Hurricane season: June 1st through November 30th. 2020 has been a tough year... and now we're into that time of year where those of us in hurricane zones tend to keep a more watchful eye on "trends" in the Alantic Ocean.
The Colorado State University Tropical Meteorology Project is calling for a more active hurricane season than normal. They also called for that last year, and it turned out to be quieter than usual. Reminder: this is 2020. The predictions are for 16 named storms, eight hurricanes and four major hurricanes.
Historically, our area gets a direct impact once every 28 years. The last time we had a hurricane come over the top of our home was 12 years ago. That was Hurricane Dolly. It severely impacted our area, leaving flooding inland that lasted for a couple months. An economic kick in the guts. Jim Cantore was here for a day, then moved on... it took a long time for our local economy to move on.
The names for hurricanes are "recycled" every twelve years; a name is retired (Andrew, Katrina) if it is a major hurricane. "Dolly" is in the list of names again this year. I hope that is not a foretelling of what is to come.
We are starting this month with moderately heavy rain this morning; unlike the "nuisance rain" we've had the last few days. It's that time of year. Rufus does not like the rumble of thunder when you can feel it as well as hear it. He doesn't get riled up, but he does raise his head and look around. Me, too.
Looks like another indoor day.
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And, something that makes me smile...
The furry boy this morning, as usual, looking quite regal.
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Clearing My Head...
I needed to go for a ride
It left me wondering about the evil that exists today. Probably no more than in years past, but the media has it in our face non-stop. Over the weekend, while it was raining, we had NASA TV on a good deal of the time... kinda shows us how good mankind can be when we work together.
When the rain cut us some slack (predicted between 1:00 and 3:00pm), I got the scoot out for some head-clearing. I stopped to grab a scooter tag, but the yellow and black Smart Car with a giant bee on the back wasn't at the lady's house. I rode across the causeway to South Padre Island. Plenty of traffic, cars in restaurant parking lots... I didn't go by the beach. You wouldn't notice any difference between now and last year with the number of people that are here. Kinda missing the point with "continue keeping a safe distance," and not a face mask in sight. This area has definitely "moved on"... in most folks' minds, the virus is gone. In the meantime, new cases continue to rise, and our county has the highest number of cases in the Rio Grande Valley.
Fortunately, the time on the scooter, with music playing through my helmet communicator, was extremely refreshing... in spite of the humidity. Back on our island, I saw that yellow Smart Car heading for home. I pulled in behind her and opened my helmet so she could see who it was (she teaches the water exercise class I took prior to my hip surgery). I told her about our scooter tag game and that the current tag was "your scoot with something bee related"... she was nearly giddy with excitement - she loves her little Smart Car. Of course, she had to tell me about how she came to own this car and about her hip surgery and about her new dog. She lives alone, so it is great to see that she has some companionship.
All that conversation, however, left me Bruced (a term for just missing getting a tag, because someone got it before you; coined after a guy named Bruce who had it happen to him frequently) for getting the current tag. I missed it by a couple minutes. She was happy to have someone to visit with, I got some scooter riding in (between the rain storms), so it all worked out. Cabin fever usually isn't a problem for me (well, excluding last year at this time), but it was nice to get away from the news media. Plus, Ellie (the lady with the Smart Car) said, "Good to see you again, Jim - you're a nice young man."
I'll take that. ;-)
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