Scoop’s Views

When Hurricane Katrina was heading toward New Orleans, Louisiana just over three years ago, many residents were shoo’ing off warning to evacuate the city and other areas. In the case of Hurricane Gustav, estimates were for severe flooding and possible levy breaks. In essence, pretty much a repeat of Hurricane Katrina. Fortunately, for taxpayers around country, as well as residents of the areas where the hurricane made landfall, the hurricane didn’t live up to its projections.

With Hurricane Ike bearing down on the South Texas to Louisiana coast, evacuation orders for many towns have been issued, including in Galveston, Texas, which saw 16,000 people die in a hurricane in 1901. Galveston now has 15-foot storm walls to protect the city, which is basically bowl-shaped, but the National Hurricane Center and the National Weather Service are saying storm surges could be as high as 20 feet – five feet over the storm walls.

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A string of thunder storms, some producing hail two inches in width, blew through the Delaware Valley today, starting around noon or so, at least in the Far Northeast Philadelphia section of town. It was a storm in the evening that made me stand in awe.

Like many people, I am a sucker for rainbows. Maybe it has something to do with some stories I heard many years ago from an elder Cherokee who has since passed. Maybe it’s because a rainbow is simply beautiful and awesome in its own right. No matter what, they are something fascinating.

Tags: Bustleton, Cherokee, Delaware Valley, double rainbows, dual rainbows, elder, evening rain, evening storms, Far Northeast Philadelphia, flooding, hail, lightning, Northeast Philadelphia, Philly, pots of gold, rainbow, second rainbow, storms, thunder, thunderstorms, Weather