Hurricane Erin has turned into a very dangerous storm. Although it has gone from a Category 4 with maximum sustained winds of 130 miles per hour to a Category 2, with winds of 105, its tropical winds extend 230 miles from its core, covering a huge area. Although Erin is predicted to stay offshore, it will impact the Outer Banks of North Carolina, with possible flooding in that area, and cause high waves and dangerous rip currents everywhere on the Eastern coast, including here in Stuart, Florida. I took the photograph on the left of Jupiter Beach the other day, and all was still serene. However, today waves on the Treasure Coast are expected to be 6 to 8 feet. Definitely not the time to go boating.
When weather forecasters first mentioned that the hurricane's name was Erin, I had a feeling of Deja Vu, since years ago, back in 1985, Hurricane Erin landed in nearby Vero Beach while my sister Susan and I were visiting our mother Mary here in Stuart. The next day, when we went to the beach, my mother took the photograph of me seen on the right, showing the headline in the Stuart News that says, "Erin Hits Home." Fortunately, it was only a Category 1 hurricane, but watching the news coverage the previous evening as it approached the coast, it sounded like the end was near. When we drove to Boca Raton to meet Susan's sister-in-law Nancy for lunch, we mentioned to her that the hurricane came very close to Stuart. Nancy, her husband Willie, and their kids were living in South Miami back then, and Hurricane Andrew destroyed their entire neighborhood. They spent several years in a trailer in their driveway while waiting for their house to be rebuilt. And so, Nancy was quite unimpressed, dismissing Erin as a mere Category 1. In any case, for a moment this past week, I was worried that Erin was coming back to finish us all off. Fortunately, we dodged a bullet. At least for now.
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