from Frank Kaiser's “Suddenly Senior” mailing list, the “Top Ten Reasons Hurricane Season Is Like Christmas”
10. Decorating the house (boarding up windows).
9. Dragging out boxes that haven't been used since last season (camping gear,
flashlights).
8. Last minute shopping in crowded stores.
7. Regular TV shows preempted for “specials”.
6. Family coming to stay with you.
5. Family and friends from out-of-state calling.
4. Buying food you don't normally buy … and in large quantities.
3. Days off from work.
2. Candles.1. And the number-one reason Hurricane Season is like Christmas…At some point you know you're going to have a tree in your house!
On a more serious note, we're having an African dust storm this weekend, straight from the Sahara Desert, which seems to have some dampening effect on hurricanes, or be correlated with one.
In general, Saharan dust storms, which generally arrive between June and August and can shroud sunsets in a pale yellow haze, can be our friend:
For reasons not completely understood, the dust storms or the meteorological conditions that accompany them tend to suppress the development of hurricanes.
''They somehow work on cloud mechanisms,'' Prospero said.
Moreover, they help build Florida — literally.
Top soil in much of the state includes copious amounts of reddish African dust, deposited over countless eons.
''Africa is contributing to our soils here in Florida,'' Prospero said. “What you are seeing is geology at work, very slowly.''
