Tom Stieghorst
Here we go again.
No sooner had the cruise industry said good riddance to Hurricane Irma than it found Hurricane Maria in its wake.
Incredibly, some of the same areas that got slammed by the first storm (the Lower Keys excepted) are likely to get raked again by what the National Hurricane Center is predicting will be a "dangerous major hurricane."
By mid-week, Mother Nature's dark side will again be on display in the Virgin Islands. And this time it looks as if Puerto Rico, which was largely spared by Hurricane Irma, is in line for a direct hit from Maria.
Wind speeds by Wednesday are forecast to be the same or even more intense in Maria than in Irma.
Already, Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean International have started the drill of redeploying ships and ripping up itineraries in the eastern Caribbean. It is certainly going to be an exhausting September for cruise line workers and a disappointing one for cruise passengers.
But it isn't a complete surprise. Hurricanes have been spinning through the Atlantic in late summer since time immemorial. Unlike tornados or earthquakes, they are a predictable risk. It's more a matter of where and when a hurricane will hit somewhere in the Caribbean each year, than if.
Although we've passed Sept. 10, the statistical peak of Atlantic hurricane activity, the season as defined by meteorologists extends all the way to December 1. Technically we've got a long way to go, even though for the cruise industry and the residents of Houston, Marathon, Fl., Saint Maarten and elsewhere, it seems like more than enough.
Living in Florida, every year I breathe a sigh of relief when Dec. 1 rolls around. This year it can't come soon enough.