Posted 10/2/2013 3:52 PM (GMT 0)
Re: Hurricanes (or, "wind of the devil god," which is what the word meant in the language of the Carib Indians, a tribe that lived in the Caribbean area long ago)
Being an old Florida guy for most of my life, having lived in one part of the state or another, I have for sure lived through my share of these forces of nature, starting with Hurricane Dora in 1964 (the eye came over right where I was) through the storms of more recent times.
As a veteran of these meteorological monsters, let me just mention a few things about experiencing them that come from actually being in them, as opposed to reading a somewhat dry account of them that one might get in reading a science book, or whatever.
First thing that comes to mind is the slow, gradual onset. The day (or night) starts normally, the sun is shining (or the moon is in the sky), there is calm, or perhaps a slight usual breeze is blowing. Then you notice a light pick up in the breeze, which blows for a while, gradually increasing in intensity at the same time that a huge and solid mass of very dark (but not black) clouds rolls in, rather quickly, from the direction of the storm. The cloud mass that continues to roll in it is getting very thick and suddenly the pace picks up and things get very dark also very quickly (if it is daytime). By now a still normal but steady rain has begun, being blown about by a wind that is beginning to get stronger and stronger by the minute. And, just a little bit later, the level of rain and the speed of the wind begin to increase dramatically, so that the rain is now moving across the landscape in ghostly sheets that are wavering violently as they move along the land. An hour or so later, as they storm gets ever so closer, you notice that the rain, forced on by an ever increasing wind, now appears to be coming at you horizontally, not vertically, and the individual raindrops actually sting your face when they hit, they are traveling so fast. This gets to the point where you can't even look into the rain. As the wind gets greater, and you are outside, the find yourself fighting to stay on your feet, in a sensation similar to starting to lose your balance on slippery ice, trying not to fall down.
Unsecured objects, such as lawn furniture, toys left in yards, loose boards, and such, are eventually picked up and blown about as if shot out of a gun. Very dangerous. I once saw a large metal trash can flying and banging down my street the way you or I would throw an empty aluminum can down a sidewalk. The trees are swaying in the force of the wind. Imagine a tree with every one of its branches in motion, many breaking if too rigid, and becoming dangerous, flying objects themselves.
What I have personally found to be the most dramatic and concerning things about being in a hurricane is (1) you are completely surrounded and engulfed by it. Your entire life is now just a small part of this enormous event that is now going on around you, and consuming you, and (2) it is constant, you get no break from it. Remember, all of this can go on for hours, even an entire day or more, before you start to see any relief from it. These two facts alone are enough to make it a stressful, yet fascinating, experience.
This being completely surrounded by this constant force can indeed lead to danger, as it can produce a wearing down effect on people, leading them to make bad decisions. But this can also lead to mythical events. There is a story that some college kids in 1969 decided to "ride out" hurricane Camille by having a party in a house on the Mississippi coastline. The story goes that the house they were in was completely demolished by the storm and they all died. However, this is apparently an urban legend. Research has actually turned up no record of any such event ever occurring during that storm. Such is the power of a hurricane to make legends.
However, it is still a fascinating experience. In Hurricane Dora mentioned above, I actually experienced the passing of the eye of it directly over where I was at the time. This terrible, raging storm in a matter of perhaps a half an hour or so just – vanished! The wind subsided, the clouds broke, the rain let up, the sun was suddenly shining, and all so very quickly. So much so that I remember birds starting to sing again as if it was all over. But then, after another 39-40 minutes or so of this eerie calm, it all began again in reverse, and the wind and rain returned with all the force and power of an hour ago. I imagine viewing a solar eclipse of the sun might be a similar experience.
Another fascinating element is that when it does end, it ends quickly. Again, in a matter of perhaps a half an hour, the brunt of it is entirely gone. There may be rain bands coming and going for a while, perhaps a few more hours, but by and large it is over.
Someone may say, it's just a really bad rain storm. No, it's much more than that. Comically put, one might say that a rainstorm is to a hurricane what the Podunk State University football team is to the New England Patriots. (Agreed, Purgatory?)
As another informal measure of the immense psychological impact that a hurricane can have, I remember a scifi story (I apologize for not remembering the author and title of it, bad form for me a former librarian, but I read the story so long ago) in which a powerful being comes to earth, takes control of everything, and makes a strange request of the people of earth. It seems he is a very bored superbeing, and he is constantly searching the galaxy for thrills, for excitement. He makes a deal with the people of earth: provide me with a thrill and I will spare your planet and move on. So the powers of the earth get together and provide him with a number of "thrills": an H-bomb detonation, the performance of a super computer, and some others that I don't recall. But the being is still bored, and is just about to destroy the earth, when, suddenly, the wind starts blowing, the trees start swaying , and yes, a hurricane just happens to come along. The superbeing is so awestruck by it, thawt he admits that he "got his thrill," and moves on. Such can be the effect of a hurricane.
So, living through a hurricane can be an extraordinary experience.
Todd, if you can get the chance to so do, it could be unforgettable to live through one (but do be careful!).