Hurricane Coincidences

This hurricane season is producing a number of interesting coincidences, including some that are nostalgic. This week two hurricanes hit the US mainland. Their names were Bonnie and Clyde. Yes, it's just like in the movies. Except that Clyde was Charley, instead. Sorry, Charley. Only the best hurricanes … er, we don't want the best hurricanes here. These hurricanes arrived on or about my 58th birthday, 2004 August 13.

On this date 49 years ago, I celebrated my 9th birthday. There was a hurricane that day too, Hurricane Connie. That's right, in 1955, it was Connie, and in 2004, it was Bonnie. Connie and Bonnie. I was in Rochester, New York then, and I remember that it poured rain and was windy all day long. My father took me to swimming lessons at the Y in the morning. Both Bonnie and Connie had devastating follow-on storms after them. In Connie's case, it was Hurricane Diane, which caused major flooding all over the Northeast, when it poured its rain on soil that was saturated with Connie. In Bonnie's case, it was Charley, which pounded Punta Gorda and other Florida communities into the ground.

And yet another storm is coming. This is Tropical Storm Earl. The Global Forecasting System (GFS) shows it fizzling out, or maybe wimping into Mexico, but the Navy Operational Global Atmospheric Prediction System (NOGAPS) shows it increasing in strength and headed towards the oil platforms of Louisiana. If that occurs, the price of crude oil will skyrocket. In fact, it will probably top $50/barrel. It's interesting that this storm will do that, because Earl sounds like Oil. Hurricane Oil. In fact, Earl is pronounced almost the same as the German Öl, which means oil. Let's hope Hurricane Oil stays away from the oil.