Hurricanes Do Hit Canada. This Time Newfoundland Bore The Brunt

 Oh yes indeed, hurricanes do indeed hit Canada - especially the east coast. This time Huuricane Igor slammed Newfoundland and a week later many people are still cut off in remote villages while crews are frantically trying to repair completely washed out roads and bridges. It'll still be some time before they are back to normal.
   . . . June


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Ask the Weather Guys: Do hurricanes ever hit Canada?:

With recent attention on the massive and powerful Hurricane Igor in the Atlantic Ocean, the question arose as to whether hurricanes ever effect Canada.

The Maritime Provinces of eastern Canada are visited by the remnants of Atlantic hurricanes with some regularity. In fact, Hurricane Igor, which struck Bermuda on Sept. 19, struck the Avalon Peninsula in the far southeast portion of Newfoundland, Canada, on Sept. 21. Road washouts, toppled trees, flooding and some deaths were attributed to the storm.

By the time Igor made it to Newfoundland, it was in the process of transitioning from a tropical storm to an extratropical storm. Though the details of this process are fascinating and relevant for understanding some of the weather elements associated with the storm, the strong winds (in excess of 70 mph with gusts to over 115 mph) remained a significant aspect of Igor's path through Newfoundland.

Similar devastating events have occurred in the recent past, such as when Hurricane Juan struck Nova Scotia resulting in millions of dollars in damage to that province in late September 2003.

Igor will continue northward and gradually lose strength over a period of days in the Labrador Sea, west of Greenland. Stirring of the Labrador Sea by surface winds plays a role in the maintenance of the Gulf Stream circulation. By the time he is finished, Igor will have stirred the Atlantic Ocean from the tropics all the way to the Arctic Circle.

Read More . .

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Are Warmer Seas Fueling Hurricanes This Season?

 This year's hurricane season has been unusual. According to the following article, the four major Atlantic hurricanes that spun toward the Caribbean in the past month were fueled by record warm seas and formed in an unprecedented 20 days. With 10 weeks left in the hurricane season, more may be coming.
'The season may be busy for another month', “All the ingredients’’ are in place for major hurricanes to form this year' said Simon Young, chief executive of the insurer Caribbean Risk Managers.
   . . . June


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Warmer seas fueling hurricanes
The Boston Globe:

The four major Atlantic hurricanes that spun toward the Caribbean in the past month were fueled by record warm seas and formed in an unprecedented 20 days. With 10 weeks left in the hurricane season, more may be coming.

The storms that were born off west Africa gathered strength by absorbing the ocean’s heat and swelled into Category 4-level hurricanes on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale. While none hit land at full speed, each packed winds of at least 131 miles an hour, stronger than Katrina’s Category 3 winds when it devastated New Orleans in 2005.

After Igor churned past Bermuda Monday and cut power to two-thirds of the island’s residents, Tropical Storm Lisa formed yesterday in the east Atlantic. While the six-month season is past its statistical peak, forecasters and insurers said warmer seas can lengthen the danger period to property, from beach homes in Florida to rigs and refineries in the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico.

“The hotter the water, the higher the octane level, and there [are] going to be far more Category 4 and 5 hurricanes,’’ said Jim Rouiller, an Air Force meteorologist for 20 years who works for Planalytics Inc. in Berwyn, Pa.

The season may be busy for another month, said Simon Young, chief executive of the insurer Caribbean Risk Managers. “All the ingredients’’ were in place for major hurricanes to form this year, he said.

The National Hurricane Center predicts 2010 will have as many as 20 storms of at least 39 mile-per-hour winds, meaning they will be named, compared with 11 in a typical year. Lisa’s formation yesterday brought this year’s tally to 12. The Miami-based center has identified five major hurricanes in 2010 compared with two in an average season when waters are cooler.

Read on . . .

Hurricane Igor Heading Toward Bermuda

Hurricane Igor made its way toward Bermuda today with the island nation expected to take a “direct hit”. According to the article below, Bermuda issued a hurricane warning for Igor, which has sustained winds of 100 miles per hour and is about 360 miles south of the island. Igor had been a more powerful Category 3 storm yesterday but  the hurricane center said it may regain some of its lost power on the way to Bermuda. Tropical storm Julia seems to be petering out.
   . . . June


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Hurricane Igor Heading Toward Bermuda as Island Prepares for `Direct Hit'
Bloomberg:

Hurricane Igor made its way toward Bermuda today with the island nation expected to take a “direct hit” from the weather system, the National Hurricane Center said.

Igor, a Category 2 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, is expected by forecasters to pass within 11.5 miles (18.5 kilometers) of the island early next week.

