WunderBlog Archive » Category 6™
Category 6 has moved! See the latest from Dr. Jeff Masters and Bob Henson here.Ex-Chantal Unlikely to Develop; Typhoon Soulik Pounding Taiwan
The remains of Tropical Storm Chantal are bringing heavy rains and gusty winds to the Northwest Bahama Islands today, as the storm slides northwards at 10 mph. However, the storm is poorly organized with only a modest amount of heavy thunderstorm activity, and today's hurricane hunter mission into ex-Chantal has been cancelled. Before it dissipated on Wednesday, Chantal brought heavy rains to Haiti and the Dominican Republic, with satellite estimates of 4 - 8 inches of rainfall in Central Haiti and the central and south coastal Dominican Republic. One drowning death in the Dominican Republic is being blamed on the storm.
Figure 1. Satellite image of Chantal's remains over the Bahamas, taken at 9 am EDT Friday, July 12, 2013. Note also the clouds at the upper left of the image, associated with a stalled-out cold front over coastal South Carolina. Image credit: NASA/GSFC.
Forecast for Chantal's remains
The remains of Chantal will spread northwards into the offshore waters of South Carolina and North Carolina on Saturday and Sunday, and will contribute moisture to a stalled front expected to bring 2 - 3" of rain to the coast. Moderate wind shear of 10 - 20 knots is expected to affect the storm through Saturday, so some re-organization is possible. However, given its current disorganized state, it is unlikely that ex-Chantal will become a tropical depression or tropical storm again. In their 8 am EDT Friday Tropical Weather Outlook, NHC gave Chantal's remains a 10% chance of development into a tropical depression or tropical storm by Sunday. None of the reliable computer models are predicting development of Chantal's remains, or of anything else in the Atlantic over the next seven days.
Figure 2. Radar image of Typhoon Soulik approaching Taiwan, taken at 9 pm local time on July 12, 2013. Image credit: Central Weather Bureau, Taiwan.
Typhoon Soulik closes in on Taiwan
Heavy rains are lashing Taiwan as Typhoon Soulik, a Category 2 storm with 105 mph winds in the Western Pacific, approaches landfall. At 9 pm local time on Friday, Ishigakijima, Japan, on an island in the northern eyewall of Soulik, recorded sustained 10-minute winds of 80 mph. Soulik is expected to hit the northern end of Taiwan on Friday near 8 pm EDT as a Category 2 storm. Soulik will then make landfall in China near Fuzhou on Saturday at around 6 am EDT, most likely as a Category 1 typhoon. Soulik became the most powerful tropical cyclone of 2013 on Wednesday, when it peaked at Category 4 strength with 145 mph winds.
Taiwan's typhoon history
Taiwan was hit by two typhoons in 2012, Typhoon Tembin (eight killed, $8 million in damage) and Typhoon Saola (six killed, $27 million in damage.) Almost 70 inches fell in some areas of Taiwan, ranking Saola within the top five wettest cyclones to ever hit the island. According to EMDAT, the most expensive typhoon in Taiwan's history was 2009's Typhoon Morakot ($2.3 billion in damage.) The Category 1 storm dumped the most rain by a typhoon ever recorded in Taiwan, up to 2,777 mm (109.3".) The devastating flooding that resulted killed 630 people, making it the 4th deadliest typhoon in Taiwanese history. The deadliest typhoon in Taiwan's history was Category 3 Typhoon Ellen of 1959, which dumped 25 inches (640 mm) of rain in one day (August 7) on the mountains and western plains, triggering catastrophic flooding that killed 1046 people.
Video 1. Demo of the new WunderMap app.
Wunderground releases its WunderMap application for Android tablets and iPad
Weather Underground is pleased to announce the release of its new WunderMap® application for both Android and iOS tablets. This new touch screen version of WunderMap provides access to Weather Underground's unique community of neighborhood weather stations and webcams, as well as animated radar and satellite, hurricane tracking tools, wildfire layers, and much more.
With the WunderMap app, users can tap into one of the 30,000+ personal weather stations to see hyper-local weather conditions and forecasts, track a storm in real-time, and customize a variety of weather layers to access the most relevant weather information. WunderMap® is a fully interactive experience that allows users to customize the weather data plotted on the Google Map interface--making it relevant for both the savvy storm tracker or the casual weather user on the go.
