Hurricane Irene barrels toward Puerto Rico, Possibly U.S.

[lonetraveler]

The latest projected path of Irene takes it over eastern North Carolina as a major hurricane this weekend, posing a severe threat to lives and property.


Given the setup in the atmosphere as well as where hurricanes have traveled from similar starting points, negotiating the Antilles, Irene may take a path similar to or east of Hurricane Bertha in 1996.


The difference between Bertha and Irene is that Bertha was a Category 2 hurricane at landfall. Irene should come onshore over the Carolinas as a strong Category 3 hurricane.


Irene would then become the strongest hurricane to strike the Carolinas since Fran in 1996.


Much more, including a forecast eye map, at the link:


http://www.accuweather.com/blogs/news/story/54098/hurricane-irene-to-slam-into-t.asp

I remember Bertha very well and a few short weeks later came Fran a category 3 causing massive damage. I live on the east coast and did my hurricane shopping today however, I also swore that I would never again stay during a category 3 again after experiencing Fran so I'm watching very, very closely.

 

[lonetraveler]

Hi lonetraveler! You must have ESP my friend as I was wondering about you too! I am glad you are making preparations. I am making preliminary preps so that when it's time, I can leave before 'they' close the bridge. I'll be taking the 'I' out of iRene, lol! I stayed in N Wilmington during Fran and that neighborhood was torn up so if it's over a CAT2 I might just hightail it down to Bama to visit my mom!

That ole Cape Fear River mouth seems to suck these storms right up, doesn't it?.....Bertha, Fran, Bonnie, Dennis, Floyd, Ophelia, etc.

I will check in too....god willing and the creek don't rise!

You and everyone please stay safe.

wm

Yep, Irene is a very large storm and the high rise bridges are closed as soon as the winds reach 50 mph. If Irene visits I hope that the Interstate is opened incoming and outgoing lanes for the evacuation this time. Last major hurricane only the west bound lanes were open, zero traffic on interstate going east bound............should have used east and west lanes except for emergency lane for a faster evacuation.

 

[CN2Souls]

The 11AM advisory is in.

Irene is at 20.5N 71.0W moving 12 mph; 100 mph winds; pressure is 980 mb

Ok - my position is 25.0N 80.0W (Ft. Lauderdale)

This is what ticks me off with the Hurricane Center and "Big Brother". They don't want to "panic" the sheeple so they just blow it off and keep saying - "its gonna turn, its gonna turn - you watch - its gonna turn". Ok - but WHAT IF IT DOESN'T?

11AM advisory says tropical storm force winds extend out from the center 205 miles! That means this storm is approx 400 miles wide. And its gonna pass between us and the Bahamas, but don't worry, we won't feel a thing? GMAB

I hate getting out in those squalls lashing stuff down, bringing stuff in, etc. That horizontal rain hurts.

I've actually seen them shift the radar west so as "not to panic" the area. I would rather know - thank you.

Such a waiting game here. Can't wait to see this thing on our local radar. They also said they are starting to see an eye - and can see an eyewall.

Oh but BTW - the weather here today is absolutely gorgeous - it always is right before a storm.

Ok - back to waiting for the 2 o'clock.

Thank you Wise,

Everyone remember Charlie, Everyone was expecting it to go and hit the panhandle of Florida and then it made a hard right turn and slammed into Naples, Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte.

And no one was prepared because they were told 100% it was not going to hit us...

We are still fixing the damage.

 

[CN2Souls]

http://www.weather.com/maps/news/atlstorm9/spec_floater3_large.html

I don't know,

it sure looks like it could hit Florida....

:gasp:

 

[waltzingmatilda]

I am anxiously awaiting for Irene to make that eastern turn. The official track this am shows a more eastern track than yesterday which makes me feel a little bit better but I'm not letting my guard down yet!

CN2Souls, I completely understand what you mean. These storms are so unpredictable and don't always follow the forecast track. Hugo was forcast to turn north and head up the coast but slammed straight into Charleston instead!

Irene being compared to Bertha frightens me. Bertha took down 33 trees in my yard. We had not even finished cleaning up that mess when Fran took off my roof several weeks later!

Keep your guard up and stay safe everyone!

wm

 

[waltzingmatilda]

I wanted to share this link with everyone. It is hurricane history for 1996 when Bertha and Fran hit the Carolina coast. Also, type in 1999 on the right side and there was a Hurricane Irene in that year. Check out the track of that Irene! She crossed over south FL from the west then went up the east coast and made another landfall in NC!

http://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/at1996.asp

Does anyone in FL recall the year in which Charlie made landfall?

wm

 

[Peliman]

Most fickle tracking I've seen the NHC do in years, it's got to be giving them trouble predicting. I am in western NC at the moment and know a cold front has been pushing southeast at the time. It's 59F at the moment.

It's all making me look at higher resolution imagery and for those of you with interest might check out this satellite 5 day time lapse motion of tracking Irene. You can see the cold front pushing east over the SE coast.

So what's it all mean, I'm not sure either.

GOES Satellite Tracks Hurricane Irene
Hurricane Irene's evolution from tropical wave to Category 1 storm is shown here in time-lapse imagery from the GOES-East satellite starting on August 19th and ending at 1245z on August 23, 2011.

http://www.nnvl.noaa.gov/MediaDetail.php?MediaID=807&MediaTypeID=2

 

[daisy7]

I wanted to share this link with everyone. It is hurricane history for 1996 when Bertha and Fran hit the Carolina coast. Also, type in 1999 on the right side and there was a Hurricane Irene in that year. Check out the track of that Irene! She crossed over south FL from the west then went up the east coast and made another landfall in NC!

http://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/at1996.asp

Does anyone in FL recall the year in which Charlie made landfall?

wm

2004 -- that was one of the worst years for hurricanes in Florida. Charley, Frances, Ivan and maybe a few tropical storms, too.

