hurricane

No, not that. Not the Princess Bride, or the TV show that I never saw but I heard was cancelled already.

I was watching CNN (or maybe it was NBC, or CBS, they all do it) and they had some poor person standing out in front of a camera talking about the hurricane that was at that moment blasting them in the face.

Here’s my question: Exactly how many hurricanes are you allowed to report on before they won’t let you use the word “unbelievable” to describe the weather?

Or, is it like radio stations, that always claim they are the “New Hot Mix 101.5” or whatever, even though they’ve been on the air since you were a toddler? (for you toddlers reading right now? They’ve been on the air since before you were conceived. Go ask your parents what I mean).

You keep using that word — I do not think it means what you think it means. - Inigo

Or else this would cause some folks to fret:

Wilma Now Most Intense Atlantic Storm Ever: “Wilma’s top sustained winds reached 175 mph early Wednesday in the most rapid strengthening ever recorded in a hurricane, said meteorologist Hugh Cobb of the National Hurricane Center in Miami. At the same time Tuesday, Wilma was only a tropical storm with winds of 70 mph.

Its confirmed pressure readings Wednesday morning dropped to 882 millibars — the lowest ever measured in a hurricane in the Atlantic basin, according to the hurricane center. The strongest on record based on the lowest pressure reading is Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, which dipped to 888 millibars”

It’s way too early to get excited, since nature moves in mysterious ways.

But I wanted to comment on:

Wilma

Cuz, well, it’s the last letter. Next storm will be Tropical Storm Alpha! Won’t be long and we can tell our kids about the “good old days” when several Cat IV storms a year in the gulf just didn’t happen.

Note: through the miracle of modern technology, this map / chart thingie will update itself automagically as new information becomes available and the good folks at the climate center update their predictions. So there.

Update on 10:18 - for any of you in or around Key West - tie a knot and hang on! Unless, you know, it turns more or less.

Final update: This will be the current tropical “item,” whatever that is. Today it’s tropical depression #6. Or is it #7?