Posted on 08/15/2008 1:25:37 PM PDT by NautiNurse
The tropical system currently over Hispanola has been teasing weather watchers for days, as hurricane hunters were unable to locate a surface center of circulation. Meanwhile, the system has looked remarkably like a tropical depression for greater than 24 hours. Local Florida weather forecasters are urging Floridians to keep a close eye on this system.
Updates:
Satellite:
Visible Image Loop
Infrared Image Loop
Water Vapor Image Loop
RGB (Vis/IR combo) Image Loop
Funktop Image Loop
Caribbean Buoys
Western Atlantic Buoys
Florida Buoys
Radar
Puerto Rico
Guantanimo Bay Cuba
Key West
Bahamas
Miami
Florida Loop
| Category | Wind Speed | Barometric Pressure | Storm Surge | Damage Potential |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical Depression |
< 39 mph < 34 kts |
Minimal | ||
| Tropical Storm |
39 - 73 mph 34 - 63 kts |
Minimal | ||
| Hurricane 1 (Weak) |
74 - 95 mph 64 - 82 kts |
28.94" or more 980.02 mb or more |
4.0' - 5.0' 1.2 m - 1.5 m |
Minimal damage to vegetation |
| Hurricane 2 (Moderate) |
96 - 110 mph 83 - 95 kts |
28.50" - 28.93" 965.12 mb - 979.68 mb |
6.0' - 8.0' 1.8 m - 2.4 m |
Moderate damage to houses |
| Hurricane 3 (Strong) |
111 - 130 mph 96 - 112 kts |
27.91" - 28.49" 945.14 mb - 964.78 mb |
9.0' - 12.0' 2.7 m - 3.7 m |
Extensive damage to small buildings |
| Hurricane 4 (Very strong) |
131 - 155 mph 113 - 135 kts |
27.17" - 27.90" 920.08 mb - 944.80 mb |
13.0' - 18.0' 3.9 m - 5.5 m |
Extreme structural damage |
| Hurricane 5 (Devastating) |
Greater than 155 mph Greater than 135 kts |
Less than 27.17" Less than 920.08 mb |
Greater than 18.0' Greater than 5.5m |
Catastrophic building failures possible |
Anyhow, leave it to Fay to shower us with her parting gifts. It's the first time in the Tampa Bay we've had any real effect from this storm.
tag line.
Tropical Storm Public Advisory
Statement as of 7:00 PM CDT on August 23, 2008
...Fay weakening over land but still dumping heavy rains...
a Tropical Storm Warning remains in effect for the northeastern Gulf
Coast from Suwannee River Florida westward to the Alabama-
Mississippi border.
For storm information specific to your area...including possible
inland watches and warnings...please monitor products issued
by your local weather office.
At 700 PM CDT...0000 UTC...the center of Tropical Storm Fay was
located inland over the western Florida Panhandle near latitude
30.7 north...longitude 86.7 west or about 35 miles...55 km...
northeast of Pensacola Florida.
Fay is moving toward the west-northwest near 7 mph...11 km/hr. This
general motion is expected to continue during the next day or so.
On the forecast track...Fay will be moving over southern Alabama
and Mississippi on Sunday. Little forward motion is forecast on
Monday.
Maximum sustained winds are near 40 mph...65 km/hr...with higher
gusts. Gradual weakening is forecast during the next couple of
days...and Fay is expected to become a tropical depression by
tomorrow.
Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 90 miles...150 km...
over water to the south of the the center.
Estimated minimum central pressure is 999 mb...29.50 inches.
Storm surge flooding of 2 to 4 feet above normal tide levels
possible in the warning area in areas of onshore winds.
Fay is expected to produce total rainfall accumulations of 6 to 12
inches over the next two days across the western portions of the
northern Florida Peninsula...the Florida Panhandle...southwestern
Georgia...the southern and central portions of both Mississippi
and Alabama...and eastern Louisiana...with isolated maximum amounts
of 20 inches possible. Additional rainfall accumulations of 1 to
3 inches are possible over the remainder of the Florida Peninsula
and southeastern Georgia.
Isolated tornadoes are possible through tonight in portions of
northern Florida...southern Georgia...and southern Alabama.
Repeating the 700 PM CDT position...30.7 N...86.7 W. Movement
toward...west-northwest near 7 mph. Maximum sustained winds...40
mph. Minimum central pressure...999 mb.
The next advisory will be issued by the National Hurricane Center at
1000 PM CDT.
$$
Forecaster Knabb
I had to plan my trip to the mailbox this afternoon around those t-storms.
Hope you did better than when I tried to split the bands going into Corpus when Dolly was knocking.
Here I am reporting in from South East central Alabama. We’ve had heavy wind (25 MPH with stronger gusts) since last night, with rain starting after midnight. Heavy rain and gusts since about 9:00 am. A big squall line came thru an hour ago. Tornado warnings due to radar seeing rotation, but none reported. The power went of for a few seconds twice, which caused me to have to reset half a dozen digital clocks.