 

[Wise Old Owl]

http://www.weather.com/maps/news/atlstorm9/spec_floater3_large.html

I don't know,

it sure looks like it could hit Florida....

:gasp:

They put up "coastal waters warnings" last night here. No land warnings - just don't take your boat out the port. GMAB. I live one mile from Port Everglades. One mile. That don't make a hill of beans with a storm that is 300 miles wide.

I'm a nervous wreck today. Its gonna turn, its gonna turn - you watch - its gonna turn - have faith. Well, ok - just when its gonna turn is the question. Now that its a CAT 3 - well she is pretty formidable. Just who's gonna take the heat IF she doesn't turn and comes right at us?

We'll just stay in this holding pattern for today - watching that radar!

 

[Dark Knight]

Could a mod please change the title of the thread to Hurricane Irene now that it's been upgraded? Thanks!

And I agree about pets, make sure you take enough supplies for your pets and have plans for them in case hotels don't take them.

 

[Mandy113]

My family is supposed to travel to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on Saturday. We've reserved a beach front house. My husband is ready to cancel now. My adult son just wants to start driving & hope we get there. In the midwest, our experience is with tornados not hurricanes.

Any advice from any one residing in that area would be greatly appreciated. All I know is what I've seen on the news and I haven't seen much about SC, only NC.

TIA

 

[Snick1946]

From what I see today, the path may take it over Long Island and into New England. We spent a great vacation in Newport RI last month and they are bracing for a hit maybe by early Monday. Could be a repeat of the 1938 hurricane but back then they didn't have radar and 24/7 news TV, over 800 died in that one.

 

[Lera213]

Here is an interactive map of the models. Scrolling down you can see the previous models too. You can click on many or one at a time. The GFDL model is usually the one that meteorologist respect the most but they also know that it is still not a perfect indicator.

http://weather.myfoxtampabay.com/maps/WTVT/custom/kml/09-googlemaps.html

 

[Lera213]

My family is supposed to travel to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on Saturday. We've reserved a beach front house. My husband is ready to cancel now. My adult son just wants to start driving & hope we get there. In the midwest, our experience is with tornados not hurricanes.

Any advice from any one residing in that area would be greatly appreciated. All I know is what I've seen on the news and I haven't seen much about SC, only NC.

TIA

If it stays on the the path they are projecting then I would guess that MB will get maybe 40 to 60 mph winds and rain. It will not be a roof pulling off type of deal. Unsecured lawn furniture and stuff can cause some damage. Just my opinion.

 

[Misfitdolly]

From what I see today, the path may take it over Long Island and into New England. We spent a great vacation in Newport RI last month and they are bracing for a hit maybe by early Monday. Could be a repeat of the 1938 hurricane but back then they didn't have radar and 24/7 news TV, over 800 died in that one.

I hope you had fun here! This is where I live. I hope it isn't a repeat of the 38 hurricane.

 

[Snick1946]

I hope you had fun here! This is where I live. I hope it isn't a repeat of the 38 hurricane.

We had a lot of fun. Newport turned out to be not as exclusive as I thought it was, a very nice family sort of place. We loved Second Beach and spent a lot of time down there. Discovered Anthony's seafood cafe and wound up eating there a lot. Hope you all come through ok!

 

[Peliman]

My family is supposed to travel to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on Saturday. We've reserved a beach front house. My husband is ready to cancel now. My adult son just wants to start driving & hope we get there. In the midwest, our experience is with tornados not hurricanes.

Any advice from any one residing in that area would be greatly appreciated. All I know is what I've seen on the news and I haven't seen much about SC, only NC.

TIA

Well one thing to know is just because the storm is off shore the seas will be rough and stirred up by the storm. Riptide currentsare more likely and people swimming in the ocean should be aware of riptide conditions which can carry someone toward the ocean. Here's a link describing riptide. If you go, have fun. I'd be calling the hotel for information before you go.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/1289281

 

[elmomom]

My family is supposed to travel to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on Saturday. We've reserved a beach front house. My husband is ready to cancel now. My adult son just wants to start driving & hope we get there. In the midwest, our experience is with tornados not hurricanes.

Any advice from any one residing in that area would be greatly appreciated. All I know is what I've seen on the news and I haven't seen much about SC, only NC.

TIA

I am assuming that your rental is for the week. I would call your rental agency and arrange to miss Saturday and to pick up the keys on Sunday instead. And just delay your travel plans by a day. By then it will be all over except the clean-up, and in general, those beach front houses have withstood plenty.

 

[Misfitdolly]

We had a lot of fun. Newport turned out to be not as exclusive as I thought it was, a very nice family sort of place. We loved Second Beach and spent a lot of time down there. Discovered Anthony's seafood cafe and wound up eating there a lot. Hope you all come through ok!

Second beach is pretty much where I grew up. My mom is a beach bum. Anthony's is a favorite of my husband's. Thank you!

 

[raeann]

As someone who has spent much time in the MB area.....I would just delay your arrival as advised above, but you could go ahead and start your drive as planned. There are several interesting places you could stop along the way and spend a night and day visiting depending on your route....Memphis, Nashville, etc. Just to make you feel more at home, though, beware that the outflow storms often do contain tornados! Friends of ours moved their boat inland to protect it from Hugo years ago and parked it in a shed an hour inland from the coast..... which was then flattened by a tornado that spun off of the storm!