Tropical storms, hurricanes, etc.

Discussion in 'Food & Travel' started by dreamer, Jul 7, 2005.

  1. dreamer

    dreamer Member

    Aug 4, 2004
    This one is turning into a real monster. It has made landfall and is headed straight into New Orleans, with winds upto 140 MPH. And in a related news, 30% of US oil production (read, basically the whole Gulf) could be shut down. Crude oil went above $70 earlier this morning. Damage is being estimated at about $30 billion, making it the most costly hurricane ever, far above the $20 billion price tag of Hurricane Andrews more than a decade a go.

    Keep safe everybody!!!!!!!




    http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1558660,00.html
    The Louisiana coastline was today braced for the impact of Hurricane Katrina, the storm that weather forecasters warn could leave New Orleans under water.

    The mayor, Ray Nagin, ordered the evacuation of its residents to to avoid the hurricane he called the "real deal", but tens of thousands are left in a city built six feet below sea level.

    Ahead of Katrina's anticipated landfall this morning, gusty winds and heavy rain squalls swept across southern Louisiana..........
     
  2. Motterman

    Motterman Member

    Jul 8, 2002
    Orlando, FL
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    CNN Breaking News:

    --Report: Roof of Superdome in New Orleans, where thousands evacuated ahead of Hurricane Katrina, is leaking rain.

    EDIT: Now, reports that Louisiana National Guard are evacuating the Superdome....
     
  3. nicodemus

    nicodemus Member+

    Sep 3, 2001
    Cidade Mágica
    Club:
    PAOK Saloniki
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    man from Biloxi mooning the hurricane:

    [​IMG]
     
  4. MikeLastort2

    MikeLastort2 Member

    Mar 28, 2002
    Takoma Park, MD
    It would've been great poetic justice if the hurricane would've launched a large piece of debris squarely at his head at the exact moment the picture was taken.
     
  5. benito camelpene

    May 31, 2003
    miami

    I haven't been in Nicks Bar but I'll be sure to go the next time I'm down there. I'd love to see a drunken singer perform American Pie. It sounds like a great time, that is, if he's not dead already.
     
  6. dreamer

    dreamer Member

    Aug 4, 2004
    Looks like New Orleans is spared. Katrina is now a Cat 2 instead of a Cat 5, and weakening.

    http://www.weather.com/newscenter/tropical/?from=wxcenter_news
    Hurricane Katrina continues to weaken as it progresses through southern Mississippi. Top winds dropped to 95 mph at 2 pm CDT with further weakening expected today. Katrina could be down to a tropical storm sometime this evening. Hurricane force winds are possible into central Mississippi and west-central Alabama into early Monday evening. Tropical storm force winds will accompany the center overnight tonight and Tuesday as it moves into central Tennessee.

    In addition to the strong winds, heavy rainfall and isolated tornadoes are possible along and to the east of Katrina's path through Tuesday. The biggest threat for tornadoes through Tuesday morning extends from the central and eastern Gulf coast northward into southern Tennessee. Some cities that could be impacted are Mobile, Montgomery, Birmingham, Atlanta and Chattanooga. Tuesday the main threat extends from northeastern Alabama and northern Georgia north to western Pennsylvania. Cities that could be threatened Tuesday include Knoxville, Roanoke, Chicinnati, Lexington, Charleston, W. Va., and Pittsburgh.

    Hurricane Katrina made its final landfall around 10 am CDT along the Louisiana/Mississippi border with top winds of 125 mph. That landfall point is a little west of where Hurricane Camille made landfall in 1969. Hurricane Katrina made its first landfall of the day near Buras, Louisiana at 6:10 am CDT with top winds of 140 mph and its second landfall of the day was along coastal St. Bernard Parrish in eastern Louisiana.

    While not the worst case scenario for New Orleans, Katrina rocked the city Monday morning. A levee in New Orleans was been breached sending 3 to 8 feet of water into the 9th Ward area of the city. Wind gusts to 86 mph were reported at the Lake Front Airport before they stopped sending observations. Significant structural damage has been reported in New Orleans due to Katrina. The eyewall of the hurricane, where the strongest winds, largest surge and wave are, remained just east of the city. Areas east of New Orleans in Louisana and along the Mississippi coast were hit hardest. The Weather Channel's storm tracker Jim Cantore reported a storm surge of at least 27 feet in Gulfport, Mississippi as the eye of Katrina approached.

