Hurricane Anniversaries, Keeping Watch

This time of year, if something is swirling in the Atlantic, you'll find me spending more time than is useful at Dr. Jeff Masters' blog at the weatherunderground site. Right now, there's not enough information and it's still too early to begin to wonder where hurricane Gaston might come ashore.  I know that--but it doesn't stop me from going to the site--there are plenty of commenters speculating and doing a bit of amateur forecasting.

This morning, I'm looking at the site while hearing about the historic floods in Louisiana.  I'm thinking of my newly installed solar panels--we're insured with both flood and wind insurance (at a hefty price, I might add), but the thought of claims and clean up makes me exhausted.

It's the time of year when my thoughts would turn to hurricanes, even if nothing was in the Atlantic.  We've had many damaging hurricanes in late August:  Andrew and Katrina come to mind.  For some reason, I've also been thinking of Hurricane Hugo, a September storm.  I was in grad school in Columbia, South Carolina when that storm barreled through the state.  I remember taking extra blankets to the civic center when a call went out that many had fled the Lowcountry with nothing and that the Red Cross needed help.

I realize that we've been spoiled down here in South Florida--our last hurricane, major or minor, was Hurricane Wilma in 2005.  I used to be more careful in the years just after that storm about buying perishables--I never bought more than we could eat in a week in those years.  I didn't keep the freezer stocked backed then.

This morning, I'm thinking of all the meat in the freezer--what was I thinking?  I know what I was thinking:  what a deal!  I wasn't thinking, could I eat all of this if the power was out for days?

I will be the first to admit that my freezer ponderings are premature.  The mountains of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) have shredded many a storm that had its sights on the U.S.  No need to board up the windows yet.

But perhaps a few more sandbags are in order . . .