On The Lighter Side of Things

Photos were submitted by a reader in SEA

What’s he up to this time?

Malnourished Up by 44 million in 2008

[At least] 15 percent of the world population is [severely] malnourished

Food and Fuel Crisis Will Increase Malnourished by 44 million

The number of malnourished people has reached nearly 1 billion, or about 15 percent of the world population, an increase of about 5 percent (44 million) in 2008 caused by high food and fuel prices, the World Bank said.

Food prices are much higher than before and show no sign of declining to previous years levels.

Hunger persists. A severely malnourished 4-year-old in Ethiopia is typical of thousands of children around the world whose health and lives are devastated by lack of adequate food. image credit: Sven Torfinn/Panos Pictures. Image may be subject to copyright.  Caption: Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP)

“While people in the developed world are focused on the financial crisis, many forget that a human crisis is rapidly unfolding in developing countries. It is pushing poor people to the brink of survival,” said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick. “The financial crisis will only make it more difficult for developing countries to protect their most vulnerable people from the impact of rising food and fuel costs.” More…

Related Links:

• Food Prices (Index page)
• Poverty Index

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“Don’t worry, boss, I know what to say!”

Image of the Day: Sworn to Destroy!

Boss, I know it’s none of my business, but don’t you think the smirk might give the game away?

Original caption: U.S. President George W. Bush stands by [with a smirk on his face] as the new Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen Johnson is sworn in at EPA headquarters in Washington, May 23, 2005. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque. Image may be subject to copyright.

Related Links:

• The things EPA capo won’t do!
• California Sues EPA on GHG Emissions
• Antienvironmental, Antisocial, Anti American!
• Friend of the Environment
• Shameful EPA slammed with yet another lawsuit

• Arnie Knows the Score!
• EPA Plays Piggy In the Middle
• The White House of Horror!!
• Disgrace, Disgrace, You’re Such an Ugly Disgrace …
• EPA official resigns citing Dow Chemical

Belgium buys Hungarian rights to pollute environment!

submitted by a reader

Trading the Rights [sic] to Pollute the Environment!

Belgium has bought the Hungarian “rights” to emit 2 million tons of greenhouse gas, spokeswomen for  the anti-environment ministries of both countries confirmed. The credits and funds have already been transferred.

Come again?

But, but … wasn’t the Kyoto Protocol a sophisticated joke designed to bring shame to the world’s … you are serious aren’t you?

Actually, and no it’s not a joke, the Kyoto Protocol allows industrialized countries to meet GHG emission targets by buying other countries emissions “rights.”

What’s the trading value of all other rights to rape the environment?

What about the rights to pollute the oceans, how much do they cost?

The rights to create more dead zones and their trading value?

And the rights to acidify your ocean, what’s their trading value?

How much must a country pay to bleach, say, 30 percent of the world’s coral reefs and, by the way, who owns those rights?

What about the right to pump raw sewage into your lakes or coastal waters, and its trading value?

The price of GHG emission rights is confidential!

“The (transaction) price is confidential as this was a private agreement between the two parties,” a spokewoman for Belgium’s Ministry of Climate and Energy told Reuters.

No way. secrecy is unacceptable! Its our air they are polluting and we want to know how many pieces of silver they are paying for it. Out with it now, you ugly beasts!

Et tu, Hungary?

Hungary’s Ministry of Environment and Water said it did not want to jeopardize Hungary’s ability to drive a hard bargain with other countries by revealing price details of the Belgian deal.

Under Kyoto Protocol, Hungary can sell about 100 million AAUs, or “surplus rights to emit CO2” by 2012. Each AAU allows the buyer to release one ton of carbon dioxide to the environment.

Related Links:

• Death by Lethal Pollution

• World CO2 Emissions
• Protect Economy from Climate??!
• Blind scientists examining the economic elephant

• How Much Carbon Dioxide Does Your Money Make?
• Index of Human Impact on Nature

• World Problems:The Root Cause Matrix
• First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities

• Our Oceans

Breaking News: House Passes Enery Bill 236-189, Pelosi Ecstatic

Kill, Baby, Kill Our Oceans!

House lifts ban on offshore drilling!

“The energy bill, passed with the support of most Democrats, would let states decide whether to drill between 50 and 100 miles off their coasts while allowing the federal government to open areas beyond 100 miles. ”

Support vessel activities around an offshore oil rig. Photo: Shell UK Exploration & Production. Image may be subject to copyright.

Any Excuse Would Do!

“The vote marked a tactical retreat by Democrats, who have fought each year since 1982 to renew the ban. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, fearing a backlash for her party in November with polls showing growing support for new drilling, agreed to lift the moratorium as part of a broader energy bill.” More …

Does your mother shoot moose, too?

Image and title suggested by a reader:

Mother? Moose Murderer and Maverick!

[Just before this woman shot me, I was alive and well, looking forward to running around with my kids all day.] A video tribute to Sarah Palin at the Republican convention was titled “Mother, Moose Hunter, Maverick”. Image may be subject to copyright.

Why do you kill other animals?

Related Links:

• It’s All About Big Oil, Stupid!

• Look me straight in the eye & tell me you can’t …
• Arctic ice cover second-lowest on record
• The real games are in Alaska
• 3 million acres of spruce killed in Alaska in 15 years

• Death by Lethal Pollution
• Bering Sea Drilling Revisited!
• Arctic Marine Mammals on Thin Ice
• Our Oceans Are Dying

• Palin’s Polar Pests Love Their Cubs, Too!
• Mother? Moose Murderer and Maverick!

Hurricane Ike: Who Rubbed the Oil Lamp? [Update 9/12]

Ike has a 78 percent chance of strengthening to a major hurricane before landfall with sustained winds of at least 178km/hr (111mph). ~ FEWW Forecast.

Ike the angry genie is out of the oil lamp!

Targeting Texas for landfall, perhaps Ike  won’t grant too many wishes now without the Monkey’s Paw!

Ike is a very large tropical cyclone. Its hurricane force winds extend outward about 200 km from the center and tropical storm force winds extend about 450 km, covering an area of about 640,000 sq km.

Ike’s latest satellite images show a giant clump of white clouds, together with its outer bands, covering most of the 1.6 million sq km area of Gulf of Mexico basin.

Hurricane Ike regional imagery, 2008.09.12 at 08:45UTC. Centerpoint Latitude: 26:54:30N Longitude: 91:31:08W.

