Things I learned today as a Midwest transplant to Houston

Hey everyone! Hope you all are doing alright and are safe and dry! I’m completely shaken from this storm and definitely have a new perspective of what living on the Gulf is like. This is just a thought compilation of hurricane things I learned today that I really wish someone would have told me about sooner lol.

• Hurricanes are loud as f**k. Was totally unprepared for the screeching and howling and the sound of my building structure “screaming”, not to mention the ominous thuds of flying objects hitting the wall. I usually love sleeping during storms, but last night was pretty much what I imagine hell sounding like.

• Hurricanes are /long/ as f**k. And apparently this was a pretty quick one. Not counting the row of storms flung off of Beryl the day before, the intense conditions lasted for about 12 hours. A storm anywhere near that intensity in the midwest would be at that strength in one area for /maybe/ 15 minutes and be over.

• It Just Gets Worse. I always thought like the meaty part of the storm would be the worst. I’ve since learned about the “eyewall” and yeah it sucked!!

• Don’t get attached to your fence: four of my eight coworkers in the group chat have lost part or all of their fences. Apparently that’s typical in storms like this.

• Brick is not as impenetrable as it seems. The 8ft brick wall around my apartment entrance crumbled like a stack of legos. Completely eradicated my faith in brick buildings.

I’m amazed that this is a Cat 1. I never want to see another and certainly not a stronger one. Definitely gonna be well on my way out of town before the next one. Feel free to add anything you think is important as well! Hope everyone is safe and recovering, and hope that the cleanup and restoration moves quickly, that s**t was gnarly.