Hurricane Isabel

[Quasar1011]

Pontiuth, as hurricanes move out of the tropics, they get picked up by the normal west-to-east upper-level winds. The jet stream is another upper wind that exists more in temperate and polar regions. The "trade winds" in the tropics are just not that strong aloft. So it is very common for hurricanes to accelerate as they move northward, as the steering currents aloft tend to be stronger the further north the storm gets.

 

[wilbill]

Associated Press
September 17, 2003 | Last updated 5:12 PM Sep. 16

VIRGINIA BEACH - Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson today prayed on his Christian Broadcasting Network, based here, that Hurricane Isabel would turn from the coast. He asked God to put a ``wall of protection'' around Virginia Beach and the East Coast.

``In the name of Jesus, we reach out our hand in faith and we command that storm to cease its forward motion to the north and to turn and to go out into the sea,'' Robertson prayed on ``The 700 Club'' program.

And before anyone laughs, please note that there's precedent...

How Prayer Turned Back Historic Hurricanes
By Sarah Pollak
CBN News Reporter

September 16, 2003

CBN.com – Even though Isabel has lost some strength, many people are still taking precautions. That is because history has shown how destructive hurricanes can be.
Hurricanes can be among the deadliest natural disasters. And they can also be the costliest. The most expensive in recent years was Andrew in 1992. Andrew sustained winds of 140 miles per hour. Adjusted for inflation into today's dollars, Andrew caused damages totaling $20 billion.

And some experts estimate that a true monster storm hitting a heavily populated area could cause $100 billion in damages.

Hurricanes have often threatened North Carolina, and Virginia. In 1995 it was Felix, and a decade earlier, Gloria. But when hurricanes threatened the region, and people took steps to prepare, another group of people tried another action: prayer.

In 1985, Pat Robertson led the CBN staff in prayer against Gloria, which had been called "the storm of the century." And again in 1995, as Felix threatened the Carolina/Virginia coastline with winds of 130 miles per hour, CBN and its partners prayed.

Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke prayed on The 700 Club, "And Lord I pray, that at the same time You may take the sting out of this Hurricane Felix. Take the sting out of it. And I thank you that it will filter out and that people will not come to grief, in the Name of Jesus."

Both storms turned away leaving behind little damage.

I appreciate all your helpful info, Quasar1011, but it looks like I can take the plywood off the windows and quit worrying.

 

[Pontiuth Pilate]

Boy is someone pushing their luck

On a side note:

``In the name of Jesus, we reach out our hand in faith and we command that storm to cease its forward motion to the north and to turn and to go out into the sea,'' Robertson prayed on ``The 700 Club'' program.

That's right, don't listen to God, Isabel! Listen to Pat Robertson!

 

[Quasar1011]

Originally posted by wilbill
I appreciate all your helpful info, Quasar1011, but it looks like I can take the plywood off the windows and quit worrying.

wilbill, how close are you to the coast? I am about 12 miles from the Gulf of Mexico myself...

The latest.. note a hurricane warning is now up for the NC coast:

 

[wilbill]

Actually, I'm about 100 miles inland. Of course that didn't stop Fran from stomping us a few years ago. She was still at hurricane strength when she blew through here.
Used to live about 15 miles inland. I lived near the high point in the county which was about 20 feet above sea level. Floyd did a real number on those folks - 2 years ago yesterday IIRC.
If you can ignore the fact that you may be homeless when it's all over, a hurricane is really a fascinating thing to experience. I'll never forget the first time one came through after I moved to NC. The afternoon before it struck I stood mesmerized watching the cloud bands move across the sky. It's quite a show.

 

[jpowers]

My place of work sent a very helpful email today: 'Stay in your cubicles. Do not look out the windows.' Of course, this may not have been a message specific to Isabel...

 

[Bozo Erectus]

Originally posted by jpowers
My place of work sent a very helpful email today: 'Stay in your cubicles. Do not look out the windows.' Of course, this may not have been a message specific to Isabel...

If they say "stay in your cubicles", thats your signal to run for the hills. When it comes to natural disasters or terrorism or other catastrophic events, I dont have a boss.

 

[Quasar1011]

Not since 1955 has a hurricane struck the coast of North Carolina while still moving somewhat northwest. Nor has a hurricane travelled directly up Chesapeake Bay since then, though Connie had been downgraded to a tropical storm while moving through the bay (yellow line in chart below is tropical storm status). Usually, hurricanes are moving north or northeast by the time they reach 35 degrees north latitude. Here is a synopsis of Connie:

Hurricane Connie
Aug. 3-15, 1955

Max. winds: 145 mph Min. pressure: 936 mb Category: 4

Hurricane Connie wound its way across the Atlantic north of the Caribbean, reaching its peak intensity on Aug. 8 at 4 p.m. about 300 miles northeast of the Bahamas. The hurricane weakened before snaking ashore in North Carolina early on the 12th with 80 mph winds. Connie was not a very destructive storm, but its torrential rain saturated the Northeastern USA, setting it up for massive flooding when, just five days later, Hurricane Diane spun up the East Coast and drenched the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast with up to 19 inches of rain. Monsoon-like downpours deluged the Connecticut River valley where it winds through portions of Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Lesser amounts fell on the rest of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic. The Connecticut River reached its all-time record level, causing the worst flooding in the state's history. In New England, close to $1 billion in damage resulted and 82 people were killed.

 

[Quasar1011]

Here she comes...

 

[Speedo]

Yep yep.. Starting to come overhead now. Be interesting to see how much we get from it where I'm at. Probably not much.

 

[Xerol]

grrr...every school system in the state of maryland has closed completely or early on thursday, as well as nearly every university or college.

Except the one I'm going to:
http://www.ccbcmd.edu/news/closings.html
Now UMBC(University of Maryland Baltimore County) is closed tomorrow, and it's only a few blocks from the CCBC Catonsville campus.

 

[Quasar1011]

Isabel is now close enough to the coast to present a full radar signature.

 

[Quasar1011]

Hurricane force winds, in orange, just offshore; tropical storm force winds, in yellow, well inland now:

 

[Quasar1011]

Landfall expected not long after noon Thursday:

 

[jpowers]

Is hail very likely? I am thinking about putting my cars in a nearby underground garage while this thing blows over Northern Virginia.

 

[De Lorimier]

Someone explain this to me. Why are these people writing messages to a Hurricane?

 

[Speedo]

I've never heard of hail from a 'cane.. but anything is possible.

People write messages to a hurricane just because... I dunno. I guess they just want to.

 

[PinkyGen]

I'm sitting in this storm right now (well, in Washington D.C.) Not much so far.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

Isabel claims her first victim: the Yankees Orioles game. Rained out in the 5th.

 

[floppa21]

My company's office out in Washigton has closed early today.