It is Monday afternoon and I can’t tell you where Isaac is going to come ashore. Even the experts at the National Hurricane Center are struggling with its forecast track. The computer models have taken the storm consistently to the west since the weekend. We were once in its crosshairs. Now, we are a little to the right.
That’s not totally good news, though. The Mississippi Gulf Coast will be in the upper right-hand quadrant. That means winds will drive the Gulf of Mexico ashore — right now predictions are of up to 15 feet of surge along areas punished seven years ago. Even though Isaac is disorganized and relatively weak (it ain’t Katrina or Camille), it will push a lot of water. As most Katrina survivors along the coast can tell you, that is hell in itself.
Once on land, the dying storm will dump copious amounts of rain across most of Mississippi. Add to that some wind and tornadoes.
Someone somewhere will be hurt. That’s all I can predict.
But this is no time to panic. It is, however, time to prepare. You know what to do. If you don’t, listen and read. Go to MEMA’s website msema.org. Have a plan. Stick to it.
What I can predict is this: No matter what happens, we will bounce back. Our friends and neighbors will come to help us if we need it. And we will help them. How do I know that? Because that’s what we do. That’s what makes Mississippi special. I saw it after Katrina. I saw it during the South Delta flood. I saw it after the Smithville tornado. When things get bad, we get good.
And that is one prediction I can make with 100% accuracy.
6 Responses to When things get bad…