A Royal Pain In The Gulf

[brucesw]

According to HCOEM rainfall data, as of 9am this morning the rain gauge about 1/2 mi from me had received .35" of rain.

For those of you wanting to check how your neighborhood did (if you're in a motel in Ozona or whatever):

http://www.hcoem.org/

Set your parameter and click on "Draw Map." Roll your mouse over the figures to get the locations. Looks like the heaviest recorded in Harris Co. is just under 5" at Luce Bayou and FM 2100 east of Kingwood. There are links to other county maps, too.

Leaves are down in my neighborhood, not branches or trees. The streets are almost dry. The winds are blowing now about as strong as they ever did.

My sympathies to those who actually suffered damage or injuries or had a harrowing night and to those who endured the evacuation and now may face more of the same trying to get back into the city.

To those who got disgusted and turned around...well, at least you're already home.

[Guest danax]

I feel very fortunate today, as I'm sure a lot of us do. I got a major workout scrambling for hours boarding up and now, unboarding, but my house came out unscathed. I have a couple of large trees near my house that are very precarious looking that could've done a lot of damage if winds had been as predicted. What a break for us those last few hours Friday as it continued to drift towards Louisiana. At least New Orleans was empty this time.

I finished boarding up Thursday around 2pm and was planning on heading up to Austin. I changed my mind right after leaving and decided to head over to Spring where I also had a place to stay. That choice turned out to be a good one. The back roads were wide open whereas I might not have even arrived in Austin.

Around my neighborhood it looks like only the most poorly placed and constructed signs are down along with lots of small pecan branches. Here is one street tree nearby that succumbed.

Notice the tiny root ball. I think street trees are more vulnerable to toppling over than yard trees as their root systems don't always develop properly under layers of concrete and asphalt.

Ah yes, thankful indeed, but where's the rain?