Wilma, Oh Wilma

I don’t think I really understand all the people that are leaving town for the hurricane. I mean sure, I understand that hurricanes can bring massive devastation. But this one is at a standstill. It’s just sitting there and now isn’t going to hit us until Monday or later. At its current pace it will hit next semester.

Anyone who lives in hurricane country knows a storm’s strength at sea has little bearing on how powerful it will be once it hits land. It strengthens. It weakens. It wobbles. It shears. It changes direction. Or it doesn’t do any of these things. On Monday Wilma was the most powerful storm ever. Yesterday I read that it’s likely to be a tropical storm once it crosses the Florida peninsula and hits South Florida. Other sources said other things yesterday. No one has a clue.

I guess it’s better to be safe than sorry so if you have the ability to leave town it’s not a totally crazy idea. But it seems like overreaction because the bottom line is no one has any idea how powerful it will be, when it will hit or where it will hit. Literally no one has a clue. Forecasters are basically as blind as they were 100 years ago other than that they know a hurricane currently is out there and something's coming eventually.

So to leave town with an indefinite date of return just seems like a slight overreaction fueled by the media’s desire to make this into entertainment which in turn puts everyone in panic mode.

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Speaking of confusion, what's with all the people lined up to buy plywood for their homes? Am I wrong in thinking that anyone who needs plywood, unless they bought a house or moved since the last hurricane, should already have plywood at hand? What did they do with their plywood the last time? Burn it? Throw it in the trash?