KISD, and the generalized hurricane weirdness in Katy

Monday morning, September 1st 2008 in Katy, Texas. Schools are out and (many) businesses are closed — not because of the hurricane, but because it’s Labor Day. So what arrives in my email this morning?
A “Hurricane Preparedness Bulletin” from Katy Independent School District. They’re at “Readiness Level 3”, and they’re going to keep us all informed if conditions worsen and schools have to close and we all have to RUN AND HIDE!
Sigh…
What on earth are they thinking? Particularly since it seems that the Readiness Level was determined on Friday. Now, I can understand keeping an eye on things, and last Friday, the track was still iffy. But why would you send out an alarmist email today of all days? When the hurricane is making landfall right now, in Louisiana?!

This, my friends, is why Katy ends up looking so silly every time a tropical weather event starts up that might come into the Gulf of Mexico. I’ll bet my third cup of coffee that KISD sent this bulletin out because they were having to field so many phone calls from “concerned parents”.
There isn’t anything to be concerned about in Katy.
I’m going to post a Q&A a bit later that I did with Eric Berger (the Houston Chronicle’s SciGuy and general all-around hurricane guru). When I do, I hope my Katy neighbors bookmark it, so that the next weather event doesn’t send them over the cliff.
Again.