Data Elements: Hurricane Ike is located southeast of Galveston, Texas. This system is moving toward the west-northwest near 13 MPH. Maximum sustained winds are near 105 MPH. Hurricane Ike is a large and powerful storm, quite capable of strengthening before landfall early Saturday.
Observation Device: GOES-12 4 km infrared imagery.
Visualization Date: September 12, 2008 07:37:00 (Credit: NOAA/NESDIS/EVP)

GOES Floater (Updated Image) – Unenhanced – IR CH4 – Date and Time: As indicated on the updated image. Credit NOAA/NHC

Note: As of September 12 – 13:45UTC Image Update, Ike appears to have redeveloped the hurricane eye.

Ike is expected to strengthen to a major hurricane before landfall with sustained wind speeds of at least 178 km/hr, and in all probability the forecast would prove accurate.

However, if Ike fails to strengthen before landfall, it can still cause substantial damage by dumping large amounts of rain, flooding low-lying coastal areas, blowing down trees and road signs, destroying roof structures, doors, windows, curtain walls and mobile homes.

Ike Begins Battering Gulf Coast. A monstrously large, extremely dangerous Hurricane Ike is already affecting the Gulf Coast. NASA’s Aqua spacecraft took this infrared image early Sept. 12. (Sept. 12). Credit: NASA/JPL

A wave breaks over a street sign as Hurricane Ike approaches Galveston, Texas September 12, 2008. REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi. Image may be subject to copyright.

The storm surge of the nameless hurricane reduced much of Galveston to rubble – and left thousands dead. (AP photo)- Source

100 mph plus winds expected along the upper-Texas coast by midnight, weather should deteriorate earlier (NOAA)

• Source: NHC
• Forecaster: Avila
• Date and Time: Sept 12, 2008 at 15:00UTC

• Hurricane Watch Area: from Morgan City Louisiana to Baffin Bay, Texas.  Hurricane conditions are expected to reach the coast in the warning area later Friday.

• Tropical Storm Warning Area: From south of Baffin Bay to Port Mansfield Texas.  A tropical storm warning is also in effect from east of Morgan City to the Mississippi-Alabama border, including the city of New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain.

• Current Location: The center of hurricane Ike was located near latitude 27.2 north, longitude 92.6 west or about 480 km east of Corpus Christi, Texas and about 320 km southeast of Galveston Texas.

• Category and Wind Speed: Maximum sustained winds remain near 165 km/hr with higher gusts.  Ike is a Category 2A hurricane on the FEWW Hurricane Scale (cat 2 on Saffir-Simpson scale), but could reach the coast as a Category Three, major hurricane.  Stronger winds especially in gusts are likely on high rise buildings.

• Direction: Ike is moving toward the west-northwest near 19 km/hr. A turn toward the northwest is expected later today, with a turn toward the north expected on Saturday.  On the forecast track, the center of Ike will be very near the upper Texas coast by late Friday or early Saturday. However, because Ike is a very large tropical cyclone, weather will begin to deteriorate along the coastline soon.

• Extent: Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 195 km from the center, and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 445 km.
• Estimated minimum central pressure: 954 mb (28.17 inches).

• Storm surge flooding: Coastal storm surge flooding of up to 6 meters (20 feet) with a few spots to about 8 meters (25 feet) above normal tide along with large and dangerous battering waves can be expected near and to the east of where the center of Ike makes landfall. The surge extends a greater than usual distance from the center due to the large size of the cyclone. Water levels have already risen by more than 1.5 meter (5 feet) along much of the northwestern gulf coast.

• Rainfall: Ike is expected to produce rainfall amounts of 12 to 25 cm (5 to 10 inches) over eastern Texas and extreme southwestern Louisiana, with isolated amounts of 38 cm (15 inches) possible.

• Isolated tornadoes: Isolated tornadoes are possible today over portions of southern Louisiana and extreme southern Mississippi.  Isolated tornadoes are possible tonight over portions of southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas.

Unfit for human consumption

Is the EPA selling you anything unfit for human consumption?

EPA and the Dumping of Sewage Sludge on US Farmland

Consumer groups are pressing Congress to regulate against the practice of dumping of toxic sewage sludge on our farmland. “Farmers, scientists and victims of sludge poisoning will go before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Thursday to investigate the Environmental Protections Agency’s role in the sludge dumped on farms and other lands.” (Source)

“We have enough problems with toxic food as it is without having our food grown in toxic soil and derived from animals who have been sickened, often almost to death, because of these toxins,” said Andrew Kimbrell, the executive director of the Center for Food Safety.

What is so toxic about the sewage sludge?

A lot of toxins are found in sewage sludge including:

• E. coli
• Prions (the ones that cause mad cow disease)
• Highly toxic carcinogens used in flame retardants

Are there any victims?

Yes many! Sludge poisoning has caused serious illness, even death. Victims have reported headaches, fainting spells and nose bleeds. “Contact with sewage sludge can also cause asthma, respiratory problems and tumors. There have been several instances of death linked to exposure to the sludge.”

“It’s a very pernicious cycle here of taking the poisons out of the water but putting it back into our land, and therefore back into our food and water supply,” Kimbrell said. Dumping sludge on farmland is practiced widely because it is legal under EPA rules. About 3 million tons of sewage sludge is dumped on US farmlands each year, some 50 percent of the total production.

What About the EPA?

Citing “insufficient scientific evidence to any harmful effects” EPA nixed a petition in 1983 filed by 73 food and consumer groups asking for a moratorium on sludge dumping until the health, food and environmental impacts of the practice could be assessed.

What about the Department of Agriculture, Aren’t they also responsible?

Yes, they are. Andy McElmurray whose farm was contaminated from sewage sludge successfully sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The court ruled that the EPA’s “purposely manipulated data to squash scientific dissent,” and therefore their data was unreliable.

“Bad science and bad policy has to stop, and I think Congress has had it,” Kimbrell said. “There’s a mood for change now, and here’s where we can begin to see real change.”

Let’s hope Kimbrell would not be disappointed!

Hurricane Ike Update 9/10

Ike Update 9/12: Who Rubbed the Oil Lamp?

Ike Loves Open Waters!

Ike has strengthened to a Category 2A on FEWW Hurricane Scale, and is expected to become a major hurricane (category 3A or above with winds of at least 178km/hr) before making landfall in the northern Gulf of Mexico (Southern Texas).

FEWW Comment: Ike left behind up to 200 people dead in Haiti and Cuba (the death toll could still rise) as it churned through the Caribbeans and is now bringing much wind and rain to the US.

