]

I'm too dumb to live.

Heh. “Climate change”

It's happening.

Yes it is, and more likely than not the majority of it is human-caused. However, it’s important to note that current research does not show much of a link between hurricanes and climate change, compared to some other natural disasters such as floods and droughts. All else being equal, warmer SSTs would lead to an increase - but all else is not equal. The complex stew of ingredients that come together to form hurricanes also includes several other factors that don’t directly depend on temperature.

Also, using one hurricane as evidence of climate change is pretty poor science anyway, because it’s cherry picking data. The whole point of climate is to average out the weather extremes in either direction. Yes, the US has been affected by several major hurricanes in the past few years, but we also went from 2005 to 2017 without a single major landfall - the longest period without one on record.

[jeffandnicole]

...but we also went from 2005 to 2017 without a single major landfall - the longest period without one on record.

And even that is stretching it.  Hurricane Sandy in 2012 was briefly downgraded to a tropical storm just before encountering land, still with hurricane force winds and at $70 Billion, is the 4th costliest storm ever to hit the US.

[Henry]

This is just my opinion, but if these hurricanes are going to be a yearly occurrence in NC, they should work towards completing the US70 (from I-40 to the coast) and US74 (from Charlotte to Wilmington) freeways quicker so that they have more efficient evacuation routes from the coast.

They're trying to, especially regarding the US-70/Future I-42 corridor. All of the I-42 corridor is either under construction or in the planning stages. Problem is funding, which has become a big problem lately because of the recent hurricanes and Map Act settlements. Many projects across the state were pushed back because of that. The projects were on track until the chickens came home to roost.

Also, the I-74 corridor is well on its way to being fully complete from east of Winston-Salem to Lumberton. East of Lumberton, it's still up in the air in regards to the final routing, despite the 1991 proposal taking it to Myrtle Beach. However, the plan to make US 74 an all-freeway route from Charlotte to Rockingham is also beginning to take shape, with the Monroe Expressway being the first (and most crucial) step, and the intersection-to-interchange conversions along Independence Blvd will certainly help achieve that goal.

[sprjus4]

However, the plan to make US 74 an all-freeway route from Charlotte to Rockingham is also beginning to take shape, with the Monroe Expressway being the first (and most crucial) step, and the intersection-to-interchange conversions along Independence Blvd will certainly help achieve that goal.

The Shelby Bypass is another major step, but that project has had its issues, so it won't be fully completed for quite awhile.

The Independence Blvd upgrades are important, especially as that's an urban route to Downtown, but A) it's not a full freeway upgrade, it's simply 3-lanes in each direction with a 50 mph speed limit, tight urban interchanges, and RIRO driveway and street connections, and B) Any US-74 interstate concept would more than likely follow I-485 around the southwest side.

[US 89]

...but we also went from 2005 to 2017 without a single major landfall - the longest period without one on record.

And even that is stretching it.  Hurricane Sandy in 2012 was briefly downgraded to a tropical storm just before encountering land, still with hurricane force winds and at $70 Billion, is the 4th costliest storm ever to hit the US.

Nah, that wasn't even close. Sandy made landfall as an extratropical system with 80 mph sustained winds (category 1 equivalent). Major hurricanes are defined to be category 3 or higher (115 mph).

That said, the Saffir-Simpson category scale isn't really a great indicator of the damage potential of a hurricane, because it only takes into account wind speed. In most hurricanes, including Sandy, the majority of the destruction comes from rain or storm surge flooding.

[Beltway]

That said, the Saffir-Simpson category scale isn't really a great indicator of the damage potential of a hurricane, because it only takes into account wind speed. In most hurricanes, including Sandy, the majority of the destruction comes from rain or storm surge flooding.

In this case metro NYC, which is one of the identified three most hurricane-vulnerable places in the U.S. for catastrophic damage and loss of human life, the others being NOLA and Miami Fla.

[LM117]

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2019/2019-09-05-passenger-rail.aspx

[LM117]

Ferry service to Ocracoke is limited to emergency responders until further notice.

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2019/2019-09-07-ferry-ocracoke.aspx

[LM117]

Ferry service to Ocracoke is limited to emergency responders until further notice.

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2019/2019-09-07-ferry-ocracoke.aspx

Update.

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2019/2019-09-08-emergency-ferry-service.aspx

[The Ghostbuster]

I was watching the Cincinnati/Ohio State game on Saturday, and it was mentioned that one of the offensive linemen for the Cincinnati Bearcats (#75 Chris Ferguson) is from Nassau, Bahamas. The neighborhoods he grew up in were totally leveled by Hurricane Dorian. Hopefully, his family was all right.

[LM117]

https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2019/2019-09-13-this-week-ncdot.aspx

Dorian Recovery

In the wake of Hurricane Dorian, the N.C. Department of Transportation is putting its efforts into making repairs to reopen state roads quickly.

About a dozen roads are still closed, including N.C. 12 in Ocracoke where more than 1,000 feet of major dunes and pavement will need to be replaced.

The damage from Dorian is estimated to be about $45 million and repairs are expected to be complete by the end of the year.

[The Ghostbuster]

And another tropical storm may soon strike the Bahamas again. Talk about adding insult to injury.