LOL at the south and east coast

[The Tradition]

Another post extolling the virtues of government regulations. I'm so proud of you.

I had a screened porch added to my house years ago, and the building inspector made the contractor install more brackets and through-bolts, claiming that the new standards will keep the structure from getting torn up in hurricanes and throwing aluminum missiles all over the neighborhood.

Wilma laughed at the extra brackets and through-bolts. It's an aluminum structure; not steel. All the brackets in the world won't harden it enough.

So, good intentioned regulations might sound good in theory, but in practice, they're a pain in the ass and often unnecessary.

 

[BrianNole09]

The snow is coming down heavier now. It's getting worse.

 

[naturalmwa]

I had a screened porch added to my house years ago, and the building inspector made the contractor install more brackets and through-bolts, claiming that the new standards will keep the structure from getting torn up in hurricanes and throwing aluminum missiles all over the neighborhood.

Wilma laughed at the extra brackets and through-bolts. It's an aluminum structure; not steel. All the brackets in the world won't harden it enough.

So, good intentioned regulations might sound good in theory, but in practice, they're a pain in the ass and often unnecessary.

Sounds like you're backpedaling from what you typed after realizing what you said. This is a common pattern with cons. They identify a problem and a solution. Libs agree, then the cons deny the problem and solution they just identified. It must be hell having a split personality, but Obamacare expanded access to mental health.

No, we still have way too many unburied power lines, but buildings have been significantly hardened following building code revisions in the wake of Hurricane Andrew.

 

[The Tradition]

The snow is coming down heavier now. It's getting worse.

Just think warm thoughts.

 

[The Tradition]

Sounds like you're backpedaling from what you typed after realizing what you said. This is a common pattern with cons. They identify a problem and a solution. Libs agree, then the cons deny the problem and solution they just identified. It must be hell having a split personality, but Obamacare expanded access to mental health.

What happens is cons and libs agree on some sort of regulation usually as the result of some sort of knee-jerk response to a crisis (e.g. Hurricane Andrew) and the results are sometimes good and sometimes not.

 

[naturalmwa]

What happens is cons and libs agree on some sort of regulation usually as the result of some sort of knee-jerk response to a crisis (e.g. Hurricane Andrew) and the results are sometimes good and sometimes not.

 

[hawkcub]

What happens is cons and libs agree on some sort of regulation usually as the result of some sort of knee-jerk response to a crisis (e.g. Hurricane Andrew) and the results are sometimes good and sometimes not.

Did Tradition just make a thread about the weather political?

 

[The Tradition]

Did Tradition just make a thread about the weather political?

No, it was natural who did that.

 

[N_fuego]

Who's Wilma?

 

[The Tradition]

Who's Wilma?

 

[lucas80]

Who's Wilma?

A quarter of the grandma's in Iowa if your heritage is German.

 

[KitingHigh]

Sounds like you're backpedaling from what you typed after realizing what you said. This is a common pattern with cons. They identify a problem and a solution. Libs agree, then the cons deny the problem and solution they just identified. It must be hell having a split personality, but Obamacare expanded access to mental health.

It wasn't regulations that lead to buried power lines. It was the free market. As trad mentioned, many regulations are onerous and useless. While some are OK, those are often the ones that would get implemented regardless. Of course there is a happy medium, but we are on the side of too much regulation right now and there doesn't seem to be proper balance coming anytime soon, which is bad for everyone.

 

[KitingHigh]

No, we still have way too many unburied power lines, but buildings have been significantly hardened following building code revisions in the wake of Hurricane Andrew.

I rode out Wilma and the eye passed over my house (first time I've ever experienced that).

Wilma and Sandy were both Cat 3 storms (not sure if Sandy was Cat. 3 at landfall... Wilma was Cat 3 and strengthening at landfall).

Anyway, we did lose power for about a week, but damage was limited to pool cages being torn down, the occasional broken window, and people with older roofs needed new ones. We had replaced ours the year before and it stood up wonderfully. But overall, you didn't see anything like New Jersey, even though storm strength was similar.

One thing you don't think about: windows and sliding glass doors require gravity to cause rain to weep away outside the house. When there are 100 mile-an-hour winds blowing rain at the window, the water gets pushed under the window and sprays into the house! Wilma was relatively weak and I wasn't going to bother covering the windows until she quickly grew late the afternoon before she hit, so I didn't have time to screw all the plywood up.

