Hurricane OLI Update 2 – February 4

OLI a Cat 4A Hurricane, Still Intensifying

Cyclone OLI Could Strengthen to a Monster Category 5 Hurricane in 24 Hours

Hurricane OLI. Credit: CIMSS. Click image to enter UW-CIMSS weather portal.

Background:

• Cyclone OLI May Target Tourist Spots
• Hurricane OLI Update 1 – February 4

Hurricane OLI Details

• Time/Date: 4 February 2010 –  15:01 UTC
• Position:  Near 19.0ºS, 152.1ºW
• Sustained Movement: 150  degrees
• Forward speed: 17 km/hr (~ 9 kt)
• Tropical Cyclone OLI has been tracking South-Southeast over the past 6 hours.
  

Current Wind Distribution:

• Maximum Sustained winds: 217 Km (117 kt)
• Maximum Gusts:  ~ 260km/hr (140 kt)

Wave Height and Location:

• Maximum significant wave height: 8m (24 ft)
• Location: OLI was located about about 250 km (135 NM) SSW of Bora Bora
  
• Sources: JTWC and Others

Tropical Cyclone OLI is currently a dangerous Cat 4A hurricane on the FEWW New Hurricane Scale and expected to further intensify in the warm Pacific waters (SST ~ 26ºdegrees C) during the next  12 to 24 hours, possibly to a Category 5 monster storm.

Related Links:

• Cyclone OLI May Target Tourist Spots
• Hurricane OLI Update 1 – February 4
• FEWW New Hurricane Scale

Air NZ in another emergency landing scare

Air NZ Flight 106 Another ‘Close Call’

Air NZ Flight with Up to 400 People on Board Came Close to Another Disaster

“… everybody was quietly crapping themselves,” Air NZ passenger

Passengers on Air New Zealand flight 106 from Sydney (Australia) to Auckland (New Zealand)  were terrified when the pilot warned them to be prepared for an emergency landing as the flight approached Auckland airspace Tuesday night.

Air New Zealand Boeing 767-300 reportedly had a problem with it’s wing flaps, according to a report.

“… everybody was very quiet and rather concerned,” said passenger Kevin Donovan.

“It was pretty obvious that something was going on because we were circling … for quite some time.”

“Then the pilot came on and made a somewhat unusual announcement. He said, ‘For those of you who fly regularly, you probably realise something is up.’ And everyone sort of went quiet, like ‘what?’

“And he said they couldn’t open the flaps, and although that wasn’t going to cause a problem with the landing, the landing was going to be extremely high speed, therefore it was an emergency landing situation.” Mr Donovan said.

Passengers were told to remove their spectacles, if they wore one, and put them in the seat pocket, Mr Donovan said.

They were also instructed to read the safety instructions and “understand the best brace position”.

“And I think at that point, everybody was quietly crapping themselves.” He told the reporters.

“The jet seemed to circle for another 15 minutes, and then the passengers were told the crew had managed to partially remedy the problem, meaning it was no longer going to be an emergency landing.” The report said.

“It obviously meant a lot of relief for everybody, but when we came in to land, we came in pretty bloody fast still. There was a lot of clapping when the plane landed.”

“It was quite funny when they said, ‘Thank you for choosing the airline voted most popular in the world.’ Everyone sort of cracked up and thought, ‘Well, I bet it’s not so popular with these people on here right now’.”

The number of passengers and crew were carefully kept out of the report, but it’s believed the plane was carrying up to 375  passengers as well as a crew of 25.

The big scare comes less than two days after another Air New Zealand flight was involved in an emergency runway stop at Japan’s Narita Airport.

Related Links:

• Air New Zealand Plane in Emergency Runway Stop
• Air New Zealand Flying Coffin Crashes in the Mediterranean
• Air New Zealand: Another ‘Close Call’
• Air New Zealand Jet Windscreen Cracked Midflight
• Top 10 Most Dangerous Airlines in 2009/2010

Hurricane OLI Update 1 – February 4

Hurricane OLI Continues to Power Up!

OLI is still organizing and expected to further intensify

Background:  Cyclone OLI May Target Tourist Spots

TC OLI Details

• Time/Date: 4 February 2010 –  00:01 UTC
• Position:  Near 16.6ºS, 153.9ºW
• Sustained Movement: 95  degrees
• Forward speed: 22 km/hr (~ 12 kt)
• Tropical Cyclone OLI has been tracking EAST over the past 6 hours.
  

Current wind distribution:

• Maximum Sustained winds: 130 km/hr (~ 70 kt)
• Maximum Gusts:  ~ 160 km/hr (~ 85 kt)
• Maximum significant wave height: 6.7 m (20 ft)
• OLI was located about 370 km (200nm) WNW of Bora Bora [Feb 03, 15:00UTC]
• Sources: JTWC and Others

Tropical Cyclone OLI is currently a Cat 1 hurricane on the FEWW New Hurricane Scale and expected to further intensify.

FIRE-EARTH MODERATORS BELIEVE HURRICANE OLI COULD CAUSE SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO THE SOCIETY ISLANDS, ESPECIALLY TAHITI, IF THE CYCLONE CONTINUES TO INTENSIFY, AS IT’S EXPECTED TO DO, AND REMAINS APPROXIMATELY ON ITS CURRENT PATH (ACTUAL PATH NOT THE PREDICTED ONE).

Hurricane OLI. IR WV Difference. Source: UW-CIMSS.  Click images to enter CIMSS interactive maps.

Hurricane OLI. Visible IR. Source: CIMSS

• 2-Day Movie:   JAVA
• Animation IR-NHC 2km Res: GIF format

Hurricane OLI’s Projected Path. Source: UW-CIMSS.

TC OLI. Morphed Integrated Microwave Imagery at CIMSS, with Infrared (MIMIC-IR) Version 1.

Tropical Cyclone OLI. Infrared  – South East Pacific – GOES-West. Source: UW-CIMSS.

Map of Tahiti and Bora x 2 . Credit: karta Societeisl FP, Holger Behr.

Related Links:

• Cyclone OLI May Target Tourist Spots