Preparing for Hurricane Emily

It looks like Emily has become the strongest July hurricane on record in the Atlantic. She has become a category 4 hurricane with winds of 155 mph. So far, the Rio Grande Valley is in her projected path for Wednesday. Of course, she could always change course and hit to the North or the South of us. If she hits South, we can expect some heavy rain. If she hits to the North, we will have rain but not as much. Of course, if she comes straight for Brownsville, it will be the first hit since the 1960's. From what we hear from people who were around back then, there was waist deep flooding throughout the Rio Grande Valley. Let it serve as a reminder that we live in a valley. On a good note, our drainage has improved considerably since the 1960's.

Local stores are already preparing the necessary goods for people to prepare for the storm. Commonly, you can expect to need water, batteries, canned goods or dry goods, and for good measure, fuel up your vehicle. Your vehicle can serve as an electric generator if you plug in a power inverter. You can do something as simple as light up a main room at home to running appliances with a really powerful inverter.

For now, only time will tell if we will get a direct hit or just lots of rain. We'll be watching and waiting.