Having previously strengthened to a Category 4 hurricane, Ike struck eastern Cuba as a category 3 hurricane, and there’s a significant probability that it might strengthen again to a category 3 hurricane, possibly stronger, as it moves over the warm waters of Gulf of Mexico.

Hurricane Ike has shown a remarkable ability to self organize since almost immediately after birth. The hurricane previously strengthened steadily, but rapidly, as it moved west on the open waters of the Atlantic ocean. Ike loves open waters and with its nascent ability to strengthen rapidly he could prove to be the strongest and most dangerous hurricane of the season to date; however, it’s still too early to forecast with high certainty the hurricane’s wind forces at landfall.

Ike on his way out of Cuba. GOES East Unenhanced Image Frozen for the purpose of comparison. Date and Time: Sept 11, 2008 at 00:15UTC – Credit: NOAA/NHC/NWS

GOES East Floater (Updated Image) Unenhanced – IR CH 4 – Date and Time: Updated  (see foot of image). Credit: NOAA/NHC/NWS

IKE CONTINUES NORTHWESTWARD TOWARD THE CENTRAL GULF

• Source: NHC
• Forecaster: Knabb/Berg
• Date and Time: Sept 10, 2008 at 00:00UTC

• Hurricane Watch Area: From Cameron westward to port Mansfield, Texas.  Hurricane conditions are possible within the watch area by Friday.

• Tropical Storm Warning Area: From the mouth of the Mississippi River westward to east of Cameron Louisiana.  AND from west of Key West to the Dry Tortugas.

• Location: At 00:00UTC the center of hurricane Ike was located near latitude 24.7 north, longitude 86.3 west or about 1,125 km east of Brownsville Texas and about 555 km south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River.
  

• Category and Wind Speed: At 160 km/hr, with higher
  Gusts, Ike is a Category 2A hurricane on the FEWW Hurricane Scale.  Ike is expected to become a major hurricane by Thursday.
• Direction: Ike is moving toward the northwest near 13 km/hr.  A turn back toward the west-northwestward is expected tonight or early on Thursday and a general west-northwestward motion over the central and western Gulf of Mexico is expected on Thursday and Friday.
• Breadth: Ike is a large tropical cyclone.  Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 185 km from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 335 km. 
  
• Estimated minimum central pressure: 947 mb (27.96 inches).

• Storm surge flooding: Coastal storm surge flooding along the coasts of Cuba and in the Florida Keys should continue to subside tonight.  coastal storm surge flooding of 3 to 5 feet above normal tide levels, along with large and dangerous waves, can be expected within the tropical storm warning area.  Above normal tides of 2 to 4 feet are expected elsewhere along much of the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico during the next day or so, but will be increasing along the western gulf coast as Ike approaches.

• Rainfall: Ike is expected to produce total rainfall accumulations of 15 to 30 centimeters (cm) over western Cuba, with isolated maximum amounts of up to
  50cm possible.  These rains are likely to cause life-threatening flash floods and mud slides over mountainous terrain.  Rainfall amounts of 2 to 5cm are possible over extreme southern Louisiana and over the extreme northern Yucatan Peninsula.

Ike’s Forecast Path

Latest NCEP/Tropical Prediction Center (TPC) Forecast Positions. Credit: CIMSS – Space Science and Engineering Center – University of Wisconsin- Madison

Coastal Watches/Warnings and 5-Day Track Forecast Cone

Credit: NOAA/NHC/NWS

Critically Endangered Species: Arctic Sea Ice

Hell Hath No Fury Like Oceans Warming!

Record Arctic ice loss in August

Previously you read on this blog that the Arctic ice cover was the second-lowest on record. The National Snow and Ice Data Center has since reported that the rate of ice loss through the month of August set a new record, reinforcing conclusions that the Arctic sea ice cover is in a long-term state of decline. With more than a week left to the end of the melt season, the Arctic shrink could still hit a new record annual low in September.

See below for the stats:

• Arctic sea ice extent on September 3, 2008 was 4.85 million square kilometers.
• Extent decline since the beginning of August was 2.47 million square kilometers.
• Extent is now within 370,000 square kilometers of 2007 value on the same date (about 2.08 million square kilometers below the 1979 to 2000 average).
• The average daily ice loss rate for August 2008 was 78,000 square kilometers per day (the fastest rate of daily ice loss ever recorded for a month of August).
• The average daily ice loss rate for August 2007 was 63,000 square kilometers per day.
• The average daily ice loss rate for the month of August was 51,000 square kilometers per day.

It takes very little additional energy to melt what remains of a very thinned sea ice cover!

Monthly August ice extent for 1979 to 2008 shows 2008 as the second-lowest August on record. —Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center  – High-resolution image

The graph above shows daily sea ice extent.The solid light blue line indicates 2008; the dashed green line shows extent for 2007; the gray line indicates average extent from 1979 to 2000. Sea Ice Index data. —Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center – High-resolution image

Sea surface temperature anomalies for August 2008, expressed with respect to 1982 to 2006 mean, correspond closely with ice retreat. Blue line indicates ice edge; warm colors indicate positive sea surface temperature anomalies. —Credit: National Snow and Ice Data Center courtesy Mike Steele and Wendy Ermold: Polar Science Center/Applied Physics Laboratory/University of Washington.

High-resolution image

Related Links:

• Arctic ice cover second-lowest on record
• Frequently Asked Questions

A Haiku for Earth

Haiku submitted by a reader:

Behold the shrinking ice
Vanish from Earth
Broiling by lifestyle.

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Related Links:

• Threatened Species: Arctic Sea Ice
• Arctic ice cover second-lowest on record

Hurricane Ike Update 9/9

Ike Update 9/12: Who Rubbed the Oil Lamp?

• Hurricane Ike Update 9/10

• Ike’s Photos and Videos

2009: A New Climate

What if each time a storm struck your area it turned out to be a major hurricane?

Based on MSRB/CASF dynamic energy models and FEWW climate model there’s a high probability that:

1. The duration of Atlantic Hurricane season may be longer in 2009. It could start earlier than June 1, and end later than November 30. The FEWW model forecasts an 11-18 day increase in the season.

