Beware of A New Season of Storms
The warming sunshine and easy-going days of summer have once again become a memory, at least in most parts of the country, and the 2009-2010 hurricane season has slipped silently (so far) through the door. The experts in these matters at the National Weather Service tell us that America is in for a severe hurricane season this year, largely due to the El Nina phenomenon occurring out in the Pacific Ocean. I suppose you have to be a meteorologist to really understand how Pacific Ocean currents can have much bearing on the number of hurricanes to smash into Florida, but I also suppose that we have to accept predictions for what they are worth— speculative best guesses.
Being from Western Pennsylvania, my one and only experience with a hurricane occurred during my time in the U.S. Navy, aboard the U.S.S. Ticonderoga. The War in Viet Nam was raging at the time, and I was assigned to work on the flight deck and hanger deck of this refurbished, World War Two aircraft carrier. My job was to move jet planes from where they were parked on the hanger deck to where they were launched on the flight deck (and Visa versa). This was accomplished by attaching the front wheel strut of the jet to a tractor-like machine called an “aircraft spotting dolly”, then towing the plane to wherever it was needed. Towing jet planes around in tight places on a rolling deck was not exactly for the feint of heart, but most of the time the sheer size and weight of the ship cutting through the water kept things pretty stable.
On the fifth day out at sea, after responding to a crisis that was brewing off the coast of North Korea, the Ticonderoga was steaming south through the Sea of Japan. An announcement came from the Bridge that all hands were to cease “air operations” and prepare the ship for stormy seas; we were headed directly into a major typhoon. Within a few hours, a winds had picked up to eighty miles per hour, and the sea swells had grown to enormous proportions. All the equipment, including airplanes, bomb racks, aircraft towing equipment, and anything else that could move was chained and double-chained to the pad-eyes in the deck. Within five hours, the Ticonderoga was bearing the full brunt of the typhoon. Although the top of the flight deck was fifty feet above the water, huge waves were crashing over the deck, pushed on by hundred and twenty mile per hour winds. The ship was leaning from side to side at steep inclines which caused the steel roller-curtains protecting the jets in the hanger bays to be torn away by the pounding of the waves. Before long the waves had breached the hanger deck, ripped several attack jets from their chain moorings, and flung them into the sides of the ship and into other jets. Jet fuel escaped from the ruptured tanks and spread across the deck on a rising tide of sea water. The entire “ship’s company” (i.e. the crew) were put on General Quarters, with strict orders to refrain from smoking, under penalty of 30 days in the Brig. For the next twelve hours the Ticonderoga and all who were on board her, were thrown like a child’s bath tub toy by the storm. Eventually the storm let up, and the ship, steamed it way to Yokousaka, Japan for repairs. Repairs on the ship’s company, including lots of stitches and bandages, were done on board the ship.
As the year presses on, and the 2009-2010 hurricane season unleashes its fury wherever it may, I will always remember what it’s like to experience a hurricane first hand. I will also be glad that Western Pennsylvania is 500 miles from the nearest coast.
—Rich
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That is such a compelling and frightening story! Rough water is hard enough to handle in a ship….hurricane winds on a carrier full of jets sound horrific! My hat is off to you, Rich, and to all our brave servicemen and women, past and present…but I admit I’m glad my family was in the Army branch…because being sea sick seems to be genetic–and I guess it comes with the territory for Navy folks. Thanks for sharing that story!
You are absolutely right. Mother Nature can dish out punishment that (fortunately) only a small percentage of people have experienced.
Our messing around with the climate only seems to make things worse from year, to year.
Rich – wow – what a story from the Ticonderoga. I can’t image what it’s like to be in a hurricane at sea. Your description assures me that I never want to find out. Upstate New York – where we are – is similarly (mostly) protected from hurricanes. Thank heaven.
WillOaks,
I guess that we all have the “sea-sickness” gene to one degree or another. The motion of the waves in the middle of the Pacific and even in the Gulf of Tonkin was constant, so everybody got used to it after a while. They call it “getting your sea legs”. Actually, the most uncomfortable thing about the Viet Nam theater of operations was the heat and humidity. Being an “essex Class” carrier, the Ticonderoga had never heard of air conditioning, so heat rash was endemic.
Politicus,
I agree, the effects of mankind’s disregard for the global environment will be long lasting and increasingly devastating as time goes by. A warning shot has been fired, but many have chosen to ignore it. Perhaps if a hurricane with about a forty foot storm surge hit Boca Raton, Florida, and wiped out Limbaugh’s house and studio, he (and other right-wingers) would acknowledge the fact that global warming is for real.
koe,
Thanks for your comment. After World War II, the Ticonderoga and other Essex Class carriers were taken out of dry dock and fitted with “hurricane bows” to help protect them against big storms. When the ship would cut through huge waves, the force of the water was so powerful it would smash the anchors against the side of the ship and create deafening “booms”. It was the sea’s way of letting us know who was really in charge!.
No matter how much might we may possess as humans, it pales in comparison to that of Mother Nature. It’s like every so often, She wants to remind us of who is really in charge.
Your story reminds me of one my grandpa likes to tell, about a storm he weathered in the Pacific Ocean while serving in WWII. Being from the Midwest, I never really understood how violently powerful Mother Nature can be (sure, we had ice & snow storms but I was used to them) until I lived in Japan, where I experienced bona fide typhoons (tai-fun) and earthquakes (the kind where you can see buildings swaying like trees in the wind!).
Hopefully any “severe weather” or other destructive natural phenomena will serve to remind people that they’d better respect their Mother, because she’ll always have the final say!
I definitely believe in global warming as something is going on weather wise. This summer was extremely rainy. This followed a strange winter and it’s snow storms. Animals are now shedding for longer periods of time. Wind turbines, especially in the mid-west are slowing down. Will be interesting to see what we’ll get for weather in the next 5 years.
bluzdude,
I don’t think Mother Nature is too happy about what humans have done to the world’s environment. She will definitely get the last word.
Tamara,
It good to hear that your grandpa told you “sea stories” about Navy life during World War II. We didn’t have to worry about kamikazes during the War in Viet Nam, but I’m sure the hurricanes were the same for both of us.
traveling cat,
The “experts” tell us that the Eastern Seaboard will be under water within the next fifty years or so if global warming isn’t stopped. Maybe we’ll finally get a beach here in Pittsburgh?
I can’t even imagine!! What a scary story…but at least with a good ending. (You told it well. I was almost getting sea sick sitting in my office!)
Here’s to solid ground!
Cheers!!