A Sea Of Red

While everyone has been pandemic obsessed, the tropics are heating up like they haven't in the past. Gonzalo may dissipate in the Eastern Caribbean hurricane graveyard, but it is the earlest formed 'G' storm on record.

Meanwhile down in South Texas, which might as well be Argentina for most of you folks, Hanna is strengthening rapidly and is a full force hurricane striking the Gulf Coast this weekend. My LU classmate Randy Ahrens is a degreed and sealed meteorologist living in Corpus Christi. He has his hands full the next 48 hours covering the storm.

My next door neighbor just spent this past week fishing in the Gulf. He came back concerned because the Gulf waters offshore mid-Texas Coast were already in the 88-89 degree range with a week left in July. Those are temps we typically don't see for another month in the Gulf. That means any storms that successfully enter the Gulf are going to pick up major steam and Category 5s are highly likely for the next couple of months.

Here in North Carolina, they advised coastal residents to have a plan earlier than normal because shelters are going to be much harder to create this year. It was a layer I hadn’t even considered.

The gulf is very warm this year and like you said sly, it won't take much for storms to form quickly with those kind of Temps.

With the way 2020 has been going, any worst case scenario seems possible. But like Jon mentioned, I hadn't even thought about the complexities of creating shelters for hurricane evacuatees in the middle of a pandemic.

What a year.

Water temp on the crystal coast NC are mid 80's. What's unusual a buddy tells me water temp near Virginia Beach are that warm.

It is not just sheltering that will be challenged, the staples required for shelter in place are already in short supply. The moment a storm even glances toward your area, supplies will vanish. We saw it this week here in Houston when Hannah was looking our way. Next to disinfectant spray and TP, everything storm-related was practically sold out at Sams this morning and we are a hundred miles from the coast.

Going to be difficult to socially distance in a hurricane shelter

Great insight PH, as always!

Hopfully it stays cat 1. Shelter in place if that's the case.

Sly Fox wrote: ↑July 25th, 2020, 1:10 pm It is not just sheltering that will be challenged, the staples required for shelter in place are already in short supply. The moment a storm even glances toward your area, supplies will vanish. We saw it this week here in Houston when Hannah was looking our way. Next to disinfectant spray and TP, everything storm-related was practically sold out at Sams this morning and we are a hundred miles from the coast.

So you're telling me Texans panic for a Cat 1 storm?

ATrain wrote: ↑July 25th, 2020, 6:59 pm

Sly Fox wrote: ↑July 25th, 2020, 1:10 pm It is not just sheltering that will be challenged, the staples required for shelter in place are already in short supply. The moment a storm even glances toward your area, supplies will vanish. We saw it this week here in Houston when Hannah was looking our way. Next to disinfectant spray and TP, everything storm-related was practically sold out at Sams this morning and we are a hundred miles from the coast.

So you're telling me Texans panic for a Cat 1 storm?

You mean Argentinians. Why are Texans so sensitive? Babies.

There’s a storm off Africa right now they’re thinking could likely turn into Isaias. Nothing to worry about now but enough to keep an eye on.

First off, the most destructive hurricane in American history struck Houston less than three years ago and it was just a Category I. It is not just the intemsity of the storm that matters but also its trajectory. Thankfully instead of getting "stuck" like Harvey which resulted in a sit & spin situated that dropped over 50" of rain in less than 24 hours, Hanne breezed across the coast and headed straight for Northern Mexico. There was quite a bit of damage in Port Mansfield. But I recognize none of this means anything to 99% of this board.

It should also be noted that Super Storm Sandy that tore up NYC wasn't even a hurricane. Circumstances matter significantly. Catgeory IVs & Vs sometimes leave less mess than a Tropical Storm.

Harvey was Cat IV at landfall but quickly was downgraded. Harvey was one of the most bizarre hurricanes in history and caused most of its damage as a Cat I which would easily explain why Texans are a bit nervous about any kind of tropical disturbance.

