With that as my memory, I am giving thought and prayer tonight to the hardy folks of OBX who are about to be clobbered tonight by a Category 2 hurricane (Arthur) that a day ago was not much more than a minimal tropical storm as it moved up from the turbulent waters off Florida's coast. It seemingly was struggling to get much stronger than 60 mph last night, and now is exceeding 100 mph.This just shows you how fast these tropical cyclones can strengthen when they get wound up. Moreover, they often surprise us with erratic movement, which increases the danger. There does seem to be one near-constant in that so many of them hit the Outer Banks, which just juts out there in the ocean, an inviting target.
Our experience in Myrtle Beach was a few flooded roads (including parts of Business 17, as tourists arrived for the Fourth), occasional rain coming in sideways, and some brisk breezes of 35-40 mph. Yes, we got off lucky again, but we should not be complacent. We may not always be so lucky.
Tomorrow, we will report on what a storm-cleansed Fourth of July looks like. Here's hoping that celebrations farther north will not be badly disrupted by Arthur.
© Robert G. Holland 2014
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