Musings for September 2, 2018: Labor Day '19, Stormy Weather, and Stray Thoughts

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Well, Labor Day 2019 is upon us, and as much of America prepares for this last day of a long holiday weekend, I'm keeping an eye on Hurricane Dorian.

Not that I think that the monster-sized Category 4 storm is going to come ashore anywhere near me and wreak havoc in my neighborhood; the atmospheric conditions, the steering currents, and the Coriolis effect are all working so that Dorian will skirt along Florida's east coast and either go north to the Carolinas or veer northeast and go out to sea while the outer bands nick the East Coast. Me...I'm hoping for the latter; I've been through several hurricanes already and I would not wish them on anyone.

Right now, the chances that Dorian will barrel westward into Palm Beach, Martin, and St. Lucie Counties and then batter its way to the Gulf Coast are next to nil. According to my Weather app, Dorian's eye is almost due east of West Palm Beach, but it's moving so slowly (1 mph) that almost anyone could outwalk it. As such, this gives the steering currents more time to pick Dorian up and scoot it north before it makes landfall anywhere in the current watch and warning areas.

Per the latest National Hurricane Center advisory:

 BULLETIN
Hurricane Dorian Advisory Number  37
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL       AL052019
1100 AM EDT Mon Sep 02 2019

 ...GRAND BAHAMA ISLAND CONTINUES TO EXPERIENCE CATASTROPHIC WINDS
AND STORM SURGE AS DORIAN INCHES WESTWARD...
SUMMARY OF 1100 AM EDT...1500 UTC...INFORMATION
-----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...26.8N 78.3W
ABOUT 30 MI...50 KM NE OF FREEPORT GRAND BAHAMA ISLAND
ABOUT 110 MI...180 KM E OF WEST PALM BEACH FLORIDA
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...155 MPH...250 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...W OR 280 DEGREES AT 1 MPH...2 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...922 MB...27.23 INCHES
WATCHES AND WARNINGS
--------------------
CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY:

 The Storm Surge Warning has been extended northward along the
east coast of Florida to the Flagler/Volusia County Line.

 The Storm Surge Watch has been extended northward along the Georgia
coast to the Savannah River.

 The Hurricane Warning along the east coast of Florida has been
extended northward to the Flagler/Volusia County Line.

 The Hurricane Watch has been extended northward to Altamaha Sound
Georgia.

 SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT:

 A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for...
* Lantana to the Flagler/Volusia County Line

 A Storm Surge Watch is in effect for...
* North of Deerfield Beach to south of Lantana
* Flagler/Volusia County Line to the Savannah River

 A Hurricane Warning is in effect for...
* Grand Bahama and the Abacos Islands in the northwestern Bahamas
* Jupiter Inlet to the Flagler/Volusia County Line

 A Hurricane Watch is in effect for...
* North of Deerfield Beach to Jupiter Inlet
* Flagler/Volusia County Line to the Altamaha Sound Georgia

 A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for...
* North of Deerfield Beach to Jupiter Inlet

 A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for...
* North of Golden Beach to Deerfield Beach
* Lake Okeechobee

 Thankfully, I'm not living in any of those locations for which warnings and watches have been issued.

A look at Hurricane Dorian on a satellite map. 
Although Dorian is such a large weather system that its outer bands are overhead and will surely bring some thunderstorms to our area this afternoon, I say we got lucky this time.

Unfortunately, because Dorian's path still had the potential to veer northwest and cross the state and head out into the Gulf of Mexico, several employers altered their schedules to allow workers to prepare their homes just in case the hurricane affected the Tampa Bay area. Apparently one of those companies was Amazon Delivery, because the CD I was expecting to arrive yesterday will probably arrive later today.

I'm happy, because I had checked my Amazon account earlier today and was advised that I should expect my CD to arrive tomorrow.  I understood the reason for the delay, and I accepted it. But now that my tracking info shows that it's on its way, my Dorian-doused spirits have perked up.

Update: My CD arrived, and even though we've had some rain here and there, things are less stressful at the moment regarding Dorian. 

And, of course, those of you who enjoy my reviews now have a new one to look forward to later this week!

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