A friend of mine once told me, “Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst”. Monday, June 1, was the official beginning of hurricane season and though a hurricane hasn’t hit Florida since 2005 it’s not of matter of if, it’s a matter of when. I plan to be prepared. I’m not really a wind person, so when you tell me we are entering the season of the most powerful storm on earth you’ve got my attention!
I’ve experienced Mother Nature during some of her moodiest moments, from haboobs in Arizona, earthquakes in Wyoming and California, to wildfires and blizzards in Colorado. Hurricanes are new to me. I find big weather a bit terrifying! A hurricane can be 600 miles across with sustained winds greater than 157 mph. It will usually last for over a week before dying a natural death. Water is the biggest killer as hurricanes mark their territory with storm surge, high surf, rip currents, and inland flooding. Then there is the destructive winds and if that isn’t enough for you, they spawn tornadoes! 101 tornadoes were formed by Hurricane Francis before she met her demise! Mother Nature does a good job at getting your attention and if you fail to take notice you may be reminded in the harshest ways that you are very small indeed.
When our son was accepted to college in Florida we immediately thought of the vacation opportunities, but we also did the math on the hurricane strike probabilities. We figured that in 4 years he may get hit once. Hmmm. Visions of Disney World, NASA, and Key West danced through my head and overrode our concerns. Besides, I was never really any good at math and our equation could be way off. In fact, before he graduated in 4 years he had encountered three hurricanes…Frances, Jeanne, and Wilma. The first hit within 2 weeks of starting school and the second 3 weeks later. By the time Wilma hit the following year he was a pro and Jim Cantore of the Weather Channel was my new best friend! Our law of probabilities were all off and possibilities morphed into reality. I became proficient at scaling the back of the couch, hurdling the coffee table, and vaulting over the kitchen table to get to the phone as it rang in hopes our son was calling to let us know what was happening and assure us he was safe.
Our daughter, by contrast, made her move to Florida 2 years later, graduated, found a job and has never left the Sunshine State. She has been here 9 years and though she has sat through plenty of tropical storms, she has yet to endure the full power of a hurricane. I’m good with that, but it can’t last.
What was I thinking when I suggested to my husband that we move to Florida?! You’d at least think we would have waited till the state had taken another mathematical hit! Sort of a big storm law of reducing your odds, but no! We charged ahead knowing that Florida is due for another weather reckoning just by the law of averages. So, here we are, one week into hurricane season. All is quiet, but as requested by state officials and common sense I am prepared, physically. Mentally? Well that’s another story. You never know until you face the big bad wolf as he tries to blow your house down.
Haboob, a dust storm in the Sudan.
Dust storm, elsewhere on this earth.
I realize that the term “Haboob” can be controversial and I do appreciate your comment. I did the research and it is accurate. I grew up with “duststorm”, but the size, magnitude, and intensity of some of those storms makes Haboob a better visual. I do hope you enjoyed the story.
I did enjoy the story. It is just that the use of that word “haboob” to describe a dust storm in this hemisphere is like fingernails on the chalk board.