Hurrican Sanday

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Bryce

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 10, 2011
Posts
60
We are currently staying in a RV park South of D.C.  I sounds like Hurrican Sandy is going to hit the east coast pretty hard, we've decided to travel to Waynesboro VA, we aren't sure yet if this will be far enough inland.  Since we are from California this is all new to us and pretty scarry, if anyone has any comments or any ideas how far inland we should go to at least be away from the strong winds, rain and snow ok but not 65mph winds. We are in a 35ft motorhome towing.

Thanks, will be intouch
 
A lot will depend on the track of the storm. If it makes landfall and continues inland, it could cause significant damage well away from the coast. In the past areas like Pikeville, KY; Charleston, WV; and Harrisburg, PA have sustained a lot of damage from hurricanes much of it caused by the flooding of rivers and streams.

Right now the forecast for Waynesboro is just for three days of rain with winds in the 25MPH range. Looks like going further West will get you into more days of wet/cold weather. If you do not have a good reason to stay in Waynesboro heading Southwest to Knoxville looks like it would get you clear of the currently predicted effects of the storm.

We are headed back East and will wait and watch in the areas around Memphis and Louisville before continuing East.
 
    Trying to out-guess the path of any storm on the East coast is always impossible.  All you can do is find what seems to be the safest spot (and that's usually as far inland as possible), stay away from tall trees or obvious debris that the wind will pick up, and PRAY.  We got rousted from Salisbury State Park, on the ocean, by Huricane Andrew, we drove to Fairfield Maine, but still had the heavy winds and rain.  But we suffered no damage.
    Good luck

Ed
 
Inland is good - the winds won't be that bad inland. But the rains are likely to be torrential, so make sure you aren't camped on low ground near water. In western Virginia, where the valleys are steep and the ground mostly rock, little creeks can become a raging torrent several feet deep.
 
Where you are it is a catch 22.  The further inland you move the safer from wind and rain you will be but more likely to hit snow.  I was in western NC last year when a hurricane went up the coast and there was still a little bit of wind. 

I put this one group of tubers in the river and came back an hour later to put in another group and the first group got out because they hadn't moved down river. 

Waynesboro is very hilly and as long as you are not under a canopy of trees or at the top of one of the mountains exposed to the wind you should be fine.  Not sure about snow this time of year there, but nothing would stick.  The ground is too warm.  Obviously don't stay in a campground on a stream, river  or lake.  Check the genny is good to go and fuel up early, there is always a run on things before these storms. 
 
Personally I'd move farther South and West..  The current thinking is it MIGHT hit DC and if you are close enough to hear Radio or watch TV out of DC you are too close.

One thought comes to me,, How much taxpayer money will be saved if Congress takes a few storm days off? (And no, since this applies to any and all congresses, Democrat, Reublician or other controlled, it's not a political statment, it's an "Equal oppertounity annoyer".. It is also a joke since Congress will waste no time making up for lost time).
 
That far inland, you should be fine.  The worst you'll typically get that far in is tropical storm winds and a lot of rain.  I live in Maryland and right now I'm in the storm's bulls eye.

My suggestions:
      1) stay on high ground away from rivers and streams that could swell
      2) stay away from trees and power lines that could fall on you or your camper
      3) fill your tanks (water, gas, propane) in case you get stuck somewhere (typically caused by downed trees/swollen steams)
      4) make sure your emergency radio is working
      5) get a good book
 
I just heard part of a Sandy weather forecast in which they mentioned West Virginia perhaps getting as much as two feet of snow in places.  Personally, I would head inland and keep my eye on all the weather forecasts.  RVs don't do very well in extremely high winds.  You got good advice about staying on high ground.  I would add this.  Do not to try to cross swollen rivers or creeks if the water is covering the roadbed.  We were once dodging tornadoes in the NE Arkansas area and trying to zigzag west.  We crossed a very high Arkansas River and later heard that a lady who drove across it soon after us was swept away.  She and several of her kids died.  The bridge still was not covered with water when we crossed, but apparently 15 minutes later the river was over the bridge and she took a chance.  We were lucky.

