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A three-metre tidal surge is predicted to surge down the English Channel in the next 12 hours posing an "extreme danger to life and property", experts have warned. Coupled with storms and high tides, the wave could leave swathes of the east coast under water, according to the Environment Agency. A combination of gale force winds off the coast of Scotland and high tides are expected to cause floods which could breach sea defences. • Nine severe flood warnings issued by Environment Agency • Surge expected to hit east coast in next 12 hours • Police on standby to evacuate...

This hurricane is much worse than Katrina in terms of loss of life. Hot dry Saharan air mixes with warm moist air of the jungles of Africa interact sometimes in mid-August, which a cluster of thunderstorms forms and moves off to the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of western Africa. This cluster of thunderstorm of persisted over the open water. Most of the thunderstorms, which are tropical waves or easterly waves fade away harmlessly. However this one did not die out. The tropical wave gains strength and becomes a tropical depression and tropical storm. Then this storm makes landfall over...

If thought Hurricane Katrina could destroy the city of New Orleans or the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900 did to Galveston. There was another strong hurricane that hit Texas in 1886. This hurricane hit the town of Indianola, which is located on the Gulf Coast. It was a thriving port town, second to Galveston. Indianola was established in 1846 in Calhoun County. It was hit by a hurricane on September 15, 1875, which claimed hundreds of lives. However, it quickly rebuilt, but on a smaller scale. Sometimes in early August, a cluster of thunderstorms moved off the coast of Africa...

Imagine the following: It’s a beautiful Labor Day weekend. Sunny, cloudless, 80 degrees. Backyard barbecues are fired up all over the metropolitan area, and the beaches of New York City, New Jersey and southern Long Island are jam-packed with bathers. The only sign that something unusual is happening is the relatively big waves rolling up on Coney Island. It’s a surfer’s paradise. Mike Lee isn't enjoying the long weekend. For the last two weeks, Lee, the Director of Watch Command at New York City's Office of Emergency Management, has been observing a series of weather systems form off the western...

In order to understand the Katrina disaster, it is crucial to understand the concept of "Storm Surge". In New Orleans, the evacuattion plan was particularly crucial because New Orleans was in the Storm Surge Zone, it was below sea level, its levies were only designed for a Category 3 and Katrina was forecast as a Category 5. I wrote a post explaning the issue of "Storm Surge" to another Freeper who does not live in Hurricane Ally. The subsequent feedback I got from other Freepers said it was very educational. So, I decided it would benefit from its own thread....

[Let me begin by expressing my heartfelt condolences to the survivors of our nation's most devastating natural disaster to date. I can't imagine the pain and the loss they must be experiencing.] It's clear that many of the people living in those Mississippi coast towns like Waveland and Ocean Springs and Biloxi and Gulfport were unable to comprehend the magnitude of the danger to their persons and property that Hurricane Katrina represented as it churned towards them. What could these people, and also knowledgeable people in authority, have done to better inform themselves of the threat they faced? For...

Link post: go the thread below to post commentary for discussion -- thanks! Geology Picture of the Week, August 29-September 4, 2004: New Geology courtesy of Hurricane Charley

This is already old news, but it's a reminder of what's coming... (I downsized the image so it would fit on a "regular-sized" browser window. Click on the image to see the full-size version, which can be further expanded in most browsers by clicking right on the image.)

The National Hurricane Center has now upgraded Hurricane Charley to a CATEGORY 3 storm with SUSTAINED winds of 125 MPH. The storm is moving NNE at 20 MPH, and the center of the storm should reach Charlotte Harbor (about 2 hrs. SOUTH of Tampa) late this afternoon. This is good news for Tampa, as the worst of the storm will be to the south of Tampa Bay. The CAT 3 storm will come ashore in the Naples and Ft. Myers areas late this afternoon.

The National Weather Service has just issued a Tornado Watch for most of south Florida until at least 8:00 Friday morning. Hurricane City is streaming live coverage at http://hurricanecity.com/live.ram -- their coverage includes reports from The Weather Channel, from observers on the ground, plus streamed reports from local Miami television stations.