    Hurricane warnings are up from Morgan City, La., to the Florida-Alabama border. This includes the city of New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain. A tropical storm warning has been posted from the Alabama-Florida border eastward to Indian Pass, Florida and from west of Morgan City to Cameron, Louisiana.

    Tropical Storm force winds and pounding surf are occurring all the way to the Florida Panhandle, well east of Katrina's center. A buoy 70 miles south of the Alabama coast reported waves to 48 feet earlier Monday morning. Waves at the beaches could run 25 to 35 feet through the afternoon in Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.

    The pressure dropped as low as 902 mb on Sunday afternoon but has since risen. The 902 mb pressure reading was the 4th lowest on record in the Atlantic Basin. Stu Ostro explains the significance of pressure from his blog posted earlier today... "We look at pressures as a good barometer (pun intended) for intensity. The difference in pressure from one location to another, known as the pressure gradient, is associated with wind speed. There are other factors involved, but basically, the greater the pressure gradient in hurricanes, typically the higher the wind speed."
    .......................
     
  7. soccahmomma

    soccahmomma New Member

    Dec 26, 2004
    Just raining and thundering and breezy here in Birmingham so far. They let the kids outta school early and the area colleges are closed for today.
     
  8. nicodemus

    nicodemus Member+

    Sep 3, 2001
    Cidade Mágica
    Club:
    PAOK Saloniki
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Good 'ol Birmingham. Kings of the weather preparation overkill. :D
     
  9. dreamer

    dreamer Member

    Aug 4, 2004
    80% or New Orleans is flooded. This is absolutely worse than even Hurricane Andrews.


    Katrina Death Toll Climbs to 60 People; New Orleans Is Flooded
    http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aNpV2mt_aHZs&refer=top_world_news

    Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Hurricane Katrina devastated parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, killing dozens of people, cutting off power to 2 million and leaving most of New Orleans flooded by water as deep as 20 feet. U.S. and state officials say it may be the nation's worst natural disaster.

    Katrina slammed ashore in Mississippi at daybreak yesterday with winds as high as 140 mph (225 kph), causing flooding in four states. Coastal towns and cities were underwater and crews were working to rescue people who tried to escape the rising waters by heading to attics and roofs.

    ``The damage is catastrophic and widespread,'' Jim Pollard, spokesman in Harrison County for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, said today in a cell phone interview from Gulfport. ``There's virtually not a building here in Gulfport that's not substantially damaged.''

    Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour put the death toll as high as 80 in Harrison County, in an interview on NBC's ``Today'' show.

    The center of Katrina -- now a tropical depression with winds of about 35 mph -- is forecast to sweep through Kentucky and Ohio today. It will head through parts of upstate New York, New England and Canada by Sept. 2.

    President George W. Bush declared parts of Mississippi and Alabama major disaster areas, freeing up federal disaster aid. He plans to return to Washington tomorrow because of the hurricane, cutting short a vacation at his Texas ranch, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. The president may visit the affected areas by the end of the week, McClellan said.

    ``Right now our priorities are on saving lives and we are still in the midst of search and rescue efforts,'' Bush said in a speech to military personnel today at the North Island Naval Air Station in San Diego. ``We have got a lot of work to do.''

    FEMA Help

    The Federal Emergency Management Agency is moving 23 disaster medical assistance teams into areas hit by Katrina, the Homeland Security Department said in a statement. The agency also has sent urban search and rescue task forces as well as water, ice, generators and other supplies into the Gulf region.

    The National Guard has mobilized about 7,500, or 42 percent, of 31,500 available personnel to distribute military meals and water, clean up debris and assist law enforcement officials if needed, said spokesman Jack Harrison.

    More than 40 Coast Guard aircraft with more than 30 boats are conducting search, rescue and humanitarian aid operations, the Homeland Security Department said.

    Insurers such as American International Group Inc., spared the worst of Hurricane Katrina, may face $16 billion of claims from what may prove the second most-expensive storm in U.S. history, researchers said.

    Without Power

    More than 2.1 million customers were without power early today from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle, according to estimates from Entergy Corp., Cleco Corp. and Southern Co., parent of utilities in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. The estimates were in statements on company Web sites.

