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Florida Hurricanes

Donna Nichols • October 16, 2024

I grew up in Florida and can remember when our hurricanes rarely ever hit category two. They were more like tropical storms. Hurricane Donna hit two years before I was born and that was the strongest one until the infamous Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Andrew hit south Florida as a category five hurricane leaving so much destruction in its path, we hadn’t seen anything like that before. That’s when things began to change.


Emergency management, safety, and preparedness plans were put into place, new building codes were adopted, wind-resistant windows and doors were constructed, and new rules were enacted for educating building inspectors and plans examiners.


2004 was an extremely active year with Hurricane Charley (August 13) coming in on the west coast as a category four and crossing the state, heading up the coast into South and North Carolina. Shortly after Charley left, August 24, along came Hurricane Frances, a category two on the east coast. Frances hit Florida twice; it went over to Tampa and looped back and came through again. It was quite the rainmaker.


September 16 Hurricane Ivan hit the west coast as a category three, then on September 13 we had Hurricane Jeanne hit in the same spot on the east coast as another category 3 hurricane. The good thing that can be said about these hurricanes is that at least they had dissipated by the time they hit Florida; they were all category five hurricanes before reaching our state. 2004 was a very busy year; it brought so much devastation to the State of Florida, but we are a resilient bunch, and we rebuild and carry on.


2005 we had hurricane Wilma another category three hit Key West. We had quite the reprieve as we didn’t have another major hurricane until 2017 when hurricane Irma hit Marco Island as a category three. Hurricane Michael, 2018, was a powerful category five when it came onshore at the panhandle.


Then we were lucky again until 2022 when Hurricane Ian came along and weakened to a category four just before hitting the southwest coast. It came across the state and caused so much damage on the east coast you thought we had gotten the direct hit. A late bloomer, Hurricane Nicole hit in November 2022, thankfully as a category one on the east coast. We were still recovering from Ian though, so she was not welcome at all. She brought so much more rain to an already soaked east coast. But once again, we rebuild and carry on.


August 30, 2023, Hurricane Idalia hit the panhandle as another category three storm. Luckily, that was the only hurricane we had in 2023. We were counting our blessing that year as we were still recovering from Ian.


So far this year, we had Hurricane Debby hit the big bend area on August 25 as a category one, but it was such a slow mover it caused a lot of flooding that we didn’t need. Then on September 26 Hurricane Helene hit the big bend area again, this time as a category four storm.

 

On October 10, we saw the wrath of Hurricane Milton, he had picked up strength and we thought the Tampa Bay area was going to have a direct hit from a category five hurricane. Luckily, Milton weakened to a category three storm and turned slightly south. Milton was so large, it covered the entire state and caused damage to every county. Almost all the counties were without power, some still are (six days later). We have had a lot more flooding, trees down, power lines down, tornados spawned on the opposite coast before the storm crossed the state, and roof and property damage across the state. But once again, we rebuild and carry on.


We sure hope we don’t have any more storms this season, but we have a month and a half to go. Pray for Florida.



The hurricanes are getting larger and more intense than they used to be. I don’t know if that has to do with global warming, El Nino, or El Nina, but I just wish whatever is causing it would stop. When you live somewhere surrounded by water, storm surge can be a scary thing. If you are planning on moving here, do your homework about our hurricanes, don’t get caught off guard!

 