Sandy was a cat three when she hit Cuba. She was a cat 1 and barely a hurricane at all when she hit New Jersey.

 

[jellyfish10]

Just out of curiosity, do most of you Iowa folks have snow tires?

Absolutely not. Balla is wrong.

 

[Wendy79]

Absolutely not. Balla is wrong.

I think I know one person who has a set of snow tires.

I have all season, plus my car has traction control and a manual shifting option.

 

[artradley]

Sandy was a cat three when she hit Cuba. She was a cat 1 and barely a hurricane at all when she hit New Jersey.

Not sure what your point is. It was a cat 2 when it was off the coast, which caused major flooding; and flooding was the main problem.

The other problem was power lines surrounded by very large, very old trees. This caused highly localized power outages that affected millions and took weeks to resolve. We had trees fall on both sides of our house, taking down the power lines and leaving us unable to even drive away because the streets were blocked.

If you have no power for four weeks, you don't really care what category the storm was.

 

[Pepperman]

Kiting doesn't understand the northeast, just leave it at that.

 

[SCHawkFan]

As we all know, hurricanes are not all about the wind. Damage comes from flooding and storm surge. Sandy was a huge problem because of the water pushed into New York Bay.

The storm this weekend obviously was a big snow event for cities not quite used to so much snow at once, but it was also hurricane like because of coastal flooding. The wind combined with a very high tide under a full moon caused more flooding than Sandy in many areas.

 

[The Tradition]

As we all know, hurricanes are not all about the wind. Damage comes from flooding and storm surge. Sandy was a huge problem because of the water pushed into New York Bay.

The storm this weekend obviously was a big snow event for cities not quite used to so much snow at once, but it was also hurricane like because of coastal flooding. The wind combined with a very high tide under a full moon caused more flooding than Sandy in many areas.

Well, I'll respond to that the same way people respond to Floridians who complain about ridiculously high home insurance premiums: don't build in flood zones.

 

[KitingHigh]

Kiting doesn't understand the northeast, just leave it at that.

Wrong.

I really dont understand why y'all are trying to argue with me. I simply stated undisputed verifiable facts. I never said that the Northeast was bad because they weren't prepared or that the way the place is developed makes it less capable of withstanding a storm. I also said if we were hit with the births usual equivalent we'd be screwed. I assure you though that having lived and worked extensively in the Northeast, I have a very good understanding of it. Having lived most of my life in Florida and studying and now teaching weather, I have a far greater than average knowledge of tropical storms. Sorry if it bothers you, but Sandy simply wasn't a system that was going to do much damage if it hit Florida even though it actually would have been a stronger storm the. It was when it hit the Northeast. This isn't debatable, and it isn't any different than winter storms wreaking havoc in the South when the equivalent weather wouldn't cause much harm in the North. Y'all are simple being obtuse for the sake of it.

 

[tarheelbybirth]

Not sure what your point is. It was a cat 2 when it was off the coast, which caused major flooding; and flooding was the main problem.

The other problem was power lines surrounded by very large, very old trees. This caused highly localized power outages that affected millions and took weeks to resolve. We had trees fall on both sides of our house, taking down the power lines and leaving us unable to even drive away because the streets were blocked.

If you have no power for four weeks, you don't really care what category the storm was.

Without going back and reading the entire thread, I think the point is that Sandy would have been a far less serious storm had it made landfall along the Gulf Coast since they are far better prepared for such storms. A storm with a 6-foot storm surge and 80 mph winds barely raises an eyelid down here. So the idea that the north or midwest can laugh at the south when it comes to snowstorms gets flipped.

edit: Except I don't know anyone down here who was laughing at NJ or NY when Sandy hit.

 

[CJBauer]

4 and a half hours to shovel/snow blower our driveway and sidewalk today... 32 to 38 inches all the way down to the 4 ft of plowed in crap from the street...

 

[The Tradition]

4 and a half hours to shovel/snow blower our driveway and sidewalk today... 32 to 38 inches all the way down to the 4 ft of plowed in crap from the street...

I blew some leaves off my driveway.

 

[KitingHigh]

I blew some leaves off my driveway.

I hosed a few off one of the yachts.

 

[artradley]

4 and a half hours to shovel/snow blower our driveway and sidewalk today... 32 to 38 inches all the way down to the 4 ft of plowed in crap from the street...

I paid our yard people $125 to do it. So I spent the day watching basketball and wrestling.