    Entergy, owner of electric utilities in four southeastern states, said it will take weeks to rebuild its electric delivery system in Louisiana, where 80 percent of its customers are without power.

    At least 50 people may have died in Harrison County, located on Mississippi's Gulf coast, Pollard said. As many as 30 of these deaths may have occurred when an apartment building in Biloxi collapsed, he said. Another seven bodies were pulled from an inland waterway, he said. Five people died in other parts of the state, agency spokesman Heath Carpenter said in an interview from Jackson.

    ``Once we get into south Mississippi and do the search and rescue, and have to deal with picking up bodies, we'll be able to confirm the number of deaths,'' Carpenter said.

    New Orleans

    A 200-foot-long stretch of a levee in New Orleans overflowed, flooding some streets, Trooper Markus Smith, a spokesman for Louisiana state police, said in a telephone interview today.

    The police received calls from hundreds of people stranded in the attics of their houses, waiting to be rescued, another state police spokesman, Trooper Doug Pierrelee said earlier.

    More than 200 rescue boats and an unspecified number of helicopters worked to get trapped people out of New Orleans as well as St. Tammany, St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes, said Mark Smith, a spokesman for the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.

    ``It's the first time we're experiencing anything of this kind, people calling us from their rooftops on their cell phones,'' Pierrelee said. ``They could have prepared, could have left before the hurricane struck; we gave them plenty of warning.''

    Won't Recede for Weeks

    Most of the city was flooded with levels ranging from ankle deep to as high as 15 feet -- the height of many roofs, Lieutenant Kevin Cowan, spokesman for the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said in an interview. It may take weeks for the water to recede, he said.

    Across the state, there were four deaths blamed on Katrina, said Smith. Three patients at a New Orleans hospital died during evacuation and another person had a heart attack, Smith said in an interview.

    Police and National Guard troops in Jefferson Parish, a county of 500,000 people west and south of New Orleans, have rescued at least 300 people, said Jackie Bauer, a parish spokeswoman. She said the National Guard likely will prevent people from returning to their homes until Sept. 5.

    Downed trees and debris are everywhere, Bauer said in an interview.

    ``We have no water, no sewage, no electricity,'' she said. ``People do not want to come here. Actually, they can't come here.''

    Mississippi, Alabama

    In Mississippi, rescue teams are heading south with food, water, medicine and generators, Carpenter said. Five deaths in the state are being blamed on Katrina, he said.

    Many buildings had been destroyed down to their foundations and the Ocean Springs and Bay St. Louis bridges were toppled, Pollard said.

    The worst damage in Alabama was sustained in southern Baldwin and Mobile counties, where there is severe flooding, said Lieutenant Chris Williams, a spokesman for the state's Public Safety Department. Eight water rescue teams have been deployed to Mobile, said Scott Adcock, a spokesman for the state's Emergency Management Agency.

    Recovery

    Two people died in traffic accidents yesterday, though state officials don't know yet if they were related to the storm, Adcock said. More than 790,000 people were without power in Alabama as of 7 a.m., he said.

    ``We're going to be in a recovery effort for a good long time,'' Adcock said in an interview. ``But the state is not facing the same problems that the state of Louisiana and Mississippi are experiencing.''

    The American Red Cross will distribute hot meals, home clean-up kits and toiletries as soon as local emergency management agencies give approval, southeastern regional spokeswoman Amy Hall said.

    Casinos

    The casinos in Louisiana aren't expect to open for several days as emergency services are still in the area, Wade Duty, executive director of the Casino Association of Louisiana said. The casinos in Baton Rouge were expected to open today.

    Harrah's Entertainment Inc., the world's largest casino company, said the riverboat Grand Casino Biloxi separated from its moorings, Chief Executive Gary Loveman said in an interview.

    ``We believe our Biloxi casino was separated from its moorings and taken literally across the street and plopped down about a block or so away from where it normally sits,'' Loveman said. ``I suspect it's a complete loss, although I don't know for certain.''

    Harrah's casino in Gulfport was also severely damaged, he said.

    Boyd Gaming Corp., which operates the Treasure Chest in New Orleans, said it is too early to assess the damage to the casino.

    Roofs and windows at Lockheed Martin Corp.'s Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans were damaged, and five barges were stranded on top of a levee on the eastern side of the facility, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said in a statement.

