We’re still getting rain from Hurricane Barry (now Tropical Storm Barry) here in New Orleans. But in following the storm, many of us relied on reports and analyses from the National Hurricane Center.
Alan Broussard, one of the main characters in my novel THE NIGHT OF THE COMET, was inspired in part by a guy I went to high school with. You probably had one in your school, too: a science nerd who knew everything about space and weather and clouds. The one at our school–let’s call him “Jack”–used to stand out in the parking lot in his black raincoat studying the sky, his weather radio pressed to his ear. He could predict the weather better than the TV weathermen could. He was teased mercilessly for this, of course. But to his credit, Jack stood his ground, he kept his eyes on the clouds . . .
And today, he’s a Senior Hurricane Specialist at the National Hurricane Center. I’ve seen his name on the reports about Hurricane Barry. His predictions are always right on the money.
