Life in Florida = Hurricane Crazed Meteoroligists

It was August 24 when I first heard the storm name Dorian. She went from a wave to a tropical storm to a hurricane in four days. And since August 28, we have been watching and waiting and buying gas and water and wishing the news would cover anything else. After all, we all have the app on our phones. We all know updates come out every three hours. We all have eaten every one of our hurricane snacks.

Photo Credit: Tom Sorrells – Chief Meteorologist, WKMG Channel 6, What is a Spaghetti model?

Yet, my brain will not let it go. My internal clock alarms me at 8, 12, 3, and 5. A new track has just been released! I have a weird craving for spaghetti and at the same time it nauseates me. That is the power of a monster hurricane off the Florida coast. Even if it’s way off the Florida coast. The course could change. We all know that! Stay tuned!

Weathering the storm – My view Tuesday morning at 9:40. Everything is closed today due to the impending storm. That may have been premature, though we did get two bands through around 8 am.

If you’re new to Florida, please know that Dorian has a mind of her own. She doesn’t reflect the speed at which a hurricane can tear through here. You need to keep an eye on her but you also need to do something else. Anything else. This will keep you sane.

Don’t get me wrong. I love weather forecasts. I get made fun of for watching them daily. But even I know when enough is enough. I think the moment for me came when one meteorologist interviewed another meteorologist. Their intent was to simplify things for us, but their conversation was entertaining.

“Will this be like Faye?”

“No, more like Matthew.”

“But it has the potential to be like Michael.”

“And what about Maria?

“How did we solve a problem like Maria? How did we hold a moonbeam in our hand?”

“I think you’re delirious! Those are lyrics from The Sound of Music.”

It was like they were talking about people they know. When you consider how much coverage they give to a storm, it makes sense. As for me, I get a lot of the names mixed up like I do when talking to my children.

But not Irma. I’ll never forget her. We are coming up on two years since she struck and I never want to go through that again. It makes my heart go out to the people in The Bahamas right now.

2004 was the most active year we ever experienced since moving to the Orlando area in 1976. In that year four hurricanes hit Florida. Three of them went through Central Florida beginning with cat 4 Charley on August 13, followed by cat 2 Frances on Sept 4, and ending with cat 3 Jeanne on September 26. They all were not at their worst when they went through, but they were bad enough. Power outages, debris everywhere, so many trees downed! We were all mentally and physically exhausted from prepping and cleaning up over and over again.

I do feel bad for the TV weather folks. When there is a hurricane, they are singularly focused. It’s like they have gotten themselves in deeper than they wanted to and with a storm like Dorian which is moving at a snail’s pace, they have to see it through until the end, of course. I’m thankful for these people and how they serve our communities. I just need to remind myself that there are other things going on in life and I can keep up with more than one thing.

To my point, here’s a picture from this morning’s Weather Channel tropical update. I will need to keep track of more than one thing! Meanwhile, I better bake some brownies just in case we lose power.

Thanks, Weather People. We mock you but we appreciate you!