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

[NautiNurse]

there was another one that I think just gave a glancing blow to the Outer Banks.

That was Dennis--just prior to Floyd. Here's a photo of Dennis:

[Ingtar]

One thing worries me with their predictions, storms this big tend to go where they want to and not turn. This could still easily hit Florida and then enter the Gulf.

[oceanview]

i've gone through only a cat 2, but in the western eye wall only, it was no problem, and I am 150 yards from the atlantic. the eastern eye wall is a much bigger deal. anything cat 3 or above, I evacuate.

[Hobsonphile]

FrustratedCitizen has looked at the models, and he thinks Isabel will make landfall between Wilmington, NC, and Cape May, NJ. Which means those of us around the Chesapeake are not in the clear either.

[HostileTerritory]

Sen. Dole's hair will truly be put to the test.

[Hobsonphile]

I was in Williamsburg, VA for Dennis and Floyd. There was big time flooding damage even that far inland- trees down and landslides everywhere. Those two storms came right on top of each other, and each one brought buckets of rain, especially Floyd, which was big enough to start making its own weather several days before it hit land. Ugh, I still remember having to bicycle home in that.

[republicanwizard]

How about the other Senator?

[oceanview]

did he post this?

yes, sounds possible, its definetly going to get pulled north/northwest by that trough. it will like be a cat 3 by the time it makes landfall.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Is Isabel a 'black' name?

It is for her:

[kayak]

Storm track for Floyd.

[Hatteras]

Huricane Floyd caused all the major flooding in eastern NC in 1999.

It was a two pronged attack though. Hurricane Dennis came in first and caused a huge amount of ground saturation. It came in and skirted the coast then headed north east where it stalled, swung back south and came in again. Floyd came in a week later heading north inland from the coast right over eastern NC.

[Prolifeconservative]

I hear that!

I live in Louisiana and we all have a keen eye on this thing.

The bigger these things get the more they get a mind of their own. The forecasters don't know squat on this monster.

[republicanwizard]

Well, in South Carolina, windbag could probably push the storm off the coast. Haha.

[kayak]

A friend of ours in a small town in eastern NC that took a direct hit from Floyd said that the experts were saying that though it downgraded before landfall, the downgrading happened so quickly that the storm was still carrying Cat 5 rainfall amounts when it came ashore. That I can believe!

[backhoe]

Some sources for WX info:

-http://www.nws.noaa.gov/--

-http://www.weather.com/--

-http://weather.iwon.com/index_static.html--

-http://www.crh.noaa.gov/radar/latest/DS.p19r0/si.kdtx.shtml--

-http://weather.unisys.com/index.html--

-http://www.wxmesg.com/--

-http://hurricane.terrapin.com/--

-Hurricane City--

[oceanview]

what was floyd when it made landfall, a cat 3?

to me, that floyd map looks alot like what this one could do.

[Cosmo]

Being as I am focussed on only one thing these days -- my wedding -- can anyone reassure me that there is little chance that ole Isabel is gonna hit Charlottesville Va on the 20th of September?:)

As if wedding planning wasn't stressful enough....


feel the gin

[kayak]

A strong Cat 2.

Some good info about him here .....

HURRICANE FLOYD

[oceanview]

how far from the coast is charlottesville, how many miles inland?