For the first big threat of the 2018 hurricane season, Tropical Storm Gordon was mostly a dud, thankfully.

All eyes were on the storm over the last couple of days and on Tuesday, while short of crisis-level, the action at area grocery stores and gas stations was brisk, as residents got ready in case the storm struck us.

Fortunately, all of that preparation was for naught as the storm mostly skipped past our area, where on few drizzles were felt on Wednesday.

We applaud all of the weather forecasters, emergency management professionals and even school administrators who have to make tough calls on public safety matters.

The storm also failed to strengthen as forecasters predicted. Despite the best technology humans can muster, the weather is fickle.

But we must not let the false alarm lull us into a false sense of security when the next big storm threatens.

All of these storms are powerful and unpredictable.

Even as far from the Gulf Coast as we are, the most powerful of these storms can still pack a tremendous wallop and dump incredible amounts of rain and push destructive winds and even tornadoes our way.

We were lucky — blessed — to avoid being directly impacted by the storm, but we must remain vigilant and on guard when another threat looms.