Hurricane Michael. Tropical Storm Michael. From Florida to North Carolina. Some Thoughts, Links, Discussion. Hurricane History of October Category 4 Hurricanes. 1921 Tampa. 1954 Hazel. 2018 Michael.
I took a break from hurricanes and went to the store today.
Michael is no longer a designated storm.
Look at that long front.
Leslie is still there.
So is Nadine.
Caribbean has a yellow circle but slim chances.
I do believe we will have another storm.
But we can talk on that another day.
Currently we are in clean up mode.
And getting back to normal life.
And giving charity.
I'm going to be honest. I need a day or two off to breathe again. Michael was exhausting. After days, weeks or waiting for him to form after Kirk fell apart and pressures began to lower in the Caribbean and the pattern screamed for this to happen before the models narrowed in on the specifics we have all been watching Michael.
Mike spoke briefly from Talladega this morning. Often I watch it like a Millenial, I wait for it to be complete then sit back with a cup of coffee and enjoy it as it rolls. Love listening to Mike talk as he talks slower than me but possibly talks longer. One can only wonder where he got that gift of gab from but Thank God he's got a very good analytical head on his shoulders and the talk is usually dead on and just what we are wondering on. Listen in a bit if you want. No that's not Mike, it's the dog he bought for his daughter who wanted one bad. He's a great father, any pet would be lucky to land in that family with his daughters and extremely patient, wonderful wife/mother. The dogs name is Louie. Funny but I had a dog named Louie once too. This one seems less hyperactive and friendlier.
I figure we all need a break from nonstop coverage of horrific images coming in with news anchors seeming surprised and shocked. It's shocking, I've seen it and lived it but I don't understand the surprise other than we love to live in denial and refuse to believe our beautiful paradise can be ripped to shreds by a fast moving Category 4 Hurricane. Things you may know about me if you are a new reader is beyond the love of everything hurricanes and weather related I'm a Miami Historian who has spent years studying in detail Miami's history as well as much of Florida's history. I have done extensive research, given lectures and worked with one of my favorite people who happens to be one of the best historian's ever Dr. Paul George who taught at Miami Dade College. He has literally walked over every inch of Miami and South Florida I am sure and can tell you what some Indian Chief or General chasing the Indian Chief ate before going into battle. He is awesome, one of my favorite people and a good friend. No one should be surprised that a fast moving Category 4 Hurricane could do something like this to a small beach front town along the edge of the Gulf of Mexico. This is prime hurricane country, however hurricanes like Michael don't come along often and during those 20 or 30 or 50 or 100 years we forget it can happen anytime in any given year when the meteorological conditions are just right for such a horrific event. Truth is living in denial is usually a good idea, because if you sit and worry on the randomness of a little girl dying from debris hitting her in the head in Georgia far from Mexico Beach you'd go crazy or at least have heavy depression. Horrific things happen. Feel free to insert another more coarse word, I'll stick with horrific today.
This is not new.
It's not Global Warming.
Global Warming is a thing.
But this is weather at it's meanest.
Plain and simple.
1954 Hurricane Hazel in October...
...slammed into the NC SC Coast as a Cat 4.
The damage is totally the same.
Hazel caught a cold front like Michael.
Apparently that's how storms get deep inland to Raleigh.
Trains came off the track
Homes along the ocean were pounded away...
...but horrific storm surge.
Look familiar?
Below is a picture after the Category 4 1926 Miami Hurricane
If you click on the images you'll see the same destruction.
Category 4 Hurricanes are bad.
Almost nuclear in ways.
Michael was a borderline Category 5.
Some great books on that storm and many others besides Katrina and the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane. They all show the reality of Hurricane Andrew developing fast after days of doing nothing, rapidly intensifying and taking a track towards horrific devastation. And the good news is you can buy your dream house along some part of the Florida or Gulf Coast or North Carolina Coast (spoiler alert it's cheaper in NC) and live there a good ten years selling it for good money and moving away and you may never have gone through such a hurricane. A few weak tropical storms or hurricanes slide by and you clean up the yard a bit, and life goes on and you get lucky.
I tell people when I lecture all the time "you could have been born in early 1966 after being conceived in those days after Hurricane Betsy when your parent's power was out and lived your whole life in Miami without ever really seeing a huge hurricane. Then you move off to the University of Florida and take a job in Seattle and move away and you would never have seen such a hurricane. Everywhere you go people say "wow you must have seen big hurricanes down there" and no one believes you really didn't because everyone knows Miami has Hurricanes the University of Miami Football Team* is called "The Hurricanes" but no you did not see such a hurricane. In 1992 you would be watching it unfold in Seattle worrying about friends and family in Miami at the age of 26 years old and had lived your whole childhood in Miami and never seen a hurricane up close and personal. Denial is easy in a land where hurricanes threaten but hardly ever make landfall as a real Major Hurricane.
