A Hurricane in Novemberr?!

Hurricane Ida is now swirling in the waters off Nicaragua. That's right, a full-fledged Category 1 hurricane has formed in November.

Hurricane season ends November 30, and it's not unprecedented to see tropical storms and hurricanes this late in the year. A couple of times in recent memory, we've even had named storms develop in December. Aren't those pesky storms watching the calendar?

The National Hurricane Center has the storm crossing Nicaragua and Honduras, losing strength over land, then moving back over the open water, strengthening to tropical storm status and heading into the Gulf.

The good news is, the waters are cooling, so the storm shouldn't gain a lot of strength. It still has the potential to cause some wind damage and flooding upon landfall.

The ensemble models are all over the place, but at this point, if you live on the Gulf Coast, you should begin watching the National Hurricane Center for updates. I'll be checking my stock of canned goods, and I just received a package of six GoPicnic meals through an online giveaway. If the storm hits Pensacola and power gets knocked out, I'll be okay until they get it turned back on. I don't expect this to be a two-weeks-without-power experience, just a couple or three days at most.

At this point in the season, I'm a little calmer, because I don't expect a monster storm. Please, Mother Nature, don't prove me wrong! If you live in an area that could be targeted by Ida, do what I'm doing and watch the track, check for a few supplies, and don't stock up on refrigerated foods.