So far in this hurricane season, the Atlantic basin has been lucky. It’s been quiet. Maybe that’s the way nature balances itself after a horrendous hurricane season in 2017 that set records. That flooded Houston. Destroyed Puerto Rico’s infrastructure. Did some major damage to our house. The damage to our place is now in the process of repair – new roof, new dry board, new paint job. But Puerto Rico is still suffering and the death toll there has been adjusted – from 64 to nearly 3,000.
Synchronistically, September 10 was the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Irma and a new hurricane dominated the news – Florence. As of tonight (9-10) at 11 p.m., Florence is a cat 4 – which can have winds up to 155 m.p.h., and looks to be on track for North Carolina. She leaped from a cat 2 to a cat 4 in just a matter of hours. In satellite photos, her eye is perfectly formed and she’s big. The governor of South Carolina ordered the evacuation of that state’s 187-mile long coast and the Outer Banks of North Carolina are also being evacuated.
Since my family first moved to Florida in the early sixties, hurricanes have fascinated me. They seem like sentient beings, particularly now, when satellite imagery captures their spinning ferocity, their weird and sometimes perfect eyes. Hurricanes proved to be central characters in several of my novels –Storm Surge and Category 5 – and the novels ended up being prescient, so I no longer use them in novels.
From the National Hurricane Center’s 11 p.m. bulletin: “ The new intensity forecast calls for continued strengthening to near category 5 strength, although at a slower rate than what occurred during the last 30 h. Florence is expected to encounter southwesterly shear near the 72 h point, which could cause slight weakening before landfall. However, there remains high confidence that Florence will be a large and extremely dangerous hurricane, regardless of its exact intensity.”
One of the possibilities as Florence moves inland is buckets of rains, as much as several feet in some areas. There’s also a possibility that the storm may stall, like Harvey did in Texas last summer, and dump even more rain, creating catastrophic flooding.
There does seem to be a ray of hope in this, at least as of tonight. A system in the northwestern Caribbean, which could become a tropical storm by Thursday, may nudge Florence farther north along the coast.
To our friends and colleagues in North Carolina: stay safe!
Yes,I will do that. My intuition whispers there will be a DIFFERENT catastrophic event of some kind that will manifest either simultaneously with Florence or shortly afterward.
Also, am not sure this second event will be here in the U.S. or elsewhere on the planet.
Only that it will be awful. I absolutely hate being a “doomsday prophet” and wish these PE symptoms would be accompanied by who what when where and how. But it defies
rhyme and reason. Usually, once the event manifests, the PE symptoms vanish. Not this time. Am truly jittery.
I’m not in a good space. Although there is no doubt where my current planetary empath symptoms are originating….Hurricane Florence….as if these weren’t enough, I have new ones I’ve not experienced in the past and can’t identify the aspects they are indicating. When I was able to swim, I often swam underwater in our in-ground pool in GA. I never used ear plugs. This particular new PE symptom is BOTH my ears are feeling the way they felt when completely under water. Both of them. It’s an extremely un-nerving feeling and absolutely relative to Florence. I’ve been watching the National Weather Channel. The storm experts are not hesitating to refer to this hurricane as a
“Mother of all hurricanes” and will be deadly. I’m amazed to see folks telling authorities who have issued mandatory evacuation saying they are going to “shelter in place and ride it out”. When the wind here reaches SUSTAINED, not intermittent but SUSTAINED, velocity of 39mph, our three bridges to the mainland are closed on both ends. No one comes in and no one goes out. The first responders and aids leave us and whoever stays is told to write their name and social security numbers on their forearms with indelible ink. Florence is estimated to bring a storm surge of at least 13-15 feet and will remain at that height as it slowly moves inland. That will put a single-story structure under water. There will be no assistance coming for these foolish people. I can’t urge strongly enough for EVERYONE who is under evacuation orders to PLEASE leave.
Nature is in control with this storm, and according to the folks who are experts, it’s going to be unprecedented from bad ones in recent years. These experts know their business. Please, pay attention. Florida is already sending 5000 (yes, 5000) FPL trucks and man power on its way up there. And when you evacuate, don’t forget to take your pets with you!! Blessings and hope to all.
Keep us posted on the PE symptoms, CJ. I think the aftermath of this storm with rain and flooding is going to equal Harvey.
According to the National Weather Channel, there are now THREE states declared as a state of emergency: N. Carolina, S. Carolina, and Virginia. My thoughts on this is that
the authorities prefer to err on the side of caution even if there is a non-event in some of the areas. Living on the beach on our island here, we experience various weather-related
stuff often when a tropical system passes 500 or more miles east of us, and we have experienced a couple of direct hits. So, I hope the folks will evacuate if ordered. It’s for the sake of their lives. Looking at the coast of Africa, there are a few more systems gearing up. Can’t beat Mother Nature, so just must hold on for the ride and do everything possible to stay safe. Can’t say this enough: material things, however cherished and beloved, are not as important as saving our lives and the lives of our families. Looks like a pretty busy couple of months.
It sounds like the inland flooding is going to be the biggest problem once Florence makes landfall.
Irony or synchronicity? The Mayor of DC has declared a state of emergency — but which emergency?
Both! I hadn’t heard that about D.C. Sounds like a trickster synchro to me!