Hurricane Ike is bearing down on the eastern coast of Cuba at this hour after leaving widespread destruction across the Inaguas, the Turks & Caicos and the Southeastern Bahamas. The center is at 21.1N/75.2W, or about 40 miles north of Guantanamo. Ike is moving west at 14 mph. We’re having trouble getting reliable information from those areas but from what we’ve heard so far it’s about as bad as one could imagine. I’m sure more photos and video will be available as we head into Monday. At 8:00 P.M., Ike is still packing winds of 120 mph with higher gusts and is still a category 3 storm. The core of Ike is expected to move over eastern Cuba tonight and central Cuba on Monday. It’s trek across Cuba should weaken it the next couple of days, but once again our gain is Cuba’s pain. We have that buffer to our south and hurricanes lose some of their punch there but while that might be good for us, it’s always bittersweet because Cuba seems to get the worst of it most every time. As broadcasters, we always try to be mindful of others dangerous situation, even if it means things won’t be too bad here. People are left in rubble and ruins from the Bahamas to Cuba and my son wants to know if there is school tomorrow, and hoping there isn’t. Well, there is, at least in Broward. I can’t blame him for wanting to miss school, how many of us who lived up north would hope and pray for snow so we could stay home? We’ve all done it. But this isn’t a snowstorm, it’s a hurricane with destructive wind, rain, and storm surge, and as a dad and a meteorologist it’s always a balancing act for me at home between enjoying my son’s smile when school is closed and feeling sad for those who are affected by it most in other countries. So many times you’ll hear people on t.v. say “well, it’s looking good for us because the storm will move through Haiti, or Cuba, or the Bahamas first”. I don’t think it’s being insensitive, just ignorant and immature. There, I vented. Oh, back to the reason I started writing in the first place…There is no change in the track or strength at 8:00 P.M., but be sure to check back at 11:00 P.M., that’s when the really big advisory package comes in. It still looks like we’ll be watching this one from a distance, but we’re still going to get rainbands, some squalls and an isolated tornado or two anytime from Monday into Wednesday. You folks in the Lower Keys will likely experience more of this than those of us here in Miami-Dade and Broward. We’ll let you know if anything changes at 11.
John Gerard
Dear John, Thanks for putting things in perspective. Even though I am glad we here in Florida seem to be out of the woods with Ike, I feel for the folks in Haiti, the Bahamas and Cuba – and I am glad you feel the same and aren’t afraid to speak up. These days it’s too often ME! ME! ME! but when desasters like a hurricane strike it should be US – the human race. Thanks again and keep us posted.