More On National Hurricane Conference...

One of the topics at the conference was a recap of Hurricane Harvey.  Not only was it a major hurricane at landfall, but it became the most prolific rainmaker(40-50”+) afterwards that killed 65 people.   Can you imagine what would happen here if we had that kind of rainfall with the current limited pumping capacity in Orleans Parish?   Yikes!  In fact, if that kind of rainfall happens anywhere, there will be major flooding.  Our situation is different because we must pump all rain water back up over the levees that protect us.   Let’s hope that doesn’t happen in our life time.   Did you know…if you are 70+, you are 8 times more likely to die during a hurricane?  Why?  The seniors like me have less mobility and are more likely to have cardiovascular issues.  One surprising statistic was this…INDIRECT deaths (heart attacks, car accidents, home accidents) are 20 times more likely than DIRECT deaths due to storm surge, wind debris, falling trees etc).  In other words, once the hurricane is gone, the dangers don’t end.  As we get closer to June 1^st, I’ll go into greater details regarding the decisions you’ll have to make IF a major storm threatens us.

 

Easter Sunday looks to be another near perfect day.  In fact, we should enjoy Spring-like weather through late Tuesday before our next front arrives.  As I mentioned last night, we are not done with cold fronts as computer models are keeping the cold air train going well past mid-April.  For folks up north, this means late season snows.  For us, it just means some chilly nights with comfy cool days.  That should mean our cool season annuals may last longer this year.  All my flowers are blooming like on steroids as they prosper with the longer sunny days and the nice cool nights.  I also noticed birds are on the prowl building nests in my bird houses after no action for many weeks.  I’ve decided to dig up the roots on my shrimp plants as they show no life.  One hibiscus is sprouting but the other 3 perished to the freeze.   My grapefruit has some fruit, but not nearly the 300 of last year.  Sadly my satsuma doesn’t appear to have any fruit…again.  This is year 4 and I’ll probably take it out since I’m not a doctor.  I have no patients, or is that patience?   Stayed tuned!