Page 115 - Winterling's Chasing the Wind

I was given a lot of credit for giving such an early warning for Jacksonville’s first direct
strike by a hurricane from the Atlantic. After the storm, Channel 4 published a reprint
of an article in the Gainesville Sun by Sam McGarvey that described my correction of
Dora’s position because of the falling pressures at Daytona. I was amazed and amused
that after warning local residents so far in advance of Dora, my name had become a
household word in northeast Florida and southeast Georgia!

Fortunately, all of northeast Florida and southeast Georgia was well prepared for the
storm, thanks to the combined efforts of people like Roger Plaster, Meteorologist in
Charge of the Weather Bureau in Jacksonville, Jack Weatherford, Director of local
Civil Defense and Sheriff Dale Carson. Richard Brooke and the American Red Cross
coordinated the dozens of storm shelters around Jacksonville, while dozens of public
officials along with fire and police departments all over northeast Florida and southeast
Georgia are among the thousands of unsung heroes that served our citizens. Dora had
caused around 250 million dollars damage, and only 5 fatalities were reported, one of
which occurred by drowning in the flood from 17 inches of rain that fell in Live Oak.

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