Cat 5

I published this feel good semi-political cartoon last Sunday. Today I made a relevant addition and I hope Mr. Day does not mind. All of Florida is facing a Category 5 storm that looks like it will produce major disruptions this weekend. Florida, the US East Coast, and the Gulf Coast are no strangers to tropical disturbances.   

I vividly remember first grade (1954) in Virginia and being sent home early because of a hurricane named Hazel.   We were a good distance from the coast but the powerful hurricane came inland after a landfall near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. In my area, there were trees uprooted and a general disruption for several days.  

When I moved to Florida over 40 years ago, I knew that hurricanes were a possibility and being closer to the ocean enhanced the overall risk. We went many years in this area with no landfalls, until 2005. That year we had three direct hits and none since. Names I will always remember; hurricanes Francis, Jeanne and Wilma.    

South Florida did have a major hurricane in August 1992. It was to hit in Palm Beach County however took a southerly course. Landfall was southern Dade County / Miami. Andrew had a measured wind gust clocked at 177 MPH – Category 5+. Homestead, a small town on the edge of the Florida Everglades, received the brunt of the storm. Massive destruction.   

Apartment Complex - Andrew 1992

I did volunteer work in Homestead in the aftermath of Andrew and saw destruction that I will never forget. There were whole homes lifted off their foundation with nothing left or even nearby. Just slabs with pipes sticking up from the cement. Even the toilets were gone. My best description - like a new home, had been started with no building material delivered yet. The family was living in a nearby pickup truck with a camper cover. We left two cases of water and alerted another crew to bring food.  

A little, further down the road there was a completely vacant field, maybe 40-50 acres. Evenly spaces were craters about 5 feet in diameter and 2-3 feet deep. There was no clue as to what had been in the field. Miles down the road we came up on a massive pile of mature orange trees. Every orange tree in the grove had been “sucked out of the grown” and deposited in a big pile.    

Closer in to Miami there was a home off in the distance that looked like Barbie doll house. It was a two story home with the complete front of the house gone. Most of the furniture was still in place and from a distance it looked like you could just reach in and rearrange the rooms. 

Tuesday evening I found this on Weather Underground: Irma poses the most serious hurricane threat to northern Cuba and Florida since at least Hurricane Andrew (1992).

Thus my area of Florida in now planning for what the Weather Underground described as “Category 5 Irma - The 5th Strongest Atlantic Hurricane on Record”. There will likely be disruptions in my blog posts going into the weekend and after. Wherever the landfall occurs there is likely to be damage. Let us all hope for a minimal loss of property and no loss of life. 

Hurricane Plots