HURRICANE ISABEL becomes first Atlantic Category 5 Hurricane since 1998.....

National Hurricane Center ^ | September 11, 2003 | Pasch

[John H K]

BULLETIN HURRICANE ISABEL ADVISORY NUMBER 23 NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL 5 PM AST THU SEP 11 2003

...EXTREMELY DANGEROUS ISABEL NOW AT CATEGORY FIVE INTENSITY...

SATELLITE IMAGES INDICATE THAT HURRICANE ISABEL HAS CONTINUED TO STRENGTHEN...AND HAS REACHED CATEGORY FIVE INTENSITY ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE SCALE. ISABEL IS THE FIRST CATEGORY FIVE HURRICANE IN THE ATLANTIC BASIN SINCE MITCH OF 1998.

AT 5 PM AST...2100Z...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE ISABEL WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 21.6 NORTH... LONGITUDE 55.3 WEST OR ABOUT 500 MILES...805 KM...EAST-NORTHEAST OF THE NORTHERN LEEWARD ISLAND.

ISABEL IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST NEAR 9 MPH...15 KM/HR...AND THIS GENERAL MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 160 MPH...260 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. SOME FLUCTUATIONS IN INTENSITY ARE LIKELY OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS.

HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 60 MILES... 95 KM... FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 185 MILES...295 KM.

ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 921 MB...27.20 INCHES.

LARGE OCEAN SWELLS AND DANGEROUS SURF CONDITIONS ARE LIKELY OVER PORTIONS OF THE LEEWARD ISLANDS...THE VIRGIN ISLANDS...AND PUERTO RICO OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS.

REPEATING THE 5 PM AST POSITION...21.6 N... 55.3 W. MOVEMENT TOWARD...WEST NEAR 9 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...160 MPH. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE... 921 MB.

THE NEXT ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER AT 11 PM AST.

FORECASTER PASCH

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

LBelle is pregnant with first child in Islamorada, Florida Keys and doesn't want to evacuate. Say prayers

If this thing comes your way, DO NOT WAIT FOR JEB TO SEND THE STATE TROOPERS TO CARRY YOU OUT BY FORCE!! Remember how many survived the Labor Day hurricane of 1935 on Islamorada (hint: Same number as the number of Snow Days in Key West)!!

[anniegetyourgun]

I'm in so. Fl too LB....prayers all around....and I'm not even pregnant!

[Diddle E. Squat]

Dan Rather should be calling soon, asking if he can tie himself and a TV camera to one of your trees...

[SC Swamp Fox]

I wouldn't mind having Gunga-Dan lashed to a tree in my yard.

[Amelia]

Batteries..check.
Flashlights...check.
Fresh water....check.

I have to laugh. I'm in coastal GA. We were required to evacuate for Hugo & Floyd. Both of them missed us, but got our family in Florence - and they thought they were far enough inland to be safe!

[rustbucket]

Tybee, or not Tybee. That is the question.

[BOBTHENAILER]

Last I checked, I had a brain,

Don't ask your buddies to back THAT claim.

[Diddle E. Squat]

With 50 lashes administered...

[meadsjn]

I hope I'm wrong also. I have lots of relatives in eastern NC.

[trideltamom]

We're in coastal Georgia too (Liberty County) but my daughter lives in Jacksonville in a ground floor apartment. Our house in Effingham County flooded in 1995 (tropical storm Jerry) and we are all hoping we don't have a repeat. Best of luck to you!

[Old Professer]

Imagine all that happening without a second's warning and over in 45 seconds and you have the Northridge earthquake that we went through in 1994.

[Amelia]

Hey, are you going to see the President tomorrow?

I hope this storm misses us altogether.

[trideltamom]

LOL, the Tybee Island folks might be kissing that 16th Street pier and pavillion goodbye for the SECOND time!

[trideltamom]

I have to work, but if it's on local TV we can watch it there. Our house is about 15 miles from Ft. Stewart and we can hear the tank practice loud and clear on the weekends!

[dogbyte12]

Anybody know the latest time projection on this hurricane? How many days left til it's projected to hit "somewhere".

My gut tells me it will hit land hard, but I hope it does lose alot of power by that point. The experts on tv today were saying that most storms that hit cat 5, can only sustain at that rate for 20 hours before they slip back into a cat 4.

[Amelia]

Our house is about 35 miles from Ft. Stewart, and we can hear the tank practice sometimes here!

I'm going to have to watch on TV as well.

[Calpernia]

She sounds like my kind of gambling partner. Last time I was in Vegas, I went with $5.00 in nickles to play the nickle slots at Circus Circus.

I had a great time and came home with $5 in nickles after 8 days.

[mykdsmom]

Yikes.....No thanks, that's the only good part about East Coast Natural Disasters....we get plenty of warning.

MKM

[jobedo]

I'm in Charleston- I have already bought the water, food supplies, and batteries. I was here for Hugo and I am not messing with the lines. By Sunday if it's on the same track I'm moving inland. Evacuations get pretty tough here.

[StriperSniper]

Doesn't scare me, although maybe it should, but you're right that it's just possible. And the Gulf Stream isn't really all that far off the Jersey coast, only about 300 miles. We get eddies that bring 80 degree water to within 50-100 miles of the coast sometimes.

Rutgers University Coastal Ocean Observation Lab Sea Surface Tempertures