Now is not the time!

For those who don't know what I do for a living...I am a meteorologist at KVII-TV in Amarillo. I've been in the TV business for 8 years now and have been a storm chaser for 11 years. I've seen more than 2 dozen tornadoes in my life...some a little bigger than others. In addition to tornadoes, I have experienced numerous bouts of extreme weather in my life including blizzards, major hail storms, and even this heat burst in Oklahoma City (click on the link to read the article...you'll see some error messages on the side and top of the article, but the article itself explains the event.). There is, however, one experience I have yet to encounter...and that, my friends, is a hurricane. I have always said that at some point in my life, I want to experience a hurricane for it is truly one of Mother Nature's most powerful and incredible phenomena. My plan was to do this excursion when the right opportunity and situation presented itself. What I did NOT plan on was the possibility of having my first experience with a hurricane while Amanda and I are trying to take our last vacation before the baby comes!!!

Yes, this is what we are faced with right now...the very real possibility that tropical depression #24 (currently just south of Grand Cayman and Cuba) will strengthen and become Tropical Storm Wilma in the next day or so. From there, conditions will be favorable for it to strengthen even more and become Hurricane Wilma. The current forecast track offered up by The National Hurricane Center does not bode well for us and our trip to Cancun later this week. Being around weather for as long as I have, I know that hurricane forecasting, while better in recent years, is still notoriously bad...especially beyond the day two timeframe. The only thing we can do is wait and see what happens. The way it stands right now, we're in for one hell of a vacation!