Make Valentine’s Day Special for Seniors

By Donna Nichols • February 5, 2025
Valentine’s Day tends to zero in on romantic love, but what about our seniors? They too often get forgotten. We have some ways to make Valentine’s Day special for them too. Spend the day with your loved one. Spending quality time with a loved one is more important to a senior than anything else. There is no greater gift than time and please make sure you have enough, so you are not rushed. Do your elderly loved one have a favorite meal? Perhaps you can prepare it for them, or if they are able, you can prepare it together. How fun would that be for you both? Be sure to discuss the enjoyment it brought you while you are sharing the meal together. How about a game of name that love song? You could prepare a playlist of love songs from the generation and play them to see how many they get correct. Or, if you can sing, you can sing some for them and see if they can recollect them. Take some time for reminiscing, go through old photo albums, or ask about old times. Ask them about when you were young and what trouble you caused; this will give you all something to laugh (or cry) about. Has your loved one been cooped up all winter? Take them out for a nice lunch, or weather permitting, a picnic in the park. Go for coffee and a donut, then head out to see a movie. Make a “date” of it. Maybe your senior is into crafts. You can design special Valentine’s Day cards for other family members. This way your senior can express their love for them and send it to them in their own unique way. You can create other greeting cards as well. Bake some special treats together. Does your senior have some favorite cookies or cake? You could bake it together, or you can bake it for them. Then you can enjoy it after you have the meal you prepared together. Yummy, delicious!! You can watch some romantic movies together if they prefer to stay in the house or the weather isn’t so good. If they like to color, you can buy them some of those large coloring books and you can color together. Don’t forget the decorations and the flowers! Make the house or apartment as festive as possible. Even if they live in as assisted living community, you can still decorate their room to the nines! Make it as festive as possible! If you live in another state or can’t be close to your senior for Valentine’s Day, how about sending them a specially crafted care package. You can hand make some gifts, add some photos of family and friends, and send a personally recorded message. You can bake some homemade treats and incorporate some things that are of personal interest to them. This will show how much you care for them and make their Valentine’s Day extra special even if you can’t be with them.  There are so many ways to make Valentine’s Day special for seniors. Let’s not forget about them; make sure to show them they are so loved too!

February is National Heart Month

By Donna Nichols • February 4, 2025
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Hydration Tips for the Winter

By Donna Nichols • January 8, 2025
I’ve written many blogs about the importance of staying hydrated in the summer, but did you know it’s just as important to stay hydrated in the winter months? I’ve shared some important tips on how to stay hydrated in the winter and why. Cold, dry air can dehydrate you easily and quickly. Even if you don’t feel thirsty. Proper hydration can help regulate your body temperature, maintain healthy organ function, and prevent fatigue, dry skin, and headaches. In the colder months, you do not feel thirsty, that’s why it’s so important to make sure you drink plenty of water. Why is winter hydration so important? Colder air tends to be drier causing moisture to evaporate through your breathing which can cause dehydration. In colder weather, you may not feel as thirsty, causing you to become dehydrated quickly. Also, wearing more clothing traps sweat inside your clothing causing more fluid loss. What are some of the benefits of staying hydrated in the winter? • Drinking enough water helps keep your skin hydrated and prevents dryness. This will help with that dry, itchy skin feeling we all get in the winter. • Water helps your body maintain a regular core temperature. Which is so important to maintain in the winter. • Drinking plenty of water supports your immune system, which helps fight off winter colds and the flu. We all want to fight those germs off! • When you are dehydrated, you become tired easily, so drinking plenty of water helps keep your energy levels up. How do you stay hydrated in the winter? • Make sure you drink plenty of water. Set reminders if you must; you probably won’t feel as thirsty in the winter, but you need to keep drinking that water! • You don’t have to drink cold water; room temperature water works. You can also drink tea or water with lemon, as long as you’re getting your water. • If you’re going out, carry a water bottle with you to ensure you have water to drink. • Eat fruits and vegetables that contain water. Tomatoes, lettuce, strawberries, watermelon, cauliflower, mushrooms, cucumber, apples, and pineapple are just a few that contain high water contents. • If you think you’re dehydrated, check your urine; if it’s a darker color, that can suggest dehydration. Urine should be a pale, yellow color. As you can see, staying hydrated in the winter is just as important as staying hydrated in the summer, if not more. In the winter you don’t realize you are thirsty therefore you tend not to drink as much water as you should. This has the potential of wreaking havoc on your body. Please make sure you drink plenty of water in the wintertime as you do in the summertime. We have rebranded our company, we are now Assisted Senior Services! Call us for ANYTHING SENIOR!! 386-847-2322!
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