Prepare for hurricane season.
With the start of hurricane season we have had a couple of days of potential bad weather but not from the Gulf of Mexico like we normally expect this time of the year. It really showed me the unpredictability of nature here in Florida. It also showed me how really unprepared we are for some of the weird weather patterns that we get.
Besides me being a scuba diving instructor I am also a sergeant for the WCSO Reserve / SSO volunteer devision and I am part of the storm patrol during the storms we get when they get ugly. This last round of storms were no different. We get called out when trees and power lines start coming down to be assigned in different areas in the county.
With that said, the weather service is tracking a couple of potential tropical depressions that could turn into tropical storms in the Atlantic. This means that if they develop then they could head to the Gulf of Mexico. Once in the Gulf, it’s anybody’s guess where it could head. The Gulf waters are warming up very quickly and that could be a potential problem for the Gulf Coast of Florida. Let’s not forget we just went through Hurricane Ian.
This brings me to the main point of this article and that is preparedness for this hurricane season. Even with the mild storms we have gone through this last week it still brought damaging winds and possibly a tornado or two in Wakulla County. We have seen real damage from this and it can be devastating especially for one house that was heavily damaged by a falling tree. So the big question is how do you prepare for storms especially the tropical version?
Fortunately when it comes from the Gulf we are generally given a few days or even a week’s warning of the oncoming storm or hurricane. This is not the time to just let it go and say it probably won’t hit us here in Wakulla County. You should try to be prepared whether it hits here or not. I have lived in this county for 17 years and have been a volunteer for the Sheriff’s Office about the same time and in the years I’ve lived here I have seen several bad tropical storms that could have potentially been devastating but at the last minute they might turn towards the west or make landfall just south of us.
With all the new construction of homes and neighborhoods going in along with the folks that are fleeing the north to live here I’m afraid when we do get a direct hit from a bad tropical storm or a category 3 hurricane it will be devastating for us. I strongly urge all of you especially you that have moved in Wakulla over the last year to contact the Sheriff’s Office to get a hurricane preparedness brochure to help you be as prepared as you can be.
Please take this article to heart and stay safe through this new hurricane season of 2023.
Russell Miller
NAUI #59999
IANTD #224715