    Power lines were down and there were trees and limbs in roads, limiting transportation around the facility, where the external fuel tanks for NASA's space shuttles are built, the agency said. Some buildings at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, which serves as the agency's rocket-testing headquarters, sustained water and roof damage.

    Oil

    Crude oil and natural gas climbed after the hurricane damaged platforms and ports and curtailed production at refineries as it slammed the Gulf of Mexico coast, the source of almost a third of U.S. oil output. Royal Dutch Shell Plc said its 220,000 barrel-a-day Mars platform, equivalent to 15 percent of total U.S. Gulf oil output, suffered damage.

    The storm shut 1.43 million barrels of daily oil output, or 95 percent of normal Gulf production, according to a report from the Minerals Management Service in Washington. That's higher than the 1.37 million barrels reported yesterday.

    Noble Corp., a U.S. oil driller, said one of its Gulf of Mexico offshore drilling rigs was torn from its moorings by Katrina. Rowan Cos. said its Rowan-New Orleans rig was missing in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana. All personnel were evacuated before the hurricane started, the company said.

    Crude oil for October delivery rose $2.61, or 3.9 percent, to $69.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest close since trading began in 1983. Futures touched $70.85, an intraday record. Prices are 65 percent higher than a year ago...........
     
  10. dreamer

    dreamer Member

    Aug 4, 2004
    New Orleans in Peril
    http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/31/opinion/31wed1.html

    On the day after Hurricane Katrina was declared to be not as bad as originally feared, it became clear that the effects of the storm had been, after all, beyond devastation. Homeowners in Biloxi, Miss., staggered through wrecked neighborhoods looking for their loved ones. In New Orleans, the mayor reported that rescue boats had begun pushing past dead bodies to look for the stranded living. Gas leaks began erupting into flames, and looking at the city, now at least 80 percent under water, it was hard not to think of last year's tsunami, or even ancient Pompeii.

    Disaster has, as it almost always does, called up American generosity and instances of heroism. Young people helped the old onto rafts in flooded New Orleans streets, and exhausted rescue workers refused all offers of rest, while people as far away as Kansas and Arizona went online to offer shelter in their homes to the refugees. It was also a reminder of how much we rely on government to imagine the unimaginable and plan for the worst. As the levees of Lake Pontchartrain gave way, flooding New Orleans, it seemed pretty clear that in this case, government did not live up to the job.

    But this seems like the wrong moment to dwell on fault-finding, or even to point out that it took what may become the worst natural disaster in American history to pry President Bush out of his vacation. All the focus now must be on rescuing the survivors. Beyond that lies a long and painful recovery, which must begin with a national vow to help all the storm victims and to save and repair New Orleans.

    People who think of that graceful city and the rest of the Mississippi Delta as tourist destinations must have been reminded, watching the rescue operations, that the real residents of this area are in the main poor and black. The only resources most of them will have to fall back on will need to come from the federal government.

    Those of us in New York watch the dire pictures from Louisiana with keen memories of the time after Sept. 11, when the rest of the nation made it clear that our city was their city, and that everyone was part of the battle to restore it. New Orleans, too, is one of the places that belongs to every American's heart - even for people who have never been there.

    Right now it looks as if rescuing New Orleans will be a task much more daunting than any city has faced since the San Francisco fire of 1906. It must be a mission for all of us..........
     
  11. dreamer

    dreamer Member

    Aug 4, 2004
    Hurricane Lee didn't land. Hurricane Maria is weakening. Nate is strenthening and is now a Tropical Storm.

    Tropical Storm Nate drifts near Bermuda
    http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/09/06/tropical.weather.ap/
    MIAMI, Florida (AP) -- Hurricane Maria weakened on its way to the colder waters of the North Atlantic, while Tropical Storm Nate drifted south of Bermuda early Tuesday, forecasters said.

    Maria peaked late Monday as a Category 3 hurricane with top wind speeds at 115 mph. By 5 a.m. EDT Tuesday, it was centered about 495 miles east of Bermuda with winds near 105 mph, forecasters at the National Hurricane Center said.

    The hurricane was only a threat to shipping interests as it moved north-northeast near 7 mph, forecasters said.

    Nate, which formed Monday as the 14th named storm of the season, was centered about 275 miles south-southwest of Bermuda with top sustained winds near 45 mph. Forecasters said it could reach hurricane strength, with winds of at least 74 mph, by Wednesday.

