This Week
Hurricane Watch
Hurricane Warning System Needed
Hurricane Watch Friday, October 1, 2010 am PDT
The rain storm called Nicole is still making its way up the East Coast. New England will feel the brunt of the storm this afternoon and is also expected to get some added wind along with the rain.
The storm has left a path of soggy ground in its wake, but present conditions indicate lowering flood waters and some clear sky’s.
In the Western Caribbean thunderstorms and rainy conditions could introduce a new tropical system within the next day or two.
Hurricane Watch Thursday, September 30, 2010 am PDT
The heavy weather system called Nicole is presently unloading its rain and flash flooding along the coastal areas of North Carolina and Virginia.
This system originated in the western Caribbean and Jamaica was first to experience its full force as it pelted the island with its destructive flooding leaving mudslides in its wake. Rushing water filled a number of streets and several bridges were simply washed away.
The mountainous area of central Cuba was next, then the Florida Keys and the east coast of Florida and Georgia.
The long stretch of this system is amazing. As it spreads its thunderstorms and water wrath a spotty tornado issue comes into play. We are told that the southern and serpentine shape of the jet stream is effecting the upper air flow and setting up the potential for tornado development.
Stay tuned to your weather channels and like I said yesterday batten down the hatches.
Hurricane Watch Wednesday, September 29, 2010 am PDT
The tropical rain and thunderstorm system that passed over Cuba last night is now located over open waters between Cuba and the Florida Keys.
From the way it looks now Florida and the whole East Coast can expect a visit from this heavy rain system. All you folks in the path of this storm make your place as water tight as you can. As they say in the navy batten down the hatches.
Hurricane Watch Tuesday, September 28, 2010 am PDT
Weather system in the northwestern Caribbean could be named Nicole today. Should this happen expect system to move north across Cuba carrying heavy rains and strong winds to Florida on Wednesday. It would then be expected to continue up the East Coast on Thursday and pour more rain on an already saturated area.
Hurricane Watch Monday, September 27, 2010 am PDT
Matthew is still hanging around the northern parts of Central America and southeast Mexico with its heavy rains and thunderstorms, making life miserable for everyone in the area.
Julia is still alive and churning up waters in the central Atlantic with no potential danger to any land mass at the present time.
Forecasters are monitoring and predicting a tropical development in the northwestern Caribbean. If this should become a reality models indicate it could impact a portion of the Gulf Coast by the middle part of this week.
Hurricane Watch Sunday, September 26, 2010 pm PDT
Tropical rain storm Matthew even as the system continues to diminish it's still churning up heavy rain and breezy conditions to parts of Guatemala and other nearby Central American countries as well as southern Mexico.
Lisa, the storm off the coast of Africa, that got little attention in the past week is still diminishing as she travels to the north and far away from the Cape Verde Islands.
Forecasters are monitoring a possible tropical system developing in the northwestern Caribbean. This is a wait and see situation that might develop by the middle part of next week.
Hurricane Watch Saturday, September 25, 2010 am PDT
Tropical Storm Matthew made landfall on Friday afternoon over eastern Nicaragua, pounding the area with torrential rain and powerful winds. This weekend, Matthew will move toward Honduras, Belize and Guatemala bring gusty winds, and heavy rains with a potential for flooding. As of 5 am EDT, Matthew was located 35 miles east-southeast of La Ceiba, Honduras. Maximum-sustained winds are 50 mph.
The two other tropical systems Julia and Lisa are still alive, but are no threat at the present time.
The western Caribbean area, just vacated by Matthew, seems ripe for tropical storm development and is being closely watched by ACCU Weather and other forecasters.
Seven Deadly Reasons For a Hurricane Warning System.
Galveston 1900
On August 27th this weather system was detected over the Eastern Caribbean and reached Cuba as a tropical storm on September 3rd. It moved northward and was spottted in the Gulf of Mexico on the 5th. As it moved across the Gulf it intensified and by the time the storm reached the Texas coast and the Galveston area late on September 8, it had grown to a Category 4 hurricane. In years to come it would be known as the deadliest hurricane in United States history. A storm surge raised tides of 8 to 15 ft that inundated Galveston Island, as well as the nearby Texas coast. These tides were largely responsible for the estimated 8,000 deaths. Property damage was estimated at $30 million.
