“NOAA’s 2013 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook indicates that an above-normal season is most likely, with the possibility that the season could be very active. The outlook calls for a 70% chance of an above-normal season, a 25% chance of a near-normal season, and only a 5% chance of a below-normal season.
Based on the current and expected conditions, combined with model forecasts, we estimate a 70% probability for each of the following ranges of activity during 2013:
– 13-20 Named Storms
– 7-11 Hurricanes
– 3-6 Major Hurricanes
“NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has provided scientists the first close-up, visible-light views of a behemoth hurricane swirling around Saturn’s north pole. [...] The hurricane’s eye is about 1,250 miles wide, 20 times larger than the average hurricane eye on Earth.
“We detected seismic waves created by the oceans waves both hitting the East Coast and smashing into each other,” with the most intense seismic activity recorded when Sandy turned toward Long Island, New York and New Jersey.
“We anticipate an above-average probability for major hurricanes making landfall along the United States coastline and in the Caribbean. Coastal residents are reminded that it only takes one hurricane making landfall to make it an active season for them, and they need to prepare the same for every season, regardless of how much or how little activity is predicted.” Quoted from the Colorado State University press release.
“Tropical Storm Tim formed over the Coral Sea on March 13, 2013, and remained off the coast of northeastern Australia for the next four days. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image of Tim on March 17. Although lacking a distinct eye, Tim still had the spiral shape characteristic of strong storms.” Quoted from NASA’s Earth Observatory image release.
“According to a new technical report, the effects of climate change will continue to threaten the health and vitality of U.S. coastal communities’ social, economic and natural systems. The report, Coastal Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerabilities: a technical input to the 2013 National Climate Assessment, authored by leading scientists and experts, emphasizes the need for increased coordination and planning to ensure U.S. coastal communities are resilient against the effects of climate change.” Quoted from the USGS press release.
“2012 was a historic year for extreme weather that included drought, wildfires, hurricanes and storms; however, tornado activity was below average. 2012 marked the warmest year on record for the contiguous United States with the year consisting of a record warm spring, second warmest summer, fourth warmest winter and a warmer-than-average autumn.” Quoted from the NOAA press release.
“Waters from the Atlantic Ocean washed southward across parts of Anegada, east-northeast of Puerto Rico, during a singular event a few centuries ago, [creating] inland fields of cobbles and boulders. [...] Hypothetically, the overwash resulted from the Antilles tsunami of 1690, the transatlantic Lisbon tsunami of 1755, a local tsunami not previously documented, or a storm whose effects exceeded those of Hurricane Donna.” Quoted from the USGS press release.
“Forecasters could soon be better able to predict how intense tropical cyclones like Hurricane Sandy will be by analyzing relative-humidity levels within their large-scale environments.” Quote from the NASA press release.
USGS has created a series of Pre-Storm and Post-Storm maps using Lidar technology that document the impact of Hurricane Sandy on Fire Island, New York.
An article in the Anchorage Daily News explains how about 60% of physical goods shipped to disaster areas are not beneficial to the victims. If you want to help, the best way to do that is through a donation of money to an established relief organization.
An article in the New York Times explains how Hurricane Sandy has some building owners considering geothermalenergy as a “stormproof” heating and cooling system.
NASA’s Earth Observatory has a satellite image showing the collision of Hurricane Sandy with a cold front over the eastern United States.
The Earth Observatory server is under heavy demand. If you click through to their site the image might load slowly or time out. Please try later if that occurs.
Google has a simple online GIS for Hurricane Sandy that you can use to display information from a variety of sources. (Use the checkboxes in the lower right margin to toggle data layers off and on. Data layers include information on weather, storm surge, emergency shelters, webcams locations, public alerts, traffic conditions, stream gauges and more.)
NOAA has posted a series of “U.S. Rainfall Potential Maps” that show the cumulative geographic distribution of potential rainfall amount across the eastern United States. Very large geographic areas could receive 12 inches of rain or more and experience significant flooding.
“Storm response crews from the U.S. Geological Survey are installing more than 150 storm-tide sensors at key locations along the Atlantic Coast — from the Chesapeake Bay to Massachusetts — in advance of the arrival of Tropical Storm Sandy.” Quoted from the USGS press release.
USGS scientist Ben McGee, who helped pioneer these sensors, explains how the sensors are mounted and protected.
“NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has tracked the aftermath of a rare massive storm on Saturn. Data reveal record-setting disturbances in the planet’s upper atmosphere long after the visible signs of the storm abated, in addition to an indication the storm was more forceful than scientists previously thought.”
Engineers at Johns Hopkins University predict that as many as 10 million people will be without power after Hurricane Sandy strikes the east coast of the United States. They have a probabilistic map of where these outages could occur.
Hurricane Sandy has moved across Cuba, hit the Bahamas and is now moving towards the eastern coast of the United States. If it clashes with a cold front moving from Canada towards the east coast the impact could be severe.
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