Imagine sitting on the ground, under a 10-foot basketball goal.
Looks pretty high up there … doesn’t it?
Now picture it it twice as high.
Go one step more and add water to the equation.
Yeah … it spells trouble.
That’s what the folks in the Florida Panhandle are due for in a few hours – a major hurricane in Helene with winds, rain and surge that’s rare anywhere in the tropical region.
Floridians in that area of the state are looking at a potential Category 3 or possibly a 4 storm to hit this afternoon or this evening. As of 1 p.m. Thursday she was at Cat 2.
If it shapes up to be as bad as they are saying, it will be just the fourth time since 1995 that a major hurricane of Helene’s size has made landfall in the United States. Folks in upper Florida can expect bad weather miles away.
So can Georgia, South Carolina and far western North Carolina.
Insurance agencies are predicting as much as billions of dollars in damage as the storm makes its way inland. Already 70-plus hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities have evacuated.
Us, in our region, we dodged yet another bullet as the National Hurricane Center and all of its computer systems are calling for Helene to head inland with a westerly turn as it dies out because of the influence of land.
So what does that mean for our water-filed region that already has been experiencing high tides and lots of rain?
A little more rain and some breezy conditions is what it means now – although forecasting such situations always is difficult.
But as weeks go by and you return to the waters both inshore and offshore, it means several issues.
For starters, expect debris to be floating throughout the Chesapeake Bay and offshore regions.
Parts of docks, fallen timber – all kinds of stuff. Add in displace snakes and critters and your have a complete mess without ever being seriously touched by the storm.
It all can be hard to see and can cause lots of damage.
So it’s a great time to kick in your practice situation even though you probably won’t need it – this time, at least.
We dodged another bullet, but more shots soon will be fired and you’d best be ready for all of it.
And a huge round of prayers for all of those in the line of bad news.
To read more of my work, go to leetolliveroutdoors.com
