First Rule of Nature

  The end of August approaches, the summer tourists have begun to slack off and the weather has an appreciable change - only a degree or two, but appreciable all the same.  Isaac is somewhere in the vicinity of Castro and drawing a bead on Key West.  The supposed destination around Mobile with possibilities still so far up in the air the hurricane hunters are still flying routinely.

  Weather is a constant fascination for me.  I love to watch it, check the changes, the progressions and the similarities as I add years to my experience.  Having lived my entire life in the South, all but ten years in Northeast Florida, I have watched with undivided interest the numerous storms that have threatened the peninsula I call home.  Fortunately, as I learned from George Davis shortly after locating in Fernandina, we are the westernmost point on the east coast of North America.  Some will think "why would such an idle piece of knowledge be of any interest?"  The answer is simple - hurricanes.

  Look at a map of the east coast.  We stick in somewhere underneath Cincinnati, or thereabouts, while North Carolina's east coast is out there with the Canadian Maritime Provinces.  Good for us usually!  But this year has been different.  We had tropical storms well before the official season.  The winter was a warm one after two successive very cold ones.  And, so far, very few storms at this time of the season.  Will the season intensify?  Will we get the projected number of storms?  Only Mother nature knows for sure.  But if nothing else comes of this it reminds me of the first rule of nature - nature wins!

  We live on a barrier island and not a very big one at that.  By their very nature barrier islands are living, shifting things that won't be the same next week as they are this week or were last week.  All the man made adjustments, the preventatives and preparations are all for naught.  The ocean and winds and tides and rivers and rain and heat will do with this place as they see fit.  Sometimes in conjunction with each other and sometimes alone.  But, always as nature deems fit!

  Prepare for the worst, hope for the best and keep a keen eye on the weather websites.
Everyone has their favorites and the meteorologists they respect.  But, whatever you do, keep an eye out for the coming changes.  The next couple of days will mean constant fluctuation and varying levels of potential danger.  So just mind your p's and q's, watch the weather and be ready to run.