    It was meandering west near 2 mph, though it was expected to eventually make a turn to the northeast, forecasters said.

    "Perhaps by the end of the work week it could be posing a threat to Bermuda, but not the U.S.," hurricane specialist Stacy Stewart said.................
     
  12. BPBlueSox

    BPBlueSox Member

    Ajax
    Netherlands
    Aug 21, 2003
    Georgia
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Tropical Depression 16 has formed off of the coast of Florida after a few days of trying to get better organized. NHC progs it to become Tropical Storm Ophelia...possibly later today. The good news is that it looks like it will probably stay out of the Gulf according to most computer models. More than likely, just a quick landfall on the central Atlantic Florida coast.
     
  13. dreamer

    dreamer Member

    Aug 4, 2004
    Another quick one. I don't like these quick ones. Katrina was formed quickly too. Good thing is this one doesn't look like it's going to turn into a Cat 5.


    Ophelia threatens Florida
    Tropical storm heads toward state's eastern coast
    Wednesday, September 7, 2005; Posted: 5:35 a.m. EDT (09:35 GMT)
    http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/09/07/tropical.weather/
    CNN) -- Freshly named Tropical Storm Ophelia was moving slowly toward the northeastern Atlantic coast of Florida on Wednesday, forecasters said, threatening to drench the state with up to 8 inches of rain in some areas, possibly within 24 hours.

    Ophelia intensified to a tropical storm early Wednesday, with maximum sustained winds of near 40 mph and higher gusts. As of 5 a.m. Wednesday, the storm's center was located about 105 miles east of Cape Canaveral, Florida. It was moving north-northwest at near 8 mph and was expected to continue in that direction, slow down and possibly strengthen slightly within the next 24 hours.

    Tropical storm warnings are posted from Sebastian Inlet, Florida, northward to Flagler Beach, Florida, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said. The warning means tropical storm conditions, including winds of at least 39 mph, are expected in the area within the next 24 hours.

    A tropical storm watch, meaning tropical storm conditions are possible within the next 36 hours, was in effect from north of Flagler Beach to Fernandina Beach, Florida, forecasters said.

    Rainfall of 3 to 5 inches with isolated amounts of up to 8 inches are expected across portions of central and northern Florida and southeastern Georgia as a result of Ophelia. In addition, dangerous surf conditions and rip currents will be possible along the southeastern U.S. coast from the Carolinas southward to Florida.................
     
  14. nicodemus

    nicodemus Member+

    Sep 3, 2001
    Cidade Mágica
    Club:
    PAOK Saloniki
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Time to get out the poncho.
     
  15. dreamer

    dreamer Member

    Aug 4, 2004
    Let's hope that's all we need this time.


    Ophelia has some worried along north Florida coast
    RON WORD Associated Press
    http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12575226.htm
    JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. 6 PM EST - There were no surfers in the churning Atlantic Ocean. Seaside bars, restaurants and shops were devoid of tourists as brisk winds and bands of rain moved Wednesday through this beachside community awaiting Tropical Storm Ophelia.

    The tropical depression off Florida's Atlantic coast strengthened into a tropical storm early Wednesday and could bring high winds and rain to central and northern portions of the state over the next few days.

    The Jacksonville area is one of the few spots spared any serious damage from the six hurricanes that have hit Florida in the last 13 months. This year, Hurricane Dennis hit the Panhandle in July and Hurricane Katrina hit South Florida last month, killing 11 people before destroying New Orleans four days later.

    "We have to wait and see what (Ophelia) is going to do. The possibilities are endless," said Steve Letro, meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service Office in Jacksonville.

    Without strong steering currents, it is impossible to say what path Ophelia will take or whether it will strengthen into a hurricane with winds of at least 74 mph, Letro said. Some computer models have the storm moving farther east and away from the coast, others have it going west, closer to shore, and some show it heading east and then looping back toward the state.

    At 5 p.m. EDT, Ophelia, the 15th named storm of the season, was centered 80 miles east-northeast of Cape Canaveral. It had top sustained winds near 50 mph, up from 40 mph earlier in the day, and was nearly stationary.

