The Storm
August 24th, 2009
For those who aren’t aware, we Rhode Island folks have a capricious habit of grossly exaggerating weather conditions. For example if someone says that we got two feet of snow, we actually got six inches. If John Ghiorse calls for afternoon thunder showers, before long everyone is talking about hail and locusts. In one actually crazy storm a tiny little funnel cloud appeared over Barrington that nearly touched down. People were practically celebrating in the streets!
This habit reared it’s confused head this past weekend when Hurricane Bill ambled it’s way past our precious shores. Though the storm never really got that close, it stirred up the surf quite a bit and made for a hell of a party by the beaches. However the forecast had called for some ocean turbulence so out they came. To get a better look at these these “monstrous” waves, thousands of people from as far as Providence descended upon Newport and South County and jammed up the roads for hours. Down at Narragansett Pier there were endless swaths of people jockeying for coveted parking along the wall, or prime real estate along the sidewalk. Both The Towers and the Coast Guard House were packed all day and night. It was a really great time. On Sunday morning crowds gathered out at Matunuck and Point Judith to watch the surfers. Breakfast on the deck at The Ocean Mist was packed. Nothing quite like Bloody Marys and bleeding surfers to start a Rhody Sunday.
Perhaps our tendency to overstate our terrible weather is due to the very real nightmares of The 38′ Hurricane The Blizzard of 78′ and Hurricane Bob. It is more likely though that we are simply jealous of our Northern New England neighbors who endure far more severe conditions with far less fuss.
Maybe we’re just weird.