2. The storms could get stronger throughout the season. Our model indicates average increases in the maximum wind speeds of tropical storms as follows

• Category 5 hurricanes [Saffir-Simpson scale] : 16 to 19 percent increase
• Category 4 hurricanes : 14 to 17 percent
• Category 3 hurricanes : 8 to 11 percent
• Category 2 hurricanes : 4 to 6 percent
• Category 1 hurricanes : 2 to 4 percent

Now, back to Ike

Latest Headlines:

• More than 1 million are evacuated but there are four deaths as 20 inches of rain and 100-mph winds pound Cuba. Reports mount of earlier deaths and destruction in Haiti. Texas could be next. (LA Times)

• Oil and natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico remained at a trickle on Tuesday as Hurricane Ike moved toward the region, triggering the second storm-related wave of offshore platform evacuations and production shutdowns in less than two weeks. (Reuters).

• Some two million Cubans had been driven from their homes by the storm’s winds topping 130 km/h (80 mph) more than 24 hours after it first made landfall on Sunday. (AFP)

• Ike earlier caused 66 deaths in Haiti and reportedly damaged 80% of the homes in the Turks and Caicos Islands. (BBC)

Latest NCEP/Tropical Prediction Center (TPC) Forecast Positions. Credit: CIMSS – Space Science and Engineering Center – University of Wisconsin- Madison:

CENTER OF IKE APPROACHING WESTERN CUBA

• Source: NHC
• Forecaster: Franklin
• Date and Time: Sept 9, 2008 at 12:00UTC

• Location: At 12:00UTC the center of hurricane Ike was located near latitude 22.4 north, longitude 82.4 west, or about 65 Km south of Havana, Cuba.
  

• Category and Wind Speed: At 130 km/hr, Ike is a Category one hurricane  on FEWW Hurricane Scale.  Some strengthening may occur this morning before Ike moves over Western Cuba.  Additional strengthening is forecast to occur once Ike reaches the Gulf of Mexico.
• Direction: Ike is moving toward the west-northwest at 20 km/hr and  is expected to continue in that direction in the next 48 hrs.  The center of Ike should reach the south coast of western Cuba in the next few hours, and emerge into the Gulf of Mexico by this evening.
• Breadth: Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 355 km from the center, and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 315 km. 
  
• Estimated minimum central pressure: 965mb (28.50 inches).

• Storm surge flooding: Coastal storm surge flooding of 4 to 7 feet above normal tide levels, along with large and dangerous battering waves, can be expected in areas of onshore winds east of Ike along the southern coast of  Cuba.
• Storm surge flooding of up to 90cm, along with Large and dangerous waves, are possible in the Florida Keys.
• Large swells generated by Ike will continue to affect portions of the southeast United States coast during the next couple of days. These waves could generate dangerous and life-threatening rip
  currents.

• Rainfall: Ike is expected to produce rainfall accumulations of 25cm over Cuba, with isolated maximum amounts of up to 50cm possible. These rains are likely to cause life-threatening flash
  floods and mud slides over mountainous terrain. Rainfall accumulations of 5 to 10cm are possible over the Cayman Islands. Rainfall accumulations of 2.5 to 8cm are possible over the Florida Keys.
• Isolated tornadoes and waterspouts are possible over the Florida Keys and extreme south Florida today.

Hurericane Ike: Latest Photos and Videos

Ike Update 9/12: Who Rubbed the Oil Lamp?

• Hurricane Ike Update 9/10

• Hurricane Ike Update 9/9

Hurricane Ike Video and Photo Links [See following pages]

View of the sky over Havana’ s harbor on the impending arrival of Hurricane Ike, September 7, 2008. Adalberto Roque. Image may be subject to copyright.

Image Galleries:

• Gallery No 1
• Gallery No 2
• Gallery No 3
• Gallery No 4
• Gallery No 5
• Gallery No 6

Videos are embedded on the below linked pages:

• Ike weakens to Category 1 hurricane over Cuba
• Storm Ike’s uncertain course hampers U.S. plans
• Hurricane Ike pummels Cuba, aims for Gulf Coast

• Deadly hurricane heads for Havana

• Four dead as hurricane hits Cuba
• BBC Weather tracks Hurricane Ike
• ‘Hundreds’ killed by Haiti storm
• Hurricane Ike devastates Caribbean

Thought for the Day: The LHC and Earth

Big Bang, Indeed! [Putting the Cart before …]

The good news: “We” are about to find some answers to how the universe was born [or so we hope!]

The Bad News: We have no idea how to stop killing the earth!

See: Astronomical Cost of LHC Reminds You of ISS

Related Links:

• Frustrated NASA chief vents about agency’s fate
• Shoot Down the ISS

• God Particle
• 286W

Hurricane Ike Update 9/8

Ike Update 9/12: Who Rubbed the Oil Lamp?

• Hurricane Ike Update 9/10

• Hurricane Ike Update 9/9

• Photos and Videos

Ike makes landfall in Cuba

Weakened fortuitously to a Category 3 hurricane, Ike made landfall in Cuba in the province of Holguin near Punto de Sama on the north coast of eastern Cuba at about 01:45UTC, NHC said, with maximum winds of about 205 km/hr.

GOES-East 4km IR4 Floater 2 –  Date and Time: Latest Image, Updated – Credit: RAMSDIS-CIRA/RAMM – Colorado State University

Hurricane Ike regional imagery, 2008.09.08 at 14:45UTC. Centerpoint Latitude: 21:15:44N Longitude: 78:26:22W. GOES-12 1 km visible imagery. [Data Elements: The center of Ike may be over open water south of Cuba soon. Ike may not weaken as much as previously shown.] Credit: NOAA/NESDIS/EVP

By 03:00 the center of hurricane Ike was located near latitude 21.1 north, longitude 75.8 west near Cabo Lucrecia about 220km east of Camaguey Cuba.

Ike is now moving in a westerly direction at 20 km/hr, and is expected to turn west to west-northwest in the next 24-48 hours.  On this track the center will move over eastern, central and western Cuba through Tuesday.

Since making landfall, Ike’ maximum sustained winds have marginally receded to about 195 km/hr, and is now a category 3B hurricane of FEWW Hurricane Scale.  Further weakening is likely as Ike moves over Cuba.

Ike’s Legacy in the Caribbeans [so far]

Turks and Caicos Islands (Population 22,500): T & C took the full brunt of Ike as a Category 4 hurricane with 215 km/hr winds. About 80 percent of the houses on Grand Turk (population 3,000 were destroyed or damaged, an official said.

The Dominican Republic: Up to 50,000 people abandoned their homes because of the powerful winds and rain.

