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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsOutlook for Hurricane Irma -- It could be bad.
878 mb Storm Off North Florida The Model Forecast for Irma that no one Wants to See HappenLooking beyond the official forecast, some of the our best long range model runs are putting together some seriously scary predictions for Irma. By next week, the Global Forecast System (GFS) model shows Irma as a 878 mb monster hurricane looming about 300 miles off Florida. 878 mb would represent the lowest pressures ever recorded in a hurricane in the Atlantic (The present strongest Atlantic storm was Wilma at 882 mb. The devastating Labor Day Hurricane hit 892 mb.). And it would almost certainly represent the strongest storm in our records ever to venture so far North. 878 mb roughly corresponds with maximum sustained winds in excess of 170 mph and possibly as high as 200 mph or more. And weve never seen something like that threatening the Central Atlantic U.S. East Coast in all of the modern era.
The model then slams the storm into Cape Hatteras just after midnight on Monday, September 11 as only a slightly weaker Category 5 range storm at 910 mb. The storm proceeds north into the Hampton Roads area early Monday morning retaining approximate Cat 5 status at 919 mb. After roaring over this highly populated low-lying region, the storm enters the Chesapeake Bay at 934 mb by noon on Monday in the Category 4 range and still stronger than Hurricane Sandy before crossing up the Bay and over the D.C. region by evening the same day at 958 mb (approx Cat 3).
To say this would be an absolute worst case disaster scenario for the Mid-Atlantic is an understatement. A storm of this intensity would produce 10-20 foot or higher storm surges, devastating winds, and catastrophic rainfall throughout the Outer Banks, Hampton Roads and on up the Chesapeake Bay. But unlike Harvey, it would be a fast-moving event. More like a freight train than a persistently worsening deluge.
This long range model scenario is not, however, an official forecast. Its just what the GFS atmospheric computer models are presently spitting out. And such long range predictions from a single model, no matter how reliable, should be taken with at least a pinch of salt. That said, we should certainly, as the NHC recommends, keep our eyes on Irma and keep our response plans ready.
underpants
(182,788 posts)We'll take one for the team.
B2G
(9,766 posts)You're 50 miles inland, which would be affected, but I'm smack-dab on water.
I hope it stays OFF the coast!!!
cwydro
(51,308 posts)I've been through hurricanes, have you?
Nice of you to volunteer an entire region...
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)away! Water half-way up my yard (the only house of 20 in my immediate area).
Eastern PA, near Jersey.
cwydro
(51,308 posts)Who do you want it to hit? To "take one for the team." Do tell. Enquiring minds want to know.
underpants
(182,788 posts)I've got friends it's gonna hit.
You appear to be clueless about hurricanes and how they can devastate. Read up on Galveston back in the early 1900s, Camille, the Keys hurricane of 35, and gosh...have you already forgotten Katrina?
Smh.
a la izquierda
(11,793 posts)I think they'll pass on your offer.
Response to Binkie The Clown (Original post)
onecent This message was self-deleted by its author.
Don't wish this on anyone.
octoberlib
(14,971 posts)from Congress for damage from Hurricane Matthew. This would be disastrous.
N.C. said it still needs $929 million in aid for Hurricane Matthew. It got $6.1 million.
The rain is done, and the flood is long over. The rest of the country moved on months ago, but North Carolina is still feeling the effects of Hurricane Matthew. Hundreds of families remain displaced, and critical infrastructure sits damaged. Its unmet need is enormous, the governor says, and they arent getting the money.
In a soon-to-be-announced disaster relief allocation from the federal government, Gov. Roy Cooper expects to get just 0.7 percent of what he and North Carolina lawmakers in Congress say the state still needs to get back on its feet.
In October, Hurricane Matthew raked up the Southeast coast and battered Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. These states arent unfamiliar with tropical storms or the damage they inflict, but Matthew was different. The hurricanes wind and storm surge were strong, but that wasnt what did North Carolina in.
Unexpectedly, the storms track shifted slightly west and dumped a colossal amount of rain on inland parts of the state. More than 15 inches fell on areas that were already saturated from previous storms. That water rolled off the hills and into the reservoirs and rivers, which crested at record levels.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/05/11/n-c-said-it-still-needs-929-million-in-aid-for-hurricane-matthew-it-got-6-1-million/?utm_term=.53f48d6c9ba5
malaise
(268,967 posts)Damn!!!!