Atlantic-Gulf Hurricane 1919
Detected near the Lesser Antilles on September 2nd this storm moved west-northwestward for several days, passing near the Dominican Republic on September 4th and growing to hurricane strength as it struck the Bahamas on the 5th and 6th. It turned to the southwest on September 7th and moved into the Florida Straits. The hurricane grew in strength becoming a Category 4 storm and passed just south of Key West, Florida. It continued west by west-northwest as it crossed the Gulf of Mexico and made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane at Corpus Christi, Texas on September 14. A storm surge of up to 12 ft inundated Corpus Christi causing major damage to the coastal areas. The death toll was estimated at 600 to 900 people. Of these, more than 500 were lost on ten ships that either sunk or were reported missing. Damage in the United States was estimated at $22 million.
Great Miami Hurricane 1926
This tropical wave was first reported 1,000 miles east of the Lesser Antilles on September 11th. The system moved quickly westward and intensified to hurricane strength as it passed north of Puerto Rico on the 15th. Winds were reported to be nearly 150 mph as the hurricane passed over the Turks Islands on the 16th passing the Bahamas on the 17th. The Miami Weather Bureau had no way of tracking the storm and as a consequence no warning was issued until midnight on September 18th and with no warning signals they were able to alert only a fraction of the South Florida residents.
The center of the Category 4 hurricane slammed Miami Beach, crossed Biscayne Bay and and hit downtown Miami during the morning hours of the 18th. The hurricane produced the highest sustained winds ever recorded in the United States up to that time, and the barometric pressure fell to a low 27.61 inches of mercury as the eye passed over Miami. A 15 foot storm surge overwhelmed the community of Coconut Grove. Many casualties resulted when people came outdoors during the lull in the storm as the eye passed overhead and not aware that only half the storm had passed. Every building in the downtown district of Miami was damaged or destroyed. As the storm continued west communities on the south side of Lake Okeechobee were flooded by a lake surge and many killed.
Next was Ft. Myers: The storm was still carrying winds of 130 plus miles per hour as it rushed through Ft. Myers taking the lives of two dozen people on the West Coast and causing millions of dollars in property damage. The storm tracked northwest from Ft. Myers across the Gulf of Mexico where it made landfall between Pensacola, Florida and Mobile, Alabama before it fell apart on September 22nd.
The great hurricane of 1926 ended the economic boom in South Florida and would be a $90 billion dollar disaster had it occurred in recent times. With an extremely transient population across southern Florida during the 1920s, the death toll is uncertain. By some accounts there were more than 800 people missing in the aftermath of the storm.
San Felipe-Okeechobee Hurricane 1928
The hurricane was likely spawned east of the Cape Verde Islands was first detected over the Atlantic on September 10th. It moved westward through the Leeward Islands on the 12th and turned to the west-northwest, making a direct hit on Puerto Rico on the 13th as a Category 4 hurricane. The storm continued west-northwestward through the Bahamas and made US landfall near Palm Beach, Florida on September 16. It continued through the Everglades and Lake Okeechobee area before it turned north and east back to the Florida East Coast on the 17th and continued on to North Carolina on the 19th. It then moved inland and north to eastern Great Lakes on September 20.
The 1926 hurricane caused heavy casualties and extensive destruction along its path from the Leeward Islands to Florida. The worst tragedy occurred at Lake Okeechobee in Florida, where the hurricane caused a lake surge of 6 to 9 ft that inundated the surrounding area. 1,836 people died in Florida, mainly due to the lake surge. An additional 312 people died in Puerto Rico, and 18 more were reported dead in the Bahamas. Damage to property was estimated at $50,000,000 in Puerto Rico and $25,000,000 in Florida.
