hurricane Issac underestimated

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For those who havent kept up with the hurricane. It is just barely a catagory 1 hurricane, but dont let that fool you cause it is causing more flooding to some areas of southeastern Louisanna than Katrina. People are on roofs and stuck in attics and a rescue mission is underway.

Issac has stalled with the eye 50 miles from shore pumping water into the coast, the storm surge is high due to the slow movement and the size of this thing. People had little warning that this storm was going to cause this much flooding because when it was at sea, it had alot of dry air mixed in which prevented it from getting stronger than it did even with the warm waters of the gulf. However, when it stalled, the presure difference between the high presure front keeping it at shore and the low presure of the hurricane caused alot of rain to develop rapidly. It is moving 6 mph in a sort of wobbly motion along the coast moving towards Texas.

None of the forcasters predicted that it would stall like this, many people are riding out the storm because they were told it was not going to be like Katrina, for some areas, the flooding is worse than Katrina. This is exactly why the hurricane rating scale needs to be updated. It is just barely a cat 1, but is punching a wallop like a cat 3 or higher and because it is just a cat 1, many people did not feel the need to evacuate. The current hurricane rating system is based on wind speed, but leaves out factor such a size, amount of rainfall, storm surge, and speed in which the cyclone moves. back in the 40's, there was a tropical storm that hit the upper atlantic that made it to the top ten worst cyclones to hit the US. Hurricane Irene, last year, was a cat 1 that was freakin huge thus produced alot of rain and and high storm surge and caused serious flooding in the mountainous areas in the north east.

We have WP'ers that live in the New Orleans area...like Inventor. I been keeping in contact with him in this storm, however the last I heard from him was early last night, havent heard from him since with 500,000 out of power, I assume he is on that list. There are also other Wp'ers in Issac right now.

http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2012/ ... n-katrina/

http://www.weather.com/news/weather-hur ... e-20120817

http://www.weather.com/weather/videos/n ... saac-30391

http://www.weather.com/weather/hurrican ... /slideshow


Jojo

I live in Alabama and have prayed for the people affected by Isaac this morning. I know what you mean about the categorization. People easily underestimate the danger of a storm going by wind speed alone. Category 1 doesn't sound that scary, but then you factor in all the rain, in addition to higher than usual winds, and the fact that it's moving so slowly.

Folks I am worried about Inventor. He in a community just outside New Orleans and I havent heard from him since 3 hours after the outer bands of Issac hit his area.

Has anyone heard from him??


Jojo

There is more to hurricanes than wind speed. There is the amount of rainfall delivered, too.

ruveyn

Inventor was cast into darkness for five days.

A local Sushi place has a generator, and kept long hours.

No faith in weather forecasts, none of them saw the storm bog down and bounce along the coast.

We are at or below sea level, the people who got wet are several foot above, where shallow creeks become lakes, that are moving.

While it barely made hurricane, 74 mph wind, it was given a 1, 76 mph, just to keep the news cycle running. Persistance does count, given long enough wind will damage roofs.

A one, will take down old rotten at the core trees, some shallow rooted, but our post Katrina roofs stood up.

It is going out and walking around weather, a Three, winds of 157 MPH, is not for walking around, will remove the whole roof, and take down hundred year old trees. Katrina hit as a three, but was a Five in the Gulf a few hours earlier.

Just as a Three, whole forests of sixteen inch pines were snapped off twenty foot up for miles, and this forty miles inland. The storm surge went eleven miles inland, and took houses and cars when it flowed back out.

We live behind seventeen foot levees, with pumps that can pump an inch in the first hour, then a half inch an hour after that.

A Three coming on the same track, would push a storm surge along the coast of Mississippi, twenty to twenty five foot high, and north of New Orleans. It will top the levees and then drop seventeen foot into the basin.

Everything south of Baton Rouge will be open water, 157 mph wind, twenty foot waves, and most likely, never seen again.

We get warning, better than an earth quake, and a hurricane can hit anywhere along the east coast, A Three plowing up the East River would do just as much damage. Washington DC is very low, and for enough rum and ganja, I could raise a force of Conga Drummers, feed the Spirits, and call the Night. If we could get Mongo Santamaria, it would vanish in a Five night!

Donations are welcome.