Apparently that high pressure area in the Mid-Atlantic isn't moving like they thought it was going to. It keeps pushing Hurricane Irma south and isn't letting her turn north away from us. Irma has the distinction of being the earliest storm to become a major hurricane (August 30; the old record was September 2) and the storm to develop into a hurricane the farthest east in the Atlantic. Looks like we're not going to dodge this one.
Sitting here watching hurricanes coming at us always reminds me of the 1957 Neville Schute book On the Beach (It was made into a movie in 1959 starring Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire and Anthony Perkins.) After a nuclear war, Australia (which had no part in the war) is the last country to be affected by the nuclear fallout. The people go about their lives pretty much as usual, as normally as they can under circumstances, knowing that "the cloud" is coming, that it is inevitable. There is nothing they can do but keep living til it comes to them.
Okay, we're hoping even this Category 4 monster isn't that inevitable or that deadly. It's the waiting, the watching, the knowing there is nothing you can do to change it. All we can do - yes, it's a cliche but... - is prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
I've been in or near four tornadoes. I love thunderstorms. In another life I woudda/coudda been a storm chaser. That said, as much as I like new experiences, I can really live without going through a hurricane. Looks like that option is about to close.
Sidebar: The headlines are all about "will Irma hit Florida?" Hey, people! There a bunch of islands and several million people between Irma and Florida. Hello!
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