WOOSH!
Wow.
All I have to say is wow.
At 6:30 last night, Hurricane Charley decied that 40 years had been a long enough hurricane break for Orlando, and decided to pay us a visit. As of right now, I can tell you, he was kind of like a cousin who overstays his welcome: Fun for the first little bit, and then annoying as hell.
For those of us who live outside of a state afflicted by continual bad weather, let me give you a short synopsis of the storm. As of the time it hit the southwest coast, Charley was a level 4 hurricane with sustained winds of around 180 Mph, putting to almost a level 5. As it moved north and to the east, it gradually decreasd in power, and, aided by an oncoming cold front, decreasd down to a level 3 at 105 mph, still more than enough to do plenty of damage. As it passed, it weakened more, until it was fuinally downgraded to a tropical depression after it left land.
The damage wasn't too horrendous, at least not in orlando. Lots of trees down all over the place, 3 or 4 billboards bent over and mangled, powerlines down ALL over, phones out, y'know, general chaos. I, thankfully, was safe, as were all of my friends and family. Sadly, I can't say the same for all. So far, 14 deaths have been reported, and that's only in orlando. Punta Gorda looks alot like Homestead did after Andrew, Arcadia was reportedly almost wiped clean, and Ft. Myers beach, where my grandparents evacuated from two days ago, is completly without power, sewage, or water, and will be for the next week, so Grandma and grandad are here to stay for a bit.
I'm blessed to be safe, that I am.
I'm also blessed to have power. We were told that we were not going to get power back till almost tuesday. Can you imagine that? no TV, no internet, not air conditioning, no refgeration, no LIGHTS, no nothing for 3 or 4 days. *shivers* Needless to say, I'm delighted that I'm juiced up.
The news anchors had a field day, though. They wanted us to believe so much that this hurricane was going to be armageddon for orlando, that our time was up, this is it, et.. it was crazy. I heard the term "nightmare scenario" at least once, and "our greatest fears have come true" no less than three times. It was strong, but not THAT bad. Honestly, I think they need to stop putting up little thunderclouds with rain and junk on the weather map, and just start placing little skulls. That wuould amp up the sensationalizim just a bit.
thankfully, above and beyond everything else, I and my loved ones are safe, sound, and secure. And basking in the warm light of a monitor.
"I came to a place where no light shone at all,
Bellowing like the sea racked by a tempest,
when warring winds attack it from both sides.
The infernal storm, eternal in it's rage,
sweeps and drives the spirits with it's blast,
it whirls them, lashing them with punishment."
- Dante's Inferno, Canto V
All I have to say is wow.
At 6:30 last night, Hurricane Charley decied that 40 years had been a long enough hurricane break for Orlando, and decided to pay us a visit. As of right now, I can tell you, he was kind of like a cousin who overstays his welcome: Fun for the first little bit, and then annoying as hell.
For those of us who live outside of a state afflicted by continual bad weather, let me give you a short synopsis of the storm. As of the time it hit the southwest coast, Charley was a level 4 hurricane with sustained winds of around 180 Mph, putting to almost a level 5. As it moved north and to the east, it gradually decreasd in power, and, aided by an oncoming cold front, decreasd down to a level 3 at 105 mph, still more than enough to do plenty of damage. As it passed, it weakened more, until it was fuinally downgraded to a tropical depression after it left land.
The damage wasn't too horrendous, at least not in orlando. Lots of trees down all over the place, 3 or 4 billboards bent over and mangled, powerlines down ALL over, phones out, y'know, general chaos. I, thankfully, was safe, as were all of my friends and family. Sadly, I can't say the same for all. So far, 14 deaths have been reported, and that's only in orlando. Punta Gorda looks alot like Homestead did after Andrew, Arcadia was reportedly almost wiped clean, and Ft. Myers beach, where my grandparents evacuated from two days ago, is completly without power, sewage, or water, and will be for the next week, so Grandma and grandad are here to stay for a bit.
I'm blessed to be safe, that I am.
I'm also blessed to have power. We were told that we were not going to get power back till almost tuesday. Can you imagine that? no TV, no internet, not air conditioning, no refgeration, no LIGHTS, no nothing for 3 or 4 days. *shivers* Needless to say, I'm delighted that I'm juiced up.
The news anchors had a field day, though. They wanted us to believe so much that this hurricane was going to be armageddon for orlando, that our time was up, this is it, et.. it was crazy. I heard the term "nightmare scenario" at least once, and "our greatest fears have come true" no less than three times. It was strong, but not THAT bad. Honestly, I think they need to stop putting up little thunderclouds with rain and junk on the weather map, and just start placing little skulls. That wuould amp up the sensationalizim just a bit.
thankfully, above and beyond everything else, I and my loved ones are safe, sound, and secure. And basking in the warm light of a monitor.
"I came to a place where no light shone at all,
Bellowing like the sea racked by a tempest,
when warring winds attack it from both sides.
The infernal storm, eternal in it's rage,
sweeps and drives the spirits with it's blast,
it whirls them, lashing them with punishment."
- Dante's Inferno, Canto V