I am not sad to see this one go. "Summer?" you ask. Oh, we have another cold front that blew in this morning, but will be nice again by Friday. I'm talking about... hurricane season. June 1st through November 30th. I figure the most probability for our area is from early August to mid-October. As of today, though, I can take a break from watching potential storm formation off of Africa.
We were fortunate this year, and didn't have anything significant as far as hurricane activity in our area. Historically, we see a hurricane make landfall here every 28 years. That does not mean it won't happen one year after then next, or that there won't be two in one year. The last hurricane to make landfall right over the top of our house was in 2008, Hurricane Dolly. Winds to 125 mph and 20" of rain in a 24 hour period... it moved in, then sat over the top of us for nearly 24 hours. There was substantial damage with that one, but Jim Cantore from the Weather Channel was here one day and gone the next, so it didn't get much sensational TV coverage.
Why would anyone choose to live in a hurricane zone? Because when there isn't a hurricane, it is generally very pleasant here. When we lived in the frozen northland, we would see several blizzards during any given winter, and nasty cold that lasted for months. 70º is typical here on a January day. Oh sure, we get northers that blow in and give us wind, rain, and cooler temperatures for a few days, but it isn't constant. I like the salt air. I like living by the water where the day to night temperature difference isn't 30º.
There are some drawbacks to living on an island - there is always the chance of boat traffic that will have the bridge open, so you can't plan a departure from here on a tight schedule. This morning, our water went out; a break in the main water line. Yeah, that happens from time to time. There is currently a $20 million bond that will turn over our water system to the Laguna Madre Water District. I was not in favor of this, for a bunch of reasons. That aside, the water break today has nothing to do with LMWD; but it means we have been without water for a while. Just like it is important to keep supplies (including water) for an emergency, you need to have some water for sanitary needs when something like this happens. I cleaned up today, including washing my hair, with about 16 oz of water... hey, we were boat people for years - we know how to conserve.
The rest of the issues with living here are along the lines of any unincorporated community: we call ourselves a village, but we have no government. We are on our own for the water system, roads, garbage... no city department to call when things need attention. But, we have an incredible "group rate" for cable TV and high speed internet. And canals (the reason we bought here) that give us water access to the ICW and Gulf of Mexico.
Nearly two years ago, most of Texas was severely impacted by extreme cold weather (Feb 2021). The power grid couldn't handle it. Pipes froze, lots of damage was done, people died from hypothermia. It wasn't that bad here in the very southern Tip, but we did lose power for a while (that's why we have a generator).
But for right now, this "cold front" means it will be in the 60s today. The wind and occasional rain will make it less than pleasant to be outside. For a day or two. But when we go out today, I won't have to worry about frostbite.
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