with Lorelle and Brent VanFossen

Tag Archives: gulf coast

Hauling Away Hurricane Katrina

I found this image in my files. I was driving through Mobile, Alabama, and saw the railroad had been repaired with fresh gravel lining the fixed rails. Hurricane Katrina had done its damage along much of the railroad system that followed the gulf coast, washing out and twisting the rails like licorice sticks. I liked […]

Two Months After Hurricane Katrina – Pascagoula to Ocean Springs Mississippi

It’s been two months since Hurricane Katrina brought her wrath and forces to the Gulf Coast of the United States. In Israel, after a terrorist bombing of a restaurant, cafe, or night club, it is the general policy of the people to do everything possible to make sure the bombed site is open for business […]

Two Months After Hurricane Katrina – Gulf Coast Shores

I’m in New Orleans and access to the Internet is very complicated and difficult. I will write more about my experiences here, but here are some photos taken on the drive over along Highway 90 through the Gulf Shore area of Mississippi. I want you to remember that this area is almost 100 miles from […]

Lorelle’s Hurricane Soap Box

Living in the hurricane ravaged dart board for the past year, I have become a cynic when it comes to disaster relief and disaster victims. And I’m not happy about what I’m hearing about the problems with Hurricane Wilma. So forgive my momentary soap box. Hurricane Katrina was not expected to suddenly turn so ugly, […]

Ain’t Hurricane Season Over YET?

After Hurricane Alpha was blown away by Hurricane Wilma, I thought maybe we would have a reprieve. NOT. A Public Advisory from NOAA on Tropical Storm Beta states that this new storm should turn into a hurricane by this evening. Computer models from Weather Underground show Beta moving into Nicaragua and bringing 10-20 inches of […]

Tropical Storm Alpha is Born

Ever since the formation of two major hurricanes in July made it clear that the Hurricane Season of 2005 was going to challenge 1933 as the busiest season ever, I’ve been expecting to see the words “Tropical Storm Alpha” emblazoned on a hurricane tracking chart. Well, we’ve got the record now. The formation of Tropical […]

Record Breaking – Hurricane Wilma Now Category 5

There has never been a hurricane like Wilma before. With an unbelievable round of intensification that saw the pressure drop 85 mb in just 12 hours, Wilma smashed the all-time record for lowest pressure in an Atlantic hurricane this morning. The 4 am hurricane hunter report put the pressure at 884 mb from a dropsonde, […]

Hurricane Wilma Might Knock on Our Door

Yesterday, Brent and I took our first day off since….wait, I’m thinking…well, it was before Hurricane Arlene. And now Tropical Depression Wilma has matched the all time record for named hurricanes. I was hoping there would be a Hurricane Zelda, but it seems that Z-names aren’t recognized by the World Meteorological Organization’s Storm Names (pdf). […]

One Month After Hurricane Katrina

I finally got a full hour of exercise this morning. It was amazing. I sweated and hated every moment of it, and feel much better for it. I finally pulled my little potted garden set into place after a month tied to trees behind the trailer, and caught up on my hand washing and cleaning […]

I Love You, I Love You, You Know I Love You

We lost another victim of Hurricane Katrina last night. No, he won’t be in the statistics of the hundreds of lives lost across Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. But he should be. Mr. Walden lived along the Gulf Coast near Pascagoula, Mississippi. He’d been up and active and managing his life until recently, when it just […]

Visual Impact of Hurricane Katrina – Starting to Head Back

Some of you may know that we are also among the millions of refugees/evacuees from Hurricane Katrina. We’ve been in Atlanta for over a week now, waiting for the electricity and water to be turned on and the roads to be cleaned up back in Mobile, Alabama. Where we are staying, we have had no […]

Hurricane Katrina – This is Our Life

The wizard known as Rincewind lurched into the room, white-faced, and stopped in front of the table. “I do not wish to volunteer for this mission.” he said. “I beg your pardon?” said Lord Vetinari. “I do not wish to volunteer, sir.” “No one was asking you to.” Rincewind wagged a weary finger. “Oh, but […]

Escaping Hurricane Katrina: We’re in Atlanta

We are safe and out of Mobile, Alabama, and away from Hurricane Katrina. We left early Sunday morning and are now in Atlanta, Georgia. Right now, we have a WIFI connection but we’re not sure how long it will last. Friends of ours and their families have evacuated from New Orleans and along the Gulf […]

Hurricane Katrina – Knocking on Our Door

There is a lot I could say about the tension and stress we are under, debating to stay or evacuate from Mobile and Hurricane Katrina. And then I saw this from weather.com. They say a picture is worth a thousand words? Well, this one is worth a single decision.

New Evacuation Map for Mobile, Alabama – Almost

As we are preparing to evacuate Mobile, Alabama, we’re packing up and constantly pausing to check the news and we found an an article discussing a new Mobile County Emergency Management Agency evacuation map. It’s announcement came Friday, just before the National Hurricane Center announced the predicted path of Hurricane Katrina towards Mobile and the […]