The second most devastating storm in Houston history wasn't even a hurricane. TS Alison flooded the city for a week. Hurricane Ike was a Cat I and it knocked out power at my house for over a month.

Breaking: People without experience downplay issues they've never encountered. More at Eleven.

Tropical storm Isaias is passing directly over me as I type this. Winds gusting to about 70, but disappointingly little rain (we need it). A few signs and trees down here in Caleta, and the power has been out for the last 6 hours. I'm glad that I installed a makeshift inverter system a couple of weeks ago. My little 45 amp/hour battery is still going strong, and considering I won't need to turn on a fan with all this wind and I have LED light bulbs that only draw 7 watts, it should last me a long time. My building is reinforced concrete block and built like a fortress. it's just about 100 yards from the ocean (amazing view from my second story balcony). I've never seen waves here like we are having now, and several full blown hurricanes have skirted us in the past 9 years, but no direct hit like this.

Praying for you!

alabama24 wrote: ↑July 30th, 2020, 7:46 pm Praying for you!

Thanks bama. All is well. Power came back on at 3AM. All that's left of Isaias here is a nice steady breeze of about 20mph. I just spent about 20 minutes watching with fascination as several large seagulls are gliding in place like kites, powered by that breeze. Beautiful.

Isaias didn't unleash the fury on PR that many on that island had feared. But depending on how much time is spend in the warm Gulf waters it could still sting some Floridians.

Sly, I've got 2 dear professor friends who just left LU and moved to the greater Houston area to teach at HBU, so this will be their first time up close to a hurricane.

They have avoided the fun thus far. The primary zone for activity in Houston is from the beginning of August to Mid-September before cool fronts push everything east of us.

Looks like Tropical Storm Isaias will be making a slight impact here in Anne Arundel County, MD. Some winds topping 40 mph but rhe real story will be the rain. Some place may see up to 8 inches.

I'm from Florida so this isn't that big of a deal but they freak out for any kind of weather event around these parts. People aren't use to them so probably aren't even remotely prepared. Good times.

thepostman wrote: ↑August 3rd, 2020, 2:22 pm Looks like Tropical Storm Isaias will be making a slight impact here in Anne Arundel County, MD. Some winds topping 40 mph but rhe real story will be the rain. Some place may see up to 8 inches.

I'm from Florida so this isn't that big of a deal but they freak out for any kind of weather event around these parts. People aren't use to them so probably aren't even remotely prepared. Good times.

Actually I went grocery shopping today, and stopped by Home Depot to get bird seed. Things seemed calm/quiet at both places. And yes, we are under a tropical storm warning in AA county. We definitely need the rain here.

ATrain wrote: ↑August 3rd, 2020, 4:48 pm

thepostman wrote: ↑August 3rd, 2020, 2:22 pm Looks like Tropical Storm Isaias will be making a slight impact here in Anne Arundel County, MD. Some winds topping 40 mph but rhe real story will be the rain. Some place may see up to 8 inches.

I'm from Florida so this isn't that big of a deal but they freak out for any kind of weather event around these parts. People aren't use to them so probably aren't even remotely prepared. Good times.

Actually I went grocery shopping today, and stopped by Home Depot to get bird seed. Things seemed calm/quiet at both places. And yes, we are under a tropical storm warning in AA county. We definitely need the rain here.

Wish Isaias would have dropped some of that rain on us here in the DR instead of just blowing over a bunch of signs. We're down to having water from the system once a week for a few hours. It wasn't enough yesterday to fill the cistern, which means we will need to be careful this week, or I'll have to buy water from one of the tanker trucks that pass by the house every day.

It is about to get wacky in the GoM over the weekend. It has been over sixty years since two tropical storms emerged simultaneously in the Gulf. But with TDs #13 & #14 likely to do so in the next day or so it will create an unusual weather phenomenon. Will the storms create more intensity for each or will they siphon off strength? It is anybody's guess at this stage.