We had a frightening 3am wake-up call today. Miami was forecasting severe weather, and nothing was said of Keys weather, per usual. Come summer we are prepared for windstorms, but April? We awoke to intense lightning, hard horizontal rain, and a tornado-like Northeast wind. Everyone was scurrying around the house. Wind gusts of unknown mph (over 50) took MANY tree limbs down, snapped a neighbors palm in half, knocked every bit of wooden outdoor furniture down and moved it over 15 feet... etc. etc.
We had to remove debris from the stairs and walkway that was waist deep. Miss P's bedroom window shutter was not locked into position, and the wind took it off one hinge and bent the other two, pulling it open and slamming it against the porch, which in turn knocked her pictures and trinkets off the wall, sending everything crashing to the floor, glass everywhere. We've made the trip to the dump, fixed her shutter, and are still amazed and saddened that all our new foliage that took over a year to grow was destroyed in a 15 minute episode. One guy on Big Pine was saying it was about 90 mph. Am I being optimistic in saying it was a good trimming for the gentle summer to come?
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
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Yikes! I sure hope it isn't a harbinger of things to come. The storm forecasters were way wrong last year; let's hope they are just as wrong this year.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the problem with letting the Keys know what's coming that way? Don't they have a weather station set up on Key West?
Yes, and new state of the art! Today on the radio they stated that conditions formed over us and that we here on Cudjoe documented the highest gust at 3:15 to be 61mph according to the Blimp Base. That guy on BPK was crazy. It felt worse than it was due to the heavy rain. Don't get me wrong, we are on water restrictions due to the NO RAIN situation. If it were summer and the plants and trees healthy and pliable from daily rains they would have bent in the wind. Funny thing is.... those cruise ships come everyday and fill up. Tourista's come first!!
ReplyDeleteAh, I'm still feeling dreamy over that '96 Cristal Rose we were served this past Easter weekend on HMS, I'd be in a pisser of a mood if not for that!! Thank goodness for simple pleasures!
Key Dear, what the forecasters tell us doesn't, or hasn't, closely corresponded to what eventually came to pass. Remember after the Year of the Hurricanes (3 years ago, wasn't it?) the following summers were expected to become enraged with storms, but few afflicted us at all. We in Central Florida had a spate of tornadoes this February (quit pressing me on exact dates), and you got a hell-raiser this early April. Who knows? As your little visit a few days ago tells, these things can create confusion. Let's hope for the best, or get outa here. Run away, run away!
ReplyDeleteYes, my fellow Floridian.. the best forcast is the one in which I look toward the sky and and take a sniff of the air! I went to bed that night after watching the (what I thought was) heat lightning out over the Gulf Stream. I could see stars, as well as wispy clouds moving along above. Breezy yes, but that's usual for this time of year. You and I both know we can smell rain miles away.. and I just wasn't smelling it. I did close the door which is unusual so I guess I did "Feel" something was coming. I've tired of running. It's expensive, annoying, and pointless 9 out of 10 times. We never get enough warning here anyway. Tornado warnings come up as they are on top of us... you especially up there in Central. I'm never comfortable with the weather forcast.. I'd be better off with a cosmic witch doctor! Any takers?? It would be fun to see WAG-posts on weather to come and rate the results!
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