Normally in the events of a natural phenomenon such as a Hurricane, one's first instinct would be to leave the immediate area and or seek shelter in a more fortified building. My family was not always so fortunate on finances or resources of the sort to make an extensive leave of the area, so riding out the storms that did hit us were common place. Others had the luxury of being a distance that prevented hurricanes themselves from harming them. I will attempt to best describe my experiences in such a situation, but I cannot speak precisely for most categories.
Tropical Depression:
A tropical depression is more akin to a regular rainstorm. Best described as a more severe local rainstorm but it usually becomes nothing to write home about in wind speed. It replaces that often with an immense reservoir of rainfall usually leading to flooding in most areas. The clouds as always are a dark grey, with faint patches of white and when observed closely drift on at a slightly accelerated rate.
Category 1-2:
The primary difference between these 2 is the visual intensity and sound of the wind. A category 1 hurricane is often lightly intensive in terms of what most people are used to seeing and carries a darker shade of grey clouds than would be rain storms. A category 2 hurricane seeks to generate small tidbits of sound and generates winds that could potentially begin to knock down some more embedded or fortified land-lines, including some power sources of increased resistance. The rain comes down harder and a dark grey is the norm for the majority of sight.
Category 3:
A category becomes a breaking point for most and with good reason. As mentioned earlier, full blown categorized hurricanes should be avoided by all means necessary to ensure safety. The category 3 is the beginning of a monster. The clouds range from dark grey to pitch-black and winds are constantly making howling noises, and most of the environment around it is rocking violently and repeatedly with power lines and trees easily coming down with almost no effort. I call the 3rd category a breaking point because it begins to do what a stereotypical broadcasted hurricane is known for, which is wreak havoc on a large scale with a combination of factors. When Charley struck FL in 2004, my father was lucky enough to have worked to such a point as to being awarded with keys to the warehouse at which he worked. Coincidentally it became our designated shelter(as we lived in a mobile home at the time). We rode out relatively well, but woke up to shock at just how much Charley was capable of. The warehouse was made of solid concrete, but one of the walls in our unit had partially collapsed without us knowing it!
Meanwhile Across the street, which also sported concrete walls was no longer even standing! Having collapsed in on itself during sometime in our sleep. Going back home several 2+ton trucks were flipped on their sides or backs, and in rare cases, entire homes were gone. Our house curiously enough being next to a large tree, did not suffer much at all, the only damage being a broken window. The house next to us was no longer there in comparison.
Category 4-5:
2 categories I hope I am never ultimately forced to ride out anytime soon, as nothing in my immediate area will protect me from the force of such winds, storm surges or tornadoes.
To those in the path of Irene, never underestimate the potential of these beasts. Their habit of changing in both direction in strength is beauty and death in grace.
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