Chapter 35

Monday morning, I went into work early but parked out of the way. Matt pulled in next to me as I was getting out. He said, "Good morning, Boss. Tracey and I enjoyed the reception Saturday." He looked around. "She's already inside. We talked all the way to and from your reception. I'm going to ask her formally Wednesday evening at Bible study."

I smiled and said, "Congratulations. That's good news."

Matt said, "We're keeping it quiet until Wednesday evening. Tracey wanted you to know. We both appreciate you pushing at us." He grinned. "Are you going to add matchmaker to your resume?"

I grinned back. "No. I don't even have a current resume and don't want to need one."

We walked inside to our desks after grabbing coffee. Tracey and Jane saw us and came to my desk. Tracey said, "Bill, I think there is a problem brewing." Jane nodded in agreement.

I said, "Go ahead, Tracey."

She said, "You've been busy lately. There is a disturbance in the Caribbean that some NOAA projections suggest may come our way. I would like you to look at the preliminary reports and give me your opinion." I nodded.

Jane jumped in. "I was looking with her this morning. I think she's right and we will have a problem."

I said, "Okay, I want to go over the raw data with you though I don't expect I will come up with a different answer. Let's go have a look."

Matt said, "May I come along?"

I said, "Sure. The more the merrier."

Tracey had her laptop and used the conference room behind my desk. She connected the output to the room's screen. She went over what she had seen. It was a tropical low from Africa and moving west. It was picking up force and speed. Tracey factored in the upper atmospheric winds and the jet stream. She thought it would stay along the coast of South America before turning north and entering the Gulf. She said, "It's at that point that I disagree with NOAA. They think it will be at least a tropical storm by then and pulled westerly in the Gulf toward Texas or Mexico. I see very similar conditions to Horace developing that would take it north. It might not build to a category five but Alabama doesn't need another hurricane this year."

I looked at her projections and reasoning. Jane said, "This is the second time I've reviewed this data and Tracey's projections. I think we're in for another one. My feeling is that it will hit more westerly which means Mobile will get the eye or, even worse, the eye will come ashore west of us and cause serious damage from storm surge and the hard side of the storm.

"Bill, I want to talk to a few folk in Mobile. I'm worried."

I said, "That makes three of us. I am afraid that Tracey's projections are good. I think you're right to worry, Jane. It will have to get a lot closer to determine landfall but I think it will come up the country's gut. We need to get a preliminary notice to the county EMA's and other government agencies. Jane, your people are pretty well set for ham radio communications. Many counties in the southeast are, too. Your new area is not. We need to start looking at scenarios and make plans."

Everyone but Jane looked at me questioningly. I was worried now. I said, "Aren't there scenarios for emergency work prepared?"

Matt said, "I can imagine but I've never heard of such."

"Shit!" I muttered. In a normal voice, I said, "Weather emergencies usually follow patterns. Preparations can be made based on those patterns. I've noticed that there weren't any SET's during Marjorie's tenure. Now, I know why.

"Jane, you know what I'm talking about. How is your district prepared?"

She said, "Pretty well. My new counties will need to be brought on board. I will be talking to their EMA directors today. If I get push back, I may need you to ride with me, Bill. It's been lax." I nodded.

Matt said, "What can we do?"

I said, "Find and review some old contingency plans and spruce them up quickly. Tracey, I want a daily report this week. I may move the tempo up in a few days depending upon what this storm starts doing." She nodded.

I said, "If no one has anything further, let's get the show on the road. Matt, I want to see Bill Travers this morning." He nodded. We went about our projects.

About forty-five minutes later, Bill came by my desk. He sat down in the chair and said, "Matt said you wanted to see me."

"Yes, Bill. We have another storm that may be coming for us. You need to jet propel your discussions with the Montgomery club members. We will need methods to be in contact with the southern part of the state sometime early next week. It could be sooner. I know that they are set up at the Red Cross building but we need a radio here if the south part of the state loses phone and Internet. El works but you have Phil's contact information don't you?" He nodded. "Phil can seem to be difficult but he's forgotten more than most people ever knew. He'll bitch and crank a bit but he will help you.

"I want a new radio anyway so I will order one and have it delivered here. You will need an HF antenna and some coax. Two meters is nice around here but don't depend upon it. HF gets through to south Alabama without trouble. Keep me informed. It needs to happen this week. We may get a miss but Tracey is following a new storm that is troubling. I agree with her prognosis."

I went on line and ordered an Icom 718 from Gigaparts in Huntsville to be shipped here next day. I used my personal credit card to pay for it, a power supply, and an antenna tuner. Matt heard and said, "That's a legitimate expense for the AEMA. We can pay for it."

"I know but I want a radio for Montgomery and that's a fine, simple radio for Eve to learn to operate. You and Tracey will be invited over to learn and do, too. Bill will need to put together a plan for the EOC and I will approve funding through the proper channels. We need this done now."

Two days later, we had the radio and power supply in place with a proper dipole antenna hooked up. This weekend, Bill would take the Technician and General tests. He was a quick study. Matt and Tracey were working on theirs and would test with him.