Showing posts with label Hurricanes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hurricanes. Show all posts

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Maine Minutiae : Earl Takes a Turn...I Hope

Take a right, Earl!
(Augusta,ME) On August 31, I mentioned that Hurricane Earl is headed for Maine, but I wasn't quite sure how bad things would get, or if things would indeed get bad at all. The latest (as of 2PM, EDT) projected path for ol' Earl, from WeatherUnderground looks like this. While the current  threat level assessment predictions  from The Weather Channel gives us a little more insight as to what's shakin'. (Hurricane...shakin'...damn, I'm funny pitiful) As you can see, the probability of Earl hitting the coast of Maine is a little iffy, but still very real. From where I sit typing this post it's about 45(?) miles as the crow flies to the coast, where Earl could strike. In that case, we'd be in for some very unpleasant weather here as well. As it looks for now, the storm will likely hit either/or New Brunswick or Nova Scotia. If that's the case, I'll be in a bit of a quandry. Assuming this scenario, Earl will blast the town of Eastport pretty good. "Now, Toby," you ask yourself, "where's the quandry?" Thank you for asking. The quandry : my wife is from Eastport, therefore the hurricane would bring a lot of property damage to the town along with all the other stuff that storms like Earl bring - power outages, flooding, etc. "Still, no quandry, Tobe", you insist. Well, let me finish my thought, counterclockwise breath. My Mother-in-Law lives in Eastport! If Earl blasts Eastport, THIS will be coming to stay at MY house for a few days. I'd rather sit through a direct hit from Katrina than have that happen. But, since she's my wife's mother and my wife can beat me up, the old battle axe poor dear will stay with us for a few days, if Earl threatens Eastport. I will give each and every one of you 10 bucks* to say a prayer that Earl takes a hard right hand turn by Friday night. Providing that these pleas to the Almighty work and Earl takes a hard right, he'll drift aimlessly out over the North Atlantic and die a slow, miserable, cold Hurricane Death, as it should be. But the real beneficiaries of this Divine Intervention (time is of the essence, there, Lord!) will be the people of Maine (namely me), New Brunswick and Nova Scotia! A perfect ending! Is that really too much to ask of my friends? I thank you all in advance, especially the Lord, for doing your humble servant a deranged, middle-aged white guy a solid.

*Not really, but thanks for the prayers :)

Friday, July 16, 2010

Maine Minutiae : Hurricanes

Inclement weather in Maine usually involves thunderstorms, high winds, heavy snow or ice storms. Oddly enough, tropical weather systems meander their way up the East Coast and occasionally affect us way up here in The Pine Tree State. According to pivot.net, "Storms also occur out of season. On February 5, 1952, a strong storm originating in the tropics, hit Maine with strong winds, rain, and snow. It is still being debated as to whether this storm was in fact a hurricane/tropical storm". The New England Hurricane of 1938,  ranks as one of the costliest (3.6 billion 1990 dollars) storms in US history and the deadliest in Maine history with eleven fatalities and over 2000 serious injuries. On average, a hurricane will strike Maine every four years with September 1- September  15 being the likeliest times for a direct hit. Since I've been in Maine, we've yet to experience a storm of this nature, though last year (I think) a hurricane was headed this way and at the last minute veered off into the Canadian Maritimes. I have now been here for over 4 years, so if we get any "tropical excitement" this summer, I'll brave it out to keep you informed...maybe. :)

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