My first memory of a hurricane was that of Donna in 1960. I sat and watched its power bend and break branches of huge oaks and maple trees even uprooting a few. I had no concept of wind speed and rain or flood effects at the time only the raw power I observed. I did not live in a coastal area at the time but now I do and analysis of storm surge, wind speed, rainfall and tides complicate matters.
I won't dwell on the technicalities because there's an additional unpredictable factor that helped us immensely to survive Hurricane Mathew relatively unscathed. The fact is Mother Nature decided to be on our side in Florida and brought only tropical storm force winds along the majority of our coastline. I am thankful for that but take it with a grain of salt because as with real estate a hurricane's location is paramount to it's destructive capabilities. Mathew's eye never came upon land while passing through but it was close and should not be taken lightly.
To put it in perspective this video shows the aftermath of Mathew's departure from the area without a lingering presence. Mathew reminds us of what a hurricane can do and what it did not do to Florida. It's landfall anywhere along the South East coast remains a possibility so please remain aware.
http://www.evsjupiter.com/pics/v22/oct0716a/o070720a.mp4
Video is courtesy of the Jupiter Inlet District Webcam and more at http://www.evsjupiter.com/
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