Katrina, Karen, Training, and Inheritance

[billroper]

Some of you may not be aware that daisy_knotwise studied meteorology in college. You may also not be aware that my father spent two stints at the Joint Typhoon Warning Center on Guam, the second as the commander of the facility. As a result, we have more than the typical interest in hurricanes around the Roper household.

During our first trip to Guam, we got clobbered by super-typhoon Karen, which went right over the top of our -- thankfully, typhoon-proof! -- house with winds of 200 MPH. Actually, right over the house would have been better, because we would have spent some time in the eye of the storm. Instead, the storm passed over us so that we travelled at a tangent to the northern wall cloud, giving us the most intense winds for the longest possible time.

When I saw the track of another "K" storm turn south over Florida, I knew something was up, because that just isn't a normal storm track. Something was pushing it south -- a lot of high pressure, in this case -- and it was just a question of when it found a way around the high pressure area and started to recurve.

It's recurving now, is a Category 5 storm, and the chances of a catastrophic strike on New Orleans are up to 29%. Our friends and fellow DI, the Gobeyn's, live in Slidell and have bugged out for Millington, Tennessee in connection with Rene's job, a really good decision in this case.

Via Instapundit, here's a link to Brendan Loy's blog which has a lot of really good information and links about the storm.

Meanwhile, if you happen to be in New Orleans and reading this (I doubt anyone is, but...), this would be a really good time to be somewhere else.

Comments

[gorgeousgary]

So do we need to pack umbrellas for Chicago this weekend? (In case there are any vestiges of storm hanging about?)

[billroper]

Almost certainly not. The storm should continue to recurve and miss Chicago by a wide margin.

[whl.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm not in New Orleans, but the remnants of the storm should pass pretty close to me here in northern Mississippi on Tuesday, on it's way to Ohio.

This webcam is still showing cars and pedestrians in the French Quarter, at 6:30 PM Sunday before land fall.

And this says there is a 50/50 chance we'll get winds of 39 MPH early Tuesday.

[msminlr.livejournal.com]

I was just looking at weather(dot)com; their current projection of the storm track has it running the long way of Mississippi and raining on Chicago & vicinity by about Wednesday. In Arkansas, we'll get our share tomorrow, I think.

Katrina--personal feelings

[birder2.livejournal.com]

Am I watching the news of Katrina? you bet!!! My sister lives in Slidell, LA. Actually she is not there right now; she is in Minneapolis where her first grandchild has just been born(gee--I am now a great-aunt!)--the e-mail announcing the arrival of Brendan Patrick also said that her husband was "running from Katrina". I just wonder what is happening to their house/neighbohood and where the dogs are and....