Description
Invest 95L
We were sailing from Cartagena, Colombia north toward George Town, Grand Cayman. I’d been working all day and decided to come out on the top deck and get some fresh air—to connect with nature. As I stood at the rail and observed, I noticed something off to the west that seemed unusual. There was a veritable wall of cumulus clouds—not that unusual, except these had abrupt, rising, cloud columns standing above the wall, like pillars reaching high up into the heavens. In between some of these there rose massive anvil-shaped thunderheads. Something very powerful was happening out there. The sea was relatively calm, but its color mirrored the darkened heavens.
Clearly, something awesome was going on. At first, I just began idly searching the internet for questions about storms and hurricanes. I learned that indeed the Caribbean is infamous for giving birth to deadly storms. I learned that when surface temperatures of the open ocean reach a threshold of 80 degrees there is a voluminous evaporation of water that rises quickly up into colder air where it forms into the dark cumulonimbus clouds that portend storms. As that warm moist air rises more air rushes in to replace it at the surface and the whole thing begins to swirl because of the earth’s rotation. The more warm air that rises the stronger it can become until it forms into a massive swirling cyclone.
I also learned that these storms can form over hundreds of miles of warm open ocean and the longer they stay out there and swirl over warm water the stronger they can become. They become killer storms. Then I wondered, when is the prime season for hurricanes in the Caribbean? It is from July through November. We were sailing right in the middle of it.
I wondered, “Are there any storms building in the Caribbean right now?” I searched and discovered that indeed there was. It was a growing storm, not yet named, called Invest 95L, and after the destruction of the recent hurricanes, everyone was watching it.
Where is it? I wondered. I looked that up too and learned that it was in the western Caribbean, and when I checked the coordinates I realized it was right in front of us and off to the west of the ship. We were sailing right through the edge of a forming storm—and I was looking right at it. You can imagine my feelings as I comprehended what was happening.
I looked about the ship, but no one seemed to be paying any attention to the incredible display of weather right off the rail. I checked the reports just before I went to bed. The storm was still building and headed directly for the Yucatan Peninsula. When I woke up the next morning, I checked again and it had intensified into a tropical storm, now called Nadine and was expected to make land by early afternoon bringing high winds, rain, and flooding. I thought to myself, “How many lives will be lost or disrupted by this storm?”
North Carolina and Florida haven’t even finished finding the missing, restoring power, and amassing the destruction and already another storm is brewing to their south whose name might be Oscar. Are we paying attention?
Just before the Savior returns to the earth He will call upon the nations to repent by the voice of lightning and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds. “And all things shall be in commotion.” It is happening!
What are we doing? Are we looking up and discerning the face of the sky and the signs of the times, or sunbathing with fancy shades and tall iced drinks?
The storms will keep coming, until He comes and brings peace.
Source:
ChatGPT October 18-19, 2024
Doctrine and Covenants 88:91
