Harvey part 2

Harvey did not, in the end, come directly to Wharton. Most of the day Friday it was headed in our general direction but then it started drifting to the west and south of us finally coming to shore Friday night around 7 PM between Corpus Christie and Rockport, about 80+ miles further down the coast from us. By the time it made landfall, it had strengthened to a class 4 storm. I've never been in a class 4 hurricane (actually, in retrospect, that's not true, Carla in 1961 was a class 4 hurricane). A category 4 hurricane has sustained wind speeds of 130 – 155 mph. Harvey attained sustained wind speeds of 130 mph an hour or so before making landfall. These are the winds that enclose the eye, making this the most dangerous part, to be in the path of the eye. As it spirals out, the winds lessen, sometimes throwing out tornadoes. Being in the path of the eye of a hurricane means being in the whole thing, as opposed to just getting the edges like we did/are with Harvey. When the eye passes over you, the rain stops, the wind stops, and it can even clear up a bit briefly. We always venture out during the eye to view what damage has been wrought so far. Then the breeze will begin to pick up and it's time to get back in shelter and hunker down and wait for the other half to pass.

These were my updates on FB Friday:

10 AM It's been raining lightly here with no wind while other areas are getting hard rain so I hear. filling containers with water to freeze in case we lose power later. supposed to come ashore late tonight or early tomorrow and then just sit on the coast, one foot in the water, one foot on land, throwing all that water north and west.

1:30 PM been raining lightly and still since we got up but now it is starting to get a little windy and just heard the first rumble of thunder.

2 PM getting a little windier now though still not raining hard.

3:15 PM looking out the window noticed the lowest branches of the oak intermingled with the power and cable lines to the house from the pole now that the wind is picking up and they are heavy with the rain. Mikey got up on the 14' ladder with the long handled nippers and cut them all down just now. a 20 yr. old grandson is handy to have around. so glad he is out here with us.

3:30 PM in between bands of weather. stopped raining and wind has died down some.

4 PM heavier rain and wind has picked up again coming from the NNE. last projection I saw put it making landfall between Corpus Christie and Port O'Conner sometime around 7 or 8 PM tonight as a category 3. that puts it further west and south of us. All around us is getting hammered with heavy rain but Wharton is in some kind of weird weather warp where storms split and go around us.

6 PM Harvey is now a category 4 and will make landfall in about an hour or two at Port Lavaca. this is even further away from us though we are getting some pretty heavy rain right now but not too much wind.

3 AM Saturday woke up to torrential rain

This morning it was still raining lightly, has rained off and on all day, light to moderate, a little breezy at times. Allen's rain gauge over by his shed said 6” this morning. Marc dumped it out. The field behind us was covered by standing water, 

the ditches out front doing their jobs, 

the low side yard is under water but that's usual with any hard or continuous rain. The Big Backyard is littered with branches small and large, leaves, and green pecans. I tried to get a picture but it just doesn't convey what the eye sees, a covering of tree debris.

one of the larger branches that fell

This pattern is supposed to continue through to Friday. This storm is supposed to loop around on itself and travel up the coast before heading inland again, one foot in the water and one foot on land, hence the high estimations of rainfall for the next week. And Tuesday, the Colorado River is expected to crest at 50' so only the low west end of town is preparing to flood.

Really coming down out there now.