Close encounter w/ an EF-1

Tell her it is medicinal....................for the nerves  

 

Been through several hurricanes including Andrew in South Florida and Sandy here in New Jersey. As scary as they were, hurricanes give you time to prepare. Tornadoes and earthquakes don't or, at most, just a minute or two. Weather alerts (radio and apps) and a good radar app or two are invaluable. I carry a WX radio in the pod at all times.

I'm in the same boat shelter-wise.  No basement, with our best option a windowless pantry in the middle of the 1st floor.  I've considered digging a pit in the crawlspace directly below the pantry and installing a trap door in the floor but that would be a lot of labor.

At times like that, I wish I had a basement. The best that I can do is a bathroom, in the center of the house (with no windows).

Good move on the weather station and radios. I figure, in regards to that kind of stuff, is - it is better to have them and not need them, than it is to need them and not have them. Kind of like a fire extinguisher, I buy, but hope to never use it.

Generator wise, I have two: one 2000 watt inverter (Champion) and one 2500 watt non-inverter (Coleman). While not enough to run the heat pump or well pump, they can run the "must haves". I really need to look into something that would handle the well. In the mean time, I keep about 15-20 gallons of "bottled" water on hand (always). I've been entertaining an idea of a rain water catch system/tank with a smaller pump.       With this, I could potentially not need a large generator. While not potable, it could be used for sanitation, laundry and bathing. (I suppose, in a pinch, I could boil it and drink it)

Things are mostly back to normal. However, I do see a little more "sky" than I used to (due to the tree damage). The National Weather Service surveyed the area and determined it to be an EF-1 and I agree. Most of what I saw was EF-1, with some approaching EF-2. Let's call it the high end of EF-1.