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

[Moose4]

The Floyd evacuation may have cost our Dim governor at the time his job. The whole thing was generally handled poorly; the opposing lanes on I-26 were not opened up promptly, exits weren't closed, the police agencies weren't directing traffic quickly enough. It was a complete mess. I remember driving home from work in downtown Columbia, and when I got to the I-26/I-126/I-20 intersection ("Malfunction Junction"), there was just a wall of cars trying to stay on I-26 westbound toward Greenville or get on I-20 westbound toward Atlanta. And this was 125 miles inland!

They supposedly have new plans in place to handle things if Charleston has to get evacuated again. I just hope the Floyd experience doesn't prevent people from getting out in good time if they need to.

}:-)4

[oceanview]

Jim Cantore just said on the WC:

NEW GUIDANCE SUGGESTS ITS GOING OUT TO SEA!!!

just now on the weather channel.

[RightWhale]

The red possible track

This the first hurricane I have watched on GOES, so I am just guessing. It will be interesting to see if you can tell the future track from the water vapor images.

[Donna Lee Nardo]

I like Schwartz. He and the Oriental weather dude are my favorites. They are both so cute.

[Lion in Winter]

And it went from being a "winter-hurricane" on the Gulf, then, right-up into the Appalachian and dropped temperatures to sub-zero ranges ... caused record snow fall there and incredible ice stroms all over the Carolinas... went out to sea again and killed folks at sea and along the East coast.

There was a movie made about it not too long ago.

Wish somebody would post some arial pictures of that monster.

[Dan from Michigan]

I remember that one. We were lucky here. It got worse once it passed Lake Erie.

[Dan from Michigan]

I'm thinking a different storm actually come to think of it(I remember an ice storm).

[Donna Lee Nardo]

LOL! Boy, I guess I don't watch near enough of Schwartz. I never saw him drunk yet. Does he slur his words?

[My Favorite Headache]

He is on early tonight! He just started his shift filling in for someone...he has already started with the wise cracks.

[NautiNurse]

[Myrddin]

I would normally view this as a news story in a distant place as I'm sitting at home in Idaho. Due to some pressing business requirements, I'm going to be traveling back to work in Gaithersburg, MD again on October 21 (Sunday). I guess I should bring a raincoat this time :-)

[Lion in Winter]

Rubber boots or "wellies" as well... I think!

[blam]

"NEW GUIDANCE SUGGESTS ITS GOING OUT TO SEA!!!"

Wonderful....I sure hope so. (guess I'll stop watching Hitler's 'Atlantic Wall' and check out the Weather Channel)

[My Favorite Headache]

Dave is on early tonight..as in right now.He is on for a shift change.They just showed Dr.Steve Lyons in a wind tunnel at 160 mph. He was having spasms and couldn't breathe.

[oceanview]

they need to get Cantore on again to provide some details to the report he gave at the top of the 10PM EST segment.

[My Favorite Headache]

That is a good idea...you can catch the comedy stylings of one David Schwartz.

[kayak]

Yes, that was one of the few positive effects of that nasty storm ..... :-)

But I will forever think that x42 had a hand in it, too. No one ever declares somewhere a disaster area before an event happens but he started declaring parts of the FL coast disaster areas while Floyd was off that coast and then he kept moving the declarations father northward as the storm progressed. Then the media picked it up wrong (surprise! surprise!) and started talking about states of emergency being declared. I firmly believe that caused many people who would otherwise have stayed put to hit the roads and create the massive traffic nightmare. Since no one anticipated it, the police agencies simply were not ready to handle it.

[My Favorite Headache]

Cantore looked like he was about to shit his pants talking about Isabel.

[Lion in Winter]

Oh my gosh!!

Thanks for posting that one.

I have to tell you that my only daughter was trapped in that storm on the N.C. coast.

She and her friends came away OK.... but to this day, I get the shivers every time I think what could have happened to her.

During the "storm of the century", that same sister of mine, who lost part of her house and desk during Hugo, had two other VERY large pine trees FREEZE and fall across her yard and just miss her house.

Had they fallen just another bit to the other direction.... they would have fallen on the house and crushed she and her husband who were asleep in the living room near their fireplace. They had no other heat and no electricity and it was 10 degrees below zero.... thus they were in the living room.

Yes, she has moved from there and lives in JACKSONVILLE, FL.in a condo WITH NO LARGE TREES AT ALL!!

[oceanview]

but did you catch his comment? I am surprised the WC would let him say that, their ratings will fall if less people tune in to find out where it is going. let's see what they say in the next update, its still early to be making such a prediction.