In fact, it is quiet throughout Beaumont, Texas, save for the giant parking lots that are Interstate 10 East and the Eastex Freeway. The order to begin evacuating Beaumont started roughly 90 minutes ago. Here is the official National Weather Service forecast for Jefferson and Orange counties in Texas and Cameron Parish, Louisiana:
“FRIDAY…RAIN LIKELY AND NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS IN THE MORNING…
THEN OCCASIONAL RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS IN THE AFTERNOON. STRONG
WINDS. RAIN MAY BE HEAVY AT TIMES. HIGHS AROUND 90. NORTHEAST
WINDS 20 TO 40 MPH INCREASING TO 30 TO 55 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON.
CHANCE OF RAIN 80 PERCENT.
FRIDAY NIGHT…OCCASIONAL RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS. HURRICANE
FORCE WINDS. RAIN MAY BE HEAVY AT TIMES. LOWS IN THE UPPER 70S.
NORTHEAST WINDS 50 TO 65 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 80 MPH BECOMING
EAST AND INCREASING TO 60 TO 90 MPH AFTER MIDNIGHT.
SATURDAY…OCCASIONAL RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS. HURRICANE FORCE
WINDS. RAIN MAY BE HEAVY AT TIMES. HIGHS IN THE MID 80S. SOUTH
WINDS 50 TO 95 MPH DECREASING TO 35 TO 70 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON.
CHANCE OF RAIN 80 PERCENT.”
“Decreasing to 35 to 70 mph.” That sounds like it’s just a gentle breeze compared to the 60 to 90 mph after midnight.
I am still unsure where I am going. Well, I am not going to Sabine Pass or Bolivar Peninsula or Galveston. That’s for sure! And I plan on going north. But that is about all I know for the time being. I was thinking about going to my brother’s place about 60 miles northeast in Newton County. Now they’ve got a mandatory evacuation. I still think I’d rather face a 100+ mph wind gust there than a 90-mph sustained wind here. At some point in time I will load up the wagon and ride. But I might as well fret a little more.