TD 12 - Come on Down!

Tropical Depression 12 is set to hit Florida this weekend (but of course) as a tropical storm. Its name will be Katrina. The NHC forecast says the storm will hit the east coast and then travel across the state. It probably won't be much more than a nasty summer storm by the time it hits our side of the state, but it will be enough to thoroughly piss on our weekend.

We're not planning to board up; we're just going to rent some movies and lay low.

It's probably just as well that it's a weekend storm. With the red tide killing everything that swims and flies at the beach, it hasn't been much of a recreational summer anyway. Boating is miserable and walking the beach is like smoking two packs of cigarettes in an hour. I suppose that's just as well, too, because it makes it harder to smell the dead fish, which far outnumber human beachgoers this year. It's just plain nasty out there.

Meanwhile, the tropics are really starting to heat up now. The satellite image shows a lot of disturbance coming off the Cape. We expect the next few weeks to rock and roll in the tropics. We're ready. The hurricane kit is stocked and packed. Shutters are inspected and ready to install. Run or stay, we're ready.

For those of you out west: don't worry. TD 12 (Katrina) isn't likely to do much but drop a lot of rain and maybe blow out some dead brush, which will save us the trouble of cutting it.

For those of you (you know who you are) who come up here for shelter or diversion during the storms: the Hunker Bunker is open for the weekend.