I hope all our Texan members are safe and well (Feb 2023)

What I have been through a tropical storm a typhoon hit Guam when I was in the Navy we left port to ride it out now go through one on a ship. In our racks that’s were we sleep in they have a strap you attach from the bottom to the top so if your sleeping in a good roll it keeps you from rolling out of you rack to prevent injury. Learned to use it in that typhoon. No one was allowed on main deck so you don’t get washed into the sea. Our motor whale boat the pelican hook that secures it broke loose being the low man they tied a rope around me through me out the hatch to rescuer it. Was a rough ride and it was a large ship.

I also sailed through a couple typhoons out of Guam. Both times were a terrible experience. First one was early 2000s. I was stationed on a submarine and because we were only visiting Guam, or water space was some 65 nautical miles out and necessitated us sailing through the typhoon. As you might imagine, it was very, very rough. There was little relief when we seemed to be through the worst of it but the pooping seas on the back end made for -at that time - the most miserable sailing experience I'd ever experienced and my first underway on the ship years before was a sortie out of Pearl Harbor due to heavy weather. The rocking and rolling was so bad then I remember seeing the screw come out of the water on the periscope camera.

Yeah, we took some big waves off of Guam. Couple caused massive columns of water to come down the bridge trunk access hatch. This wetted equipment all over the place and through multiple levels. As an electrician, my division was cleaning up from that mess for months afterwards as the hidden water would dry out and begin corroding connections and equipment. No food, not that any of us were looking forward to a large meal. Bread, cold cuts, cheese if your lucky, chips if your lucky, maybe crackers and peanut butter, paper plates if you wanted one, water, and coffee. The captain considered moving the watch below and shutting the bridge hatch but that brings it's own level of danger.

Sweet relief when we heard the OOD had shifted his watch to control and then later, the order to dive the ship was given. You have no idea the waves of pleasure that washed over me. You don't realize how much effort and energy you expend keeping yourself righted or in a chair or upright in that type of weather until you get under it. So smooth.

Unfortunately, Guam was a much busier place a few years later. We sailed for two days on the surface to get to our area. That was worst underway ever. Again, you just don't realize how tiring it is until it's over. Really strange. The fact is, a modern high-performance submarine is not made for surface transits. You knew it was going to be bad when still at depth but coming up to periscope depth, you could already feel the swells.

I'm in NW Austin in a neighborhood built in the 70s and 80s in an oak stand. So there are many old oaks, elms, and pecan trees. At some times Wednesday, standing outside or lying in bed with no power, I would hear branches snap and thud (sometimes boom) to the ground once every minute. Many trees in the neighborhood uprooted from the weight of the ice. Very few houses were spared massive damage to the trees.

I grew up on the gulf coast of Texas and lived through a few hurricanes over a couple of decades. The trees now look worse than what I've ever seen from a hurricane. Thankfully, I haven't seen many homes that were very badly damaged (though of course some were). But it's very sad to see every street lined with huge piles of wood that was a perfectly healthy tree a week ago. I'm amazed that I haven't heard any reports of deaths due to falling trees/limbs - only driving in icy conditions.

Ice storms are no joke. It's been a couple of years since we've had a bad one up here but all it takes is some precipitation and a quick drop in temperature.