01 November, 2022

Hatches Battened

Tropical Storm Lisa will make herself felt in Belize starting tomorrow afternoon.  Will she be a hurricane then?   Almost certainly.  Landfall is estimated to be to our north, so it is unlikely that we will experience hurricane force winds, but we are expecting winds as strong as 50mph and a possible storm surge.  We plan to stay put unless the forecast changes dramatically for the worse.  

These shutters serve as shade awnings under normal conditions.

Inside one of the screened -in verandas with the sheet metal hurricane shutters in place.

The other sea-facing screened in veranda.  It's like being inside a container unit!  The sheet metal panels are numbered because they are custom-fitted.

If you look closely, you can see the hurricane shutters inside the screen.

Our workers got up all of the hurricane shutters, so our hatches are battened except for the few that Dennis and I will put up tomorrow morning.  Everything that could blow away has been moved into sheltered space - kayaks, wheelbarrows, plant stands, etc.  Battery-powered tools are fully charged as are flashlights, power packs for computers and other electronic.  With any luck,  the wild weather will pass overnight Wednesday while we and the dogs are snug inside.

Right now the weather is beautiful.  Hard to imagine that Lisa is just over the horizon.  Our hatches are battened and we are as ready as we can be.  See you in a few days or perhaps longer if the internet goes down.

14 comments:

  1. I'm hoping you stay safe. You certainly have impressive storm precautions in place. Let's hope it's not too long before we hear from you.

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  2. Good Luck! Hopefully, the hurricane will only be mildly felt in your area.

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  3. Thinking of you and hoping for the best!

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  4. Very impressive how prepared you are, and it all looks so elegant. May it pass you by without a scratch.

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  5. Pauliina and AndrewTuesday, 01 November, 2022

    So wonderful to see and hear that you are as ready as you can be! We hear it's likely to be Cat 2 at landfall. We can't wait to hear from you afterwards. We'll be thinking about you and the dogs! Stay safe!

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  6. Good luck! It looks like you're well-prepared! I remember from my years in Florida those surreal, calm and often sunny hours before a hurricane was due to strike.

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  7. Quick update - Lisa has shifted a little north. Lucky for us! The probability we will see winds greater than 40MPH is now just 30%. Looks like the wind will arrive around 2PM local time. It is pretty likely that our internet will go down because the service originates where the impact will be greater, so don't worry if you don't hear from me for a while.

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  8. We are getting 40mph winds in Dorchester, probably 50mph off Portland. What is the plan if you cant stay. Hope you keep safe Wilma.

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  9. I'm glad Lisa shifted and hope she lost strength and didn't do too much damage. You were certainly well prepared. The weather was beautiful here before Ian.

    Love,
    Janie

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  10. Let us know that y'all are ok as soon as you can. Hope no damage to either of you or your property.

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    Replies
    1. this note from Bill Repaske - didn't see that it was going to publish as anonymous

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    2. thanks, Bill. We are good.

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  11. Back online as of a few hours ago. All is fine with us here in the south. But middle and northern Belize took some damage. I'm still not sure how bad the rest of the country is, but friends sent me videos of waves coming over seawalls and into houses. Will post an update tomorrow.

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  12. Glad you have survived the worst of the turbulent weather. Hard to imagine the waves crashing into houses, must be terrifying!

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