Beach Break: Tropical Storm Karen

I received a sweet email this week from my friend Kir, she was concerned for my safety since news reports were forecasting a Tropical Storm in the Gulf. First I heard of it, but initially it kind of worried me. A little over 18 years ago, only three weeks after we moved into our home, we were on the road with a few thousand of our neighbors evacuating from Hurricane Opal.

On Oct. 4, 1995, before the monster storm made landfall along our little stretch of Gulf Coast, it had grown to a Category 5. That means max sustained winds were at least 157 mph. It was downgraded to a measly Cat 4 (130-156 mph) once it came ashore.

A little look-see at the NOAA Hurricane Center website eased my fears. By Saturday, forecasts were for the storm to not make hurricane status. We are still in the eastern bands of Tropical Storm Karen, but that only means we’ll get some rain, and some wind gusts. Nothing much to worry about.

I headed to the beach for my photo hike. Big storms can bring out surfers and I wasn’t disappointed. From my bird’s-eye-view from Navarre Beach Fishing Pier, I had a great vantage point. Waves here are not typically big enough for surfers, but when a storm is out in the Gulf, we can get some nice sized curls.

You can click on any image to see a larger photo, or the series as a slideshow.

(Photos shot with a Nikon D60, using an 18-55mm, 55-200mm, 20mm f/2.8 wide-angle, 50mm f/1.8 prime lens, and/or iPhone4)

For more photos, please visit my Flickr photostream