Just heard on radio...winds at 135 mph...CAT 4!

Hurricane Lili Special Advisory Number 45
Statement as of 1:00 PM CDT on October 02, 2002

...Lili strengthens rapidly to dangerous category 4 hurricane...

 
a Hurricane Warning remains in effect from east of High Island Texas
to the mouth of the Mississippi River.  Preparations to protect
life and property in the Hurricane Warning area should be rushed
to completion.

 
A Tropical Storm Warning remains in effect from Freeport Texas to 
High Island...and from the mouth of the Mississippi River to the 
Alabama/Florida border...including New Orleans and Lake
Pontchartrain.

 
At 1 PM CDT...1800z...the center of Hurricane Lili was located
near latitude 25.3 north...longitude  89.4 west or about 325 miles
south of New Orleans Louisiana.

 
Lili is moving toward the northwest near 15 mph...and this general 
motion is expected to continue for the next 24 hours.

 
Reports from an Air Force reserve hurricane hunter aircraft indicate 
that maximum sustained winds have increased to near 135 mph...with 
higher gusts.  This makes Lili a dangerous category 4 hurricane on 
the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale.  Additional strengthening 
is possible this afternoon and tonight.

 
Hurricane force winds extend outward up to  45 miles from the 
center...and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 185 
miles.  Hurricane-force winds are expected to spread inland up to
150 miles near the track of the center of Lili.

 
The latest minimum central pressure reported by the hurricane hunter 
is  941 mb...27.79 inches.

A life-threatening storm surge of 10 to 15 feet above normal tide
levels is likely near and to the east of where the center crosses 
the coast.  This surge could spread well inland across the low-
lying areas of the Hurricane Warning area.

Rainfall accumulations of 6 to 10 inches are possible along the
track of Lili.

 
Repeating the 1 PM CDT position...25.3 N... 89.4 W.  Movement
toward...northwest near 15 mph.  Maximum sustained
winds...135 mph.  Minimum central pressure... 941 mb.

 
For storm information specific to your area...please monitor
products issued by your local weather office.

 
The next advisory will be issued by the National Hurricane Center
at 4 PM CDT.

 
Forecaster Beven

Data from a buoy in the Gulf, nearest one I could find to LILI.

Look at the peak wind and the wave height is 22 feet.

Station 42001 - MID GULF 180 nm South of Southwest Pass, LA.

Owned and maintained by National Data Buoy Center
10-meter discus buoy
MARS payload
25.92 N 89.68 W (25°55'12"N 89°40'48"W)

Site elevation: sea level
Air temp height: 10 m above site elevation
Anemometer height: 10 m above site elevation
Barometer elevation: sea level
Sea temp depth: 1 m below site elevation
Water depth: 3,246.0 m
Watch circle radius: 3,134 yards

Latest NWS Marine Forecast

Important Notice to Mariners

Observations from Nearby Stations and Ships

Click on the graph icon in the table below to see a time series plot of the last five days of that observation. Unit of Measure: Time Zone:

Conditions at 42001 as of
(12:00 pm CDT)
1700 GMT on 10/02/2002:
	Wind Direction (WDIR):	ENE ( 60 deg )
	Wind Speed (WSPD):	44.7 kts
	Wind Gust (GST):	56.3 kts
	Wave Height (WVHT):	22.0 ft
	Dominant Wave Period (DPD):	14 sec
	Atmospheric Pressure (PRES):	29.54 in
	Pressure Tendency (PTDY):	-0.18 in ( Falling Rapidly )
	Air Temperature (ATMP):	78.1 °F
	Water Temperature (WTMP):	82.4 °F
	Dew Point (DEWP):	73.2 °F

Continuous Winds
TIME (CDT)	WDIR	WSPD
11:00 am	NE ( 52 deg )	35.0 kts
11:10 am	ENE ( 58 deg )	35.2 kts
11:20 am	ENE ( 58 deg )	38.7 kts
11:30 am	ENE ( 59 deg )	41.4 kts
11:40 am	NE ( 54 deg )	40.0 kts
11:50 am	ENE ( 61 deg )	44.9 kts

Previous 24 observations
MM	DD	HH CDT	WDIR	WSPD kts	GST kts	WVHT ft	DPD sec	APD sec	MWD	PRES in	PTDY in	ATMP °F	WTMP °F	DEWP °F	SAL	VIS mi	TIDE ft
10	02	11 am	NE	31.1	44.7	17.4	12	7.8	ESE	29.63	-0.10	79.2	82.4	73.9	-	-	-
10	02	10 am	NE	33.0	40.8	16.1	12	7.8	ESE	29.67	-0.05	79.0	82.4	73.6	-	-	-
10	02	9 am	NE	29.1	33.0	-	-	-	-	29.72	-0.03	75.4	82.4	71.6	-	-	-
10	02	8 am	ENE	25.3	31.1	14.1	12	7.3	ESE	29.73	-0.04	78.6	82.4	73.6	-	-	-
10	02	7 am	NE	29.1	33.0	13.1	11	6.8	ESE	29.72	-	81.9	82.4	75.4	-	-	-
10	02	6 am	ENE	29.1	36.9	10.8	9	6.1	E	29.75	-0.05	82.4	82.4	75.2	-	-	-
10	02	5 am	ENE	27.2	31.1	8.9	7	5.6	ENE	29.77	-0.07	80.1	82.4	72.7	-	-	-