Hurricane Harvey Hits Austin

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably seen the damage and destruction that Hurricane Harvey has done to Texas. Fortunately, where I live in Austin has fared pretty well and it's almost back to business as usual (minus the gas shortages). Other parts of the state have not been as fortunate and are still recovering. I'm really hoping for the best for these areas. This blog entry will go over what I experienced in Austin and I'll probably continue to have updates, as this is definitely an ongoing situation.

On Friday August 25th, we were let out of work at 3:00PM due to the weather. That meant I got to get out of work an hour early, but I made it home just in time for it to start to pour.

View from a balcony showing dense green tree canopy under overcast rainy skies with distant hills visible through the mist

The weather did not look good on my phone.

Weather app screenshot showing Austin, Texas at 75°F with thunderstorm warning and feels like 75° temperature display Weather radar map showing mixed precipitation systems across Texas and surrounding states, dated 8/25/17 at 3:25 PM Weather alerts screen displaying Hurricane Local Statement and Flash Flood Watch warnings for Austin, Texas area

I decided it would be smart to go to HEB and get some bottled water in case the water at the apartment went out. I see as lot of other people had the same idea, as I could barely find a parking spot.

Wet parking lot packed with cars in front of H-E-B grocery store under dark storm clouds Crowded H-E-B parking lot with numerous vehicles and shoppers walking between cars under overcast sky H-E-B parking lot filled with cars, shoppers visible walking through the lot on wet pavement

They actually put pallets of water in the aisles and were rationing it to make sure everyone got some.

Crowded H-E-B grocery store aisle with many shoppers and partially depleted shelves during hurricane preparation Empty store shelves with orange sign reading ATTN: H-E-B Customers regarding purchase limits for Hurricane Harvey preparation Pallet of water bottle cases arranged in a square formation like a fort on the store floor Orange sign stating water purchase limits at H-E-B: Limit 4 on any/all 24 pack water and Limit 4 on any/all gallon or 2.5 water in preparation for Hurricane Harvey

The lines were very long and they had every register open.

Long lines of shoppers with full carts waiting at H-E-B checkout counters

I got through the line and then got my water home.

Cases of Texas Spring Water (24-pack) and gallon jugs on carpeted floor

Victoria came home and we went to Costco to get more water and other supplies. The weather wasn't too bad at the time. Costco actually sold out of water (well they had some really expensive brand name stuff, but beyond that no other water).

Dark ominous storm clouds over apartment complex parking lot with parked vehicles Threatening gray storm clouds looming over apartment buildings and parking area with mature trees Costco warehouse interior showing massive pallets of FIJI and other water brands stacked high on industrial shelving Wide view of Costco warehouse aisles with towering shelves of water and other supplies, shoppers with large carts

I knew Dollar Tree would have some water, so we went there and they actually did have a bunch of it. They also had extra batteries and things we needed in case the power went out. I guess people don't think of Dollar Tree as a place to stock up on hurricane supplies. One thing you don't have to worry about price gouging there since everything is a dollar and the price is clearly in their name.

Dollar Tree store exterior under dramatic dark storm clouds approaching Ominous dark gray storm clouds above Dollar Tree building facade Dollar Tree shelves stocked with Crystal Geyser gallon water jugs during hurricane preparation shopping Shopping cart at Dollar Tree containing four gallon water jugs during hurricane preparation

After Dollar Tree, we got home and had enough water to last us a week if we really needed to go that long.

Collection of water supplies on carpeted floor including Texas Spring Water 24-pack and multiple gallon jugs

It did look like the storm was ready to hammer down on us when we were sitting at home. Luckily, we were fully prepared to sit it out for a while.

Weather radar map at 9:08 PM on 8/25/17 showing Hurricane Harvey's massive spiral approaching Texas Gulf Coast

The next morning, it wasn't raining too bad, but the storm was getting closer.

Dark ominous clouds hanging low over dense green tree canopy with apartment buildings barely visible in background Weather app displaying 72°F with rain conditions and wind speed of 13 mph in Austin, Texas at 10:37 AM Weather radar at 10:35 AM on 8/26/17 showing Hurricane Harvey centered over Texas coastal region with intense rain bands

We decided to brave the storm and go to Taco Cabana to get something to eat. It wasn't raining super hard, but it was hard enough that you couldn't really see the writing on the sign in the picture I took. The light up sign was saying not to go to the Texas coast and to watch for flooding.

Rain-covered windshield view of highway with blurred road signs during heavy precipitation Torrential rain covering car windshield with parking lot and vehicles barely visible through heavy droplets View through rain-drenched windshield of street intersection with Harris Ln sign visible Bright pink and yellow commercial building entrance with glass doors viewed through rain-spotted car windshield Mexican food combination plate with taco, enchilada, refried beans, Spanish rice, taquito, and taco salad shell Restaurant interior view looking out floor-to-ceiling windows at empty rain-soaked outdoor patio with metal tables and chairs Dense pattern of raindrops completely covering car window with blurred parking lot scene beyond Highway driving view in rain with overpass ahead and dark storm clouds overhead Rainy highway scene with overhead electronic sign reading TURNS ONLY and wet pavement

When we made it home, there were a lot of leaves on the ground and the radar was still saying we had a lot of storm left.

