SciGuy breaks out the red cape, waves it wildly towards the Gulf Coast, and yells loudly “Hey, Fate! You’re a big wussy!”
It may seem imprudent to tempt fate, but it’s impossible to escape a singular fact: Historically, after this time of year, hurricanes strike the Lone Star State exceedingly rarely.
Since reliable records were first kept in 1867, the National Hurricane Center reports just four Texas hurricane landfalls after Sept. 24. Of the four, the most recent was Jerry, a minimal Category 1 hurricane that made landfall on Oct. 16, 1989, near Galveston.
That’s one hurricane every 35 years. So, is it safe to signal an all-clear?
“I am not sure, with as strange as the weather patterns have been over the past several years, and the emotions of the public, that that would be a good term to use,” said Jill Hasling, president of Houston’s nonprofit Weather Research Center.
“The waters in the Gulf are still warm, so I am not sure if I would sound the all-clear yet.”
Y’all can do whatever you want. I’m not touching the bottled water till Thanksgiving is in the rearview mirror.