Ian

 

Well, rats. It looks like Hurricane Ian made landfall at Uncle Sunshine's island. The folks of North Captiva aren't going to be very happy about this. In 2004, Hurricane Charlie made landfall at that same island and tore the island in two. It eventually grew back together. However, the emotional impact for the residents has been long felt. They still talk about "Charlie" and shake their head. 

Last time I was there, I spoke with a woman who rode out Hurricane Charlie and ended up stranded on North Captiva for eight weeks without water and power. That wasn't her plan, of course. Charlie turned at the last minute and those who listened to the National Weather Service thought they had several hours to get to the mainland. Instead, they ended up having 30 minutes--which isn't even enough time to make the boat ride from the island to Pine Island in normal weather. Pine Island, incidentally, is considered "mainland" by the locals, even though it's an island.

In 2019 Marty was offered a job in Fort Myers. Today, Polly and I have been watching the Weather channel, picking out bridges and parks we recognize on Pine Island, Cape Coral and Fort Myers. Marty has been in contact with Uncle Sunshine, who is taking care of his 96 year old mother-in-law. I don't believe they evacuated the area, but they weren't on the North Captiva Island when the storm hit.  

In addition to all of this, my brother is in Boca Raton (north of Miami, on the other side of the state). He's had tornado warnings since 5 a.m. He texted me at 5:37 this morning (his time) to tell me he and his bride were hunkering in a closet waiting out a nearby tornado.  

Update: the news is saying Ian now made landfall at Cayo Costa. That's like saying it made landfall directly across the street. Cayo Costa is less than a half-mile away, across the channel from North Captiva. Think of it this way, the hurricane made landfall at 43rd Avenue and Peoria in Glendale, AZ and the news reporting the hurricane made landfall at 39th Avenue and Peoria, in Phoenix, essentially right next door. I've read Hurricane Charlie could have fit inside the eye of Ian, so I'm guessing Hurricane Ian's eye was bigger than North Captiva or Cayo Costa.