Hurricane Isabel - Confirmed Category 5 by Aircraft

NWS ^

[nwctwx]

Hurricane Isabel Advisory Number 27 Statement as of 5:00 PM AST on September 12, 2003 ...Air Force reserve and NOAA hurricane hunters confirm that Isabel is a category five hurricane... at 5 PM AST...2100z...the center of Hurricane Isabel was located near latitude 21.8 north...longitude 58.6 west or about 350 miles...565 km...northeast of the northern Leeward Islands. 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. Report from Air Force reserve and NOAA hurricane hunter aircraft indicate that maximum sustained winds are near 160 mph...260 km/hr...with higher gusts. This makes Isabel a category five hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale. Fluctuations in intensity are common in major hurricanes...and are likely during the next 24 hours. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 85 miles...140 km... from the center...and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 185 miles...295 km. The latest minimum central pressure reported by the hurricane hunters is 920 mb...27.17 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...21.8 N... 58.6 W. Movement toward...west near 9 mph. Maximum sustained winds...160 mph. Minimum central pressure... 920 mb. The next advisory will be issued by the National Hurricane Center at 11 PM AST. Forecaster Beven

[general_re]

Thanks for the recommendation - I may check it out some time...

[NautiNurse]

Yeah! September, 1993!! HUGO!!

Hugo was 1989

[billbears]

bits, do yankees even know what to do in a hurricane? ;) Heck, we hear about how we can't drive during a snowstorm, now all those soccer moms in Cary are going to see a little Southern 'speciality' in weather next weekend. Y'all be safe now. If it hits Wilmington, it could get a little gusty around these parts next Saturday night.

[Swanks]

I would'nt want to be at the OBX when / if this storm hits. (Except for maybe inside the Currituck lighthouse.) Some stretches, like Sanderling, you could literally reach either the sound or the ocean from Route 12 with a 3 wood.

[oceanview]

it depends on the population density. long island is almost impossible to evacuate, unless you leave 2 days before it strikes. there just aren't enough major roads and too many people.

[who knows what evil?]

I was on my way back to Charleston from Isle of Palms when a nasty storm blew up from south of town. I took the 526 up and around the north side...no way was I crossing Grace in a bad thunderstorm. Even the 526 bridge was nasty in blinding rain, lightning, and wind.

[PatrickHenry]

long island is almost impossible to evacuate, unless you leave 2 days before it strikes.

That's nothing compared to evacuating the Florida keys. One very crowded highway, maybe half of it bridges from one tiny island to the next, about 170 miles from Key West to Miami. And when you finally arrive in Miami, you may not be safe.

[who knows what evil?]

It's been a few years since I've been to Charleston, and was unaware that they are FINALLY doing away with that spindly old death trap. Great new design...looks similar to the Route 1 bridge in Delaware and the new one in Brunswick, Georgia.

[Dan from Michigan]

Damn. My second cousin lives in the Virgin Islands. I hope he's safe.

[gitmo]

[oceanview]

no problem for him, its staying north of that.

[yarddog]

I have been tracking the hurricane on my map and have noticed that they keep projecting it to move Northward which is typical, but the hurricane keeps moving just about due West instead.

I guess they know what they are doing but it sure hasn't followed their predictions so far.

[Lion in Winter]

OOOOOPPPS!! You are right!!

1993 was the year of the STORM of the Century... in March, I think.

[RightWhale]

It will, if typical go to Puerto Rico and turn right.

[kayak]

Very true. I think the Miami area is the same way and is a real concern .... and probably some other locales, too. But local authorities would know that and start people evacuating in time.

Ironically, though the people leaving voluntarily as Floyd approached came close to creating a catastropic event, other times it is people who don't leave when the evacuation orders are issued but who linger long afterwards and then decide to leave who cause the bad situations.

Often citizens ignore the warnings to get off the beach and then panic as the weather deteriorates, endangering emergency personnel who try to help them. My uncle was one of the last to leave Wrightsville Beach when Hazel hit ..... he was a Red Cross volunteer rescuing some idiots who had refused to leave and then cried for help. I think once things reach a certain point, anyone who has chosen to stay should be on their own. I know emergency officials say that's what will happen but I wonder how many times they face dangerous conditions trying to save fools who chicken out at the last minute.

[grania]

Look at post 120 on this thread. The red possible track could actually swerve out to sea, and three of the others are heading a tad north. It's too early to tell.

[Squantos]

Go to Topsail Island in NC instead....my ex-wife just spent all my money on a beach house up there ..........:o)........just kidding, have a great vacation.

Stay Safe !

[Squantos]

LOL.......We should put up a link to that thread....... I can't find it.

Stay Safe !

[Think free or die]

" was three years old and living in Virginia in 1969 when Camille dropped her death blow on the east slopes of the Blue Ridge."

I moved to Charlottesville in '79. I remember driving through neighboring areas (Nelson County, especially) and seeing horribly scarred, rocky hillsides. I was shocked to learn that it was damage from Camille. I had never heard about the landslides and flooding in Virginia until I moved there. The tragedy was indeed overshadowed by the horrible damage along the gulf coast.

[NautiNurse]

1993 was the year of the STORM of the Century... in March

Bingo! That would be the No Name Storm. It crossed the Gulf of Mexico in about 12 hours, blasting the FL Gulf Coast March 13, 1993.