A Biblical Event Author: BobRDate:10/09/2024 13:32:30
Florida is facing a worst case scenario. Two weeks ago, the west coast got hit by hurricane Helene. It hit Clearwater pretty hard, and a small town (Dunedin) near and dear to our hearts. People were still digging out, and a few businesses had just been reopened for about a week.
The worst of the damage occurred in the mountains of NC and TN, who are still a long way from getting back to "normal" (or some semblance thereof). Part of the reason for the devastating damage is because of the rain bands that preceded it, saturating the ground. Everyone focuses on the wind speed of hurricanes because that's how they're rated. But it's the water that does the most damage - rain and storm surge.
As mentioned, Florida's west coast was just getting things back in order. There is still standing water in some areas. Now they are facing a critical knockout punch, as heavy rains are already soaking the entire middle part of Florida, with the actual hurricane itself not predicted to come ashore until later tonight.
The storm is one of only 40 hurricanes on record that have escalated to a Category 5 level in the Atlantic, and one of seven hurricanes to have gone from a Category 1 classification to a Category 5 in 24 hours or less.
[...]
The NHC warned that "a large area of destructive storm surge" will occur along parts of Florida's west coast.
“This is an extremely life-threatening situation and residents in those areas should follow advice given by local officials and evacuate immediately if told to do so,” the hurricane center said.
Up to 15 feet of storm surge is possible in some areas.
Meanwhile, portions of the Florida Peninsula and the Florida Keys can expect rainfall of 5 to 10 inches, with localized totals up to 15 inches through Wednesday night. Such rainfall brings “the risk of considerable flash, urban and areal flooding, along with the potential for moderate to major river flooding,” meteorologists said.
8PM EDT: This is nothing short of astronomical. I am at a loss for words to meteorologically describe you the storms small eye and intensity. 897mb pressure with 180 MPH max sustained winds and gusts 200+ MPH. This is now the 4th strongest hurricane ever recorded by pressure on… pic.twitter.com/QFdqFYFI7o
"This hurricane is nearing the mathematical limit of what Earth's atmosphere over this ocean water can produce." That is an incredible take.
Blog regular Mondo lives on the NE coast, so he may escape the worst of it. FOTB (Friends of the Blog) Miles and Michelle live in the middle of the east coast, and will likely get hit with a LOT of rain and high winds. There is a "live cam" on YouTube for Clearwater, at least until it goes down from the winds, etc.
Florida is about to experience a biblical event that some areas may never recover from. Please keep them in your thoughts.