Fay, Fay, Go Away, Find Some Other Place To Play

Well, as another hurricane season winds up for the pitch, Florida has been put on full alert that we may have a problem. Unlike folks who live in tornado and earthquake prone areas we get several days notice when a hurricane is approaching.

Our home has an on-demand “whole-house” 15Kw air cooled generator that will literally run everything we need to remain in our home in the event of a major power outage. We don’t even have to re-fill the generator with gasoline or kerosene. There are two huge gravity fed propane “tank farms” in our neighborhood that serve every home. Folks can cook, dry their clothes and/or heat their water using propane or electric. Our generator is connected to our gas meter and the propane tanks so our supply is certain to last at least a few weeks if necessary. We also have the state-of-the-art Dade County Certified (South Florida’s newest code) translucent window and door protection panels made from a space age plastic composite. And, we have braces for the garage door which is the weakest point of entry from high winds in any home. If air breaches our home the roof could lift and the walls could cave-in. So even with the generator running we could find ourselves working on our computers or watching TV in a driving rain storm with high winds and pieces of metal and other dangerous objects falling on us. The generator was a good business decision because I work from home. The need for the panels and garage door braces occurred to me a year after we had the generator installed. We could have power on in the house but lose the roof and walls in a major storm.

What is interesting about this annual dance in hurricane season is trying to out-guess the weather people that are vying for air time in our local area. Which person do we believe about which “spaghetti models” they are showing us. And what about the margin or cone of error which the National Weather Service has expanded. Sure, there is a little thin line that shows a “probable course” the storm could take but the cone of error covers the entire State of Florida, at least as of this morning.

Located 18 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico we are not in any danger of a storm surge. At an elevation of between 60-65 feet above sea level we are not likely to incur flooding either. Finally, we have a hip roof which is favorable to a pitched/gable end roof in high winds. With all the above in place we are likely to be OK in terms of physical damage to our home. Our pantry and extra freezer are fully stocked so I think we are most likely “ready” regardless how close a serious storm comes to where we live. I just have to bring our pool furniture inside, put up the panels and lock down.

The real inconvenience in a major storm would be the loss of power at the local gas stations and grocery stores, most of which do not have generators. A direct hit in our area would mean no power for probably two weeks or so. We may be fine during that period but the vast majority of our neighbors would not.

And then there is the cat that has been apparently abandoned recently by one of our neighbors. He has been hanging around our house for a few weeks. I went out yesterday to get cat food and a litter box…..in the event we do get “hit” I thought we might have at least one four legged house guest for while. Apparently I wasted my money. The cat (or kitten – I cannot tell) has other ideas. He (or she) is willing to eat the food I purchased, outside. Coming into the house and staying is another problem entirely. I hate the thought of leaving this little cat outside tomorrow but it did not like being inside yesterday at all and would not stay.

It is now time to get the latest updates and begin preparations. Even with these types of occasional summer inconveniences I would not want to live anywhere else, as strange as that may seem to some.