God Has Videotape: The "Good Side" Ain't All That

During the 2004 hurricane season, my big wish was to be on the "good side" of the storm just one time. The forecasters described the "good side" as hurricane heaven; the folks who lived to the left of the eye never received warnings to run immediately to an interior room of the house and pull matresses over their heads. Here in Central Florida, we ended up on the right side, the ugly side, for three separate storms, where, because of the forward motion of the hurricane, the winds were strongest. If I hadn't bought the last battery powered radio at Target days before Charley, we would not have known when to bolt to the back hallway.

So all week as the National Hurricane Center consistently predicted that Wilma would cross the state to the south of Lake Okeechobee, I sighed with relief. For once we would be on the good side of the storm.

Well, hurricane heaven, it ain't. Wilma has not behaved as a typical storm. For one thing, as she is crossing over the state, she is bumping a cold front pushing down from the north. That cold front is interacting with the left side of Wilma, what's supposed to be the good side. So the National Weather Service has been issuing tornado warnings like these since last evening:

Late season tropical cyclones approaching Florida from the Gulf of Mexico have a greater risk of producing strong tornadoes especially when interacting with frontal boundaries.

Late season tropical cyclones moving in from the Gulf of Mexico have produced killer tornadoes in the past. If tornado warnings are issued take them seriously. The safest place is in an interior room on the lowest floor of a block home away from windows. Get under a workbench or other piece of sturdy furniture. Use blankets or pillows to cover your body.

Evacuate mobile homes or vehicles for more substantial shelter. If no shelter is available ... lie flat in the nearest ditch or other low spot and cover your head with your hands. Abandon your vehicle if the tornado is nearby.

Tornadoes at night are difficult to see. Watch for the popping of electric lines and transformers or listen for the sound of loud rumbling as that of an approaching freight train. Tornadoes are often associated with storms which also produce large hail and excessive lightning.

We still have power, which I am taking full advantage of. If we lose electricity, at least we won't be sweltering in 90+ degree heat. In fact, we are supposed to do a record drop—alas, it's been a whole season of records—from high 80s yesterday to low 40s tonight. No, I won't be sweating in a stinky house waiting for the rumble of utility company trucks; instead, I'll be taking a cold shower in 40-degree weather and getting dressed by flashlight to return to work tomorrow.

The folks to the south have it worse, I know. Here's a prayer that Wilma is the last hurricane to hit land this year.