Now that Tropical Storm Fay has passed through our area, we can all breath a sigh of relief. Although there was some damage from tornadoes and flooding, generally the storm's impact was minimal. Fay never reached hurricane strength and therefore did not wreck too much havoc.

There are some lessons that we should all take from this storm. First, this could be a very long and busy hurricane season and we all need to react appropriately to all storms. Not many people put up shutters for Fay because of its' weaker strength and the fact that we were out of the cone of danger. Next time could be stronger or more on target for our area and we can't afford to be lax. Second, once again the storm did not stick to the exact predicted track, showing that anyone in the cone really needs to be prepared. The National Hurricane Center has repeatedly stated that it is difficult to predict strength and we should also always prepare for the worst strength. Third, if you did not buy your hurricane supplies yet, stock up now. Do not wait to the last minute to get everything because the stores will be crazy. Water and gas were already in short supply for this storm and supplies will only be more limited when a bigger storm approaches.

Overall our area responded well to the storm threat. The news media did probably over hype the storm, interrupting morning programs to show the same tornado footage repeatedly. Palm Beach County school officials waited too long to call off school on Tuesday, not making the announcement until 5:30 p.m. This forced some families to unnecessarily scramble for childcare coverage on Tuesday. Let's hope that there are no more storms this year and that if we do have another storm our concerns are as minimal.

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