OPINION: What’s the hurry, Cane? | Notice

THE KITCHEN – What to do with ground beef left for four days in a refrigerator that doesn’t work? Can I donate molded mayonnaise and wilted lettuce to the Houston Food Bank? Like thousands of other people in and around Houston, I’m still trying to clean up the mess left by several days of cooking without power. And meanwhile, I’m preparing to welcome several uninvited guests like Alberto, Beryl and Chris and maybe even Rafael, Sara and William. Yes, hurricane season is about to begin on June 1 when the Red Cross rolls out the first donut. Hurricanes are one of the joys of living in the Houston area, along with mosquitoes, smog and the Astros bullpen.

This year’s hurricane season could be one of the most active on record, according to a team of experts from Colorado State University. Two points: they always predict a record-breaking hurricane season, and why are Colorado State University predictors? It’s a wide beach. Not to be outdone, there’s a forecast of 33 possible named storms coming from that other frontier of waterfront experts at, uh, the University of Pennsylvania. A normal Atlantic Ocean hurricane season produces about 14 named tropical storms. This year, the two teams of “experts” predict much more. What is the difference between a tropical storm and a hurricane? A tropical storm receives a name when its sustained winds reach 39 mph; it strengthens into a hurricane when its winds reach 74 mph.

About these names. Before hurricane forecasters started naming storms, they had to refer to them by saying something like, “There’s a storm 250 miles southeast of Galveston,” but then it would move, like the Storms tend to do this, so Galveston meteorologists warn. , “There’s a storm 100 miles southeast of Galveston.” When they cried: “The storm has hit, babble, babble, help!” » and silence, you would know exactly where the storm was.

In 1953, the United States began using feminine names for hurricanes. In 1979, both male and female first names were used. The names alternate between masculine and feminine. They are given in alphabetical order. There are no Q, U, X, Y, or Z names due to the lack of usable names beginning with these letters. The lists of names repeat every six years, unless a storm is so severe that the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Hurricane Committee, which developed the names, withdraws them. So we won’t see another Karina, Ike or Harvey. Besides, there is no Stormy Daniels. In 2013, Houston U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee criticized the WMO because there were no African-American names for storms and hurricanes. “All racial groups should be represented,” she lamented. The MP suggested names such as Keisha, Jamal and Deshawn. If we have forecasted these 33 storms and we only have 21 names, WMO has a lifeboat, speaking. They have an additional list of 21 names that will be used.

This season we move from Alberto to William. One name, Isaac, can be confusing. The Great Galveston Storm of 1900 was the deadliest natural disaster in the nation’s history. This caused up to 12,000 deaths. The U.S. Army Quartermaster reported to Washington: “Galveston is destroyed beyond its ability to recover. » Today, many know the disaster thanks to a bestseller from 2000, Isaac’s storm by Erik Larson, in which he shares the story of the storm with Isaac Cline, chief meteorologist for the Galveston office of the U.S. Weather Bureau. Since hurricanes do not have names, today many people call it Storm Isaac. The only (sort of) good thing that came out of the disaster was that the hurricane scared away potential investors, who turned their attention to Houston instead.

You ask: “And me?” » First, look for the telltale signs that a storm is approaching. This includes no weather report on local television because the weather reporter ran away. See if there’s a donut in your front yard. Be aware if the real estate agent who regularly visits homes in your neighborhood brings out their glass-bottom boat. Ask the zoo for more information. If the animals line up two by two, it is a sign. As I mentioned before, west Houston is protected from flooding by the Addicks and Barker Dams, controlled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. My old neighborhood, Running Rats Acres, was spared from Hurricane Harvey, but then was devastated when the Corps of Engineers, in an effort to prevent flooding, opened the floodgates and flooded large parts of west Houston , including me. Check with the military. If they don’t extend the barbed wire along the Rio, they could open the floodgates again.

It all depends on where you live. If you live in Kingwood, you’re still drying out from the recent flooding and you’re not in the mood to consider installing a pool in your den. Move to the Heights, named because they’re 6 inches higher than the rest of Houston. Do you think you’re safe from a power outage because you live on the ninth floor of a condo and the building has its own generator? Think twice if the generator is in the basement. Moreover, ERCOT assures that there will be no power outage if a hurricane hits Texas because its power plants are in excellent condition: the gerbil and its treadmill have passed inspection. Get a manual can opener because your electric model won’t work. Open your garage door because it too opens with electrical power, not because you’re going anywhere. Batteries for your radio and flashlight that you’ll never find in the dark. Maybe you need a flashlight to find your flashlight. You may want to stay put to show your courage so National Guard rescuers can risk their lives hanging you from a steel cable in the pouring rain to pull you from the roof. Just be glad it’s the National Guard and not the Corps of Engineers.

Ashby is knee-deep at [email protected]

Editor’s Note: This column and its contents do not necessarily reflect the views of The Leader News, its staff, or its editor. The Leader News welcomes opinion articles on issues of interest to Greater Heights residents at [email protected]. Publication is at the discretion of the publisher.