Howling Winds & Pouring Rain

The forecast today is winds 25 to 40 mph…..gusts of over 60 mph.  It continues to rain….much harder now than it was yesterday.  Our rainfall total as of 7:30 this morning is 4.93 inches since this event started.  And the worst of the rain, wind and flooding is yet to come.  The forecasters are saying this is a storm of historic proportions for this area and that it is probably going to be worse than the Ash Wednesday storm of 1962 .  I’m feeling a bit anxious about the events yet to come.

It is getting pretty dicey out here folks.  I have a couple of water spots on my ceiling in the living room around the area where my chimney is.  I think the wind is “wiggling” the chimney some, allowing water to seep in.  During Hurricane Isabel in 2003, the wind tore a couple of chimneys off of the homes on the street I live on.  The winds were stronger during that storm, but they didn’t last as long as these winds are lasting.  We are having some really powerful gusts this morning……I hope my chimney makes it through the day.

Conditions continue to deteriorate……the low pressure system is stronger than when it originally came ashore in Alabama a couple of days ago.  The high tide this afternoon is a major concern.  They are predicting a rise in the water table of approximately 7 to 8 feet.  My home is situated at 11 feet above sea level…..I’m hoping we stay dry.  Here is a couple of photos of my yard……..the first is outside my back fence.  There is a water canal for flood control that has overflowed quite a bit.  Just outside the line of view on the bottom of this photo is my fence.  The photos do not do justice to the amount of rain that is falling as I’m taking this….

This next one is from my side yard looking back to the flood canal…..if you look, you can see quite a bit of water standing in the grass.  

 The wind continues to howl……and the rain has probably picked up intensity since I started this.  Some areas have already flooded……it is going to be a long day.