Thanks for the "Heads Up" Niece (Tropical Storm Ike)

I didn't even know it was a Tropical Storm brewing in the Gulf of Mexico until Niece called me and asked was I OK. Then when I turned on the news yesterday and saw then entire bottom half of the state highlighted in "blue" I of course panicked, to Darryl's dismay (he hates the fact that I constantly overreact). So as I concluded "blue" basically meant flooding, I relaxed - I know, I know - but I did! I'm not THAT close to the Gulf, right? We can get North or West quicker than most people who are further south than we are (well that's my theory).


So we went to a movie (logical, right). It was Harry Potter, the last one of the series and base theaters are only $4.50 and it was great! I refuse to pay full price for a movie again...but I digress; and came home to find a flier on our door from management outlining emergency preparedness and evacuation procedures. Now, I must admit, if the locals are starting to "shoot flares" I'm getting a little anxious. But still the atmosphere here is pleasantly calm because the storm is in the southeastern part on state and we are southwestern - but still the flier was too close for comfort. So by tonight or definitely tomorrow's end decisions of evacuation will be surely suggested. Our "Hurricane Preparation Guide and Checklist" is pretty extensive and consists of 3 pages. So we're gonna get a case of MRE's and a case of waters for each of us in addition to the main staples to add to our "kit".

Now for the fun!

Welcome to Mrs. Swann's Geography Class, 

Right now "Tropical Storm Lee" is in SouthEast LA (Louisiana not Los Angeles as many of you thought before - ha) the storm is over over NO (New Orleans). LA is in the shape of a foot See Diagram 1.O @ the tip (or toe of LA) bordering with MS (Mississippi) and sitting out in the Gulf of Mexico (which I read is sometimes referred to as our third coast - the South coast - FUN FACT) the furthest most area of the state. While we are SouthWest LA (a little more North) maybe above the heel @ that part where your shoe can rub if their too big and flop off your foot - ha, but horizontal to the ankle See Diagram 2.0 (Thanks Darryl for the use of your foot) and bordering with TX (Texas). The storm is predicted to possibly ricochet in the Gulf of Mexico possibly gaining strength prior to coming onto land or spin directly onto land at any point in the Gulf of Mexico but in the state of LA...either way we're getting steady rain at the moment and some flooding. We need rain believe me but not this much in such a short span of time - the drought has had horrible affects here. But if it comes directly over us and has gained strength it can obviously cause more damage and spawn tornados.

That concludes your lesson of where the heck Nicki actually lives in relation to civilization! Ha
Any Questions?

Diagram 1.0

Aerial view of Tropical Storm Ike

Diagram 2.0

Louisiana Map (drawn by Nicki with assitance of Darryl's foot). We live in DeRidder.