The Coltons Point Times: Reporting Live from Hurricane Earl Warning Zone - Southern Maryland Part 2.

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As Earl closes in on North Carolina sometime tonight (Thursday) the Maryland Chesapeake Tidal Basin will get the first impact as it moves up the east coast. So far the President has issued an emergency declaration and the Governor has issued an emergency declaration for our area. The National Weather Service has issued a coastal flood warning for the area.

Just before nightfall the sky filled with the advancing clouds of Earl, still a couple of hundred miles away. It is a foreboding sky but we should be just beyond the real danger area. Here at the Potomac basin the tides should be effected when the hurricane winds pass offshore later tonight.

Any flooding should hit by morning and the rains should be less severe than normal hurricanes on the east coast because the hurricane keeps speeding up. It was moving at a speed of 18 miles an hour earlier today and by morning is expected to accelerate to 35 miles per hour, much faster than storms already bigger than the entire state of Florida.

The pictures show the likely path, speed, and shape from various radar and satellite imaging. Just above you can see the two storms following Earl that will be the next threat.  Note the comparison below between the satellite image of Katrina and Earl.

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Hurricane Bill - Wake Up America

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Pictured above is Hurricane Bill in the lower right of the photo as it gathers strength and sets course for America. Now the weather service has somewhat downplayed this storm after all the false alarms since Katrina have cost millions of dollars.

However, our own intuition here at CPT believes this will most likely develop into a monster storm and batter the Atlantic States from North Carolina north where hurricanes hitting land are not a common occurrence.





Those of you in the Carolina to New Jersey-New York areas should make preparations for a storm next week that could leave the area without power and water for some time depending on the storm damage if it does hit land.

By the time you get a warning from your local and national weather services there will be shortages of food and water and you better stock up early for a week to be safe. Remember when buying food you will have no electric power to cool or cook unless you have a power generator.





Also this storm will hit in the midst of the Dog Days of Summer when we could have high temperatures and severe humidity in it's aftermath. Plan for what it will take to stay cool and dry. Keep handy a basic medical kit plus whatever you need for special medical problems.

Consider that massive power outages will leave you without a toilet, even in the septic areas since electric water pumps are needed, or water for washing so you should keep bottles of drinking water and water for washing and toilet flushing.

Finally, flooding, perhaps severe, could result so make sure if you are in a flood plain your valuables on the ground floor are above potential water lines. Common sense and advance planning can make it a lot safer and more tolerable. Make the best of this calm before the storm.

If it misses us and stays in the Atlantic we will still get major rainfall but if it does hit as we expect the damage will be a lot more severe so be prepared.

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