I’m writing this late Saturday afternoon, watching the last of a hard rain come down
Already at this point, we’re under a hurricane warning.
But looking a weather radar for Bay City, it’s hard to tell whether this rain was outer bands or some other inland system.
County Agent Greg Baker posted the Saturday afternoon rain was from the north and not part of Beryl.
Doesn’t matter, by all accounts – and that means virtually nothing with predicting hurricanes – the storm will come.
As Jessica points out in her column below, we’ve been working on getting the Sentinel ready for the printer by Sunday, when late Monday is our usual deadline for the Houston printer.
July normally isn’t a real busy month for news, and the Fourth of July is the main news at this point.
But as we await the verdict of where the hurricane will strike, my mind races with all of the dire circumstances surrounding a hurricane.
Mainly, we want to cover as much of the story as possible through Sunday – and possibly early Monday.
The torment that hurricanes bring is ferocious – even a small hurricane is can be enormously destructive.
And the wreckage it brings doesn’t stop at the coast.
That’s a lesson I learned in the Hill Country.
The rains and winds can carry far inland, swelling creeks and rivers and bringing flood water crashing down on cities and towns.
As you read this, some other parts of Texas also will be dealing with Beryl’s aftermath.
We’ve found working on the paper this weekend how indifferent some folks are to a raging storm that will come bearing down.
Some people were busy buying supplies – including sheets of plywood to protect windows - and buying gasoline for vehicles and generators Saturday.
Water was becoming somewhat scarce on grocery shelves, along with food and other day-to-day necessity items.
Businesses and governments were planning to close Monday since the predictions Saturday called for landfall in the late Sunday-early Monday time frame.
Some shrugged their shoulders. Maybe they planned on hitting the accelerator for action plans and buying supplies later than prudence would dictate.
So much for assembling disaster kits.
There’s no telling how that worked out.
Probably the same as not looking ahead always turns out.
Problem is we’re facing what meteorologists say will be an active hurricane season.
Meanwhile the fourth estate at our house is proceeding at a fever pitch to get the paper out.
