StormWatch: Noel

When has taunting nature ever resulted in anything good happening? I recently debated my boss about the usefulness of predicting seasonal hurricanes. I saying that even the leading expert is always wrong, he saying otherwise. I get irked when they "reforecast" and when the latest (4th) reforecast (spellcheck does not even recognize this word!) came out a few weeks ago I had to laugh. The original forecast called for 17 named storms, 9 major hurricanes and 5 that would hit the US with outrageous force. I scoffed at what has amounted to a pathetic hurricane season.

The latest and most annoying is Noel the androgynous hurricane. Also the 15th. Many of the preceding storms were nothing more than mid-Atlantic burps. With few storms even coming close to Florida, we've been below average for rainfall. It's good for tourism, not so good for the natural world. But Noel is an unwanted guest for me for selfish reason. I'm flying to Guayaquil, Ecuador from Miami on Friday and I want this storm to go away now. The only storm to make landfall along the Atlantic was Gabrielle which hit the Carolinas when I flew back from Boston in September. Not a fan of flying in, over or through storms. It's all about me.
I'll look on the bright side - the storm should bring more much needed rain and then the quandary of water woes will be lessened and the need for signs like the following (from the Fort Lauderdale Best Western) will be diminished.

I still haven't figured out if the State requires that you flush twice or if a second flush is necessitated by the equipment required. Chicken or the egg? If it smells like either - flush it.