Typhoon Mirinae is expected to make landfall in the northern Philippines early Saturday morning. Satellites are monitoring the storm’s rainfall to predict possible further flooding of the region.
The Army Corps of Engineers is building a storm surge barrier near New Orleans that hopefully will provide protection against storm surges 20 feet high. This will be one of the largest water control barriers in the world.
Hurricane Rick is a Category 5 storm off the west coast of Mexico. It is expected to weaken slightly but still be a powerful storm when it makes landfall on the Baja California Coast early Wednesday morning.
A Wall Street Journal Article explores the possibilities and potential impacts of sea level rise and a hurricane storm surge striking the New York City region.
Hurricane Jimena is approaching the Baja California Peninsula as a dangerous Category four hurricane. It is expected to weaken slightly as it approaches landfall.
Early in the day on Tuesday Hurricane Jimena is expected to make landfall on the west side of the Baja Peninsula. The National Hurricane Information Center calls Jimena “an extremely dangerous category four hurricane“.
At 9:00 AM PST Hurricane Jimena was a category four hurricane with sustained wind of 135 miles per hour and higher gusts. It is moving northwest off the coast of Mexico and is expected to arrive at the southern end of the Baja Peninsula early Tuesday morning and move parallel to the peninsula. Jimena is expected to strengthen over the next 24 hours.
Tropical Storm Danny is slowly moving northwestward about 300 miles east of The Bahamas with sustained winds of about 45 miles per hour. It is expected to slowly strengthen over the next few days with a projected path that travels north along the United States coastline.
CNN reports that 95% of people do not know what part of a house makes it most vulnerable to hurricane destruction. It’s the garage door. If it fails, wind enters the garage and can lift off the roof. Check it out in this video.
The World Bank published a report in 2005 titled: “Natural Disaster Hotspots: A Global Risk Analysis,” that presents a global view of disaster risks associated with some major natural hazards such as drought, floods, cyclones, earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides. The report indicates that 3.4 billion people, more than half the world’s population, live in areas where at least one hazard could significantly impact them. Quoted from a Columbia University press release of 03/05.
Hurricane Bill is still moving north off the eastern coast of the United States. It is expected to miss New England but cause waves, wind and strong currents along the coast. Tropical storm and hurricane watches are in effect for portions of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.
The current projected path of Hurricane Bill is to the west of Bermuda. Bill is currently a Category 3 hurricane and Bermuda is under a tropical storm warning.
CNN has a report on Hurricane Bill in which they call the category storm “extremely dangerous”. The storm is moving northward in the Atlantic and is expected to cause swells and dangerous currents along the east cost of the United States.
A new weather satellite (NASA/NOAA geostationary weather satellite GOES-14) has captured a full disk image of earth showing Tropical Storms Claudette, Hurricane Bill and Tropical Storm Ana.
Taiwan was hit hard by Typhoon Morakot which has caused flooding and many landslides. Here is a very short YouTube video of the Shiaolin Landslide. For more details about the slide visit Dave Petley’s “On The Slide” blog.
Hurricane Bill is now a Category 3 storm, tracking northwest through the Atlantic Ocean. The exact path it will take and how strong it will be this weekend are uncertain. The hurricane could potentially reach New England this weekend.
The 2009 hurricane season is off to a slow start but Tropical Storm Claudette is about to be the first storm that makes landfall in the United States – near the Florida-Alabama border. From the National Hurricane Center…
“A TROPICAL STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM THE ALABAMA/FLORIDA BORDER EASTWARD TO THE SUWANNEE RIVER FLORIDA. A TROPICAL STORM WARNING MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED SOMEWHERE WITHIN THE WARNING AREA WITHIN 24 HOURS.”
“NOAA now expects a near- to below-normal Atlantic hurricane season, as the calming effects of El Niño continue to develop. But scientists say the season’s quiet start does not guarantee quiet times ahead. The season, which began June 1, is entering its historical peak period of August through October, when most storms form.”
Over 60 Taiwanese people are dead and possibly hundreds are missing in the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot. The storm flooded the island with more than 2 meters (83 inches) of rain, causing massive mudslides. This article links to some videos with footage from Taiwan and China.
The US Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a contract for rebuilding a portion of the floodwall that protects New Orleans from the waters of Lake Pontchartrain.
Names have been given to Atlantic hurricanes for a few hundred years. At first they were named after saints of the Catholic Church. Today the World Meteorological Organization maintains the lists of Atlantic hurricane names.
Typhoon Morakot, which is expected to make landfall in China, has doubled in size in less than two days. The cloud top grew to about 1,700 km (1,056 miles) across. The infrared satellite image at right shows Morakot’s cold clouds (depicted in purple and blue) over the East China Sea on August 6th.
It is not very often that you can see two large storms this close to one another. From Earth Observatory: “This image shows both Hurricane Felicia as a strong Category 3 hurricane, left, and Tropical Storm Enrique, right. Felicia has a distinct eye surrounded by spiraling bands of clouds. Enrique, at this time a weakening tropical storm with winds near 85 kilometers per hour (50 miles per hour), is a small circular cluster of clouds.”
Hurricane Felicia is now a Category 4 storm moving west in the Pacific towards Hawaii. It is expected to slowly decline in strength over the next couple of days as it moves over cooler waters on its way to Hawaii.
Louisiana’s Port Fourchon is a very important oil hub in the United States. The beaches of the area are receding, leaving the port increasingly open to hurricanes. A large storm could be disastrous.
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Hobart King
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