I feel so fortunate following Wilma

[Ziplock]

I can't express my relief at having come through the storm with no major damage. I have never been so happy to have shutters on the windows and doors, I'll say that much. During the peak hours of strongest winds, I was sooo glad that I got mine up in time. I would have been very afraid if I had not gotten them up..the winds were that strong...even with the shutters, my sliding glass doors facing to the south were bowing in...it was as if the entire house was breathing, it was very strange.

I live south of greater Miami, near SW 184th Street. I witnessed what some have described as "microbursts", where the winds gusted very hard one way, and then seconds later, shifted direction 180 degrees and blew just as hard the other way. I have never seen anything like this, not ever. I had one small window in my kitchen that I didn't shutter, and I could see out. Later, when the winds shifted to come out of the WSW, I was able to open my front door, and slip along the side of the house protected from the winds, and observe up close and personal the trees breaking up, the leaves tearing off the royal palms, and the gumbo limbo trees bending to the ground with each higher gust of wind.

I know it wasn't the smartest thing to do, especially for a disabled person, to be out in the storm, but I felt safe in the lee of the house, at least as safe as I felt inside the house.

I feel for all those who lost their homes and/or their things due to the storm. I lost all my stuff in Andrew, so I know how it feels to lose everything but your life and health.

I remain humbled by the power of these hurricanes. I understand the nature of "w@@h-c@@sting" on the board, I think. To wish to feel small in the face of nature is not necessarily a bad thing. And feeling small is what I felt yesterday as Wilma pounded my neighborhood...and there was nothing I could do about it.

As a tropical weather enthusiast, I will say that enough is enough. Give us a break in Florida and the Gulf coast. No more storms for a while, please.

Checking in,
Ziplock

[decgirl66]

Very well put! They are amazing to look at in person and on radar....so beautiful, but so damaging unfortunatley! Glad to hear you made it throught ok!!

[Canelaw99]

I, too, am one of the fortunate ones as we sustained no damage here in Homestead, personally. This was really my first real hurricane experience (winds, etc.), and I completely agree with you about the house breathing. We had the plywood up on all the windows, but I could hear the sliding glass doors making noises, and when I got near them to peak out through the space in the wood, I could feel them moving. It was a very eerie thing. That said, I wouldn't hesitate to go through a similar storm here again.