Tropical Storm Andrew 2¶
Tropical Storm Andrew 2 is the Atlantic storm that arrives over Marblehead during the Summer Service case, flooding roads, grounding helicopters and delaying the National Guard, and whose name is a gag on the name of PC Andrew Howard.
| Type | Weather event |
| Aliases | Tropical depression; the storm |
| Region | Marblehead, Massachusetts |
| Effect | Flooding, washed-out roads, no air support, delayed reinforcements |
| First appearance | Summer Service 03 (as a tropical depression) |
Course of the storm¶
Summer Service 03. On the radio the team hears that a tropical depression is moving in from the Atlantic, which explains why the day is noticeably colder than the last few. Diane warns Andrew that the governor may call out the National Guard. (Summer Service 03)
Summer Service 04. The weather turns for the worse: a nasty cold wind off the sea, a yellowy-gray sky and then steady rain that keeps worsening. Storefront owners nail boards over their windows, and the mayor says he will be boarding up his own windows the next day because "a tropical storm" is coming in. Kurt's fever and joint pain get worse in the rain, and McManley's assistant Henry takes a Vespa to Salem through the storm to fetch the ivermectin. Big Bill says the Guard has run into weather trouble and washed-out roads and will probably arrive the next day. (Summer Service 04)
Summer Service 05. Rain blows in sideways. A woman at the inn is listening to the weather report, which names the storm "Andrew 2." Seawater spills across the bridge to the island, and Andrew's car hydroplanes through turns while following Madeline. When Zack's Huell demands a helicopter on the phone, Andre makes clear that the storm will keep one from being sent. The Guard is blocked about forty miles out and hopes to arrive by morning. Wind gusts later lift the team's modified vehicle onto two wheels. (Summer Service 05)
Summer Service 06. The freeway is flooded to wheel-well height and a few cars in the convoy flood out. A radio contact says his side has a "Casaba" that cannot be fired from the ground without killing the shooter, and that the wind speeds are too high to fly it. Big Bill's party spent two days stuck in feet of mud, and at the end of the case he is about 15 miles outside Marblehead, behind a stretch of road four feet underwater, waiting for a boat; he says, "Goddamn tropical storms." (Summer Service 06)
Role in the story¶
The storm cuts the task force off from the help it requests: no helicopter, a delayed Guard and a Big Bill who cannot reach the town. It also grounds the radio contact's air-delivered weapon, which leaves the team's own Davy Crockett as the heavy option in the finale. (Summer Service 05, Summer Service 06)
Trivia¶
- The name is a gag on the name of Rita's character, Andrew Howard; it is first heard as "Andrew 2" on the radio in Summer Service 05. (Summer Service 05)