Haiti: The downpour from Ike caused the La Quinte river to rise again flooding the city of Gonaives for the second time since Hannah struck. By Sunday evening Gonaives was “a devastated and isolated city,” its mayor reportedly said, “all of our bridges to the rest of the country have collapsed.”

For additional images see: Hurricane Ike Update 9/7

Ike On The North Coast Of Eastern Cuba

• Source: NHC
• Forecaster: Pasch
• Date and Time: Sept 8, 2008 at 03:00UTC
• Category and Wind Speed: About195 km/hr with higher gusts.  Ike is still a very dangerous  3B hurricane of FEWW Hurricane Scale. Some weakening is expected as Ike moves over Cuba.

• Breadth: Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 95 km from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 220 km.
• Estimated minimum central pressure: 945mb (27.91 inches).
• Storm surge flooding: 9 to 12 feet above normal tide levels, along with large and dangerous battering waves can be expected within the warning area in areas of onshore winds.
• Large swells generated by Ike will affect portions of the southeast United States coast during the next 48 hours.  These waves could generate dangerous and life-threatening rip currents.
• Rainfall: Ike is expected to produce rainfall accumulations of 6 to 12 inches over eastern and central Cuba, with isolated maximum amounts of up to 20 inches possible.  These rains are likely to cause life-threatening flash floods and mud slides over mountainous terrain.
  • The southern Bahamas: Possible rainfall totals of 4 to 8 inches from Ike.
  • Portions of Hispaniola: Additional amounts of 3 to 5 inches.
  • Turks and Caicos islands: Additional rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches.
  • Florida Keys: Rainfall accumulations of 1 to 3 inches.

Hurricane Ike Update 9/7

Ike Update 9/12: Who Rubbed the Oil Lamp?

• Hurricane Ike Update 9/10

• Hurricane Ike Update 9/9

• Latest Photos and Videos

• Hurricane Ike Update 9/8

Ike: A Deadly Hurricane by any Other Name

2008 Year of the Rain, too?

GOES – Floater Image – UneEnhanced Infrared CH4 – Date and time:  Updated on Image – Credit NOAA/NESDIS/SSD

FEWW Comment:  Ike has re-restrengthened to a  Category 4A on the FEWW Hurricane Scale (Cat. 4 on Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale)  with extremely dangerous wind speeds of about 215km/hr. It’s outer bands have enveloped the Dominican Republic and the northeastern peripheries of Haiti, moving slowly to cover north [and rest] of the island, where 500 people have already died and up to a million others displaced from previous storms. More rain, flooding, deaths and devastation are to be expected.

Subject to current weather condition and sea temperatures in the Caribbeans and on its forecast path, hurricane Ike may strengthen to a Category 5 hurricane as it approaches/makes landfall in Cuba, striking ferociously at the heart of the tropical island, which is already reeling from the shock of the previous three storms (Fay, Gustav and Hannah) in as many weeks. It’s hoped that the resilient Cuban people would literally “weather the storm.”

Storm Centered Infrared Image. Click here for  JAVA Movie (color enhancement). credit CIMSS – Space Science and Engineering Center – University of Wisconsin- Madison

GOES – Tropical Floater Imagery – Infrared CH 4 – Date and time:  Updated on Image – Credit NOAA/NESDIS/SSD

GOES EAST – North Atlantic Imagery – JSL2 enhancement – Date and time:  Updated on Image – Credit NOAA/NESDIS/SSD

Eye of Extremely Dangerous Hurricane Ike Passing Over the Turks Islands

• Source: NHC
• Forecaster: Avila
• Date and Time:Sept 7, 2008 at 03:00UTC
• Category and Wind Speed: About 215 km/hr with higher gusts.  Ike is an extremely dangerous category four Hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale [Cat 4A on FEWW Hurricane Scale]. Some strengthening is
  Possible before Ike moves over eastern Cuba.
• Location: The large eye of hurricane Ike was located near latitude 21.2 north, longitude 70.9 west, very close to the Turks and Caicos Islands.
• Direction: Ike is moving toward the west-southwest near 24 km/hr and this motion is expected to continue Sunday with a gradual turn to the west late Sunday. On this track, the core of the hurricane Will begin to affect the southeastern Bahamas early Sunday.  Ike should then move near the central Bahamas and the northern coast of eastern Cuba Sunday night/early Monday.
• Breadth: Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 75 km from the center, and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 220 km.
  
• Estimated minimum central pressure: 947mb (27.96 inches).

• Storm surge flooding: 13 to 18 feet above normal tide levels and large and dangerous battering waves can be expected in the warning areas.
• Large swells generated by Ike will affect portions of the southeast United States coast during the next 48 hrs.  These waves could generate dangerous and life-threatening rip currents.

• Rainfall: About 10 to 20 cm (4 to 8 inches) with isolated maximum amounts of 30 cm (12 inches) are expected over the Turks and Caicos Islands and southeastern Bahamas. Hispaniola and eastern Cuba could see 15 to 30 cm (6 to 12 inches) of rain with isolated maximum amounts of up to 50cm (20 inches) possible.  These rains could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides over mountainous terrain.

These graphics show probabilities of sustained (1-minute average) surface wind speeds equal to or exceeding 34 kt…39 mph (tropical storm force). These wind speed probability graphics are based on the official National Hurricane Center (NHC) track, intensity, and wind radii forecasts, and on NHC forecast error statistics for those forecast variables during recent years. Each graphic provides cumulative probabilities that wind speeds of at least 39 mph will occur during cumulative time periods at each specific point on the map. The cumulative periods begin at the start of the forecast period and extend through the entire 5-day forecast period at cumulative 12-hour intervals (i.e., 0-12 h, 0-24 h, 0-36 h, … , 0-120 h). An individual graphic is produced for each cumulative interval, and the capability to zoom and animate through the periods is provided. To assess the overall risk of experiencing winds of at least 39 mph at any location, the 120-h graphics are recommended. NOAA/NHC/NWS

Related “Year of the Expected Unknowns” Links:

• This’s Got to Be the Year of Radioactive, Chemical and Oil Spills, Too!
• Will 2008 be year of the tornadoes, too?
• California Fires: Not Hard to Understand!

• 2008: Year of the Expected Unknowns!
• First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities

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Hurricane Ike, TS Hannah, TS Josephine – Update 9-5

Ike Update 9/12: Who Rubbed the Oil Lamp?