“We have all heard the reports from the Bermuda Weather Service that this storm will be a long and punishing one and the potential for injury and physical damage is great,” said David Burch, Bermuda’s minister of Labour, Home Affairs and Housing, in an e-mailed statement.

Five hurricanes with Category 3 winds of 111 mph have formed in the Atlantic this year, part of a total of 11 named storms with winds of 39 mph or more. The average Atlantic season produces 11 named storms from June 1 through Nov. 30, two of them major hurricanes, according to Dennis Feltgen, a spokesman for the hurricane center.

Bermuda issued a hurricane warning for Igor, which has sustained winds of 100 miles per hour (160 kilometers) and is about 360 miles south of the island, the U.S. center said in its latest advisory. The system was moving at 14 mph, headed northwest.

While Igor weakened from a more powerful Category 3 storm yesterday, the hurricane center said it may regain some of its lost power on the way to Bermuda.

“This storm is one that should be taken extremely seriously,” Mark Guishard, director of Bermuda’s weather service, said in a statement. “Make no mistake, even if the center of this system misses the island, we will experience significant impacts.”


Read On . . .

Hurricane Julia is named the 10th Storm

 More hurricanes are churning out in the Atlantic. According to the following article Hurricane Igor is still a powerful Category 4 storm with an impressive eye seen on satellite video, and the newcomer to the party is Julia. Just upgraded to a hurricane this morning. There is no eye currently present on the satellite, but it does look healthy. There'll be lots more to come
   . . . June

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Hurricane Julia named the 10th storm of the Atlantic Season

Baltimore Weather | Examiner.com:

Two Hurricanes are churning in the Atlantic Ocean today. Hurricane Igor is still a powerful Category 4 storm with an impressive eye seen on satellite video, and the newcomer to the party is Julia. Just upgraded to a hurricane this morning, winds are at 75 mph as it is just pushing east of the Cape Vere Islands off of Africa's west coast. There is no eye currently present on the satellite, but it does look healthy.

Hurricane Julia is moving to the west at 12 mph, with no immediate threat to land. There are warm waters to feed off of, so some strengthening is expected.

Hurricane force winds extend 25 miles out, while tropical storm force winds spread 90 miles away from the center

Read More . . . 

Hurricane Watches in Mexico, Texas For Hermine

According to the article below, Newly formed tropical storm Hermine pushed north in the Gulf of Mexico Monday, strengthening as it headed towards the US-Mexico border area, and threatening storm surges and even mudslides. Hermine was packing sustained winds of 85 kilometers per hour.
   . . . June

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Hermine prompts hurricane watches in Mexico, Texas

Yahoo! News: "MIAMI (AFP)

Newly formed tropical storm Hermine pushed north in the Gulf of Mexico Monday, strengthening as it headed towards the US-Mexico border area, and threatening storm surges and even mudslides, forecasters said.

Hermine, the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, was packing sustained winds of 85 kilometers (50 miles) per hour at 1500 GMT after picking up strength during the day, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

The Mexican government issued a hurricane watch from Rio San Fernando to the mouth of the Rio Grande, which is on the US border. The watch extends as far north as Baffin Bay, Texas, the hurricane center said.

Although Hermine's top winds were below hurricane strength, the Miami-based center said the storm 'could approach hurricane strength prior to landfall.' Tropical storm warnings were in effect on both sides of the border.

Forecasters said the system would dump between four to eight inches (10 to 20 centimeters) of rain on northeastern Mexico and south Texas, with up to 12 inches possible.

"These rainfall amounts may cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides, especially over the higher terrain of northeastern Mexico," the center said.

It warned a storm surge of two to four feet (up to 1.2 meters) was also possible.

 Read More . . .

Tropical Storm Earl Passes Through The Maritimes. Is Gaston Next?

 Tropical Storm Earl has been moving toward the north-northeast at 40 mph, producing sustained tropical force winds over much of the Canadian Maritimes and moving northward while continuing to weaken. Most of the damage was less than anticipated.  Meanwhile,Gaston shows signs of organization. Shower and thunderstorm activity associated with the remnants of Gaston are conducive to redevelopment of the system into a tropical depression at any time.
     . . June

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Tropical Storm Earl rakes Nova Scotia

By Ken Kaye, Sun Sentinel  4:47 p.m. EDT, September 4, 2010

 

Tropical Storm Earl is raking Nova Scotia, with wind increasing on Prince Edward Island.

 

It is about 30 miles south of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph and is moving northeast at 40 mph

A hurricane watch is in effect for Porters Lake to Piont Tupper, with a tropical storm warning in effect for Nova Scotia from Fort Lawrence to Margaretsville; Medway Harbour around the east and north side of Nova Scotia to Tidnish; the eastern portion of Prince Edward Island from Victoria to Lower Darnley; and the Magadalen Islands.