    A tropical storm warning, meaning winds exceeding 39 mph are possible within 24 hours, was canceled for areas south of Cocoa Beach, but a tropical storm warning remains in effect for Florida's East Coast from Cocoa Beach to Flagler Beach. A tropical storm watch is in effect from Flagler Beach to Fernandina Beach. A tropical storm watch means that tropical storm conditions are possible within the next 36 hours.

    "This one is going to keep everybody on the edge of their seats for quite some time," Letro said.

    Ken Lloyd, general manager of a beachside restaurant and bar, was born during Hurricane Dora, which was the last hurricane to hit this beachside community in 1964.

    "I'm worried about it. They just don't know what it is going to do," said Lloyd.

    One of his employees, Aaron Gustafson, 30, stood on a beach crossover watching the waves and becoming more concerned by the minute, because he had never been through a hurricane.

    "If they decide to evacuate, I'm out of here. What happened in Katrina is making everyone nervous," said Gustafson, who grew up in Minneapolis and moved to Jacksonville for the weather..................
     
  16. dreamer

    dreamer Member

    Aug 4, 2004
    Ophelia strengthens off Florida coast
    September 9, 2005 - 5:54AM

    http://www.theage.com.au/news/World...t/2005/09/09/1125772662990.html?oneclick=true
    Tropical Storm Ophelia strengthened off Florida's Atlantic coast, menacing one of the few spots spared serious damage from the six hurricanes that have hit the US state in 13 months.

    Moderate winds blew and spurts of rain hit the Jacksonville area, interspersed with brief moments of blue sky.

    Ophelia, with sustained 96 kph winds, was stalled offshore about 100 kilometres east-northeast of Cape Canaveral, but forecasters said it was impossible to say what path the storm would take, or whether it would reach hurricane strength.

    "We have to wait and see what (Ophelia) is going to do. The possibilities are endless," said Steve Letro, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Jacksonville.

    "We are as ready as we can be," said Eric Fort, general manager of a Jacksonville Beach hotel, as he stocked up on canned goods. "People are concerned. All it takes is a look at New Orleans to understand the strength of Mother Nature."

    Ophelia is the 15th named storm of the season. According to the US National Hurricane Centre, the storm could bring high wind and rain across portions of central and northern Florida and southeastern Georgia over the next few days.
    AdvertisementAdvertisement

    "This one is going to keep everybody on the edge of their seats for quite some time," Letro said.

    Hurricane Dennis hit the northwest Florida in July and Hurricane Katrina hit south Florida last month, killing 11 people before destroying parts of Louisiana and Mississippi four days later.

    Hurricanes Nate and Maria were churning elsewhere in the Atlantic, but neither was considered a threat to the United States.

    Maria and Nate were the fifth and sixth hurricanes of the Atlantic season, which began June 1 and ends November 30. Peak storm activity typically occurs from the end of August through mid-September............
     
  17. dreamer

    dreamer Member

    Aug 4, 2004
    Ophelia is now a hurricane, lingering on in the Atlantic off the shore of Daytona Beach.


    Ophelia could threaten Florida
    Friday, September 9, 2005; Posted: 7:22 a.m. EDT
    http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/09/09/tropical.weather/
    Forecasters also warned the storm may make a loop out in the Atlantic before heading for the Sunshine State, rather than wandering out to sea.

    At 5 a.m. ET Friday, the center of Ophelia was located about 115 miles east of Daytona Beach, Florida, with maximum sustained winds of near 65 mph with higher gusts. It was moving toward the north-northeast at near 6 mph and was expected to turn to the northeast during the next 24 hours, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center.

    The storm became the seventh hurricane of the busy 2005 Atlantic season Thursday night...........
     
  18. BPBlueSox

    BPBlueSox Member

    Ajax
    Netherlands
    Aug 21, 2003
    Georgia
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    A pretty disturbing model run this morning showed Ophilia become a fairly large hurricane as it drifts out into the Atlantic a bit...then makes a northward turn and makes landfall as a pretty strong hurricane near the North Carolina Outer Banks...probably around Cape Hatteras. Let's hope this doesn't come true. :(
     
  19. BPBlueSox

    BPBlueSox Member

    Ajax
    Netherlands
    Aug 21, 2003
    Georgia
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    [​IMG]

    perspective storm tracks from model runs of early this morning
     
  20. dreamer

    dreamer Member

    Aug 4, 2004

    Florida has been spared. But North Carolina has declared a state of emergency over Ophelia.


