A few years ago I stopped watching the weather channel. Although I take every storm seriously I do not take seriously the media reports. Social media will usually mention a weather disturbances occurring that I need to research. I am not a last minute prepper thus it takes a half a day for my household to be ready for any storm, evacuation is not a problem.
Once I know a storm is headed my way, I may glance at the media but I cannot stand the hype. My environment dictates how much prepping I need to do.
- If there is more water than usual placed in the very front of the stores that sell it: a storm is coming.
- If the car lots at the dealerships along US-1 are empty: the storm is definitely coming.
With the approach of Hurricane Dorian water was leaving the shelves before stores had set up their “hurricane supply” displays. According to Facebook friends hurricane Dorian was headed my way and it was going to be devastating. I needed to evacuate. The media was telling everyone it had the potential of being a category 5 storm. Maybe?
After a call from a family member I looked at the news. According to the images on this network Florida was going to be wiped out. Although the “red dot” as I call it, which pinpoints the eye of the storm, was moving towards central Florida the red “cone”, which revealed possible impact, covered most of Florida. Just in case weather reporting made for dramatic television and sent many people in full panic mode. I reminded my family of what I have been saying for 20 years and also reminded them that we did leave before Irma came.
When I first came to South Florida I listened to the weather from June 1 to November 31, the official hurricane season, tracking every tropical disturbance that came off the coast of Africa or formed in the Atlantic- I don’t anymore. I can read a map and I can follow the weather reports without listening to television personalities give dramatic readings of “possible” impending doom and destruction. This change has allowed me to calmly and rationally prepare for weather events.
As of this writing Dorian is headed, yep, to central Florida after impacting the Bahamas (it is a Category 2). But as far as I am concerned the damage has been done. Many people who have loved ones here is south Florida are emotionally drained from the worry. Traffic is jammed in some areas as those who have been instilled with fear “did not wait until the last minute” to evacuate. The cost of staying away for days is going to anger many folks! Dorian is not expected to be a Cat-5 if it does hit US soil, maybe a Cat-3.
What the media did not talk about and we are now all praying for and preparing to help is the Bahama’s. They were hit with a Category -5 hurricane and I don’t think the media hyped that up days before impact.
When I lived up north I had to be ready for the snow, occasionally there was a blizzard. I knew the snow was coming so I got ready. Floridians are ready, for the storm because we live in a hurricane zone. There will always be people who refuse to get ready it does not matter if it is a blizzard or a hurricane. written by Marsha L F Randolph
NETTIE-OLOGY /NETTIE-ISM reflects the opinions of and is the soul property of the author MARSHA L F RANDOLPH. All rights reserved- do not use without permission. Disagreeing with what is written is not offensive to the author a disagreeable comment will be deleted.
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