WunderMap and the touch-screen device are a perfect match. Being able to swipe across the world and zoom in to see our hyper-local weather within such an interactive user interface makes WunderMap a unique way to access weather information. Other features of the app include:
- Current conditions, extended forecasts, and weather graphs for every location
- Special weather statements and advisories
- Customizable location presets and favorites
- Enhanced animation options
- Advanced search functionality
- New map interface options
- Free to download in the Google Play or iTunes Store
-Ad-free membership upgrade available for $1.99
You can download the app at www.wundermap.com.
Jeff Masters
Figure 1. Satellite image of Chantal's remains over the Bahamas, taken at 9 am EDT Friday, July 12, 2013. Note also the clouds at the upper left of the image, associated with a stalled-out cold front over coastal South Carolina. Image credit: NASA/GSFC.
Forecast for Chantal's remains
The remains of Chantal will spread northwards into the offshore waters of South Carolina and North Carolina on Saturday and Sunday, and will contribute moisture to a stalled front expected to bring 2 - 3" of rain to the coast. Moderate wind shear of 10 - 20 knots is expected to affect the storm through Saturday, so some re-organization is possible. However, given its current disorganized state, it is unlikely that ex-Chantal will become a tropical depression or tropical storm again. In their 8 am EDT Friday Tropical Weather Outlook, NHC gave Chantal's remains a 10% chance of development into a tropical depression or tropical storm by Sunday. None of the reliable computer models are predicting development of Chantal's remains, or of anything else in the Atlantic over the next seven days.
Figure 2. Radar image of Typhoon Soulik approaching Taiwan, taken at 9 pm local time on July 12, 2013. Image credit: Central Weather Bureau, Taiwan.
Typhoon Soulik closes in on Taiwan
Heavy rains are lashing Taiwan as Typhoon Soulik, a Category 2 storm with 105 mph winds in the Western Pacific, approaches landfall. At 9 pm local time on Friday, Ishigakijima, Japan, on an island in the northern eyewall of Soulik, recorded sustained 10-minute winds of 80 mph. Soulik is expected to hit the northern end of Taiwan on Friday near 8 pm EDT as a Category 2 storm. Soulik will then make landfall in China near Fuzhou on Saturday at around 6 am EDT, most likely as a Category 1 typhoon. Soulik became the most powerful tropical cyclone of 2013 on Wednesday, when it peaked at Category 4 strength with 145 mph winds.
Taiwan's typhoon history
Taiwan was hit by two typhoons in 2012, Typhoon Tembin (eight killed, $8 million in damage) and Typhoon Saola (six killed, $27 million in damage.) Almost 70 inches fell in some areas of Taiwan, ranking Saola within the top five wettest cyclones to ever hit the island. According to EMDAT, the most expensive typhoon in Taiwan's history was 2009's Typhoon Morakot ($2.3 billion in damage.) The Category 1 storm dumped the most rain by a typhoon ever recorded in Taiwan, up to 2,777 mm (109.3".) The devastating flooding that resulted killed 630 people, making it the 4th deadliest typhoon in Taiwanese history. The deadliest typhoon in Taiwan's history was Category 3 Typhoon Ellen of 1959, which dumped 25 inches (640 mm) of rain in one day (August 7) on the mountains and western plains, triggering catastrophic flooding that killed 1046 people.
Video 1. Demo of the new WunderMap app.
Wunderground releases its WunderMap application for Android tablets and iPad
Weather Underground is pleased to announce the release of its new WunderMap® application for both Android and iOS tablets. This new touch screen version of WunderMap provides access to Weather Underground's unique community of neighborhood weather stations and webcams, as well as animated radar and satellite, hurricane tracking tools, wildfire layers, and much more.
With the WunderMap app, users can tap into one of the 30,000+ personal weather stations to see hyper-local weather conditions and forecasts, track a storm in real-time, and customize a variety of weather layers to access the most relevant weather information. WunderMap® is a fully interactive experience that allows users to customize the weather data plotted on the Google Map interface--making it relevant for both the savvy storm tracker or the casual weather user on the go.
WunderMap and the touch-screen device are a perfect match. Being able to swipe across the world and zoom in to see our hyper-local weather within such an interactive user interface makes WunderMap a unique way to access weather information. Other features of the app include:
- Current conditions, extended forecasts, and weather graphs for every location
- Special weather statements and advisories
- Customizable location presets and favorites
- Enhanced animation options
- Advanced search functionality
- New map interface options
- Free to download in the Google Play or iTunes Store
-Ad-free membership upgrade available for $1.99
You can download the app at www.wundermap.com.
Jeff Masters
The views of the author are his/her own and do not necessarily represent the position of The Weather Company or its parent, IBM.