Hurricane Francine

[Magicman]

So far the path of Hurricane Francine is tracking directly over us.  We are ~150 miles inland from the coast so we should not see severe weather unless, of course, a tornado spawns in our area.  The predicted rainfall is ~4".

Anyway, no sawing or anything else by me until possibly Friday.

[Nebraska]

 Hope it's not too bad. 

[Texas Ranger]

The Gulf Coast is still in the "maybe, maybe not" stage, we are 100 miles and some from the coast, but we are  prepping for it. 

[Larry]

Power crews left here this afternoon, going to Louisiana, think they said Central City. Probably have a good idea of the track by now.

Ya all keep your heads down and stay safe.

[RetiredTech]

  I spent the morning getting things ready. We're down near the MissLou border in the corner of the state. The latest projection shows the storm passing to our east. That would be good for us. I had planned to tear down the front differential on the tractor to replace the the parts that came in this week. Since I wasn't sure I could get it back together in one day I had to put that off. We may need the tractor to help cut our way out again. Ya'll stay safe.

[Magicman]

It will be directly over us at 2:00AM and I hope that we both will be sleeping soundly.

[Magicman]

I am sure that we got plenty of wind & rain but neither woke me up last night.  The weather gal is indicating that we got ~4" of rain.  The news is also reporting 662 power outages which is about the same as all of the adjoining counties so nothing major. 


Here is what Francine looked like on the wind map when it was directly over us.  Notice that it does not have the wind intensity as the above picture taken just before landfall.

[Wlmedley]

We were hoping to get some rain from Francine but now they say it will miss us. We need rain bad.Extreme drought conditions here and already a few fires. Fire season looks to be bad here if things don't change.

[RetiredTech]

 Francine was pretty much a non-event for us. The prediction was for 2-5 inches of rain for us. We got 1 1/2" and only a little wind. The electricity went out about 1am. When I went out to start the generator it was just misting rain with light winds. The only limb I had to clean up fell long before the wind stared and was right in front of the mailboxes. Our lights came back on before lunch. No real damage at all. Thank you Lord.

[Magicman]

Same here Wes, but no power outage.  I saw several estimates on the rainfall and we certainly got over 2" but no wind to speak of.  We had a heavy mist all day yesterday, enough to get you soaking wet, so I took the day off.

It was kinda like a "free" hurricane. 

[rusticretreater]

https://www.foxweather.com/extreme-weather/hurricane-francine-topples-230-year-old-oak-tree-louisiana

WATSON, La. — A tree that has stood the test of time and the greatest storms the Gulf Coast has had to offer for centuries, finally met its match in Hurricane Francine.

The massive live oak tree in Watson, Louisiana split apart and toppled during the stormy weather Wednesday.  The Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office says the tree had lived for over 230 years.

[Magicman]

It's sad to loose those old warriors.  We lost two Cherrybark Oaks during Katrina that measured 42" & 46".  That 46" was the largest that I have ever sawn nor ever want to saw.  I probably turned it completely around 3 times before I finally got it whittled down.  That Wood-Mizer cantilever design was working big time.

We watched 9 Oak trees fall during that day starting with the Northern most tree and gradually working South domino effect.  They would hang in the next tree and soon it would give way and hang in the next one. 

[SwampDonkey]

Glad you made'r to the other side. Doesn't look like it will bring water up here. Dry for the long range, but cooling on Friday. Just in time for fall. 

[beenthere]

Rot in the core can will eventually take them down. The wind just makes it happen a bit quicker. 

[rusticretreater]

I think the weight of it all, with the wind and water caused it to just split down the middle.  But at 230 years who knows.  Oak trees in Louisiana grow strangely with a short trunk and a heavy U type crotch. Some of the trees look like octopus arms.  In the case of this tree, it was just huge weight on each half of the trunk.

[beenthere]

The photos clearly show that there was very little holding wood in the "trunk" of that tree that split apart. It was time for it to give up and lay down. Trees don't last forever. One too many storms in its lifetime.