WunderBlog Archive » Category 6™
Category 6 has moved! See the latest from Dr. Jeff Masters and Bob Henson here.North Carolina coastal storm winding up; 93L disorganized
It's tough to tell what tropical disturbance 93L is up to, as the storm has significantly deteriorated overnight. Dominican Republic radar is down, and visible satellite loops show little heavy thunderstorm activity or organization to the cloud pattern. However, pressures at Punta Cana on the eastern tip of the Dominican Republic are the lowest they've been for the week--1006 mb. I expect 93L will regenerate north of the Dominican Republic today and spread heavy rains to that country and Puerto Rico this afternoon and Thursday.
In the Dominican Republic, heavy rain has been limited to the extreme eastern end, near Punta Cana, where satellite estimates indicate up to ten inches of rain has fallen. Rainfall in the capital, Santo Domingo, has been about three inches, according to three personal weather stations there. Additional heavy rains of 2-4 inches are likely today through Thursday in portions of the Dominican Republic.
Haiti has thus far escaped heavy rains from 93L, and I expect only an additional 2-4 inches will there. Heaviest rains in the Turks and Caicos islands and southeastern Bahamas should be in the 2-4 inch range. Western Puerto Rico may receive an additional 2-4 inches, as well.
The forecast
Wind shear remains near 15 knots. The current wind shear forecast from the SHIPS model keeps the shear at 15-25 knots for the remainder of the week. The computer models take 93L northwards to a landfall in New England or Nova Scotia on Saturday or Sunday, and I doubt the storm would hit as anything stronger than a 55 mph tropical storm. The storm is too disorganized at present, and there is too much shear in the forecast to allow 93L to become a hurricane.
Figure 1. Observed precipitation for Puerto Rico from 93L. Image credit: NOAA.
North Carolina coastal storm
An extratropical "Nor'easter" storm is developing off the coast of North Carolina today, and this low has the potential to acquire tropical characteristics and become a subtropical storm by Friday as it moves slowly west-southwest. Cape Hatteras, NC radar shows a modest but expanding area of rain off the coast. The Diamond Shoals buoy near Cape Hatteras reported 12 foot waves and sustained winds of 29 mph at 8 am EDT this morning. Sustained winds of 38 mph were observed there last night at 10 pm EDT. Winds should increase to 40-50 mph along the coast of North Carolina tonight through Thursday as the storm intensifies, and this unnamed storm will affect North Carolina like a weak tropical storm would. Expect tide levels of 3-6 feet above normal along the coast, and rain amounts of 2-3 inches. The storm is currently tapping some relatively modest moisture from the Atlantic, but total precipitable water imagery show a large region of deep tropical moisture associated with 93L is approaching North Carolina. The coastal low should be able to draw in this moisture on Thursday, potentially aiding it in transitioning to a subtropical storm. Wind shear is currently 30 knots over the low, but may fall to 20 knots on Thursday. The increased moisture and lower shear may allow the coastal low to transition to a subtropical storm before it makes landfall Friday morning near the North Carolina/South Carolina border.
Links to follow
Dominican Republic radar
Puerto Rico radar
Cape Hatteras, NC weather
The Hurricane Ike "NEXT TRUCK CHALLENGE" continues
Two wunderground members, presslord and violet312s, have announced that they will match two dollars for every dollar in contributions made to portlight.org. This charity has really made a difference in some of the hard-hit areas of Texas and Louisiana affected by Hurricane Ike neglected by the traditional relief efforts. A quote from Paul Timmons (AKA Presslord), who has helped coordinate this effort:
1.) We have reached a total of $3500 in our Next Truck Challenge....which is enough to fund another truckload of requested supplies to Bridge City and Winnie TX...will leave first of next week...Violet and I will be poorer financially...but richer in the ways that matter...y'all render me speechless...
2.) Patrap is rolling there shortly in a truck so as to arrive at first light....
3.) I don't even wanna talk about the next challenge...
If we contribute heartily to the next challenge, you'll see why Paul does not want to talk about it! A testimonial from a beneficiary of a Portlight aid shipment:
From: gulfcoastDrifter 3:02 PM EDT on September 23, 2008
"I live in Bridge City off of FM 408 and want to say thank you for coming out here to help out."