So don't go complaining why would anyone build a house down there by the water because it's not your job to complain or ask or wonder. Crap happens everywhere and a lightning bolt can strike your house far from earthquakes and hurricane country and burn it down to the ground. You decide where you live and live your life and hope a plane doesn't fall out of the sky on your home whether it's at the ocean or far inland. People who lived in Mexico Beach had a good quality of life and they were living on a part of the coast where people always think they are safe from huge Cat 4 Hurricanes that usually go East towards the Big Bend of Florida or West towards Mississippi and Louisiana. Tampa Bay has that same set up but in late OCTOBER of 1921 a huge Category 4 Hurricane caught a cold front and veered into not away from Tampa Bay and yeah you get the idea. My family lived in Tampa in 1921 and my Grandma told stories and was always terrified of "those terrible storms" every year watching the weather and the news and the sky and the clouds.
I have to tell you October Hurricanes deliver a big punch.
Hurricane Sandy was a late October Hurricane.
Hurricane Mitch was an October Hurricane.
Hurricane Matthew was an October Hurricane.
Both of those M Canes were Cat 4 and Cat 5.
Much like Michael also a Cat 4 in October.
In Raleigh....
Damage was mostly light.
Unless a huge tree fell on your house.
And some huge trees did fall in Raleigh.
I believe Matthew was stronger here damage wise.
Neighboring cities lost more trees and power.
Carolina Inn one of my favorite places to go...
... lost a huge oak more than 150 years old.
That oak made it through Fran and Hazel.
Not used to seeing the building like that.
Usually the tree frames the view.
We went there for our Anniversary a few years back.
Some beautiful places around this area.
Note the Inn has a back front...
This is the Street Front.
It's a big property.
Restaurant, bar, events.
It's Tar Heel territory.
When my daughter was at NC State..
..we didn't go there much ;)
Big rivals.
If you are ever up this way check it out.
Jim Williams is back home.
He was in the edge of the eye.
We are good friends on and offline.
I'm glad he chased this hurricane.
He collects data he shares.
He is a Hurricane Historian among other things.
He showed this on the air...
...shortly before he went off the air..
Whoosh in real time.
The connection went dead.
I knew he was okay.
He is cautious when chasing I know that..
Check out his site and you might want to donate.
His truck he uses for business had some damages...
..that he'll have to repair.
But he's good.
To donate to support his work and site.
And life goes on.
The NC State Fair goes on.
Cranky on Twitter who I like to call CW..
Is awesome and almost always right.
No one is perfect. He tries.
After a hurricane we all discuss it like post game talk.
But it's not a game to us...
..and we try to figure out what we can learn.
Knowledge is power.
The discovery process in science is important.
It's how we learn.
He's a good online friend.
This is what we do...
... we live, breathe and talk weather incessantly.
Especially Weather History.
You want to talk Global Warming? Good.
You want to talk POLLUTION.. Very GOOD.
Hurricanes have always happened.
Category 4 Hurricanes in October have always happened.
Ask any survivor of Hurricane Hazel or the Tampa Bay Hurricane.
And way back in the 1500s and 1700s and before that.
Mean, horrific hurricanes came out of the Caribbean in October.
And the Atlantic.......October Gales.
Example of discussing Michael.
He is who he is...
Gives accurate weather information.
If you want some comedy relief here??
Let's look at Leslie.
Still there....
Nadine too but she's forecast to die...
.. could she come back to life?
Shrugging Shoulders... time will tell.
Leslie's track so far.........
She's good at staying alive.
I guess she's kind and doesn't want to make landfall either.
Some good stuff online.
Check him out @gdimeweather on Twitter
I'm cooking for Shabbos..the Jewish Sabbath on Saturday.
7th Day Adventists do it on Saturday too.
Had a lot of friends in Miami who were.
Making Turkey wings.. big ones.
Sweet Potatoes.
Soup before that course.
Fish and salads before that course.
It's what I do...
..and tomorrow I will rest.
And walk around enjoying the beauty of Raleigh today.
Then......we go to the Fair.
North Carolina State Fair.
Nothing could be finer.
Besos BobbiStorm
Much love..
@bobbistorm on Twitter
Ps Sorry for any typos.
I'll fix them later.
I'm exhausted.
But loving the cool weather and blue skies in Raleigh.
I feel bad thanking Michael for it but he did usher in Fall.
I'll be honest I don't go every year...
....but going this year!
Last year's video but it's the same every year.
I don't eat so much of the food obviously...
Some......
I don't do the big rides.
I walk around and enjoy the shows.
I take pictures.
I just breathe it all in...
It's awesome.
We all need some awesome...
...after Michael.
The name will be retired.
Wonder what name they choose next?
Hmnnn
posted by BobbiStorm @ 11:15 AM
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