The Big One...

This is a radar/satellite image of Gustav immediately prior to landfall in Louisiana.

While Gustav didn't do much damage here in South East Texas, it was pretty nervous there for a little while. The reason for being prepared for the worst is that we don't know with any certainty how a storm is going to affect our community. And while we seemed to have missed most of the show this time, there always exists the potential for additional storms. Next year, next month, next week - sometime the big one will hit here.

My father echoed the thing I had always wondered about prior to moving here. He wondered why people would live here when there is the potential for devastating storms... I patiently explained that there is actually very little chance of a large storm at any given point in any given year. maybe once out of every four years. So for three years, 364 days and 18 hours, there are no problems. Then there are six hours of sheer terror, followed by a couple of weeks of clean-up. We live in a paradise. It is a truly beautiful place to live. I don't want to move. Besides, it was 31 degrees in Rexburg last night, and I would rather take the warm beautiful tropical weather than live in Iceburg...