Florida Keys Labor Day Hurricane 1935
This Tropical Storm was first detected east of the central Bahamas on August 29. Moving slowly to the west it passed south of Bimini Island on September 1, and once over open waters reached hurricane strength and turned west-southhwestward. And by the time the storm reached the Florida Keys on September 2, it had become a monster Category 5 hurricane. After roaring through the Keys, the hurricane turned northward almost parallel to the Florida west coast where it dropped down to a Category 2 hurricane on the 4th. It then took a northeastward tack and crossed the southeastern United States to the Atlantic coast and into the Atlantic near Norfolk, Virgina on September 6. It continued north in the Atlantic and the last report when the storm was detected on the 10th heading into the North Atlantic.
The combination of winds and tides were responsible for 408 deaths in the Florida Keys, primarily among World War I veterans working in the area. Damage in the United States was estimated at $6 million.
New England Hurricane 1938
This storm was first spotted in the tropical Atlantic on September 11 although it may have formed a few days earlier. Moving west-northwest, it passed north of Puerto Rico on the 18th and 19th, with the possible strength of a Category 5 hurricane. On the morning of September 20th it was located it was located 100 to150 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. At that point, the hurricane accelerated its forward motion to an estimated and unheard of 60 to 70 mph. It made landfall at Long Island on September 21st and slammed Connecticut that afternoon as a Category 3 hurricane.
U.S. Coast Guard station on Long Island measured a minimum pressure of 27.94 in. Storm surges of 10 to 12 ft inundated portions of the coast from Long Island and Connecticut eastward to southeastern Massachusetts with the most notable surges in Narragansett Bay and Buzzards Bay. Heavy rains before and during the hurricane produced flooding, most notably along the Connecticut River.
The storm continued north and weakened over southeastern Canada on September 22.This hurricane struck with little warning and was responsible for 600 deaths and $308 million in damage in the United States.
Atlantic Hurricane 1944
This hurricane was first detected northeast of the Leeward Islands on September 9. It moved west by northwest through the 12th, then turned northward on a track that brought the storm near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina on the 14th. The hurricane moved rapidly to the north-northeast, moving across eastern New England and into Canada by September 15. This hurricane was of Category 3 intensity at landfalls at Cape Hatteras, Long Island, and Point Judith, Rhode Island, and Category 2 as far north as the coast of Maine.
The 1944 hurricane was light on land casualities, only 46, in the U.S. compared to some of the hurricanes and $100 million in damage. What really got Washington's attention was the havoc it caused on World War II shipping. Five ships, a U. S. Navy destroyer and minesweeper, two U. S. Coast Guard cutters, and a light vessel, sank due to the storm causing 344 deaths. The total loss of life was 390.
The heavy loss of life alone begged for a hurricane warning system and finally someone in authority paid attention.
In 1943 and 1944 the U.S. Navy and the National Weather Bureau attempted to develop a hurricane warning system. The first airplane used in the exercise was the PBM-5 Mariner Sea Plane. By the end of the 1944 season and following the heavy loss of military men and equipment due to the unannounced storm it was determined that development of a full scale Warning System was imperative. The airplane they were currently using, the Martin Mariner with its maximum speed of 210 miles per hour, a service ceiling of 19, 800 feet and a range of 2, 200 miles was not capable of locating hurricanes and collecting the data needed to determine size, strength and direction of a storm. What was needed was a full scale sea and ground communications network and a plane that could fly faster, higher and had a longer range than the Mariner; fortunately the navy had such a plane in its inventory.
(To be continued)
Tom Barnes -- Actor, Writer and Hurricane Hunter.
Check out my website for books, blogs, western legends, a literary icon, reviews and interviews. Also my novels Tungee's Gold, The Goring Collection and Doc Holliday’s Road to Tombstone along with a non fiction remembrance of The Hurricane Hunters and Lost in the Bermuda Triangle.
Www.tombarnes39.com
www.RocktheTower.com
http://thehurricanehunter.blogspot.com
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