Demtexan
(1,588 posts)We need a early fall.
Cool things down.
really
jpak
(41,757 posts)not after the gas stations are dry
not after the supermarkets are empty
not after the roads are filled with panicked evacuees.
Binkie The Clown
(7,911 posts)Hortensis
(58,785 posts)is that people prepare for what they think they know from the past, not for everything that might conceivably happen in future.
Our little snowbird park MH is on the west coast, but we bought it knowing disaster was a possibility. Our own "prep" if we were down there would basically consist of climbing in the car right about now, before the roads got crowded, and heading north.
cwydro
(51,308 posts)We were ALWAYS prepared.
I still am.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)family down there was caught in a bad traffic jam on US 1 just a couple days ago. No hurricane, just nowhere to go.
We always keep a stock of food, water, and medicines, but are not as conscientious as we should be. First day of an extended power-down would no doubt already be full of "we should have"s.
cwydro
(51,308 posts)We bought a generator before Wilma, only to watch the storm surge rise and cover it.
It's a funny story now, but it sure wasn't on that day.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)as Wilma chose to cruise by to the north? No thanks. She'd already wiped out the beautiful place our daughter was married near Cozumel, and most of the town.
Almost all the models right now for Irma are projecting her heading to the west side of Florida, most closer to Cuba but one directly headed for the Keys.
cwydro
(51,308 posts)We had Dennis, Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Pretty much one a month.
My yard was destroyed by the first three, and my house by Wilma. Five foot storm surge.
Years before, Georges came ashore as a three with a storm surge that drowned our cars. I was younger then lol, more resilient. I don't feel that way anymore.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)Hammered over and over. It's painful enough for me to imagine all these people ripping out flooring and drywall, years of sodden, ruined possessions, and I've not gone through it.
cwydro
(51,308 posts)You just kind of go numb in some ways, I think.
The Texas pictures have affected me a lot. Really, it's impossible to understand unless you've been through it. I'll never forget that water rising. Lol, had my cats and dogs in the canoe before it finally began to subside. But, the mess after it was unbelievable. The smell, the loss of animals, houses, businesses...
I'm back in NC now, pretty far inland, but I'm a wee bit on edge about this one. We won't get flooding where we are, but we could suffer wind damage. Plus worrying about my friends in the Keys....my friends in the eastern part of the state here. Sheesh. I hope it turns far north and fizzles out.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)into the Atlantic is more genuinely heartfelt now than when I merely wondered if it'd flood our yard, or, unlikely, sweep the old MH away. But...it's that "real" thing you bring to life.
cwydro
(51,308 posts)All of them are gone now due to natural causes, but they suffered along with us....and I suffered more worrying for them. My best friend died about two years later at an early age; the storm wrecked her. I consider her a casualty of Wilma.
A neighbor asked me to go under her house to find her cat afterwards. No idea why I agreed. I won't go into any more detail, but it was something I'll never forget. I retrieved the cat, who was of course drowned. The storm hit us in October...it was getting cold even in the Keys. We had no power for a month. That mattress was damn cold lol.
I think that's what bothered me so much. Not the loss of a house or all my belongings....just seeing and hearing about the loss of so many creatures. Not even mine. But hell, and that's the first thing I thought about Texas. Of course, I care about the people too, but they at least can take action....animals are helpless for the most part. I wish no hurricanes on anyone. Ever. Someone posted today that they hoped it would hit the east coast. Could NOT believe that post.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)It's a dissociation destroyer.
One hopes so.
Binkie The Clown
(7,911 posts)After a long time between hurricanes northerners tend to get more lazy about it.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)a past generation. Is it all the moving around, perhaps the constant evolution of how we live due to technology that creates such a disconnect in societal memory?
It feels as if the 1960s occurred in a different world, even if many of us were alive then, because so much is so different. If Gulf cities couldn't take seriously the lessons of Camille in the 1960s, how about those living on the Virginia side of the Appalachians, where Camille also, amazingly, continued on to kill many?
Data from a decade or so ago says that top sellers at Wal Mart before a hurricane are beer, pop tarts, masking tape and tarps. Edit at will.
nitpicker
(7,153 posts)Model tracks have shifted further south and west, mostly threatening the Bahamas and FL.
But let's see what Thursday shows.
malaise
(268,967 posts)Hortensis
(58,785 posts)Sunlei
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