Recovering from Hurricane Ike

HURRICANES AND WEATHER

Been busy all day just trying to get back to normal. On the right, you'll see the 12 pm 9/15 restoration graphic from Centerpoint. The red is where there are still outages. As of 12 pm, 27% of customers had had power restored. I am also posting a couple pictures of my husband and neighbor trying to fix the fence. And, a view of my neighbors yard and some of our garbage. I am really impressed at how quickly folks in our neighborhood have been cleaning up.

Needless to say folks, if you are waiting to come back in, you might want to wait a little longer. You can't buy groceries if the grocery stores don't have power.

Here in the Sugar Land/Missouri City area, there are still many neighborhoods without power. Went to the store and there was a limit of 1 gallon of milk per family. I thought they had run out, but a worker was handing out 1/2 gallons from a box. There were no eggs left. There was butter. There was some large volume packages of meat and cold cuts, but no hamburger. There were a few packages of hot dogs. There was some produce and bread, but in limited quantities. Potatoes were available but just as individual potatoes.

Hey, here's a bright note, Starbuck's was open in the store.

Also, gas lines are long. So gas up before you get back into town. And if you're already here, try to conserve gas.

Ice was going fast as many still without power. Thank goodness it is cooler and less humid.

More restaurants opened today.

The forecast for the next few days...pleasant, cool mornings in the low 60s (some upper 50s outlying areas) and highs in the low to middle 80s...lots of sunshine. More humidity returns on the weekend with a few showers.

In the tropics, nice and quiet.

SPANISH WORD(S) FOR THE DAY
I thought it would be helpful to have these 2 words (well one is a short sentence)...to help which is ayudar (pronounced eye-you-dar) and help me which is ayúdame (pronounced ah-ju-dah-may). It is kind of hard to explain but the y has kind of a soft j sound. We should try to help (ayudar) each other and when we need help, we should say help me (ayúdame).

AND MORE
I am really impressed at how quickly folks in our neighborhood have been cleaning up. And for the most part, everyone is being very nice and very patient.

Be kind and be safe.

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Some relief in the wake of Hurricane Ike

Hello all -
The cold front has arrived and it is a pleasant night in the Houston area. This week's drier weather will surely help the crews who are working so hard to restore power. It will also help rescuers who still hope to find people okay. And it will help with the cleanup.

Things are a mess...it get's worse as you go east and toward the coast.

Here in the Sugar Land/Missouri City/Stafford area, things are slowly improving. There are still many neighborhoods without power. A few grocery stores, restaurants and gas stations are open. If you are heading in, I would suggest filling up about an hour or so outside of town. And, maybe pick up some groceries at that distance as well...there are slim pickings here. I tried to get some eggs tonight, but there weren't any. Keep in mind, that it is going to take some time for things to get back to normal.

It's interesting how things look on the other side of a storm's impact. You realize just how many creature comforts we enjoy and how painful it is not to have them.

I hope everyone is safe. I am grateful to all the heroes: the utility workers, the insurance adjusters, the weather folks, the media--on air and behind the scenes, the emergency management people, law enforcement, fire personnel, paramedics, doctors, nurses, medical assistants, restaurant workers (who are in many places already back in place), grocery workers, convenience store workers. And I'm sure I've missed some. But, if you have worked hard and extra during all of this...thank you so much!!! Your efforts are not in vain.

Goodnight...tomorrow I'll be back with my old format.

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman