The Eve of Hurricane Michael

October 9, 2018

Will the Weather Channel’s prediction of a Category three hurricane turn out to be all hype or accurate.  Seems like I’ve been here before over the decade I’ve lived in NW Florida.  So far its been all hype.  But you never know because that rapacious being, Mother Nature, thrives on unpredictability.  Sooner or later the odds are in the forecaster’s favor and they can say, “See I told you so!”

But since I’ve never been through a hurricane above a category one I don’t know what to expect.  I’ve certainly seen the aftermath of previous hurricanes while driving along the Florida and Mississippi coasts.  The force of the huge, storm crazed waves can push homes and businesses as if they are mere match sticks and slam them every which way in a thousand different pieces.  Were I right on the coast I’d get out as soon as the officials said that it’s time to pack up and run.  People who’ve lived here for a long time still talk about Hurricane Ivan like it was the day the devil came to Pensacola.

The tree is permanently lopsided after Hurricane Ivan.

But I’m about twenty-five or so miles north of the coast so what should I do?  First of all I had to people watch and that meant a trip to Walmart.  But I was disappointed.  The parking lot was full, the bottled water aisle was empty but people were polite and not panicking.  Not like a few years ago when I went to a bigger Walmart before another highly anticipated storm (that never happened) where people were grabbing heavy packs of plastic eight-ounce water bottles and hefting them into their carts.   There was no control over quantity per person so it was everyone for themselves.   That same day I drove to the gas station where people were filling multiple gas cans, their vehicles and ATV’s.  It was chaotic.  But yesterday I grabbed a few items at Walmart, then drove over to Lowe’s where I bought some flashlights and then went home.

I have food for the dogs, water for all of us and enough gas in the van to drive the dogs and cat to at least Montgomery, Alabama or, even better, the Smoky Mountains.  Why not combine an emergency with some sightseeing?  Nya, not with the cat in tow.  Meow, meow, meow for hundreds of miles.  Not fun.

My feline weather forecaster is always right.

The waiting is boring.  The Weather Channel is going full bore on the predictions, while their online forecast says no rain here until three a.m. this morning and “some” wind on Wednesday.  Sure, we are under a hurricane warning and yes, get yourself ready to “bug” out (like they said on the TV show Mash.)

That’s all I have to say about that.  Boring, boring, boring until we spin the dial and see what the future has in store for those of us who choose to live in the southern climate.

At least Jim Cantore isn’t on Pensacola Beach…..yet.

Will the Live Oak withstand another hurricane?