Goodness.
Terrifying to a mariner with a little experience of a typhoon [no direct experience of a hurricane in the Atlantic/Atlantic basin].
Remember that the aircraft can [probably] climb out of the deep eye to avoid the eyewall winds.
A ship, necessarily, is restricted to the surface of the ocean, and, by necessity, needs to deal with what it encounters.
I salute and remember the crew of the ‘El Faro’, who were lost in very bad weather last year.
Every man of them.
Their families will mourn them for many years.
Their loss will cause hardship for some of their families.
Auto
The sea is a very hard task Master/Mistress.
Get it wrong – and there are unfortunate-to-very tragic outcomes.
Look at the wreck of the ‘Estonia’. Wiki – I know it might, possibly, be fallible:
But – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Estonia 852 (ish) people lost their lives in that incident.
Chad Irby
September 8, 2017 3:42 pm
I’ll probably get to see that for myself in about 54 hours…
depends but very high powered hurricanes can make eyewall hot towers up to 10 miles high they top off at the start of the stratosphere….
craytron
September 8, 2017 4:49 pm
Well we now know the eye still has enough air to support an airplane and maybe a few birds.
dg
2hotel9
September 8, 2017 6:41 pm
Having been in the eye, on the ground, of 3 hurricanes, 2 in darkness and one day light, it really does not capture the,,,,,absolute helplessness and terror of the event. It really doesn’t. Yes. in the last 10 days I have woke up in thew middle of the night in a cold sweat. And yes. I am still going south. Can’t call myself a man and not do it.
What would happen if you detonated a MOAB at altitude? Could it disrupt the eye? Or several? Looking at the satellite photos, within the eye seems to be small rotational storms. it was proposed to use a nuke to disrupt a hurricane, but hasn’t been done. Do we know enough to model the effect?
[It would have no measurable effect. The hurricane has many times too much energy to be disrupted by any chemical blast. .mod]
What would happen if we sent an oil tanker into the path and dumped a bazillion gallons of crude to float on the surface and stop evaporation?
u.k.(us)
September 8, 2017 7:21 pm
A cockpit cam when busting thru the eyewall would be cool , can you silence all the alarms on the plane as it tries to save itself from such folly ?
jesusdidntgiveuponme
September 8, 2017 8:12 pm
I know it changes but any idea what the approximate diameter of the eye is?
Putting aside for a moment how dangerous and destructive Irma is, it is a gorgeous storm! Have been watching since it first formed and it’s a thing of beauty.
Jim Masterson
September 8, 2017 10:52 pm
Having flown through thunderstorms in a P-3, I can say it’s quit a ride–especially at night. The eye-wall of a hurricane is essentially multiple thunderstorm cells. These guys fly through them all time. I tip my hat to them.
Jim
Fortunately for these guys, the thunderstorms in a tropical cyclone aren’t the 83,000′ tall monsters seen in the Midwest with hail 2-3″ in diameter. If they were, no one ever dare to fly even close to the eye, it would be a guaranteed death sentence.
Hasbeen
September 9, 2017 5:49 am
If ever you are likely to be in the eye of one of our Ozzie cyclones, what ever you do, don’t forget the Airogard, [insect repellent}.
I have taken a number of boats up mangrove creaks in the Great Barrier Reef area to shelter from cyclones, & the worst part of the experience of the eye going over you is the number of mosquitos & midges that come out in the still air to eat you alive.
Amazing images!!
Goodness.
Terrifying to a mariner with a little experience of a typhoon [no direct experience of a hurricane in the Atlantic/Atlantic basin].
Remember that the aircraft can [probably] climb out of the deep eye to avoid the eyewall winds.
A ship, necessarily, is restricted to the surface of the ocean, and, by necessity, needs to deal with what it encounters.
I salute and remember the crew of the ‘El Faro’, who were lost in very bad weather last year.
Every man of them.
Their families will mourn them for many years.
Their loss will cause hardship for some of their families.
Auto
The sea is a very hard task Master/Mistress.
Get it wrong – and there are unfortunate-to-very tragic outcomes.
Look at the wreck of the ‘Estonia’. Wiki – I know it might, possibly, be fallible:
But – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Estonia 852 (ish) people lost their lives in that incident.
I’ll probably get to see that for myself in about 54 hours…
All the best to you Chad! Post your pics afterwards!
How high is the eye wall?
depends but very high powered hurricanes can make eyewall hot towers up to 10 miles high they top off at the start of the stratosphere….
Well we now know the eye still has enough air to support an airplane and maybe a few birds.
dg
Having been in the eye, on the ground, of 3 hurricanes, 2 in darkness and one day light, it really does not capture the,,,,,absolute helplessness and terror of the event. It really doesn’t. Yes. in the last 10 days I have woke up in thew middle of the night in a cold sweat. And yes. I am still going south. Can’t call myself a man and not do it.
What would happen if you detonated a MOAB at altitude? Could it disrupt the eye? Or several? Looking at the satellite photos, within the eye seems to be small rotational storms. it was proposed to use a nuke to disrupt a hurricane, but hasn’t been done. Do we know enough to model the effect?
[It would have no measurable effect. The hurricane has many times too much energy to be disrupted by any chemical blast. .mod]
What would happen if we sent an oil tanker into the path and dumped a bazillion gallons of crude to float on the surface and stop evaporation?
A cockpit cam when busting thru the eyewall would be cool , can you silence all the alarms on the plane as it tries to save itself from such folly ?
I know it changes but any idea what the approximate diameter of the eye is?
Putting aside for a moment how dangerous and destructive Irma is, it is a gorgeous storm! Have been watching since it first formed and it’s a thing of beauty.
Having flown through thunderstorms in a P-3, I can say it’s quit a ride–especially at night. The eye-wall of a hurricane is essentially multiple thunderstorm cells. These guys fly through them all time. I tip my hat to them.
Jim
About to say the same Jim. Hats off to the crews for their bravery
Fortunately for these guys, the thunderstorms in a tropical cyclone aren’t the 83,000′ tall monsters seen in the Midwest with hail 2-3″ in diameter. If they were, no one ever dare to fly even close to the eye, it would be a guaranteed death sentence.
If ever you are likely to be in the eye of one of our Ozzie cyclones, what ever you do, don’t forget the Airogard, [insect repellent}.
I have taken a number of boats up mangrove creaks in the Great Barrier Reef area to shelter from cyclones, & the worst part of the experience of the eye going over you is the number of mosquitos & midges that come out in the still air to eat you alive.