Hunkering Down with Hanna

I've been on vacation in Myrtle Beach since Tuesday and will be here until next Tuesday. It is our annual post labor day visit. This year we were greated by Hurricane/TS Hanna. We debated yesterday whether to cut our trip short but decided to stay. At 6:00 this Friday evening winds are about 20 mph and steady rain. We are right on the beach and can see waves of 5-7 feet. The strength of the storm should hit about 2:00 AM so we may not get much sleep. The track changes somewhat but seems to be steering more east and north of us. We have been prepared for a direct hit. This storm however is big and unfocused without a hard punch like Gustav or other tougher storms. Anyway we should be ok. I have to say even down here I got up early to watch Gov. Palin's speech replayed on C-Span. Man, she is breath of fresh air for all Republicans. Finally some energy coming in on our side.

Goto go now--not really there's nothing to do besides watch Lady and the Tramp with my daughter. I'll update on this storm if I continue to be bored and the sound is too loud tonight. Currently we have a loud whistle coming from the wind blowing against our outside door.

You know what was weird today for me is the Gov. Kaine and the Gov. of NC both declared Virginia and NC in a state of emergency for Hanna. Weird because Gov. Sanford here in SC didn't even do this when his state is the location of landfall. He aptly stated that overreacting now could cause problems in the future when a true emergency came. Seems Gov. Kaine could learn from him.

UPDATE: 6:48 PM People are actual trying to swim in the surf. Maybe they think that Rip Tide warnings are something that someone has done to box of detergent in order to get it open fast. Not the brightest bulbs on the planet.

Getting dark so I'm not sure I will be able to see much to report on--but will if I can!

UPDATE: 10:00 Surf has picked up and is much louder but winds have died off. Rain is steady. Expect this to preceed heavier winds and storm surge. Weather channel has reported that pressure has dropped--maybe making Hanna a Hurricane. So far not much different that a long lasting thunderstorm. Hope to update later.

UPDATE: 11:00 Winds and surf much higher. Waves are coming in higher than high tide mark and high tide isn't until 12:30 AM. Waves are much higher and very loud. Can see white topping much further out. Landfall is probably close.

UPDATE: 7:30 AM Sat. I awoke about 2 AM to look at the surf and it was high but not as much as I would have thought. This morning, based on standing water, the small surge pushed water up to the high grass up from the beach but did not reach the hotel. We seamed to have lost power for about 20 minutes last night based on the clocks. Reports are that TS Hanna made landfall at 3:20 AM right where we are staying. You never want to encourage someone to ride out a storm but I'm glad we didn't leave as many did. This turned out to cause less damage that a typical thunderstorm in Roanoke. It seems odd to see the national reporters reaching for anything they can point to as damage.

Hurricane/TS Hanna tracking is now closed.