hurricane irene.

right now, the howling winds are forcing the rain to spray and splash against my window. above me are the muted sounds of rain against the roof. i feel as if i'm in a rain globe.

last night, i panicked and thought that the hurricane might bring with it, terrible power outages and water shortages. i bought 9-volt batteries for the radio and stocked up with bread and cheese. this morning, i filled 3 empty milk gallons with water and have not stepped foot out of the house all day. even with the wind whiplash against the windows, i am feeling mostly safe.

i remember teaching hurricanes to my 4th grade students during our weather unit in science. i've since forgotten the details, so thanks to the internet, here's how hurricanes form:

Hurricanes begin when a group of storms comes together over warm waters in the ocean along the equator. All summer long, these areas absorb heat from the sun. By late summer, the hotter water temperatures allow storms to strengthen and grow. This signals the start of “hurricane season.”

Warmer water means more energy for a storm’s development. Storm systems create areas of low pressure, which cause large amounts of water to evaporate. This makes the air very humid. As the warm air rises, cooler air rushes in to replace it. As this cycle intensifies, these rushing winds pick up speed.

At first, these winds blow in toward the center of the storm system. As the storm grows, however, the effect of Earth's rotation begins to spin the storm around. The center rotates in a counterclockwise direction. The winds now whip around the center and create the “eye” of the storm. Swirling bands of clouds and rain curve outward from the center and give the forming hurricane its familiar shape.

(thank you, macmillan-mcgraw/hill.)

first an earthquake on tuesday, august 23rd, and 4 days later, a hurricane. i have a feeling that this is only the beginning...and that thought, alarms me.