Yup, the tropic are awake. Right now she looks to stay to our South and make landfall far to our West. Eh, so who cares about Bonnie?
http://www.goes.noaa.gov/HURRLOOPS/gulfvs.html
NO, Bonnie is not the nice swirl in the center of the Gulf. That's just an upper level Low pressure system. She is the itty bitty BLOB over Miami.
You should. WHY? She's going to be the hot topic on the beach. I promise you'll hear, "so what's the latest on the storm?"
If you don't live, eat, and breathe weather like I do, then http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ is a great place for a morning read with your cup of coffee. While I don't get a rush making bets on landfall, like other's around me, I do like to get a general idea of where they are so I know whether or not I need to make time to people watch at the grocery store. (You DO have a hurricane kit for your house, right?)
How will Bonnie effect us? If she stays on her current track, we stay to her North. Which means we get strong Northeast, East, and then South, and Southwest winds. This whips the surf up. We will be expecting tides 2-4 feet higher than normal. With the increased long period swells, we should see an increase in rip currents. We also do not know what this will bring with the oil. It might churn up stuff that was buried on the beach from June, or bring in stuff that's been floating out to sea. We just don't know. This also puts us on the wet rainier side of the storm, and the side with the increase in waterspouts. So keep your eyes open for all those goodies.
You say to yourself, " Oh well, then the water will be choppy and it still won't be a problem." Nope, problem. If you've never been to the beach during a storm, you're in for a shock. The number of people that come down to the sand to gawk at the swells, the churning sea, and the wind driven sand will stagger the imagination. They can't help it. It's nature's powerhouse in action, and it's awe inspiring. The problem comes with getting too close.
People wander down to the edge of the surf. Don't even get me started on the surfers or the people who leave common sense in the car and go wade in the surf. Two years ago, I can't remember if it was Dennis or Ike, but the WO 12 was actually being undermined by surf. The dune was breached in a couple of spots and water was pouring into the parking lot. There must have been 50 people on the WO as waves crashed to the top step, the support pillars dangling in mid air, and the whole thing shaking with every smack from mother nature. I still remember the woman standing near the top front, watching the waves beat in, while breast feeding. Sigh. I left before we all became the lead story on CNN.
While we don't have the power to order people around, sometimes just a knowledgeable voice of common sense, in an orange vest enough to wake up reasoning in some people.
All we can do is inform and educate, so brush up on your tropical cyclone and hit the beach !!!!
If you aren't currently signed up for this weekend, go on out and sign up. Mix a weekend with a TS and we see increased population on the beach.
To add salt to the wound, the heat index will still be well over 100. Yes, it IS getting old. Water, water, water. The water is eerily calm at the moment, and at the moment the beach report is coming in clear.
So as always, be safe, have fun, share the knowledge.
To add salt to the wound, the heat index will still be well over 100. Yes, it IS getting old. Water, water, water. The water is eerily calm at the moment, and at the moment the beach report is coming in clear.
So as always, be safe, have fun, share the knowledge.
No comments:
Post a Comment