Don't Mess With Taxes

Yeah, I know, I've already written not long ago about the crazy convergence of dangerous weather this time of year. I'm repeating myself because threatening weather is keeping me awake at 3 a.m. and I need a diversion.

Thank you for letting me ramble as I await the next storm wave making its way through the region. I promise to add some helpful tips, too, in addition to my weather ranting.

The next batch of heavy rain and wind is heading our way. Good for drought, but not for my nerves!

Water, water everywhere: Weather reports like the one above have been going on since early last evening.

Central Texas rivers and creeks are out of their banks. Bridges have been washed away. Interstate 35 is impassable because of Blanco River flooding. 

Most frightening, cars are being washed away on some roads. And there are reports of people awaiting rescue by helicopter from rooftops, or, as storm watcher Gary Oldham tells us via Twitter, trees! 

Thankfully, no one has been seriously injured. I hope that holds.

We got our share of rain, but even though our neighborhood is along the stretch of the Colorado River known as Lake Austin and we can see it from our upstairs deck, our house isn't situated on the water.

So we don't have to personally worry about all the flood warnings that have been issued, and are continuing to be sent by the National Weather Service, for much of the region.

Twisters, too: But what we did have to worry about earlier Saturday night was the wind. There were several tornado warnings, with our community smack dab in the path of the second alert.

In fact, just as the heaviest part of the storm hit our house (there to the left is what it looked like on my iPhone as it was almost here), our power went out.

Every time this happens, I am reminded how much I love electricity! Thank you Austin Energy technicians for braving the rain and lightning to get us back on line.

In the dark, but ready: Because of our six years in Florida and the two major hurricanes (Jeanne and Frances in 2005) and one minor 'cane we went through, along with more tropical storms than I care to remember, we know about preparing for storm season.

Ice, water, flashlights, personal financial papers in an easy to grab go bag. We have it all on hand.

As the tornado alerts kept coming, I carried our financial material down to our first floor bathroom last night -- it's the most interior ground-floor room in our basement-less house -- and was getting ready to grab the hubby and hunker down there. But we were spared.

Shaken and stirred but thankful: The winds may have been really bad in the clouds the Doppler radar was warning us about, but they never touched down. All we had to deal with was a few hours of darkness and no air conditioning.

Lots of other folks in the Austin area, however, aren't so lucky. They are facing property damage from the historic floods in Central Texas tonight. I hope those who weren't as fortunate can recover quickly.

And I thank you for letting me ramble as this latest storm wave and I finally wind down. Once it passes, I think I'll be able to catch a few winks, even with some occasional chirps from my Weather Bug app.

Get ready now: Tonight's soggy weather could be repeated again this summer if a Gulf of Mexico storm makes landfall in Texas. That's what happened in 2010 with Tropical Storm Hermine.

It's something we'll be thinking about as hurricane season starts on June 1. 

So that you, too, can make it through whatever Mother Nature might throw your way where you live, check out the ol' blog's special Storm Warnings page.

There you'll find posts on pre-storm preparations, recovering from a natural disaster (which includes potential tax help), and ways you can help (again with tax implications) those who need assistance after a catastrophe. 

If you live in Virginia or Louisiana, take advantage of the upcoming hurricane preparation tax holidays to stock up on the supplies you need sans sales tax.

And even if you do have to fork over a few tax dollars to your state's treasury, be sure to get ready for storms. If the worst happens, you'll be glad you did.