Hello Irene, Veil of the Hurricane
I am sitting at my desk office in my home. As I look outside the blue sky is partly hidden by a light veil of clouds. It is the temptress/tempest called Irene. Her eye is upon the east coast and has been wandering/wending slowly on her journey. She reminds me of another Irene, a girl full of fury but disorganized. She had much less impact than first predicted, both the girl and the hurricane. A big storm but not the monster the US feared. By no stretch of the imagination can it be compared to that murderer/destroyer called Katrina. Already some people are patting each other on the back for all the preparedness. Yet their skills are not truly being tested by the storm. It is a good practice run though for when a real monster comes ashore in the future. Then we will know how well they have prepared. How well they have learned their lessons from Katrina.
I do not belittle the deaths/damages caused by Irene. Loss of life still stings the souls of those who are left behind. Flood damage will take away some homes/businesses and animals/pets. Yet thankfully it is not a great loss of life or property. The US has been spared over the last few years the big killer storms. After Katrina the hurricanes that formed in the Atlantic have veered early and spent their power upon the open waters off the coast. Is Irene the forerunner of a new pattern, a new track, for the coming storms? Will the following storms of cat1 to cat3 take aim at the old hurricane alley of the seventies?
Right now the storm is north of New York. The New England States will have the remnants of Irene, now a tropical storm, with which to contend. She is losing her power to destroy and it cannot come quickly enough. Over night she may wash into Canada, finally to be spent, and we can say goodnight Irene.