I hope no one is gong to the Caribbean or Florida this week. Irma is heading your way and is a cat 4 already.
You have to really feel for those in the southern American states and islands that have already suffered. Hopefully, better days ahead for them.
It's hurricane season from August onwards over there. I was in Florida in 1996 and Hurricane Edouard was heading our way in our last week there. There were updates on TV every hour tracking it across the Atlantic and Dunking Donuts were advertising a free Hurricane kit to anyone spending $10 in their stores, I think it was a plastic mac, torch and whistle. God save America...
I was in Atlanta 2003/4 caught the tail end of Larry, lots of damage but couldn't take it seriously with a name like Larry
can you imagine being at the end of ''a perfect storm''. This Irma has certainly got some weather forecasters worried
I went through a force ten typhoon in Hong Kong in 1983. An experience for which the word awesome is for once appropriate. I was in Hilton Head, South Carolina in 1999 when a big one was forecast. Everyone was told to leave, not convenient when you are a tourist with nowhere to leave to, but some locals in a bar (who I automatically trusted) said they didn't think it would be too bad and if it was they would come and get us. They were right, and the weather conditions the next day were so eeerily beautiful, coupled with a general absence of other people, that it made the holiday. Given the downpour in Stratford on Avon a couple of hours ago, I wonder if the fag end of Harvey has reached us. I had to shelter in a pub while it passed. Tragic.
My good mates daughter is in Antigua right now. He txt her about 2 hours ago and she says it's not panic stations yet but they are spending the night in the hotels conference room just to be safe. They expect the north of the island to get a right battering.
wind speeds 185mph gusting to 220mph. My sisters council house in Shepherds Bush might have some trouble from that!