• Hurricane Ike Update 9/10

• Hurricane Ike Update 9/9

• Photos and Videos

• Hurricane Ike Update 9/8

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Tropical Storm Hannah

FEWW Comment: Big Hannah’s torrential rains have already submerged parts of Haiti in more than  two meters of floodwater, leaving about 140 people dead. A nightmare scenario in the US Atlantic coast could unfold, if Hannah were to move in slow motion over the U.S. east coast, as already predicted by NHC, without necessarily making landfall, repeating a similar performance to her Haiti debut.

Updated Tropical Atlantic Imagery – Aviation color enhancement – GOES East – Date and time as shown on image. Credit NOAA/SSD/NESDIS

TS Hannah: Coastal Watches/Warnings and 3-Day Track Forecast Cone

This graphic shows an approximate representation of coastal areas under a hurricane warning (red), hurricane watch (pink), tropical storm warning (blue) and tropical storm watch (yellow). The orange circle indicates the current position of the center of the tropical cyclone. The black line and dots show the National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecast track of the center at the times indicated. The dot indicating the forecast center location will be black if the cyclone is forecast to be tropical and will be white with a black outline if the cyclone is forecast to be extratropical. If only an L is displayed, then the system is forecast to be a remnant low. The letter inside the dot indicates the NHC’s forecast intensity for that time. NOAA/NHC

TS Hannah

• Source: NHC
• Forecaster: Rhome
• Date and Time: Sept 5, 2008 / 06:00UTC
• Location: The center of tropical storm Hanna was located near latitude 27.2 North, longitude 77.2 West or about 90 km north of Great Abaco Island and about 790 km south of Wilmington, North Carolina.
• Direction: Hanna is moving toward the northwest. NHC expects a gradual turn to the north with an increase in forward speed later today. The center of Hanna will be near the southeast coast of the United States later Today. However, rains and winds associated with Hanna will reach the coast well in advance of the center.
• Speed: About 30 km/hr.
• Wind Speed: About 105 km/hr with higher gusts. It is still possible for Hanna to become a hurricane.
• Breadth: Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 510 km (v. large) mainly to the north and east of the center.
• Estimated minimum central pressure: 984mb (29.05 inches).
• Additional Information: Hanna could produce rainfall totals of 2 to 3 inches over the Northern Bahamas and the eastern portions of south and north Carolina, with maximum isolated amounts of 5 inches possible.  Rainfall totals of up to 3 inches are possible from the Georgia coast southward to the central Florida coast. Very heavy rainfall amounts are likely to spread rapidly northward into the mid Atlantic states and New England from Friday night into Saturday and may result in flooding.

Hurricane Ike

Hurricane Ike: Coastal Watches/Warnings and 5-Day Track Forecast Cone

NOAA/NHC

FEWW Comment: Ike, having strengthened to a very dangerous Category 4B on the FEWW Hurricane Scale just over 24 hours ago, is now slightly downgraded to a category 4A hurricane churning in a westerly direction. If Ike remains on its 5-day NHC-predicted path, and maintains its current strength as a major hurricane (Category 3A or above,) it would sweep over the northern edge of Haiti and the Island of Cuba causing additional destruction on a grand scale, compounding the misery caused by TS Fay, Hurricane Gustav and Hurricane Hannah during the last 19 days.

• Source: NHC
• Forecaster: Brown
• Date and Time: Sept 5, 2008 at  03:00UTC
• Category and Wind Speed: About 215 km/hr, with higher gusts. Ike is an extremely dangerous category four hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale [Category 4A on FEWW Hurricane Scale.] Some weakening is forecast during the next 24 to 48 hours.
• Location: The center of hurricane Ike was located near latitude 23.6 North, longitude 59.5 West or about 760 km north-northeast of the Leeward Islands and about 1,215 km east-northeast of Grand Turk island.
• Direction: Ike is moving in a westerly direction. A turn toward the west-southwest is expected on Friday, and this motion is expected to continue through Saturday.  On this track the hurricane will continue to move over the open waters of the west-central Atlantic during the next 48 hours.
• Speed: About 22 km/hr.
• Breadth: Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 55 km from the center, and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 185 km.
• Estimated minimum central pressure: 945mb (27.91 inches).

TS Josephine

Coming soon …

Hungry Haitian Flood Victims Stranded on Rooftops

“There is no food, no water, no clothes … I want to know what I’m supposed to do … we haven’t found anything to eat in two, three days. Nothing at all.” Pastor Arnaud Dumas

TS Hannah the third tropical storm to strike Haiti in three weeks has left the northern Haitian city of Gonaives submerged in two meters of water. According to AP’s latest report there are 137 confirmed deaths in Haiti.

Hurricane Hanna is seen southeast of Nassau. The system was drifting toward the west near 3 km/hr with maximum sustained winds of about 130km/hr. Dated 2008.09.02 at 08:45UTC – Credit NOAA/NESDIS/EVP

Haitian President Rene Preval declared the situation in his impoverished Caribbean nation a “catastrophe.”

Thousands of people including patients in a flooded hospital have moved to upper floor rooms, balconies and roofs, waiting for the floodwater to recede.

“There are a lot of people who have been on top of the roofs of their homes over 24 hours now … They have no water, no food and we can’t even help them.” The interior minister, Paul Antoine Bien-Aime, told Reuters news.

An aerial view of floods caused by Tropical Storm Hanna is seen in Gonaives September 3, 2008. REUTERS/Marco Dormino/Minustah/Handout

In Cuba more than 500 schools and 100,000 homes were affected. “There are severe damages to the electrical system. It’s practically on the floor,” said the vice- president, Carlos Lage. “In terms of buildings and homes, roofs are generally gone. The island is exposed to the sky.” Thousands of tons of tobacco leaves, coffee, grapefruit and other produce have been destroyed.

A Bolivian peacekeeper, left, stands on an area flooded by heavy rains from Tropical Storm Hanna next to residents in Savan Desole, Haiti, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008. The storm has spawned flooding in Haiti that left 10 people dead in Gonaives, along Haiti’s western coast, according to the country’s civil protection department.(AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos). Image may be subject to copyright.

Fidel Castro, Cuba’s ex-president likened the destruction to the nuclear attack on Hiroshima. “The photos and videos transmitted on national television reminded me of the desolation I saw when I visited Hiroshima.”

