Fay Leaves Vero Barrier Island Soggy, Grumpy and a Bit Concerned

Two days of unrelenting rain from Fay, an anemic tropical storm most Vero Beach residents never expected to have to deal with in the first place, have left the barrier island soggy, grumpy, and a bit concerned about what the 2008 hurricane season may have in store.

The winds from Fay, which probably never gusted to more than 45 or 50 miles an hour on the Vero Beach barrier island, knocked down only a handful of trees and caused virtually no damage.

But the rains, which preceded Fay, continued while she made a surprisingly close visit to Vero, then kept returning from the north for another full day as the tropical storm sashayed oh-so-slowly up the Florida coast, created flooding that brought back a host of bad 2004 memories.

Just as we had almost repressed memories of Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne -- the flooding at Bethel Creek, the flooding at Tulip Lane, the Riomar golf course turned into a lake – along comes Fay to remind us how quickly things can change.

We thought we were beyond this. The final scars from 2004 along Ocean Drive have been repaired. For the first time in four years, the Vero Beach barrier island looks fully back to normal.

But a comparatively weak but very wet storm, the first of the 2008 season to reach Florida, reminds us that the idyllic life we are fortunate enough to lead is fragile indeed.