It's Happening! Now "Gustav!"
Up here the temp is staying in the 70's F, and it's been cloudy and even threatening all day, and high probabilities of showers are forecast for tomorrow and the next day, and all that is good. But as of right now rainlessness still keeps its silent steely grip on this area, as it has for maybe as far back as June.
Meanwhile, though I've never seen this issue addressed, at the start of each season I wonder if the many other hurricane fanciers like me have to cope with the idea that we might actually be cheering sections silently shouting, "Bring on the disasters," which is all that those affected by landslides, floods, and overpowering winds see in the storms. The answer must lie in the fact that hurricanes are part of the weather, which is not listening to its enthusiasts anymore than it is to the prayers of those who are about to feel its most drastic affects.
On the heels of the whimsical and wayward Fay, with its little record of making not one but four landfalls and all in the same state, things are finally falling into the expected groove, and now another hurricane, this time one developing in the grand and traditional style, is on the move, and it looks as if all the conditions are just right.
It has, as Fay did, an appropriate name, Gustav, which brings to mind the Viking raiders in the long boats, or Teuton warriors in the Hundred Years War, ranging over large parts of Europe and leaving almost total desolation wherever they went.
The center of Gustav is moving at about 6 mph to the west and slightly north, whirling along over warm Caribbean waters just south of Cuba. That speed looks as if it will give the storm plenty of chance to intensify. And if it keeps going in that direction, in about five days it could be a Category 3 and poised to break all land tackles and burst into the open field of the Gulf of Mexico, where we are told the "current loops" are just right to coil Gustav even tighter, into something really major wherever it might finally hit land and unwind.
As this weblog sometimes touches on political matters, I was happy to find the following statement in Weather Nerd. It just goes to show how everything is tied together, and even with politics.
If Gustav is indeed a major hurricane — maybe even a Category 4 or 5 behemoth — in the western Caribbean, with its sights set on the Gulf of Mexico, by week’s end, it could steal a bit of thunder from Barack Obama’s big acceptance speech on Thursday, and from John McCain’s expected runningmate announcement on Friday. The impact on the Republican convention next week could be even more significant, as the convention might coincide with a U.S. landfall. This could be especially awkward if McCain’s V.P. pick happens to be Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal or Florida Governor Charlie Crist, who might have to skip the convention altogether, depending on Gustav’s timing and track.
Obviously, then, right now doesn't appear to be a good time to fall into love, to hit the lottery, to die, to have major surgery, to discover America, or to engage in any other of the small pursuits. There are too many forecasts waiting just ahead for us to see how they come out,, and after those some more, and more after that, and so on and so forth, far into the future.
Meanwhile, though I've never seen this issue addressed, at the start of each season I wonder if the many other hurricane fanciers like me have to cope with the idea that we might actually be cheering sections silently shouting, "Bring on the disasters," which is all that those affected by landslides, floods, and overpowering winds see in the storms. The answer must lie in the fact that hurricanes are part of the weather, which is not listening to its enthusiasts anymore than it is to the prayers of those who are about to feel its most drastic affects.
On the heels of the whimsical and wayward Fay, with its little record of making not one but four landfalls and all in the same state, things are finally falling into the expected groove, and now another hurricane, this time one developing in the grand and traditional style, is on the move, and it looks as if all the conditions are just right.
It has, as Fay did, an appropriate name, Gustav, which brings to mind the Viking raiders in the long boats, or Teuton warriors in the Hundred Years War, ranging over large parts of Europe and leaving almost total desolation wherever they went.
The center of Gustav is moving at about 6 mph to the west and slightly north, whirling along over warm Caribbean waters just south of Cuba. That speed looks as if it will give the storm plenty of chance to intensify. And if it keeps going in that direction, in about five days it could be a Category 3 and poised to break all land tackles and burst into the open field of the Gulf of Mexico, where we are told the "current loops" are just right to coil Gustav even tighter, into something really major wherever it might finally hit land and unwind.
As this weblog sometimes touches on political matters, I was happy to find the following statement in Weather Nerd. It just goes to show how everything is tied together, and even with politics.
If Gustav is indeed a major hurricane — maybe even a Category 4 or 5 behemoth — in the western Caribbean, with its sights set on the Gulf of Mexico, by week’s end, it could steal a bit of thunder from Barack Obama’s big acceptance speech on Thursday, and from John McCain’s expected runningmate announcement on Friday. The impact on the Republican convention next week could be even more significant, as the convention might coincide with a U.S. landfall. This could be especially awkward if McCain’s V.P. pick happens to be Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal or Florida Governor Charlie Crist, who might have to skip the convention altogether, depending on Gustav’s timing and track.
Obviously, then, right now doesn't appear to be a good time to fall into love, to hit the lottery, to die, to have major surgery, to discover America, or to engage in any other of the small pursuits. There are too many forecasts waiting just ahead for us to see how they come out,, and after those some more, and more after that, and so on and so forth, far into the future.
posted by Carl (aka Sofarsogoo) | 4:19 PM
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