On:

As of midnight EDT, Unknowncountry correspondents in Floridawere describing Hurricane Frances as “relentless” and “hammeringus.” One reader wrote, “why won’t it move, it’s like a curse?”

While wind speeds were not catastrophic, the slow movementof the storm means that structures are being pounded hourafter hour, and damage, over time, is expected to be severe.

Most hurricanes move at 12 to 20 MPH, but by midnightFrances had slowed to 5 MPH, meaning that the wind and rainwas not letting up in south Florida. The storm has beenashore for six hours, and the worst winds will not hit untilbetween one and two AM EDT, and are expected to continue forfour to six hours thereafter.
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Will writes in one of our new Communion Letters about a problem many of the people reading this may have had. He says: Last night, after reading in bed, I went to sleep and had a horrible nightmare. I was dreaming of visitors. I thought they were in my room. Images of grays were playing in my head over and over. I had a very strong impression of standing in a bookstore and having a gray look straight at me from across a rack. All of the grays in my dream were the classics with the big heads and big eyes.
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Governor Jeb Bush of Florida declared a state of emergencyand ordered the evacuation of half a million people asHurricane Frances gathered strength and aimed at the state’ssoutheast coast. Like Charley, Frances has suddenly begun togain strength. It is a Category 4 hurricane at present, andfears are that it will become a Category 5 storm if it doesnot make significant landfall before it reaches Florida. Hurricane Charley was the second most damaging hurricane inUS history, causing upwards of fifteen billion dollars worthof damage on Florida’s west coast. Meanwhile, Asia has experienced a series of 16 typhoons andsupertyphoons this season, marking this as one of the mostactive typhoon seasons on record. Typhoon No.read more

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Global warming is changing the weather, but to say it’sgetting warmer (or colder) is too simple. Birds and insectsthat are sensitive to subtle alterations in the climatereveal these changes by moving to new areas. Now botanistsare noticing another change: leaves are turning colorearlier than usual.

This is being noticed in southern Wisconsin, weeks beforethe arrival of fall. Botanist Michael Adams says, “There’sall kinds of speculation about why. The only thing for sureis that we’re getting an earlier color change.”
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