Thu, September 30, 2004
Jeanne Update
With all the hype, I decided I had to check out this fun Florida Hurricane Adventure I've been hearing so much about. (Actually, a friend's wedding was Saturday, so I had to be in town anyway.) As usual, by the time I got into Florida, every local weatherman was convinced that Hurricane Jeanne was heading straight for us. Ice! Plywood! Batteries! We know the drill; every other week for the last month or so, it's been the same thing. And, while the area lost power for a few hours after Frances, the storms have pretty much missed our part of the state every single time, just like they nearly always have. This time, you actually had people at the grocery store saying, "I'm sick of it. I'm not going to bother stocking up this time." The weathermen have cried wolf too many times.
And, at least for Jacksonville, Jeanne was no exception. It passed pretty well to the south and west of us, but we did get some strong winds and plenty of rain. Plenty of debris and some very choppy surf, but only one fatality (sadly, a young boy was killed when a tree limb fell on him in his backyard). Friday was just fine; my flight wasn't even delayed landing or anything. Saturday was mostly good, but raining pretty hard by the time our post-rehearsal-dinner party started in the evening. (We looked like frightened sheep, making trip after trip to the grocery store to buy ice, but there was no time to explain to everyone that it was for the party, not our homemade hurricane shelter.) Jeanne made landfall sometime in the wee hours of Sunday morning, in almost the exact same spot as Frances. Vero Beach did not fare well. Jim Cantore hung out in Daytona Beach Shores and did some exciting demonstrations of the Venturi Effect.
In our part of the world, Sunday morning wasn't so bad. We barely got sprinkled on as we walked over to a brunch for the bride and groom. Plenty of clouds, but not too windy and not too wet. Yet. By then, the wedding had been rescheduled for 2:30 instead of 5:30 in order to avoid the worst of the storm, and the oceanfront reception had been moved indoors from the beachfront patio. The hurricane was moving slowly northwestish, and the rain was intensifying. Bridges across the Intracoastal Waterway were being closed due to high winds. We got very wet on the way from the ceremony to the car, and very frightened once we got to the reception. Literally on the waterfront, we were confronted with high winds and squalling rain. It took a long time to work up the courage to get out of the car, but we picked a lull in the weather and waded and leapt over puddles to the door. Inside, we were treated to a terrific mariachi band and spectacular views of the roiling surf. It was good to be inside.
Of course it got worse as time went on. We were lucky enough not to lose power, but getting back in the car after the wedding was like something out of a wind tunnel demonstration. Car doors were flying and it was very hard to stand up. We got home and snuggled in for a game of Trivial Pursuit, while watching Dad's digital weather station give us the update on wind speeds outside. We clocked gusts of up to 57 mph before the anemometer gave up on us, with sustained winds probably around 36 mph or so. At one point, right before sundown, we decided to run down to the beach to see how things looked. Powerful, is how. (Plus, we got our own demonstration of the Venturi Effect, walking down the access path to the beach!)
Dad, me, and a lot of flying foam.
The whole beach was covered with seaweed and foam was blowing everywhere. Lots of stinging salt spray in the face.
By Monday, things were pretty much back to normal, if a little cooler. Our beach was much smaller than it had been and debris was everywhere, but the storm had moved on and we had sunshine. The pool was closed (grumble), and some parts of town were still without power, but not us. We went to see Sky Captain.
And now I'm back in calm, sunny LA, where the weather has finally decided to acknowledge the onset of fall. My dispatches on Survivor, The Amazing Race, and about 46 shows that premiered last week are overdue, but I survived, dammit!
