I lurk here quite often.. having posted last in September of last year.. been a while. I do appreciate the efforts of all giving great info on these threads. Thank you!
Now, my question.. I live on the outskirts of Austin on the border of Pflugerville. At the moment we are in a Palm Harbor Home. We had straight line wind damage 2 years ago and that was 75+ mph winds.. tore down our garage, blasted in a window and ripped up the roof a bit. Now, I want to go to a relative's house with our new baby. My husband doesn't think it is necessary. He seems to think all we will get is rain :/ We live along the I-35 corridor which seems to be a storm highway for some reason. Anyways, should I follow my personal gut feelings and be safe and leave him and my stepsons here (he refuses to go and doesn't want his boys to go either as he thinks I am being silly) or am I being too cautious and ridiculous as he thinks I am. How bad do you guys think it will be? And should I high-tail it out of here with my 3 month old? Planned on going to sister's apartment (first floor) or a friend's house nearby. He says chances of anything severe is like winning the lottery and I need to just relax and not worry about it so much.... Really need some thoughts here.. I am from Pittsburgh originally... so I have never experienced this before... Thanks guys!!
Its best to be Safe than sorry.... I would hit the road....Come back on Monday...
Austin is going to get some wind, though how much will depend on what Rita hits landfall with. If she's at 165 mph or higher, Austin might get 60-80 mph winds. If she comes in at less, then wind will be less. There will also be tornadoes.
If you have a place to go, go. Better to be safe.
My personal opinion is that since you are already close to Austin, you won't have to make that decision for another 36-48 hours at the latest. If the storm has a bulls eye for the coast in the area 50-60 miles south of Galveston, you could indeed have some high winds. I would listen carefully to local (Austin) weather on TV or the net and listen to what the anticipated maximum gusts will be. Make your decision then based on the latest available information. Good luck and God bless.
---"Anyways, should I follow my personal gut feelings and be safe..."---
As one who prepared for Y2K (with a bit of humor from myself and a LOT from my wife) I would say follow your gut. I sure didn't mind a bit of a laugh at myself after i found out that I didn't need to prepare for y2k. (although I'm now better prepared for an earthquake!). I'd rather have a chuckle at myself for being so paranoid than to look back and say "If only ..."
Plus - I've always found that following mom's gut feeling can't lead you too far astray!
Maybe you could show him this to convince him to leave:
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
155 PM CDT WED SEP 21 2005
TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS (39 TO 73 MPH) CAN BE EXPECTED ACROSS CENTRAL AND EASTERN PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS. HURRICANE FORCE (74 MPH AND GREATER) ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS CLOSEST TO THE COAST. SOME LOCALIZED WIND DAMAGE IS POSSIBLE.
http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov/iwin/tx/special.html
If you would be staying close by, follow hubby's advice and see where it hits, and how bad it could be in Pflugerville. By all means, if they project 60-70 mph winds, you should not be in a mobile. It is good to have a plan. Just a little early to execute on it today. All IMHO.
You will probably be on the weaker side of the hurricane, and it will still be a hurricane that far inland. However, you are east of I-35 and closer to its probably track than most of greater Austin.
You can probably expect to face sustained Cat 1 hurricane winds. You might get some damage from falling trees and broken windows. You could get tornadic activity.
Here's the big issue - you could very well be looking at a week or longer without power in the late Texas summer (and it's still summer there, I used to live in Austin). How well do you think your infant can cope with no air conditioning and no fans.
If your infant has any medical problems, are you going to be able to get him/her to a doctor or hospital if power and phones are out and roads are impassible with downed trees?
Your husband and older kids will be able to weather that, but I would seriously consider getting your infant to a safer place. Where is the place you can evacuate to?
where are you going to go? why is this first floor apartment or a nearby friends house any better then yours? I am not trying to be argumentative here, but these are the questions you need to ask yourself.
With a 3-month-old, follow your feeling. get as far from the storm path as possible. Even if it's not actually dangerous, you can expect the probability of power failures, water supply compromises, supply hassles, etc, all over the region.
What would be tolerable for an adult or teen would make a baby miserable. Get as far from the storm path as you can
I am very understanding of your impulse to get to a safer place. It is unfortunate that your husband isn't understanding that you are a new mother of a 3 month old, and you do not need the anxiety at this point in motherhood, but some men just don't "get it".
My advice to you would be to explain to him that your anxiety level just isn't good for the new baby, and while he is "probably right" (that you are being "silly"), that you think it best for the baby that you do all you can to feel calm. Tell him that it is just new mother hormones, or something.
Then pack up your baby and leave, with a big hug and kiss to him for being "understanding" of your emotions, never having beeen through something like this, etc...
Look at it this way... it is more important for your baby for you to feel comfortable for the next few days, then for you to be sitting there and worrying your head off. If nothing happens to your present location, your bugging out doesn't matter. If soemthing does happen, and you didn't bug out, it would be a big marital "issue" for the future...
It is always good to try to avoid those "I told you so" discussions when you are the one making them. It is much better to let hubbie be the one saying it to you... (womanly wiles at work)
Leave, no explanations. This is no joke... take your 3 month old and get out of there, if he wants to stay... let him.
What wind zone is your model? In that area, they are most likely a wind zone one which is built for 70 MPH winds. I would strongly recommend leaving-especially with a precious baby.