Tropical storm conditions are still spreading over eastern Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island and will spread over a large portion of the Canadian Maritimes later Saturday.

The tropical storm is expected to produce rainfall accumulations of 1 to 3 inches over New Brunstick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island with isolated amounts of 5 inches possible.

Gaston shows signs of organization. Shower and thunderstorm activity associated with the remnants of Gaston are conducive to redevelopment of the system into a tropical depression at any time. There is an 80 percent chance the system could become a tropical cyclone again during the next 48 hours as it moves westward about 10 mph.

Read More

Earl spares S.C., but moves towarrds Maine, Maritimes

Hurricane Earl didn't do as much damage as could have been, but it's not over yet. The storm is expected to continue to spin northward, bringing wind and rain to the northeast, where hurricane and tropical storm watches were in effect from the North Carolina/Virginia border to Maine. After that, the Maritime Provinces are the next to hunker down.

    . . . June

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Earl scoots to the north, spares S.C

Breaking News - TheState.com: "Sept. 03—The worst of Hurricane Earl was still hours away when water and sand began washing over N.C. 12 on Hatteras Island late Thursday afternoon.

It was a foreboding sign as nearly a full night of foul weather approached. Most tourists and many residents of North Carolina's central and northern barrier islands had already fled inland. With the storm's precise path still unclear, those who remained braced for hours of heavy wind, big waves and flooding.

The worst of the storm was expected to be over by about 3 a.m., said Gail Hartfield of the National Weather Service's Raleigh office.

The storm weakened some as it approached North Carolina, but still packed a Category 2 wallop and was expected to hit hardest as it passed off Cape Hatteras with winds of 100 mph or more.

President Obama declared an emergency in North Carolina, which allowed the state to gain federal support for emergency protective measures such as opening shelters, providing aid and the use of the N.C. National Guard, state Highway Patrol and state Department of Transportation resources.

The storm was a Category 3 and about 230 miles offshore when it passed by Horry County between 3 and 5 p.m. Thursday, said Rachel Zouzias, a meteorologist with the weather service.

It brought little rain, no storm surge and minor winds as it passed the area, but weather forecasters did warn that strong surf and an increased risk for rip currents remain today.
In Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., there was low tide at the same time the seas peaked, which should help create less of an impact, Zouzias said. She said there may be minor beach erosion, but she had received no reports by 9:50 p.m. Forecasters weren't expecting many problems in the area.

“No concern for rivers, no concern for rains, minimal impact as far as winds,” said Mike Caropolo, the meteorologist-in-charge with the National Weather Service in Wilmington, N.C. “Large breakers in the surf are likely. Breakers will be 8 to 12 feet south to the Santee River.”

National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read said the storm had turned to the north and its speed had not changed from previous forecasts.

“We're pretty much right down the track we've been anticipating for the last two days,” Read said.

Read more: 

Hurricane watch extended For Hurricane Earl for the U.S coast

There are still some major storm warnings out there and no-one really knows exactly what path Hurricane Earl is going to take. If it turns as expected, the damage will be much less.  But if the track continues towards shore longer than expected it could be major. Keep tuned . . .
   . . . June


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Hurricane Earl close call for the U.S coast Hurricane watch extended warnings tonight 
September 1st, 2010 8:29 am ET National NOAA Headlines | Examiner.com:

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has extended the hurricane watch along the mid-Atlantic coast. Hurricane warnings could be required later today. There is a hurricane watch in effect from Surf City, North Carolina to Parramore Island Virginia. There is a tropical storm watch in effect from Cape Fear, North Carolina to Surf City. Hurricane Earl is located 780 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras North Carolina."

Earl is moving towards the northwest at 16 mph and is expected to stay on that track for the 24 to 36 hours and then Earl should turn more to the north and eventually northeast. Again the computer models have shifted westward and the U.S. is under the gun form this power hurricane. The official track takes Earl very close to the coast from North Carolina to Nova Scotia. Any deviation westward would cause Earl to make landfall. There still is time to make your hurricane preparations. Hurricane Earl is a very large system and even if he stays 100 miles of shore inland residents 100 mile from the coast will experience tropical storm force winds and that can knock out power to many areas for days.


Hurricane Earl has winds of 125 mph making him a category 3 hurricane. Earl is entering an environment not conducive for further strengthening. Hurricane Earl will have to contend with increasing wind shear, dry air and cooler water temperatures. The NHC keep Earl at a consistent 125 mph for the next 36 hours and weakens Earl to a sub-tropical system in 4 days.

Read More . .