ArdraF
 
ArdraF said:
I just heard part of a Sandy weather forecast in which they mentioned West Virginia perhaps getting as much as two feet of snow in places.  Personally, I would head inland and keep my eye on all the weather forecasts.  RVs don't do very well in extremely high winds.  You got good advice about staying on high ground.  I would add this.  Do not to try to cross swollen rivers or creeks if the water is covering the roadbed. We were once dodging tornadoes in the NE Arkansas area and trying to zigzag west.  We crossed a very high Arkansas River and later heard that a lady who drove across it soon after us was swept away.  She and several of her kids died.  The bridge still was not covered with water when we crossed, but apparently 15 minutes later the river was over the bridge and she took a chance.  We were lucky.

ArdraF

I concur but will add for the DP's like mine..my air intake is down low on the side...it would ba a bad day to suck water in that baby..

George
 
if I were you, I'd head SW as soon as possible, as fast as you can.  Between the jet stream, the hurricane just off shore and a high pressure cell over Greenland, the eastern US is going to get hit hard... the predictions are scarrrry... Since you are mobile, go for it!

West is looking better, high ground is better... if you leave now, you could probably get 700-1000 miles in 2 days.
 
One more thing, withdraw plenty of cash, ATM and other charge card readers may be out of operation due to no electricity.
 
There is a KOA in Harpers Ferry, not sure of availability, however it's a big place, way less than the 2500' that is supposed to be a problem with snow.  We are supposed to get rain and wind here in Charles Town WV, however should not be as severe as near the coast.  We are 1hr from N. Virginia, about 80mi from D.C.
 
Thanks for the advice, we are currently in Waynesboro at a campground.  The local news is that we will probably get winds at 30-35mph and lots of rain.

We'll be waiting out the storm here.  I sure hope we made the right decision.
 
30-35 is not worth worrying about, I've had that many times.. Had 100+ once,  Now that shook me up a bit (Though it was nice when I was on the freeway, You see, it was absolutly dead astern.. I mean I was pushing 14mpg that day.. Or rather it was pushing me that hard,, No control issues since it was on my strongest aspect).
 
jje1960 said:
There is a KOA in Harpers Ferry, not sure of availability, however it's a big place, way less than the 2500' that is supposed to be a problem with snow.  We are supposed to get rain and wind here in Charles Town WV, however should not be as severe as near the coast.  We are 1hr from N. Virginia, about 80mi from D.C.

Harper's Ferry is known for some fantastic flooding over the years given its location at the point where the Potomac and the Shenandoah rivers merge.  Even though the Harper's Ferry KOA is right on the Shenandoah, I believe the campground is well above the river's flood stage. 
 
We will be riding out the storm at the Fam Camp at Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, MA. Hope all goes well as this is our first such storm in a motor home. Hopefully it won't be too bad for anyone....Alan
 
A few years ago our corp. folks in Cincinnati call us to engage a emergency plan for the coming hurricane. We were already as the Gillette plant is on the harbor and storms do flood the parking lot.
The storm switch direction and headed inland around VA and Cincinnati headquarters was without power for three or four days. Going inland is not always the answer, and HLF_CND has said its not easy to guess the track. Stay high and enjoy the sights.
Jim
 
30 mph is scary enough and will rattle your slide toppers and maybe rock the rig in gusts. You can bring in slides on the windward side if the gusts are affecting it too much - that reduces the corner pockets that seem to trap the wind. 

At 30 mph, tree limbs can fall, but a heavily wooded area also blokes the wind substantially, so it's a toss up as to avoiding trees vs seeking them.

Flooding would be my main concern - ask the park staff about areas of the park that can flood in storms.

We rode out a hurricane in the Harrisburg PA area last September and it was no real problem except that a fallen tree took out all the power to the park.

Good luck to you all.
 
Back
Top Bottom