According to the News & Observer, Hurricane Ernesto is costing NC farmers millions of dollars:

Tropical Storm Ernesto's slow, soggy pass over Eastern North Carolina left about $50 million in crop damage and dozens of hog farm lagoons brimming with wastewater, state officials said Tuesday.

In addition:

The storm dumped more than a foot of rain in some areas, pushing floodwater into fields and livestock and poultry operations. An estimated 44,000 chickens and turkeys drowned in Duplin County where farmers reported about $11.5 million in total crop damage.

The hurricane season brings NC much needed rain but it also tends to bring us environmental nightmares. Agricultural runoff, breaches of hog lagoons, dead livestock...none of it is a pretty picture.

Don't you think it's time our Legislators did more than just pray that no hurricanes hit our state? Don't our farmers, our communities and our environment deserve a more dedicated source of protection? Hurricane season is inevitable...how do you think our Legislators should be preparing for next year?

I was at a bar the other night and overheard a teacher saying that she hoped Hurricane Ernesto came through Raleigh and dumped enough rain so that she wouldn't have to go to school on Friday. A likely thought to cross folks' minds as the school year gets off to a start.

However, this comment immediately drew me back to the years of Hurricane Fran ('96) and Hurriance Floyd ('99). I was a student during both of these hurricanes and remember being out for a week because of the repurcussions these storms had. And, as I recall, it's nothing to be hopeful for.

Maybe you remember the pictures from Hurricane Floyd's aftermath of floating hogs. Maybe you'll remember the green runoff caused from among other things toxics running off from parking lots. Or the flooded highway 40. Or the communities who are still desperately trying to put their lives back together. Or the floating graves. These are images that will be forever engraved in North Carolinian's minds.

So as the hurricane season intensifies, please be careful what you wish for.

So far this year, we're already at Ernesto.  The F's (that'd be Fran and Floyd) have a history of hitting North Carolina, so we'd better watch out.  And there's no Heather, but there is an Erin, Mindy, Nicole, and a Peter on tap in the next couple of years.

What am I talking about?  Atlantic hurricane names, of course.  Did you know that all the hurricane names for the next six seasons are already chosen?  Or that they are in alphabetical order, alternating between male and female names?  Or that there are a few that have been retired?

If you want to know more, the National Hurricane Center has an amazing online FAQ, which answers the question: how I could push for Hurricane Heather?