Hurricane Wilma

The news shows what terrible things hurricanes can be. Well, one is headed here right now. It should pass by tomorrow. We lived through 3 hurricanes last year. This year there have been 2 close ones. For tomorrow, the government has closed the schools. This is mostly a precaution against tornadoes (which are thrown off by hurricanes) and heavy rain. The hurricane is predicted to be pretty far south of us and we are only getting thunderstorms and rain. It looks like 2-4 inches of rain in a couple of hours. That is not bad for Florida, we can absorb that. There may also be high winds, 40-60 MPH. This is not bad. Last year we have 110 MPH winds at our house. All trees that were coming down are already down. The worst it can do is nock down the fence … again.

Hurricanes are terrible and can destroy your house. If you have terrible luck or terrible judgment, then they can also kill you. But for most people, we emerge after the storm and start cleaning up. Last year it took about a week to clear the trees and debris from our yards. We moved it to the curb and waited between 3 and 10 weeks for the FEMA contractors to come and get it. I caught a small snake among the debris, but it did not make a good pet. The state put all of the trees through a chipper and announced that anyone could have as much free mulch for their yards as they could carry away … very smart.

Tomorrow will not be too bad. It will just require some adjustments. No school, working from home, most businesses closed. On Tuesday everything should be back to normal. Unfortunately, the people at Punta Gorda, FL look like they are going to be hit again. They bore the brunt of Hurricane Charley last year and are getting it from Wilma this year.

Orlando is about as safe as you can get in the state of Florida. We are the high ground that the rest of the state evacuates to. Leaving Orlando means things are really bad – like a direct hit from a Category 5.

I always console myself by thinking of the 100 year-old wood frame houses that are still standing in Key West. If those have made it this long, the hurricanes are not going to totally wipe out a city.

http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/at200524.html