Right now is the time to prepare for Isiais

I’ve been holding off talking about our new tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico because I wanted to make sure it posed a legitimate threat to our part of the
Florida panhandle. That would now seem to be the case.

Tropical Storm Isiais ( ee-SIGH-ee-es ) is now in the southwest Gulf of Mexico with winds of 45 mph as of the 10 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 7 advisory. The cyclone is drifting east-northeast, but is expected to turn north-northeast tomorrow and intensify rapidly into a category 2 hurricane with winds of 110 mph. Some weakening is expected before landfall. Isiais could move ashore somewhere in the Pensacola Beach area.

This scenario is expected to play out Friday and Friday night.

If you haven’t prepared for a hurricane, today is the day to complete those preparations. Have gas in your car, and food and water at your residence. I’m not expecting a world-ending blow, but remember: It’s been years since a hurricane struck this area. We could see quite a few fallen trees, on the order of Hurricane Erin in 1995. Consequently, some areas could experience sustained periods of no electricity – that is if the storm tracks as expected. Changes are possible and even likely.

No need to panic. Calmly go about your preparations and complete them in a timely manner. Get your information from legitimate sources, like the National Hurricane Center and your local Emergency Management folks. Avoid the doomscrollers on the internet.

Hope for the best, but prepare for the alternative.

About the author:

Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”

Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.

As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.

Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .