Hurricane Helene

Hurricane Helene as it was hitting Florida as a Cat 4 on 9/26/24

The storm that grew into Hurricane Helene was first threatening my neck of the woods in South Texas. It started as an area of disturbed weather in the western Caribbean, and even though there was actually nothing on the radar for several days, forecasters kept saying that "something" was going to form there.  That was odd. I'd never seen a patch of empty ocean be predicted to start a storm. But it happened. 

We were planning a drive to Houston right around that time, and our plans were put on hold until we knew more about where the storm was going. This happens frequently around here. You try to make some plans, and, oops, here comes another storm. Cancel plans. 

Fortunately, for us, after the storm formed and shot the gap between the Yucatan peninsula and the island of Cuba, it took a turn to the east. We planned our trip again. That storm became Hurricane Helene and, thanks to the VERY warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico, went on to grow to a Cat 4 before hitting in the "Big Bend" area of Florida. Good news for us, awful news for Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and especially western North Carolina.

People are rather surprised that a hurricane can ravage an area so far from the coast. Asheville, North Carolina, is almost 400 miles from the coast, and at an altitude of over 2,100 feet. It's a beautiful area, until you realize it is essentially in a bowl, a large valley that is ringed by mountains. Dump a ton of water in there, and it floods like crazy. At last count, in all states affected by Helene, there are over 200 known dead, and hundreds more are still unaccounted for.

Now, just about the same thing is happening again, only about 10 days since Helene formed. There was an area of disturbed weather in the western Caribbean, which crossed into the southern Bay of Campeche, and after several days started organizing and is now headed NE towards Florida with the name Milton. This time, Tampa Bay is in the bullseye, but it is still early. Things can change, but that is the forecast. 

It is only due to the fickle weather patterns that determine where a storm is going to hit. Back in 2008, another storm formed in the same area of the western Caribbean, and it crossed the Yucatan and spun up in the Bay of Campeche, eventually moving NW and hit South Padre Island as Hurricane Dolly, a Cat 1 with 85mph winds. That may not sound like much, but many homes on the island were destroyed and almost all suffered some damage. The home we are living in now had its roof ripped off and everything inside was damaged. It took the previous owners of this house about 3 years before it was habitable again. 

With hurricanes, it is only a matter of time. Normally, I have a lot of anxiety during hurricane season. It only takes one storm to fuck you up, and every year, it seems at least one beach community somewhere along the Gulf of Mexico is decimated. Will we have another turn in the barrel? The last bad storm here was 2008. Now, people just about everywhere are realizing that even they are at risk during a storm. Intense rainfall will cause floods just about anywhere, and if the rain has nowhere to drain, as in Asheville, people will drown. So, where is safe from hurricanes? South Dakota? Maybe high up in the Rocky Mountains? 

Life being as fickle as it is, I think we are going to stay where we are and take our chances. We are paying some pretty high insurance rates here, not as high as Florida, but the intangible rewards of living near the ocean are enough to keep us here. Que será, será. But I feel badly about all the storm victims who will be dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene for likely years to come. 

And let's remember, we should elect a president who cares about ALL Americans, a la Kamala Harris and Joe Biden. During Trump's term, it has now been documented that Trump refused to help Washington State and tried to deny funds to California for wildfire disasters, just because those states tend to vote blue. And so what does Trump do now? He accuses Biden and Harris of playing favorites with FEMA dollars. Trump is one despicable piece of shit who will use any and every situation to profit and punish his perceived "enemies." The real enemy is Russia, but he wants to be like the dictator Putin so bad, he will sell out America to do it.

Vote Blue.