Another thing that I’m always fascinated by are the tales and stories that people provide to me either via e-mail, or through the guestbook. Besides getting questions or comments about the storm names, I always seem to get people to give me a story about their experiences with a tropical storm or hurricane.

A lot of these stories deal with fierce and powerful hurricanes such as Gilbert (1988), Allen (1980), Elena (1985), and Hurricane Andrew (1992) just to name a few. One of the nice things about a web site like this is that it gives people an opportunity to share their stories and experiences with others. I strongly encourage all of you to do that, and if you like, I’ll post them here in the blog in our Storm Stories section. I’m going to try and add some of my own experiences in the Storm Experiences section just so that we can exchange our experiences.

A lot is made of the statistical and meteorological aspects of tropical storms and hurricanes. We’re all fascinated by the numbers that the storms can tally up along with the imagery of radar and satellite loops depicting these storms traveling across the globe from the West Coast of Africa to the North American and Central American coastlines. However, these storms bring out tales of survival and struggle against the forces of nature that are more a tribute to the human spirit, and that is more profound than just the data these storms produce.

You can also post information on your experiences as well as discuss the latest goings on and storms in the tropics by going to the Hurricaneville Message Board. There I’ve made a number of postings for all of you to read.