the Situation from a SoFla veteran
Aug. 13th, 2004 07:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aruanI've been really nonchalant about this storm. But after thirteen years in Florida and the local news making every new gust of wind out to be the Storm of the Century so they can make snazzy graphics when it invariably ends up veering north and not even having the decency to dump enough rain to keep us from having to water our lawns, one develops a certain resistance to the hype.
Hurricane Charley strengthened from Category 2 to 4 over the course of the morning, not even pausing at Go. It's the strongest hurricane since Andrew and headed for an area rather belatedly warned - Central and North Florida, as opposed to the panhandle as originally forecast. All day, the sky here in western Palm Beach County has been the lushest cumulus clouds you've ever seen, but aside from a slight breeze and the occasional drizzle, it's pretty much been the cliched kind of calm before the storm that will pass us right on by (hurricanes suck up all weather about a day and a half before and after they come through.)
And yeah, we down here get to sit smug in our warm living rooms with only vague insinuations of power loss, snarking about the barenness of Publix shelves and the silly people who jumped for plywood and supplies the second this thing looked like it was going to pay a visit to our fair state, much less anywhere near their zip code. Thing is, most of the time that isn't necessary, and if you lock your doors and secure your patio furniture and keep whatever flashlights you already own in working order, you'll more than likely come out of it only having lost a bit of sleep for the howl of the wind outside.
But sometimes, it's not like that.
When it comes time for new roommates and I to have the sleeping habits/noise/light-level discussion, I like to tell them the story of my soundly sleeping through Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Mind, while it was supposed to hit Broward (us) head-on, it veered at the last minute and hit south Dade instead (ergo all the damage - they hadn't been told to prepare.) But it was a Category Five storm, and the scene the next morning was still pretty spectacular even though we'd been spared by the eye. Luckily, no one on our block was hurt or lost their home, and I still remember the Hurricane Party we had. Good thing too, as the power was out for three days. And like I said, we were the lucky ones.
Disney and my university are both closed, as sure a sign of impending Bad Things as if the horsemen themselves had ridden in. Many people are scared tonight, unprepared and uncertain of what to expect because they've never lived on the edge of their couches, watching their local forecast map become enveloped in shades of orange and red. I hope you and yours will be safe whatever preparations you've had the chance to make, but here are a few words that never seem to cease needing repetition. Don't panic. Get out of any coastal and flood-prone areas, keep your pets inside, fill your bathtubs with water and for the love of all your sane brain cells, don't go out. Surfers who get caught in rip currents are too frequent a news item as it is.
Hurricane Charley strengthened from Category 2 to 4 over the course of the morning, not even pausing at Go. It's the strongest hurricane since Andrew and headed for an area rather belatedly warned - Central and North Florida, as opposed to the panhandle as originally forecast. All day, the sky here in western Palm Beach County has been the lushest cumulus clouds you've ever seen, but aside from a slight breeze and the occasional drizzle, it's pretty much been the cliched kind of calm before the storm that will pass us right on by (hurricanes suck up all weather about a day and a half before and after they come through.)
And yeah, we down here get to sit smug in our warm living rooms with only vague insinuations of power loss, snarking about the barenness of Publix shelves and the silly people who jumped for plywood and supplies the second this thing looked like it was going to pay a visit to our fair state, much less anywhere near their zip code. Thing is, most of the time that isn't necessary, and if you lock your doors and secure your patio furniture and keep whatever flashlights you already own in working order, you'll more than likely come out of it only having lost a bit of sleep for the howl of the wind outside.
But sometimes, it's not like that.
When it comes time for new roommates and I to have the sleeping habits/noise/light-level discussion, I like to tell them the story of my soundly sleeping through Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Mind, while it was supposed to hit Broward (us) head-on, it veered at the last minute and hit south Dade instead (ergo all the damage - they hadn't been told to prepare.) But it was a Category Five storm, and the scene the next morning was still pretty spectacular even though we'd been spared by the eye. Luckily, no one on our block was hurt or lost their home, and I still remember the Hurricane Party we had. Good thing too, as the power was out for three days. And like I said, we were the lucky ones.
Disney and my university are both closed, as sure a sign of impending Bad Things as if the horsemen themselves had ridden in. Many people are scared tonight, unprepared and uncertain of what to expect because they've never lived on the edge of their couches, watching their local forecast map become enveloped in shades of orange and red. I hope you and yours will be safe whatever preparations you've had the chance to make, but here are a few words that never seem to cease needing repetition. Don't panic. Get out of any coastal and flood-prone areas, keep your pets inside, fill your bathtubs with water and for the love of all your sane brain cells, don't go out. Surfers who get caught in rip currents are too frequent a news item as it is.
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no subject
Date: August 15th, 2004 03:36 am (UTC)I'm so nervous about the north of the state and a Category 4 storm. At least when it comes to the East Coast, we're all hurricane-shuttered and we know what we're about. I mean, can you imagine one coming to Gainesville?
In a Dave Barry novel, a storm (possibly a hurricane, but I don't remember) comes to Miami, and the only casualties were the amazingly stupid members of the Channel 7--sorry, 9!--news team. Anything for a snazzy graphic and melodrama. Stay dry, kid.
no subject
Date: August 15th, 2004 06:26 pm (UTC)It was actually supposed to hit Gainesville head-on. Idiots were of course posting in the community about hurricane parties at downtown bars while the rest were freaking out, but they were barely rained on is what I'm to understand. Which is about right for down here too, but thanks for the good vibes. When are you getting home again?
Oh, Channel 7. *shakes head*
no subject
Date: August 16th, 2004 09:34 am (UTC)TOMORROW omg.