A couple of weeks ago I saw a tropical wave on the NHC
web site way out in the Atlantic which they were forecasting to become a
tropical storm, not even a hurricane, and remain that way as it continued its
westward movement. I remembered the complacency
over Hurricane Andrew in the early 1990s, although we did not live in Florida
at the time. Given where we now live, I
watch these things carefully in the summer.
Bottom line, the NHC failed miserably to get the
intensity right even though common sense, the lessening of wind shear, and high
ocean temperatures would seem to encourage more severe tropical
development. Such was the case with
Hurricane Andrew. Perhaps their track forecast was overly dependent on one which
would take the storm over the mountain ranges of Haiti, thus presumptively
ripping it apart, to ring the alarm bells of a storm of Andrew’s caliber. Perhaps the steering currents made their
mistaken track estimates more understandable, but the intensity is another
matter.
I didn’t buy into their forecast and at least a week
before I filled my gas storage containers for my generator and filled the cars
and also stocked up on water. There was
no guarantee that the Haitian mountains would disrupt this storm and to me
highly probable that the ocean’s temperatures would feed the beast. To me, it could be another last minute
Hurricane Andrew in the making. As it happened it missed both Haiti, and,
thankfully, Puerto Rico.
We watched in horror though as it approached the Bahamas. We’ve been to many of the islands in the
Abacos and have spent some time in Marsh Harbor in particular, getting to know
the place and the wonderful Bahamian people.
It is unthinkable seeing the complete destruction of such a beautiful
island and the misery Dorian was bringing to its people.
Our thoughts also turned to our own situation. We felt
safe in our home which has been fortified by a new roof tested for a Cat. 5
hurricane. We also retrofitted key
windows and doors with hurricane impact windows and installed a hard-wired
partial house generator to keep essentials going. Hurricane impact roll down shutters now
protect the porch and the garage door is similarly rated. Therefore, we had every intention of just
hunkering down and waiting for this to pass.
While waiting I received a call from my high school teacher
and grade advisor when I was 17 (we’re talking 60 years ago), Roger Brickner. He knows where we live and wanted to make sure
we’re ok and prepared for the storm. I’ve
been in touch with him on and off over the years. Ten minutes later, Martin Tucker, my college
teacher when I was 19 and friend for life called for the same reason. They are both octogenarians – or older --and they
still keep in touch with their favorite student! I thought it a remarkable coincidence,
reaching across all those years.
However, by last Sunday morning, our greatest fear for
the Bahamas becoming realized, I was up for the NHC 5:00AM advisory which moved
the cone south and west and that was enough for us. Not taking chances with a Cat. 4 or 5
hurricane. If it misses us like Matthew
as they “thought,” we’d be delighted but when I saw that update which moved it
uncomfortably closer to us, I immediately got on line and managed to book a
room for that night and next (and more if needed) at the Ft Lauderdale
Marriott Coral Springs Hotel which has all the facilities we’d need (food and
generator) and therefore decided to stay there until it passed. Even that area was now on the edge of the
cone. If we were twenty years younger,
we would have stayed in our home, but the anxiety was just not worth it.
So we hurriedly packed up, threw a case of water and some
non-perishables in the trunk of our car and got on the Florida Turnpike for the
hour drive SW and we assumed (correctly) out of harm’s way. The hotel personal could not have been nicer
to the “evacuees.” At times it seemed a
little like Noah’s Ark as some people arrived with dogs and even birds in
cages. And to add to the otherworldliness
of the experience, the Argentine Women’s Ice Hockey team was staying at the
hotel. Yes, ICE hockey, training at a
nearby facility (imagine, ice hockey in FL)! We knew we were in the right place!
I’ve tried to inject some humor in this picture, but the
situation in the Bahamas is dire, and the Carolinas is about to get hit. Florida has taken a very proactive relief
effort for the Bahamas, planes and ships loading up on supplies. Our own contributions are being directed to ewfrelief.org
as they can immediately get goods and tools to those in need there.
In retrospect we could have stayed. No damage or even loss of power where we live.
But we had some piece of mind. I’ve written about many of the hurricanes we’ve
been through and like the others, this is yet another I wish became a fish in
the Atlantic. The picture below also
adds to the bizarre nature of it all, a spectacular sunset at our home only a
day after the storm exited. Is this the
same planet, one that can sequentially dish out such destruction and placid
beauty?
