Hurricane Season drifts away (thankfully)

Yesterday marked the official end of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season, an event much noted here in Florida.

I can’t confirm this but I assume they’ve packed up the red and black warning flags at the National Hurricane Center in Miami and have placed the “gone fishing” sign on the radar screens.

Bars were reportedly full of imbibing Floridians last night celebrating this news (an alternate theory is they were sulking due to the absence of a state team in either the SEC or ACC championship games today).

Luckily we missed the Big Zap this season. Most Floridians are still paying dearly (higher insurance premiums) for the grim 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons when seven major storms crossed the state.

Hurricanes have an odd fascination (my opinion). Unlike other disasters – earthquakes, tornados or lightning strikes – hurricanes give ample notice of their pending arrival. Many of these big storms hang out in the western Atlantic or Caribbean for days lingering, trying to make up their minds, as though there were some type of nautical “stop” sign holding them back. Think of the music to JAWS being played relentlessly at shopping centers here from June to November …. It’s enough to put anyone on edge.

Hurricane Wilma did a perfect head-fake over Cancun two years ago, looked west... turned east ... and bashed us just as we had become complacent and bored with the 12 day saga of her meandering track. Go figure.

Anyway, amen to the Hurricane Gods and that big Bermuda high-pressure area that kept us safe this season.