So all in all, a good day to be inside, but nothing bad at all. And we really, really needed the rain, and I’m very happy for all of it!
The trip to the mailbox consists of a short walk to the end of the driveway. There was a good ten minute break between squalls. Unfortunately, all of the mail was wet. Apparently, the mailman didn’t wait between squalls to deliver.
Stay alert--currently, 26 counties in the SW corner of GA, and 8 counties in the FL panhandle are under tornado watch.
Sounds like mailman’s timing was about like mine! LOL
Glad you are getting the rain you needed! Trust me..if you need rain, Fay provides it! I see Tallahassee has some people with no power and trees are down up there.
Checking in as I get ready to leave (ugh) work....
Midtown Mobile - light winds (with occasional gusts) and a kind-of halfhearted sprinkle going on....
The only rain we had today here was between 11-12 this morning, from the first band — and that was just a sprinkle: that irritating pace where “intermittent” wipers just ain’t quite enough, and “low” is just a shade too much.....
Watching the local radar loop, it looks like the worst of the second band stayed east of Mobile Bay....
Yes, we too (Alabama) are under a tornado watch until 3:15 am.
Reporting in from Montgomery.Lots of wind, rain and power outages.
Reporting in from Dothan, they say the worst is yet to come but it’s calm with a little bit of gusty winds and sprinkles
Break out the Prozac, Fay is now a Tropical Depression.
000
WTNT21 KNHC 240244
TCMAT1
TROPICAL DEPRESSION FAY FORECAST/ADVISORY NUMBER 34
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL062008
0300 UTC SUN AUG 24 2008
AT 10 PM CDT...0300 UTC...ALL TROPICAL STORM WARNINGS ALONG THE NORTHEASTERN GULF OF MEXICO COAST HAVE BEEN DISCONTINUED.
TROPICAL DEPRESSION CENTER LOCATED NEAR 30.9N 87.1W AT 24/0300Z POSITION ACCURATE WITHIN 20 NM
PRESENT MOVEMENT TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST OR 285 DEGREES AT 7 KT
ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE 999 MB
MAX SUSTAINED WINDS 30 KT WITH GUSTS TO 40 KT.
Statement as of 10:00 PM CDT on August 23, 2008
...Fay weakens to a depression but heavy rains and flooding could continue for several days...
at 10 PM CDT...0300 UTC...all tropical storm warnings along the northeastern Gulf of Mexico coast have been discontinued.
For storm information specific to your area...including possible inland watches and warnings...please monitor products issued by your local weather office.
At 1000 PM CDT...0300z...the center of Tropical Depression Fay was located near latitude 30.9 north...longitude 87.1 west or about 60 miles...100 km...east-northeast of Mobile Alabama and about 30 miles ... 45 km...north-northeast of Pensacola Florida.
The depression is moving toward the west-northwest near 8 mph. A general westward motion with little change in forward speed is expected during the next day or so...but Fay could become nearly stationary on Monday. On the forecast track...Fay will be moving over southern Alabama and Mississippi on Sunday...and will be located over southern Mississippi or eastern Louisiana on Monday.
Surface observations and National Weather Service WSR-88D radar data indicate that maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph...55 km/hr...with higher gusts. Very gradual weakening is forecast during the next couple of days.
The minimum central pressure based on surface observations is 999 mb...29.50 inches.
Storm surge flooding in areas of onshore winds along the northeastern Gulf of Mexico coast should gradually subside during the next day or so.
Fay is expected to produce total rainfall accumulations of 6 to 12 inches across the extreme western portion of the northern Florida Peninsula...the Florida Panhandle...southwestern Georgia...the southern and central portions of Mississippi and Alabama...and eastern Louisiana...with isolated maximum amounts of 20 inches possible. Additional rainfall accumulations of 1 to 2 inches are possible over the remainder of the Florida Peninsula and southeastern Georgia.
Isolated tornadoes are possible tonight and Sunday in portions of the Florida Panhandle...western Georgia...and southern and central Alabama.
Repeating the 1000 PM CDT position...30.9 N...87.1 W. Movement toward...west-northwest near 8 mph. Maximum sustained winds...35 mph. Minimum central pressure...999 mb.
This is the last public advisory issued by the National Hurricane Center on this system. Future information on this system can be found in public advisories issued by the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center...under AWIPS header tcpat1 and WMO header wtnt31 kwnh...beginning at 400 am CDT Sunday.
$$
Forecaster Knabb
Whew! Fay was monotonous, tedious, etc.
Sounded from TWC that Alabama getting slammed now but that Tallahassee was really flooded....
What a pest of a storm!
Stay safe!
Good to hear nothing serious there - just much needed rain...good.
Thanks for all your work keeping us all up to date!
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