Music to my ears!

I love it when I see this headline on the Houston Chronicle's website: "The Texas hurricane season is over." That is pure music to my ears! It was close with Hurricane Isaac (which hit our neighbors in New Orleans), but we made it another year without a major hit. Thank. You. Jesus. Not that we didn't need the rain, because we do, but the fact that Ike was just four short years ago... I could do without a hit for a little while longer.

In case you're wondering, to date we're through the "N" name on the list. Let me refresh your memory on said list.

Alberto
Beryl
Chris
Debby
Ernesto
Florence
Gordon
Helene
Isaac
Joyce
Kirk
Leslie
Michael
Nadine
Oscar
Patty
Rafael
Sandy
Tony
Valerie
William

Now, that's not to say that the 2012 hurricane season is over. It does run through November, officially, after all. But because of a couple cool fronts that have come through Texas over the last week, and a couple more this week, plus the jet stream, and the fact that after Sept. 24 our odds go down significantly - that pretty much does it for us. Hallelujah!

So until next season, I leave you with this...

Good luck to my family and friends in the North with the coming winter season. I hope it's as good to you as our hurricane season was to us!

And so it begins...

The official start of the 2012 hurricane season is still weeks away, but the Atlantic has its first named storm - Alberto - off the coast of the Carolinas. While it doesn't appear to pose a threat to the U.S., it's still a reminder that those of us who live along the coast need to start preparing.

I went to a pre-hurricane season meeting earlier this week, and the folks from NOAA are predicting not as many named storms as we had last year, which is good, but Texas needs to take heed. Because of the weather pattern and the warm Gulf of Mexico (remember that mild winter we had? yea, not so good for hurricane season) there is the potential for rapidly developing storms in the Gulf. That means we may only get 48 hours notice, rather than 96 or more. Remember Humberto a few years ago?

So, get your water supply ready (I will be picking up several cases tomorrow at the grocery store), get those batteries handy, and have a plan in place. Having been through Ike, and through a couple other tropical storms, it's serious, so please be ready!

In case you're wondering, here are the 2012 hurricane names.

Alberto
Beryl
Chris
Debby
Ernesto
Florence
Gordon
Helene
Isaac
Joyce
Kirk
Leslie
Michael
Nadine
Oscar
Patty
Rafael
Sandy
Tony
Valerie
William

Happy hurricane season, y'all!

And just like that...

there's a disturbance heading toward the Gulf. And we're not even 24 hours into the 2011 hurricane season! Granted, if this hits us, or near us, I will not complain. I might actually go out and sit in the middle of it. As in the middle of the pouring rain. It won't be anything major that requires evacuation, and we.need.rain. Desperately. Desperately actually is an understatement. I think the last time it rained at our house - like a major rain - was in the days right after we had our landscaping put in. And that was Martin Luther King Day. In January. Yes, January. As in 4 1/2 months ago. So...

BRING IT ON!

Oh, and in case you were wondering... this is what I saw as I got out of my car this afternoon heading back into the office. Yes, that's 3:12 p.m. Awesome. Summer has arrived. And so, too, has hurricane season!

Happy Hurricane Season

It's that time of year again. No, it's not Christmas. It's officially hurricane season. It started today and runs through Nov. 30. Not my favorite season, but one that I definitely pay special attention to. As has been the case in the last few years, the folks at NOAA are predicting a fairly active season. I'll leave it at that. I don't want to jinx anything.

In case you're wondering, here are the names for 2011.

Arlene
Bret
Cindy
Don
Emily
Franklin
Gert
Harvey
Irene
Jose
Katia
Lee
Maria
Nate
Ophelia
Philippe
Rina
Sean
Tammy
Vince
Whitney

Words I don't like this week

tropics
tropical disturbance
Bonnie
Colin (no offense Robyn!!!)
flooding
rain
high tide
uncertainty

Feel free to add to the list. Have a lovely week.

Hurricane Alex

It's kind of ironic that Hurricane Alex decided to strike this week. One year ago on Sunday Jay and I moved back in to our house after rebuilding it due to Hurricane Ike. Watching the Alex coverage on TV the last few days brought back a lot of memories. I didn't cry this time (at least not yet... Sunday isn't here yet), but it did make me think back to our experience going through Ike. All I kept thinking about earlier this week when Alex's path was still a bit uncertain was, "Oh no. Not again." But, we were spared this time. Although we are getting a lot of rain and really high tides (part of the island is under water), and the storm ruined our trip to South Texas, I'm glad it hit South of us. I don't know that I could've handled going through another storm so soon, even though it's been almost two years. Hard to believe, but it doesn't seem like it. Probably because we haven't even been living in our "new" house for a year yet, and not to mention the fact that my parent's house is totally tore up... it's weird how things happen and evoke a variety of feelings.

Anyway, thoughts and prayers to those in Mexico and South Texas who were affected by Alex. I can sympathize and empathize with you, having been through it myself.