Despite the real possibility of Ivan hitting New Orleans (who builds a coastal city below sea level, anyway?), the storm has tracked north and is essentially heading for Mobile, Alabama (much to the chagrin of many, but to the relief of others).
Montgomery is about 140 miles from the Gulf Coast (southeast of the middle dot in AL in the map above), we are in the projected path, and indeed, barring divine intervention of the most dramatic type, we will be whacked starting tonight, but especially between 9am and 3pm central tomorrow–although according to the Weather Channel, the first wave may hit near the intersection of I-65 and I-85 shortly after midnight. We are, it is worth noting, an evacuation site, rather than a place from whence one would need to be evacuated. I suspect that Montgomery hotels are packed tonight (ditto Troy’s).
People around here remember with some horror Hurricane Opal in 1995. I, however, missed that one, having moved here in 1998. I did get to enjoy Georges that year, but it wasn’t too bad—there was quite a bit of rain and wind, and I recall several tornadoes in Pike County (i.e., where Troy is) that afternoon. However, no one mentions that one, it’s all about Opal. Of course, looking at some maps from 1995 and 1998, it appears that Ivan is following a track into Alabama not disimilar from Opal’s, while Georges went mostly though Mississippi.
Opal’s Track
Georges’ Track
As a result, Troy University and Auburn, and various Montgomery colleges and universities all closed today, not to open again until Monday. They have yet to call the Auburn-LSU game that is scheduled to be played at Auburn on Saturday—my guess is that it will eventually be cancelled, but we shall see. Word was that they might play the Alabama game in the afternoon if there were any power-related problems int the Tuscaloosa area.
Indeed, Troy shut down and disconnected it web and mail servers at noon today in anticipation of the lightning and such. I will say that they were a bit panicked at school today—you’d think Troy was on the coast, rather than 100 miles inland. Indeed, current projections have more rain headed for Montgomery than for Troy.
The main concern for those of us inland are tornadoes (Opal spawned 20-something, including one that hit the neighborhood in which I now live) and therefore downed trees (lots of trees around here) and downed power lines. There is a potential for substantial power-outages, so if PoliBlog gets real quiet, you will all know that I am living in the stone age sans the internet.
Montgomery-specific information can be found here.
You ask:
…that would be the French.
Comment by Starshatterer — Wednesday, September 15, 2024 @ 9:27 pm
back then it was above sea level we sank - no joke
Comment by Paul — Wednesday, September 15, 2024 @ 10:24 pm
Dang it Starshatterer, you beat me to it.
Hey Steven stay safe in Troy. I’m up here in Bham - they’re a bit panicked here too, 4 hours from the coast. Be careful.
Comment by Johnny Walker Red — Thursday, September 16, 2024 @ 12:45 am
I mean Montgomery
Comment by Johnny Walker Red — Thursday, September 16, 2024 @ 12:45 am
Thanks–so far, so good.
Comment by Steven Taylor — Thursday, September 16, 2024 @ 9:43 am