Hurricane Ike in a satellite image taken September 4, 2008. Hurricane Ike strengthened rapidly into an fiercely dangerous Category 4 hurricane in the open Atlantic on Wednesday.   REUTERS/NOAA/Handout

Meanwhile, hurricane Ike, a very dangerous category 4B hurricane with sustained winds of about 230 km/hr is revving up about 1,000 km northeast of Haiti. Ike is expected to turn west in the next 24 hours.

Related Links:

• Remember this Image!

::

Ike Becomes the Third Major Hurricane in 2008

Ike Update 9/12: Who Rubbed the Oil Lamp?

• Hurricane Ike Update 9/10

• Hurricane Ike Update 9/9

• Photos and Videos

• Hurricane Ike Update 9/8

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With sustained winds of 185 km/hr Ike strengthens to a Category 3A Hurricane

GOES Floater – Tropical Imagery – Water Vapor Image – Date and Time: Updated. Credit NOAA/SSD

FEWW Comment: Hurricane Ike has shown a remarkable ability to self organize since almost immediately after birth. Ike has been strengthening steadily, but rapidly. There are no obvious reasons yet why Ike might change its nascent characteristics. While there’s still a long way to go to forecast the possible impact of Ike on any specific land areas, Ike could prove to be the strongest and most dangerous hurricane of the season yet.

Hurricane Ike’s Latest Update

Source: NHC
Forecaster: Brown/Blake
Date: Sep 4, 2008
Time: 00:01UTC
Location: The eye of hurricane Ike was located near latitude 21.7 north, longitude 53.2 west or about 1,035 km east-northeast of the Leeward Islands.
Direction: Ike is moving toward the west-northwest . This general motion is expected to continue tonight and early Thursday. By Thursday night early Friday a turn to the west is expected taking Ike over the open waters of the west-central Atlantic during the next 48 hours. It is too early to determine what if any land areas might eventually be affected by Ike.
Speed: About 30 km/hr (unchanged from previous report).
Wind Speed: Maximum sustained winds are about 185 km/hr with higher gusts.  Ike is a dangerous category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, or a category 3A on the FEWW hurricane scale.  Some fluctuations in intensity are expected during the next 48 hours.
Breadth: Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 55 km from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 260 km.
Estimated minimum central pressure: 960mb (28.35 inches)

Coastal Watches/Warnings and 5-Day Track Forecast Cone [NHC/NWS/NOAA]

This graphic shows an approximate representation of coastal areas under a hurricane warning (red), hurricane watch (pink), tropical storm warning (blue) and tropical storm watch (yellow). The orange circle indicates the current position of the center of the tropical cyclone. The black line and dots show the National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecast track of the center at the times indicated. The dot indicating the forecast center location will be black if the cyclone is forecast to be tropical and will be white with a black outline if the cyclone is forecast to be extratropical. If only an L is displayed, then the system is forecast to be a remnant low. The letter inside the dot indicates the NHC’s forecast intensity for that time.

“We thought that it was Jesus who had come back”

Folks, it ain’t Jesus; it’s Human-induced climate change. Ask your local teacher to tell you about the effects of GHG Emissions!

The ferocious storm in Busara, about 260 km northwest of the capital, Nairobi, turned parts of central Kenya white with a massive hailstorm.

Villagers play with snow after heavy hailstorms hit a deforested hillside in Gikingi Village in Nyahururu town, some 220km from Nairobi, September 3, 2008. REUTERS/Antony Njuguna. Image may be subject to copyright.

“We thought a big white sheet had been spread, so we decided to come and see for ourselves. We thought that it was Jesus who had come back,” a villager said.

“The hailstones falling on the ground joined together to form expansive sheets of ice or snow flakes occupying a large area, 30 acres,” meteorologists said. the storm was caused “the convergence of cold air currents from the Indian Ocean and warm air currents from the Congo.”

“In fact this thing is very sweet, we have never seen anything like this. We like the ice so much because with the sun being hot, you take it and you feel satisfied,” another villager said.

Kenya straddles the equator. “The only snow to be seen in normally sunny Kenya is on top of the country’s highest mountain, 5,199-meter (17,057 ft) Mount Kenya.” Reuters said.

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TSs Hannah, Ike and Josephine

Latest: Hurricane Ike Update 9/9

Photos and Videos

Hurricane Ike Update 9/8

Hurricane Ike Update 9/7

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Messy Hannah looks like a big baby left alone with a bowl of milk chocolate mix on the kitchen table!

Tropical Storm Front Update 9-3

L to R: Gustav (the ‘Fake Hurricane’), TS Hannah, TS Ike, TS Josephine    (Still Image)  – NOAA

Tropical Atlantic Imagery – GOES East  – RGB Image – (Updated) – NOAA/SSD

Brief Update:

Gustav (The ‘Ghost Hurricane’)

GUSTAV is now a tropical depression located [Sep 2 at 21:00 UTC] near latitude 33.0 north, longitude 93.9 west, or about 56 km north of Shreveport Louisiana moving slowly into the ArkLaTex region.

Storm total rainfalls are expected to be five to ten inches with isolated maximum of fifteen inches over portions of Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi.  Four to six inches with a maximum of eight inches is expected over portions of Missouri and west central to northern Illinois.  Two to four inches of rain is
possible over far eastern Oklahoma. – Forecaster Petersen, NHC

TS Hannah

Tropical Storm Hanna is seen southeast of Florida in this satellite image on September 2, 2008. REUTERS/NOAA/Handout

Maximum sustained winds: 105 km/h

Sep 3 – 03:00 UTC – The center of TS Hanna was located near latitude 20.5 north, longitude 72.4 west or 105 km southeast of Great Inagua Island  and about 720 km southeast of Nassau.

[Great Inagua is the third largest island in the Bahamas at 1550 km² located about 92 km northwest of eastern tip of Cuba.]

Hanna has been almost stationary in  the past few hours. However, a north or northwestward motion is expected to begin early on Wednesday followed by a northwestward motion with some increase in forward speed Wednesday night.  On the forecast track, Hanna will be moving across the southeastern Bahamas overnight, and near or over the central Bahamas Wednesday and Wednesday night, and the northwestern Bahamas on Thursday. – Forecaster: Brown/Avila

The Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos islands, Haiti and the Dominican Republic have experienced substantial downpours.

In Haiti, at least 25 people were killed by severe flooding and mudslides. Heavy rains inundated the northern port city of Gonaives.

“The city is flooded and there are parts where the water gets to 2 meters,” said an official. “A lot of people have been climbing onto the tops of their houses since last night to escape the flooding.”

