I finally made it back home and all is well with my house...but my community is in shambles. Personally, I was very lucky, but my community wasn't. Almost every city in the parish (parish=county) is underwater. And the parishes to the west (Cameron and Calcasieu) are not only underwater but most of the structures along the coast are completely gone. Not only houses, but telephone poles, electrical lines, etc. It is as if they never existed. Keep in mind, many of the structures along the coast in the region are built on stilts and not slabs.

We are experiencing record heat down here, which adds to the desperation. The high that helped steer Rita also brought record-breaking heat all last week and continues to do so. We have been seeing temps at around 98 degrees with a heat index of 110. Today, we expect 95 with a heat index of 108. Luckily, a cool front is supposed to come in tomorrow and drop our temps considerably. Yea! A bright spot.

I know this is not a chat room, but I had to post what is going on in my neck of the woods. I have been a registered member here since last year and although I am not a weather expert, I have learned so much from all the members here. Because I am a part of this online community, I feel like I have insider information when it comes to the weather. And because of the exchange of knowledge at flhurricane.com during the run-up to Rita, I was fully prepared and knew what to expect. Thank you.

Ricky