    Hurricane Ophelia Hangs Near Southeastern Coast
    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/10/AR2005091001125.html
    Reuters
    Sunday, September 11, 2005
    MIAMI, Sept. 10 -- Hurricane Ophelia inched toward the coasts of the Carolinas on Saturday, prompting forecasters to place parts of two Atlantic states on a hurricane watch and the governor of North Carolina to declare a state of emergency.

    Local officials issued a mandatory evacuation order for nonresidents on the low-lying vacation island of Ocracoke on North Carolina's Outer Banks.

    The watch issued by the National Hurricane Center in Miami cautioned millions of residents that fierce winds and other hurricane conditions were possible within 36 hours along America's southeastern coast from the Savannah River in South Carolina to Cape Lookout in North Carolina.

    Sustained winds had been gauged as high as 80 mph within Ophelia, which was centered 235 miles south of Cape Haterras, N.C., at 11 p.m., according to a hurricane center advisory.

    The forecasters, who said the hurricane watch may be extended farther north, described Ophelia as a stationary Category 1 hurricane that could slowly strengthen by Sunday night.

    More than 3,000 tourists and 800 residents were on Ocracoke Island, which is reachable only by boat or plane, according to Hyde County Emergency Management Coordinator Tony Spencer.

    "The evacuation is going orderly, but a lot of folks don't understand the logistics of needing to evacuate early," Spencer said in a telephone interview.

    No other North Carolina county was under an evacuation order, a spokeswoman for the state Emergency Management Center said.

    North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley, in declaring a state of emergency, said tropical storm-force winds and rain were expected to be felt in North Carolina on Monday and would strengthen through the day to hurricane-force winds.

    North Carolina officials plan a briefing Sunday to detail preparations for the storm.

    In South Carolina, Charleston County officials announced that shelters would be open Saturday evening for voluntary evacuees from low-lying areas and barrier islands.

    Ophelia, which has repeatedly weakened and regained strength, had parked off the coast of Florida for three days and lashed the state's Atlantic coast with squalls and beach-eroding waves...................
     
  21. dreamer

    dreamer Member

    Aug 4, 2004
    Ophelia weakened to a TS again.


    Tropical Storm Ophelia Slows, but Carolinas Stay Prepared
    By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
    Published: September 13, 2005

    WILMINGTON, N.C., Sept. 12 (AP) - Tropical storm Ophelia stayed along the coast of the Carolinas on Monday, dropping slightly in strength from a hurricane as it barely moved toward land.

    Although the storm was centered more than 200 miles offshore, nonresidents were ordered to leave one of North Carolina's Outer Banks islands and 300 National Guard troops were sent to mustering points along the coast. School systems in five counties closed, even though the storm's eye was predicted to remain offshore until Wednesday................
     
  22. BPBlueSox

    BPBlueSox Member

    Ajax
    Netherlands
    Aug 21, 2003
    Georgia
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    [​IMG][​IMG]

    Yikes. That one model takes what would be a powerful Hurricane Rita right over New Orleans...
     
  23. dreamer

    dreamer Member

    Aug 4, 2004
    We definitely need to watch this one closely.

    Rita, Heading to Gulf, May Become Powerful Hurricane (Update2)

    http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aqVu1hQjgvtU&refer=us
    Sept. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Tropical Storm Rita headed toward southern Florida on its way to the Gulf of Mexico, forecast to strengthen into a hurricane tonight and may reach the coasts of Texas and Louisiana by the weekend.

    Rita is expected to pass through the Florida Keys tomorrow, before heading into the Gulf's warm waters. It is forecast to reach Texas by Sept. 24, sweeping past the region devastated by Hurricane Katrina last month. The storm prompted New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin to suspend plans for residents to renter the city and Galveston, Texas, to call for a voluntary evacuation.
     
  24. yanks02

    yanks02 New Member

    Mar 19, 2002
    Houston
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Lovely. I just hope that front stays over Louisiana longer to push it all the way into south Texas.

    Either way, I'll be packing up tomorrow. :(
     
  25. BPBlueSox

    BPBlueSox Member

    Ajax
    Netherlands
    Aug 21, 2003
    Georgia
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    how close are you to the coast?
     

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