Reuters report: Storms swirl in Atlantic, deadly floods hit Haiti

TS Ike

Date: Sep 3, 2008
Time: 09:00UTC
Location: TS Ike was located by NHC near latitude 20.6 north, longitude 49.6 west or about 1340 km east-northeast of the Leeward Islands.
Direction: Ike is moving west-northwestward and a gradual turn toward the west is expected over the next 48 hours
Speed: About 30 km/hr and
Wind Speed: Satellite images indicate that the maximum sustained winds remain near 100 km/hr with higher gusts.  Ike is forecast to
Become a hurricane later today, and continue to strengthen over the next 48 hours.
Breadth: Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 220 km
from the center.
Estimated minimum central pressure: 996mb (29.41 inches)

TS Josephine

Date: Sep 3, 2008
Time: 09:00UTC
Location: The center of tropical storm Josephine was located by NHC near latitude 13.7 north, longitude 27.5 west or about 355 km west-southwest of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands.
Direction: Josephine is moving toward the west-northwest and is expected to continue in that direction for the next 48 hours.
Speed: About 20 km/hr
Wind Speed: Sustained winds are about 95 km/hr with higher gusts.  Some strengthening is forecast in the next 24 hours.
Breadth: Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 150 km from the center.
Estimated minimum central pressure: 1000mb (29.53 inches)
More updates will follow …

If Hannah manages to organize herself, the conditions are conducive to a major hurricane, at least a Category 4A hurricane, according to FEWW model.

Gustav spares New Orleans levees

Insured losses could still reach $10 billion

Hurricane Gustav slammed ashore near Cocodrie, Louisiana, about 115 km southwest of New Orleans on Monday.

Gustav weakened to a Category 2 hurricane with 177 kph winds [just 1kph shy of a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale] before landfall and as it moved inland weakened to a Category 1 hurricane with 130 kph winds.

A street at a railroad crossing near the Inner Harbor Navigational Canal is flooded as Hurricane Gustav hits New Orleans, September 1, 2008. REUTERS/Lee Celano. Image may be subject to copyright.

Weaker than Katerina on landfall, Gustav spared the levees which were breached by Katrina in 2005 flooding the city killing about 1800 and stranding hundreds of thousands of people.

About six inches of water flooded streets around New Orleans Industrial Canal, and strong winds knocked down trees, but no substantial damage has yet been reported.

In case you wondered what Gustav looked liked! –  Clouds looming over New Orleans looked like a scene right out of “Independence Day.” (Stephen Morton/Getty Images). Image may be subject to copyright.

It is  estimated that Gustav’s insured losses could reach $10 billion. Katrina’s insured losses were reported at about $40 billion and total damage was more than $81.2 billion [2005 dollars.]

Gustav seemed to have caused more damage in the Caribbeans while near full strength. It killed a total of about 100 people in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica and Cuba. According to Cuban authorities more than 90,000 houses were damaged or destroyed by Gustav. Reuters reported.

As Gustav swept inland over the United States, tropical storm Hanna strengthened to a hurricane near the Bahamas, and Tropical Storm Ike formed in the Atlantic Ocean.

Click here for Gustav’s latest image.

Gustav and Hannah: A picture’s worth …

Latest: Tropical Storm Front Update 9-3

Gustav Chased by ‘Rapid Fire!’

Composite (‘realtime’) Image developed by Rick Kohrs at the Space Science and Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin, using McIDAS.

Eastern Conus Sector (Infrared Channel) – NOAA – [Note: For IR data, the highest pixel values correspond to the coldest temperatures.] – Still Image.

Rapid Fire: Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook – NOAA/NHC/NWS – Still Image – Date/Time: See Inset

Image of the Day: While You Were Away …

NO: A Ghost Town

A copy of The Times-Picayune is displayed on a deserted downtown street after the evacuation of New Orleans, prior to the arrival of Hurricane Gustav, August 31, 2008. REUTERS/ Mark Wallheiser. Image may be subject to copyright.

Related Links:

• Ghost towns
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Gustav Now a Category Four Hurricane, as Forecast

As forecast by FEWW model, Gustav has now strengthened to an extremely dangerous category four hurricane

The National Hurricane Center in Miami confirmed a few minutes ago that Gustav now has maximum winds approaching 230 km/hr which makes him an extremely dangerous category four hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale. The following excerpt is from their advisory update:

Hurricane Gustav Tropical Cyclone Update
NWS TPC/National Hurricane Center Miami Fl   Al072008
13:20 EDT Sat Aug 30 2008

… Gustav has continued to strengthen and now has maximum winds near 230 km/hr (145 mph) with higher gusts.  This makes Gustav an extremely dangerous category four hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale.  A special advisory will be issued at about 14:00 EDT to modify the initial and forecast intensities. The special public advisory will take the place of the intermediate public advisory previously scheduled for that time. —Forecaster Knabb

Hurricane Gustav – GOES Imagery – Floater (updated image) – IR Aviation color enhancement – Credit: NOAA Satellite Information Service/SSD

Hurricane Gustav – GOES Imagery – (still image saved for comparison Aug 30, 2008 22:15 UTC) – IR Aviation color enhancement – Credit: NOAA Satellite Information Service/SSD

Gustav’s current characteristics including his rapid ability to strengthen, his temperament and projected path, suggest that he could cause substantial damage to structures, especially to the 3,900 or so offshore oil and gas facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.

Gustav could bring up to 10 meter storm surge along the northern Gulf Coast. According to the Census Bureau estimate, as many as 12 million U.S. residents may experience Gustav’s impact.

The storm has already left a trail of destruction and some 90 people dead in its wake as it swept across the Caribbeans over the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica. The storm’s human cost in Cayman Islands and Cuba may exceed the standing death toll.

What about Hannah?

TS Hannah (C) Chasing Hurricane Gustv (L) – GOES Caribbean Imagery – (Still Image) – August 30, 2008 – Credit: NOAA Satellite Information Service/SSD

According to NHC TS Hannah advisory No. 11, at 21:00UTC the center of tropical storm Hanna was located near latitude 22.4 north, longitude 67.2 west or about 415 km east-northeast of Grand Turk Island. The center of Hanna is forecast to move near or just northeast of the Turks and Caicos Islands late Sunday or Monday.

Hannah has maximum sustained winds of near 85 km/hr, with higher gusts.  Some gradual strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hrs. Minimum central pressure:1000mb.

Hannah seems to have the potential to “pack a big punch!”