~ George Carlin from Brain Droppings
Happy first of June! Which for anyone on the coast, means the start of another Hurricane Season. Time to set the Tivo to start recording the Weather Channel at 10 til the hour
So NOAA has predicted this will be another above average season, with a 70 percent likelihood of:
13 to 20 named storms
7 to 11 could becoming hurricanes
3 to 6 major hurricanes
And we have the following line-up, raring to go …
Andrea, Barry, Chantal, Dorian, Erin, Fernand, Gabrielle, Humberto, Ingrid, Jerry, Karen, Lorenzo, Melissa, Nestor, Olga, Pablo, Rebekah, Sebastien, Tanya, Van and Wendy.
I’m guessing we’ll see 15 storms, which will take us through Olga. And I’m not liking Barry, Humberto and Karen. So that’s my intuitive guess LOL ….
We were close to having Andrea named already yesterday, as Hurricane Barbara from the Pacific made it’s way across Mexico’s Isthmus of Tehuantepec into the Atlantic basin. But she lost her fizzle. Double ocean tropical cyclones are actually a rare breed. According to the Hurricane FAQ, since 1923 there have only been four East Pacific tropical storms or hurricanes that have maintained their circulations while crossing into the Atlantic Ocean. Her remaining energy is expected to effect South Florida late next week.
As I’ve written about in the past, Hurricane Marilyn in 1995 was a life changer for me. I place little value in belongings, but certainly, I do everything in my power to protect what I have when a storm threatens. I have a concrete room in the lower level of my home, and the few items of importance get moved in there. Most of my memories are digitized, so I make sure to keep multiple backups, and this year I will begin to send files and photos out to on-line backup services such as iCloud and Dropbox.
I always have somewhere approaching 60 days of food on hand, but I’ll be sure to stock up on extra bottled water and canned goods. I bought new LED flashlights at OfficeMax for $3. I’ll check my emergency radio. I’ll make sure my cats have litter.
We usually don’t need to start worrying here in the Windward Islands until mid-July. However, I will begin to follow our weather closely now, on a daily basis. I have a portion of my website devoted to weather resources and links for anyone interested. It’s a hobby of mine, for sure:
http://www.reflectionsonsunrise.com/other-interests/tropical-weather/
But mainly, I rely on the forecasting and judgement of my two weather friends, Dave McDermott and Storm Walsh, and their websites are listed in my resouces.
So are you prepared? If not, it’s time.
Have a great weekend everyone!