Apartment complex parking lot with numerous parked vehicles under mature shade trees after rainfall Flooded apartment parking lot with standing water covered in floating leaves and storm debris Weather radar at 1:30 PM showing Hurricane Harvey's intense circular rain bands engulfing coastal and central Texas Foggy rainy landscape with misty hills visible through green tree canopy Weather radar at 3:15 PM on 8/26/17 displaying Hurricane Harvey's heavy precipitation bands over Austin region Weather radar at 3:15 PM showing Hurricane Harvey's extensive spiral rain bands centered over coastal Texas Weather app displaying 71°F with thunderstorms warning and 13 mph wind speed at 3:19 PM in Austin, Texas Weather radar at 5:15 PM on 8/26/17 showing Hurricane Harvey maintaining position over Texas Gulf Coast Overcast rainy day view from balcony overlooking lush green tree canopy with distant apartment buildings

Eventually, the power started to flicker on and off and we fully lost power for 30 minutes. We played Uno in the meantime.

Darkened room interior with window blinds open showing view of green trees and buildings outside Dim dining room with wooden table and chairs, bookshelf, and bright sliding glass door overlooking balcony UNO card game in progress on wooden table showing blue reverse card, draw pile, and player's hand Dusk view over dense tree canopy under gray storm clouds with apartment buildings visible in background

During the middle of the night, I was awoken by a flash flood warning. I guess they do do a good job with the phones alerting everything. The power also went on and off a few times throughout the night. Overall, I slept alright.

Weather alerts screen displaying Wind Advisory, Flash Flood Watch, Areal Flood Advisory, and Hurricane Local Statement Weather radar at 1:30 AM on 8/27/17 showing Hurricane Harvey's persistent rain bands across Texas region Emergency Alert notification on phone screen warning of Flash Flood Warning in effect until 5:00 AM CDT

The next morning on Sunday, it did rain a decent amount, but it wasn't horrible. We ended up braving it to go to Whole Foods to pick up some food for the week. Whole Foods is less than half a mile from my apartment, so it was a close trip there.

Rain-soaked landscape with misty green tree canopy and apartment buildings obscured by precipitation Weather app showing 70°F with rain and 12 mph winds at 11:08 AM in Austin, Texas Weather radar at 11:05 AM on 8/27/17 displaying Hurricane Harvey's massive rain coverage across Texas Overhead view of wet apartment parking lot littered with fallen leaves and storm debris around parked vehicles Aerial view of parking spaces showing vehicles covered in wet leaves between landscaped planting beds Rain-drenched windshield view of apartment buildings through heavy water droplets and streaks Windshield completely covered in raindrops with red vehicle barely visible through heavy precipitation Multi-level indoor parking garage filled with vehicles under concrete ceiling supported by yellow columns Crowded parking garage interior with tightly parked vehicles, slight motion blur suggesting movement

It didn't seem too bad in our area of town, but it was definitely still cloudy and you never knew what could happen. We made it home and stayed put the rest of the night.

Dense green tree canopy under dark gray storm clouds with apartment buildings visible in the distance Overcast gray sky with low cloud cover hanging over green trees and distant buildings Weather radar at 8:55 PM on 8/27/17 showing Hurricane Harvey's rain bands continuing along Texas Gulf Coast Weather app displaying 68°F with 60% chance of light rain and 13 mph winds at 7:41 AM in Austin, Texas

By morning, it looked like everything was past us. It looked like Houston was still going to get hammered for a while, but it was business as usual in Austin. They did open the office at 10am, so I got a late start there, but beyond that you could tell it was starting to clear up a bit.

Weather radar at 7:40 AM on 8/28/17 showing Hurricane Harvey's rain system positioned along the Gulf Coast Clearing skies with gray clouds overhead above dense green tree canopy and apartment buildings

What surprised me when I got to work was the fact that there were only 2 offices down from a network connectivity perspective. We had a bunch of offices around Houston closed, but our monitoring system only showed 2 down. 1 office was Victoria and it appears the whole Victoria area was without internet.

Computer screen displaying Suddenlink outage map with large red zone centered over Victoria, Texas area

When I got home from work, there were blue skies! The temperatures were also pretty reasonable, so it actually felt pretty nice.

Beautiful blue sky with scattered white clouds above lush green tree canopy and distant apartment buildings Weather app showing 81°F with 50% chance of light rain and 8 mph winds at 5:03 PM in Austin Weather radar at 5:00 PM on 8/28/17 showing diminished rain system over Texas Gulf Coast region Sunset view with pink and blue streaked clouds over green tree canopy and hilltop apartment buildings

Overall, Austin got spared from this storm. We were extremely fortunate that we only got about 10-12 inches of rain and had some winds, but didn't see the massive flooding or damage other parts of the state did. It really sucks seeing places like Houston that were completely devastated by the storms. I'm hoping everything can get back to normal as soon as possible. I think it might be a while.

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