we have our first hurricane of the season in the atlantic basin AND it's a major one...

might be a good time to restock your emergency kit...

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My Pep Talk For Lefties and Lurkers

"The NHC forecast Bertha would strengthen into Category 2 hurricane, with winds of 96-110 mph, in about 12 hours, before weakening back into a Category 1 hurricane in about two days."

Bertha strengthens, no threat to Gulf of Mexico | Reuters

So it is expected to get weaker before hitting anything.

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Set your destination with your heart, get there with your mind.

"The wisest men follow their own direction." - Euripides

Category 2????? Stripey calls that a major hurricane? Talk to me when it's a Category 4.

Long-time residents of the region should already know what to do and should always be prepared. If they're not, they deserve whatever happens to them.

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A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.

"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes toward the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

"I'm a panda," he says at the door. "Look it up."

The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.

"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."

It was, for a while, a Cat 3, which is a pretty dangerous storm.

I've been through a few hurricanes that were Cat 1 when they went over me, and those did enough damage as it was. The last one was Isabel. My town lost power. Most of the traffic lights in the area had no power. My neighbor lost a tree, as did many people.

If you'll notice, the report from the National Hurricane Center described Bertha as a "major" hurricane.

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January 20, 2009 - The end of an error.

But within the narrow context of hurricanes, Categories 1 and 2 are minor.

__________________
A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.

"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes toward the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

"I'm a panda," he says at the door. "Look it up."

The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.

"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."

It would be a personal opinion of what is major and what it minor. However, the NHC does classify this one currently as a major one.

__________________
Set your destination with your heart, get there with your mind.

"The wisest men follow their own direction." - Euripides

This is the latest advisory from NHC. It seems that Bertha, which had weakened to a Cat 1, has now strengthened to a Cat 2.

National Hurricane Center

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January 20, 2009 - The end of an error.

If Category 2 is major, I'd hate to see what a Category 4 or 5 are.

__________________
A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.

"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes toward the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

"I'm a panda," he says at the door. "Look it up."

The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.

"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."

They are all "major" (2-5) because they all do large amounts of damage.

__________________
Set your destination with your heart, get there with your mind.

"The wisest men follow their own direction." - Euripides

Even the smallest hurricane does large amounts of damage.

__________________
A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.

"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes toward the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

"I'm a panda," he says at the door. "Look it up."

The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.

"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."