Figure 2. Portlight delivering supplies to a Winnie-Stowell Red Cross shelter. Apparently the canned cokes (not provided by Portlight) were only for lineman. The residents were only being allowed to drink water. Needless to say, the residents were very happy to see us, although there was some confusion as to whether they could actually get the supplies we delivered. Image credit: Storm Junkie.
Your contributions do make a difference, and you can read more about the effort at at stormjunkie's blog.
I'll have an update this afternoon.
Jeff Masters
In the Dominican Republic, heavy rain has been limited to the extreme eastern end, near Punta Cana, where satellite estimates indicate up to ten inches of rain has fallen. Rainfall in the capital, Santo Domingo, has been about three inches, according to three personal weather stations there. Additional heavy rains of 2-4 inches are likely today through Thursday in portions of the Dominican Republic.
Haiti has thus far escaped heavy rains from 93L, and I expect only an additional 2-4 inches will there. Heaviest rains in the Turks and Caicos islands and southeastern Bahamas should be in the 2-4 inch range. Western Puerto Rico may receive an additional 2-4 inches, as well.
The forecast
Wind shear remains near 15 knots. The current wind shear forecast from the SHIPS model keeps the shear at 15-25 knots for the remainder of the week. The computer models take 93L northwards to a landfall in New England or Nova Scotia on Saturday or Sunday, and I doubt the storm would hit as anything stronger than a 55 mph tropical storm. The storm is too disorganized at present, and there is too much shear in the forecast to allow 93L to become a hurricane.
Figure 1. Observed precipitation for Puerto Rico from 93L. Image credit: NOAA.
North Carolina coastal storm
An extratropical "Nor'easter" storm is developing off the coast of North Carolina today, and this low has the potential to acquire tropical characteristics and become a subtropical storm by Friday as it moves slowly west-southwest. Cape Hatteras, NC radar shows a modest but expanding area of rain off the coast. The Diamond Shoals buoy near Cape Hatteras reported 12 foot waves and sustained winds of 29 mph at 8 am EDT this morning. Sustained winds of 38 mph were observed there last night at 10 pm EDT. Winds should increase to 40-50 mph along the coast of North Carolina tonight through Thursday as the storm intensifies, and this unnamed storm will affect North Carolina like a weak tropical storm would. Expect tide levels of 3-6 feet above normal along the coast, and rain amounts of 2-3 inches. The storm is currently tapping some relatively modest moisture from the Atlantic, but total precipitable water imagery show a large region of deep tropical moisture associated with 93L is approaching North Carolina. The coastal low should be able to draw in this moisture on Thursday, potentially aiding it in transitioning to a subtropical storm. Wind shear is currently 30 knots over the low, but may fall to 20 knots on Thursday. The increased moisture and lower shear may allow the coastal low to transition to a subtropical storm before it makes landfall Friday morning near the North Carolina/South Carolina border.
Links to follow
Dominican Republic radar
Puerto Rico radar
Cape Hatteras, NC weather
The Hurricane Ike "NEXT TRUCK CHALLENGE" continues
Two wunderground members, presslord and violet312s, have announced that they will match two dollars for every dollar in contributions made to portlight.org. This charity has really made a difference in some of the hard-hit areas of Texas and Louisiana affected by Hurricane Ike neglected by the traditional relief efforts. A quote from Paul Timmons (AKA Presslord), who has helped coordinate this effort:
1.) We have reached a total of $3500 in our Next Truck Challenge....which is enough to fund another truckload of requested supplies to Bridge City and Winnie TX...will leave first of next week...Violet and I will be poorer financially...but richer in the ways that matter...y'all render me speechless...
2.) Patrap is rolling there shortly in a truck so as to arrive at first light....
3.) I don't even wanna talk about the next challenge...
If we contribute heartily to the next challenge, you'll see why Paul does not want to talk about it! A testimonial from a beneficiary of a Portlight aid shipment:
From: gulfcoastDrifter 3:02 PM EDT on September 23, 2008
"I live in Bridge City off of FM 408 and want to say thank you for coming out here to help out."
Figure 2. Portlight delivering supplies to a Winnie-Stowell Red Cross shelter. Apparently the canned cokes (not provided by Portlight) were only for lineman. The residents were only being allowed to drink water. Needless to say, the residents were very happy to see us, although there was some confusion as to whether they could actually get the supplies we delivered. Image credit: Storm Junkie.
Your contributions do make a difference, and you can read more about the effort at at stormjunkie's blog.
I'll have an update this afternoon.
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.