Well, that was terrifying.I think this was the first Category 4 hurricane I’ve ridden out. I’d have to go back and research all the storms I’ve been through, which is a lot. Can’t live in Florida and not have hurricane experience. Helene was a scary one, though. Big, strong, and barreling toward the Florida Big Bend with ill intent.To make matters worse, it was a night storm. It made landfall around 8:00 p.m. Thursday night and things started going downhill from there. We live about 25 miles inland, which sounds like it would offer a buffer, but for a storm this powerful, it didn’t temper the winds and rain we saw. There were also reports of tornadoes in the area. A weather double-whammy.Early predictions had Helene making a beeline toward Tallahassee. Then on Thursday morning, the reports said it would pass through “the center of the county”, which means just to the east of the city. I was watching the radar on my phone when it made landfall and saw the eye make a weird jog to the east. It was just enough to spare us the brunt of the storm. Image of Hurricane Helene, courtesy of NASA.My partner and I, along with our two dogs, camped out in the hallway of our home. Not much space, but we piled up blankets and comforters, a couple of battery-operated fans, and hunkered down. She fell asleep, of course, because she can sleep through anything, but I was too wired to close my eyes. Our younger mutt, Peppa, curled up beside me and she and I listened to the wind roaring outside, the tree branches and who knows what else hitting the roof, and the aluminum shutters rattling on the windows. My main concern was the trees. Tallahassee is known for its abundance of trees. Huge live oaks and tall, spindly pines cover the city. It’s beautiful to see but poses a real threat when a storm comes along. Luckily, I never heard the sound of one coming down around us. It’s a distinct sound, a cracking and deep rumble. It’s not easy to forget. Sort of like hearing a tornado.Eventually, the winds died down, but the rain continued. When I checked my rain gauge this morning it showed over five inches had come down. If nothing else, my garden will be happy for the next few days. I know other parts of town didn’t fare as well, and the neighboring counties to the east were hit extremely hard. In fact, this is the third hurricane to pass through the area in the past two years. They barely have time to recover before another one comes ashore. Part of the price to pay for living along the coast.I feel very lucky to have gotten through this in one piece. We lost power, which means we’ll lose some stuff in the refrigerator and freezer, but that’s a small price to pay. Others in the area have it much worse.Now it’s time to clean up and put away the supplies until the next storm arrives. RB
