Igor was Downgraded as it Passed Bermuda
When I told my friends in Alaska, I had decided to retire to Puerto Rico, they all thought I was crazy – “You’ll get maimed in a hurricane or lose everything you own”. I looked into all that before I ever visited PR.
Puerto Rico is not near as prone to hurricane destruction as is the coast of Texas or the Southern States or even New Brunswick in Canada. Hurricanes are just getting fired-up when they pass us by.
That’s not to say Puerto Rico has never been hit. I’ve met a lot of folks who lost property when Hurricane Georges (Cat. 3) passed through in 1998. It was real bad. Many folks were without electricity and water for 2 weeks or more. Cold beer (cerveza) was a rarity. One enterprising pub rented a refrigerated truck to cool off cases of soda and brew which sold out rapidly every two hours or so – as fast as they could encolden them!
Most Puerto Ricans keep an eye on the weather
from mid August through the end of September.
Downgraded to Cat 1, as it Passes Bermuda
Tropical storms and hurricanes are one of the key reasons 98% of all new homes are built of cement. Remember the “Three Little Pigs” story? Cement is relatively cheap, compared to building with wood. What’s more, all wood exposed to the elements must be treated against termites.
Cheap 2×4’s from Home Depot don’t cut it.
This short animation was done to show what a hurricane looks like as it passes through the Caribbean. Capturing the stills off the NOAA site and building them into an animation was fun. I added descriptions to the islands and countries and a little music too. That music is courtesy of the Free Music Archive. Those images are no longer available at the NOAA site. You can see and read more about the Cat 4 Hurricane Igor of 2010 at NASA’s Web site. Their sensors detected 170 degree (F) differences within the storm!
Anyone can use this for any purpose. No big deal.
‘Thank You NOAA and NASA, for making these images available’
Closing note, I hope this will be my last nearby involvement with Caribbean hurricanes or tropical storms. Somehow, I doubt it.
LaLa says
As one with a goal to own vacation property in the Caribbean and, one day, retire there, I find this post most encouraging. Thanks!
Sally says
Accuracy beside the point, looks like ya’ll barely got rain, from Igor at any rate.