Every 6 years. Btw, last advisory is out and thankfully Ivan is now at 150mph. Still very dangerous, but the difference between 150 and 160 is huge.
All I want to know is are these hurricanes the work of Terrorists or President George W. Bush, and what will Kerry do to protect us if elected?!?
I know it may not be related, but I didn't know Allison left a trail going all the way up North to Philly. SCARY the remnance of these storms can be devastating so far away... SCARY http://www.cnn.com/2001/WEATHER/06/17/penn.floods.02/index.html
That's a good point about the flooding. One of the things being overlooked is the possible flooding if Ivan makes its way up the east coast. Virginia and South Carolina are already saturated and it would be devastating to have another 12 inches+ of rain in those places.
There is no question based on the data available that Atlantic storms are stronger. Their direction varies by year meaning some years some locations are more vulnerable, but Florida is really in the middle of it now. The Gulf is experiencing weak steering currents associated with a weather phenomena that occurrs for a few years every 15 or 20 years. It is the reason why our summer has been cooler than usual. It is also why storms have tended to vear away from the Gulf towards Florida and why fewer storms have formed in the Gulf basin. It won't stay that way and we will get more hurricanes. Texas and Florida are the most likely spots to be hit because we have the largest areas of coastline and, right now, Florida is feeling it.
That's odd. Guess I always just assumed that the 'Gulf Stream' had warmer water because of heating in the Gulf of Mexico. Where does the Gulf Stream get heated?
That I don't know. My oceanography professor would NOT be proud. The Gulf of Mexico is odd anyway. About half of it has VERY weak steering currents (the southern part including the Bay of Campeche) while the other half varies depending upon the weather. Also, the Mississippi dramatically effects currents both from the outpouring of fresh water into the gulf and from the silt and sediment it dumps every day.
While we're on the Gulf Stream Mr. Oceanograph...er, how's all of that fresh water from the melting Arctic doing? Still look like it could shutdown the Gulf Stream at any moment?
Man, it was great during Hurrican Isable last year(well besides all teh damage) we were out of school for almost 2 weeks. man, it was like another spring break, wiht bad weather.
Any meteorol... er... weather-follower understands the ramifications on the weather if the Gulf Stream shuts down!
I think it is one of those years where the flow is keeping it out of the gulf. Check out 1981, all of the storms but one went west, then north then back east. 1981
More info... ________________ Hurricane Mitch Hurricane Mitch grew to become the Atlantic basin's fourth strongest hurricane ever with sustained winds of 180 mph October 26 into early October 27, 1998. It was the strongest storm in the western Caribbean since Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. Mitch stalled off the coast of Honduras from late on Oct. 27 until the evening of Oct. 29 before moving slowly inland. As the storm's winds weakened it continued dumping heavy rain on Central America, causing floods and mudslides that had been blamed for at least 10,000 deaths by Nov. 2. On Nov. 3, Mitch's ghostly remains entered the southern Gulf of Mexico and warm waters rejuvenated the system into a tropical storm. Mitch then barreled through southern Florida early Nov. 5 before finally becoming extratropical at 4 p.m. EST, Nov. 5. link
Yeah, Mitch didn't really make landfall with those cat 5 winds. It just parked itself off the coast and caused torrential rains. The flooding and mudslides is what did the most damage.
i know every bit adds up, but is it sort of like how earthquakes are measured on logarithmic scales. so like every extra 10 MPH means a lot more potential wind damage?
Most places that get hit by these storms have more to fear from water than winds. The storm surge and flooding is insane. I mean Allison was dropping 20-30 inches of rain in one freaking day. I think Tropical Storm Claudette (?) was the one that dropped something over 40 inches of rain in a 24 hour period.
Yep, I have had a really good college level Meteorology class and I teach Earth science. What DoD says is exactly correct. If anyone is familiar with the Beaumont area, I, can put it in terms like this. If ther is a Category 5 storm that makes landfall in Port Arthur, ther is a good chance that from the surge ther will be standing water within 2-3 miles of I-10 in Beaumont. All of Port Arthur would be under water and most of the Mid-County area would be under about 5-7 feet of water. Most deaths in a hurricane are not wind related but flood related. My house flooded in '94 and we had 2.5 feet of water in it almost without warning. A lot of people in the neighborhood said they went to bed with the ditches filling up. When they woke up in the morning and stepped out of bed. They stepped into 2-3 inches of water. As for the Gulfstream, it gets heated in the Mid Atlantic. It flows in teh same pattern as many of the storms that form off the coast of Africa. Because it flows near the equator in Spring and Summer it benefits from fairly direct sunlight. ther is a really good article here that talks about the Gulfstream and other global currents. The link starts you on page 18 but if you are interested in weather patterns page 19 is great. A lot of the stuff on those 2 pages (which I stumbled on tonight), are getting covered in my 5th grade class right now. We may be doing a web assignment with that site tomorrow.
