Tropical Storm Beryl...Day One...

(The radar on the TV at approx. 1:46 PM/EST.  We are in a relatively open pocket as the storm spins in, but by late this afternoon things should be a lot darker and moodier.)

We are going to be having a boisterous visitor over the next few days here on the Georgia Coast.  On many levels I am looking forward to their arrival. Tropical Storm Beryl is...well, she isn't exactly "barreling" towards us as I type this.  The reports say we can start feeling her presence this afternoon (Sunday), but her main arrival is scheduled to begin late tonight.  Here in the U.S., Monday is a Federal Holiday.  Memorial Day is a day to honor all of those fallen men and women who fought in the various wars America has been a part of over these many years.  People celebrate in their own personal ways (visit the graves of loved ones, have/attend ceremonies to celebrate the sacrifice of so many, etc.), but a staple of Memorial Day festivities is the barbecue. I think it's rather obvious that this year's barbecues are going to need to be today, or shelved.  Beryl is going to be a wet one.

(Photo:  Lisa Erin Brown
Dock remains...the tide was pretty low at the time.  Slightly meaner clouds are starting to roll in.)

(Photo:  Lisa Erin Brown
The area below the trees at the marsh
line was like standing in a wind
tunnel.)

I took my first walk to the marshes edge at noon.  For those that have been readers of my blog for awhile, I think it has been established that I am a bit of a storm geek. I love rain, and I love watching the movements of Gaia's mood swings.  The air definitely smells of rain.  The sun, interestingly enough, is beaming down.  I suppose Sol is making as sustained an appearance as it can before Beryl enshrouds us.  Wind has been whipping the coast for hours now, a little calling card of what's to come.  As I walked to the initial spot on most if not all of my walks (the docks remains) the wind was rather strong.  It wasn't Buster Keaton time yet, but it was whipping strongly enough to make my hair come free of the clip I had it twisted up in.  To the right, white clouds and sunlight.  To the left, dark clouds were starting to absorb the white, Beryl's approach starting to show in pockets of various stages of grey.

(A rather fuzzy shot of the road to Tybee.)

Traffic to and from Tybee Island was definitely present, but not very heavy yet.  I expect the number of cars to increase once the rain starts.  Residents need to decide whether or not they want to stay on Tybee or not.  The road that crosses the Bull River is the only means of getting on and off of the island.  In heavy storms, or during the occasional uncommonly high tide, there are sections of that road that get flooded.  The weather reports have issued a Severe Flood Warning that starts at 6:00 PM this evening, and lasts until Tuesday. We haven't had any flooding that has actually reached the condo, so I am seriously doubting that it will be different this time (knocking wood). I can't even imagine what sort of ride the Tybee residents are in for, but if they intend on 'battening down the hatches' for the duration they might want to have a couple of days provisions in stock, and plenty of batteries.

(Photo:  Lisa Erin Brown
The wind off the marsh.  You can't tell so much from this picture, but it was very strong.)

The subject of batteries brings me to the main source of inconvenience that we will most likely be dealing with at some point.  The loss of power.  I have only been through one black out since moving to Savannah, and it lasted for...hmm, I want to say six hours or so.  Can't remember the exact amount of time, but it wasn't long enough to be an extreme inconvenience.  However, it was dark.  Dark as pitch.  After walking around the immediate area here (which was quite creepy as I could literally see nothing except what was in the few feet of flashlight light), it became rather boring.  No TV.  No computer.  Just lots of darkness, and lots of silence.  I have no idea what the wind will be like once the rain sets in, but there will be a considerable amount of lightning.  The lightning shouldn't be a factor through the bulk of the nasty stuff, but until I'm sure that threat is past I will be keeping the computer powered down.  

(Photo:  Lisa Erin Brown)

I am planning to update my rain posts over the next couple of days.  I know many are dreading what Beryl might do to us here, but I am rather excited about the storm.  As I said...rain geek.  If power stays on and we are beyond the lightning phase of the storms, I definitely will be making some more posts.  If things prove nasty and the power goes out, there will be some delays.  

Until next time...