Comments on: Fill your gas tank – now

By: Bruce Cobb

Bruce Cobb — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 20:00:10 +0000

FEMA says Gustav soon to be rated Category 5 storm: FEMA says Gustav soon to be rated Category 5 storm At least they're ready this time, although perhaps the levees aren't.

By: leebert

leebert — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 03:15:03 +0000

Yep, we’re veering north to steer clear of the mass exodus.

By: Leon Brozyna

Leon Brozyna — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 00:25:45 +0000

Something to bear in mind about hurricanes – they’re not solid objects; think of them as disturbances in a fluid (I know, it’s really in a gas but the dynamics are fairly similar).

After Gustav went through Haiti, its move to the south was less an actual move than the center of cirulation reforming further south – one of those characteristics of any storm that makes those creatures so hard to predict.

By: BarryW

BarryW — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 21:04:59 +0000

Hurricane Agnes (1972) was a tropical storm when it hit the mid atlantic states and did more damage than I've ever seen in the Maryland area, and it continued all the way up into New York. link

By: Jamie J

Jamie J — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 18:35:21 +0000

Robert Wood: Might ask the people on the mid-east coast of Florida if they think a TS is no big deal. My dad was lucky, only got enough wind to knock down a couple of big oak trees in his yard (from which his car narrowly escaped – he saw it crack and moved the car). He’s inland, so didn’t get 4 feet of water in his house like many other people on the coast.

I love watching the updates of the computer models too. It’s a fun game. They’re about as reliable as the IPCC models (until the hurricane is about to smack you). But at least with a hurricane, they can’t tell you your observations must be wrong, because they didn’t match the model output.

Jamie – in between Gustav and Hanna on the west coast of Florida.

By: BarryW

BarryW — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:04:08 +0000

What is the heck is Hanna doing? models

By: Will

Will — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:39:04 +0000

TS Fay with her big eye sat on central Florida and flooded quite a few areas. Last weekend was a good time to go look for property! I like to watch the spaghetti models, while all the forecasts showed Fay heading west of Florida, one model at the 5am update showed it crossing to the east then straight back across the state. I was laughing about the odd-ball model until the 11am update where 5 of them showed the same thing!

By: danbo

danbo — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:09:19 +0000

Just a note on Leon’s comment. The superdome wasn’t supposed to be a shelter during Katrina. (They made that mistake during George and didn’t want to repeat it.)

It only became a shelter of last resort after people didn’t leave. Instead of evacuating; some cleaned out their freezers by having BBQ’s.

If a storm heads to NO again. I wouldn’t be supprised if the superdome becomes a shelter again for those who refuse to leave.

BTW Mobile had it’s own floods during Katrina. People just rarely heard about anything other than New Orleans.

By: Tom in Florida

Tom in Florida — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:21:31 +0000

One of the better links for tropical weather:
http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/
It includes spaghetti models and written discussion on why the forecast is as such.

Robert Wood:”But these are just tropical storms at present – despite all the hype”
Sorry Robert, anyone who could be in the path does not take even TS as hype. These storms can increase in intensity very quickly and change course unexpectedy.

By: Mary Hinge

Mary Hinge — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 08:23:02 +0000

This link!

http://www.weather.com/maps/maptype/satelliteworld/tropicalatlanticsatellite_large_animated.html

By: Mary Hinge

Mary Hinge — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 08:21:48 +0000

For your interest, a link to the weather.com animated loop for the mid atlantic. Shows the ‘conveor belt’ of weather from the Cape Verde islands to the Guf quite nicely. http://www.weather.com/maps/maptype/satelliteworld/tropicalatlanticsatellite_large_animated.html

By: Mary Hinge

Mary Hinge — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 08:21:11 +0000

For your interest, a link to the weather.com animated loop for the mid atlantic. Shows the ‘conveor belt’ of weather from the Cape Verde islands to the Guf quite nicely.

By: Drew Latta

Drew Latta — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 03:25:56 +0000

Yeah, the NWS Forecaster Discussion is where to go if you really want to know what they think the weather will do. Its always good to know the uncertainty in the forecast, and sometimes it is basically zero certainty, with each of models giving a different result. Fortunately most of the local TV meteorologists here in E. Iowa don’t do too much hyping, though they always overplay winter storms here. Most of the time we are going to get 12 inches of snow or an 1 inch of ice, but you’re best served by dividing by 4 to get the actual amount.

By: David Smith

David Smith — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 03:00:20 +0000

I have several early-evacuees from Louisiana arriving at my home Friday evening. We may all have to move if the storm shifts westward, though, as my home is but 12 feet above sea level and not far from a bay connected to the Gulf. We’ll see.

By: Mike C

Mike C — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 02:53:56 +0000

I was watching the storm in the Gulf of Mexico on the IR loop and it got ripped to shreds by wind shear in the last few hours.