Calm Before The Storm

Woke up to find a calm atmosphere, and cooler temperatures (mid-70's finally). At dawn, the sky had quite a few high clouds, but they looked like they were stretched out, from SW to NE. I guess these are the outer bands of the storm. By 10:30am, this is how our sky looked (viewing SW):


Cheryl, Ashley, and I got up for a nice morning run. Cheryl ran 3 miles, Ash pulled in 4 miles, and I (still in marathon training, remember) did my weekly long run of 9 miles. This will be my last single digit long run until the marathon in January. From here on out, it's 11s, 14s, 17s, and even three 20-milers.. yikes...

I ran my last six miles this morning on our neighborhood's spiffy golf course. Since it's closed today, it was empty and very peaceful. It's located right along Cypress Creek, which will be the first place to flood tonight. It's very likely that the miles I logged today will be underwater tomorrow....

We're really saddened by the bus fire this morning that apparently killed 20-24 senior citizens from Houston. Their community, Bellaire, is right next to our alma mater, Rice University. This is so tragic. We've also heard stories of people having died from carbon monoxide poisoning while stuck in traffic, and also from heat exhaustion.

This morning it looks like traffic along US290 is moving faster. I'd say 20-30 mph. That's a good sign. We plan to drive over to the shopping center to see if people are still stranded. Maybe we can offer some water to them.

Some neighbors are putting tape on their windows:

The theory is to keep the glass from shattering all over the place, but yesterday I also heard that this theory has been debunked lately. Who knows...

Tonight we've decided that Cheryl and I will probably sleep in her closet, and the girls will sleep in Brooke's closet. How cozy, but we'll be sheltered from the risk of any flying glass or projectiles. Since the storm looks like it is still headed east of us, the winds will be not so bad.

I'll try for more updates later. Hey, I'd be interested to know what the coverage is like elsewhere in the country. Is the rest of the country watching this unfold, or is it localized around Texas / Lousiana. What is the word on the street out there? What are people thinking about our stranded motorist crisis? Love to hear your thoughts.

until later,
greg