[kingu]

I really wish the National Hurricane Center would stop quoting 'category' vectors for hurricanes, and instead adopt a more useful danger level system. This was a category 1 hurricane - no big deal to a whole lot of people who have rode out such things. But here you had a very slow moving system, with a massive wind field, and loads of potential for soaking rain.

Rain measured in feet, storm surge of up to 10 feet, and constant hurricane force winds. It was a disaster waiting to happen, and to the NHC's credit, they mentioned it in every single update - at the bottom, well after most people stopped reading.

[uncommonsense]

"But here you had a very slow moving system, with a massive wind field, and loads of potential for soaking rain."

I agree, wind speed is a big issue, but it isn't what kills most people. I've been in Boynton Beach FL taking care of my mother's affairs. Isaac sat over us for 3+ days dumping over 20" of rain. It was the slowest, largest pattern of storms I think I've ever seen (and I rode out Katrina / Rita in Baton Rouge).

I told my old friends back in BR to pay attention to the westward drift and the east side bands of torrential rains. That would be the most dangerous - from first hand experience over 3 days. My mother's place has great drainage and it couldn't keep up for the 1st time.

[Grams A]

One of our local stations always brings now retired Neil Frank in to report on any hurricanes. His rule of thumb: Divide 100 by the speed of the storm and you will get the approximate number of inches of rain you should expect in an hour. They should kick all those people at the Weather Channel off the air and just let him do the broadcasts. He has never had any interest in being the drama king/queen and just reports all the facts.

So Isaac moving at 6 mph could be expected to produce around 17 inches of rain per hour.