TromboneChat

I think that Hurricane Irma probably needs its own topic now. Latest news I have heard is that 90 per cent of the buildings on the island of Barbuda have been destroyed. That is a lot of destruction.

President Trump, whose waterfront Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, could take a direct hit from the storm, has already approved emergency declarations for Florida, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, mobilising federal disaster relief efforts.

And there could be more to come with Hurricane Jose, in the open Atlantic, about 1,610 kilometres east of the Caribbean's Lesser Antilles islands, which could also eventually threaten the US mainland.

Harvey... Irma... Jose...

How many more letters are there in this alphabet?!?

FYI... There are no hurricanes "Donald" but there was a tropical storm "Don" this year.  The "Don" name will return in 2023.

From NYT

Quote‘Barbuda is literally rubble,’ but Antigua is spared.

Early on Wednesday, Prime Minister Gaston Browne of Antigua and Barbuda said his nation had been spared the worst of the hurricane, declaring in a statement, “The essential point is that our main infrastructure has stood up and our country can resume normal life within hours.” He went so far as to add, “I dare to say that no other country in the Caribbean would have been as well prepared as we were.”

This turned out to be stunningly inaccurate: While the damage in Antigua was not as severe as expected, Mr. Browne announced in the afternoon that 95 percent of all structures on its sister island, Barbuda, had been damaged or destroyed, rendering the island “barely habitable.” A telecommunications tower was broken in two. At least one person, an infant, was killed.

Barbuda, home to about 1,600 people (3 percent of the country’s population), “is literally rubble,” the prime minister told ABS TV/Radio Antigua.

There's also Katia, which is headed to Veracruz Mexico.  Probably cross Mexico and become a Pacific storm.  Will it get a new name if it does?

I said in the other thread: this is a great time for President Trump to vacation and golf in Mar-A-Lago

It'll be Katia II: Electric Boogaloo

A few friends of mine were last trapped inside a hotel on St. Martin from what I know. Haven't heard from them in over 12 hours now. Hoping for good news soon.

I had never even heard of Barbuda until yesterday. Prayers to those unfortunates on that small island. We're really hoping this storm does the veer to the right it looks like it's trying to.

FYI:

https://www.windy.com/?26.352,-61.084,4

Current track has it making landfall on the Georgia coast and heding north northwest.  Watch out, tsmart!

Quote from: badger on Yesterday at 08:26 AMFYI:

https://www.windy.com/?26.352,-61.084,4


What's really striking about that map is that down by Antarctica they have hurricane strength winds... and there's no storm. It's just really windy!

From time to time, there has been [not terribly serious] talk of the Turks and Caicos becoming a Canadian province. A Canadian Caribbean getaway.

I see these small islands were directly in Irma's path. By the time Irma blows itself out, the T&C might be piled up on the Nova Scotia shore.

Today's forecast (for wind) starting at 3:00 pm (by the hour):

192 km/h
203 km/h
204 km/h
158 km/h
97 km/h

Definitely not beach weather.

Two 500-year storms back-to-back.

Can we talk about Climate Change in this thread?

No.  It's North Korea's nuclear tests

Quote from: Russ White on Yesterday at 04:50 AMI had never even heard of Barbuda until yesterday. Prayers to those unfortunates on that small island. We're really hoping this storm does the veer to the right it looks like it's trying to.

I've heard of Pete Barbuti though.....

hehe



Eric

Hurricanes are a deep state plot - I don't believe that hurricanes exist.  If Rethuglicans don't believe in climate change then I don't believe in hurricanes.  It's all a ruse to siphon off tax dollars from decent northerners.

Quote from: sowilson on Yesterday at 01:45 PMHurricanes are a deep state plot - I don't believe that hurricanes exist.  If Rethuglicans don't believe in climate change then I don't believe in hurricanes.  It's all a ruse to siphon off tax dollars from decent northerners.

And remember, those same people came up pretty stingy when Superstorm (it was after Hurricane season) Sandy nailed the North.

Actually, since Drumpf has been so incompetent and hasn't gotten around to appointing a lot of the people who should be running the agencies involved, it is the Deep State burueaucrats he hates so much that are doing such a competent and heroic job managing the aftermath and lead-ups to these natural crises.

On the news last night we had a reporter live from the Dominican Republic and, since the eye of the hurricane did not directly hit Puerto Rico as feared but passed to the north, the battering was not so severe as expected. However, it was bad enough to cause high winds and heavy rains, three people were killed, and around two-thirds of the population lost their electricity.

Irma then moved west-north-west off the northern coast of the Dominican Republic, heading slightly north of Haiti. Impoverished Haiti has been particularly vulnerable to hurricanes in the past and the United Nations Children's Fund has warned that millions of children could be at risk in the two countries, which share the island of Hispaniola. I have been to Haiti and it is a beautiful island, but so sad to see the living conditions of so many people.

The hurricane then moved on Cuba, where they began evacuating many of the 51,000 tourists visiting the island, particularly some 36,000 people at resorts on the picturesque northern coast, most of them Canadians.

According to the NHC, Irma will likely hit Florida as a very powerful category four system on Sunday, with storm surges and flooding beginning within the next 48 hours. Trump has said, "To the people of Florida, we just want you to protect yourselves, be very very vigilant and careful."

Quote from: Russ White on Yesterday at 03:06 PMActually, since Drumpf has been so incompetent and hasn't gotten around to appointing a lot of the people who should be running the agencies involved, it is the Deep State burueaucrats he hates so much that are doing such a competent and heroic job managing the aftermath and lead-ups to these natural crises.
Sure Russ. Looks like He handled Texas well. No complaints there. Funds are on their way and he donated 1,000,000.
And Gov Scott(R) is on it too. As is Gov Abott(R).

Quote from: Russ White on Yesterday at 03:06 PMActually, since Drumpf has been so incompetent and hasn't gotten around to appointing a lot of the people who should be running the agencies involved, it is the Deep State burueaucrats he hates so much that are doing such a competent and heroic job managing the aftermath and lead-ups to these natural crises.

This is not a PP thread. Take 'Your Bilge' to PP. 

 Is it easier to believe that God is punishing the United States than it is to believe in climate change?

Quote from: badger on Yesterday at 03:49 PMThis is not a PP thread. Take 'Your Bilge' to PP. 

Touche', my bad.

As if three hurricanes are not bad enough, now A magnitude-8 earthquake has struck off the southern coast of Mexico, shaking buildings in the capital city. Its epicentre was 123 kilometres south-west of the town of Pijijiapan, at a depth of 33 kilometres.

And now the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said widespread and hazardous tsunami waves were forecast for the region.

Something strange is going on in this world with strange weather, hurricanes and earthquakes not being confined to this Central America/Caribbean area.

Interesting History:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuestra_Se%C3%B1ora_de_Atocha

Meanwhile in large surface-area, balloon-like, celebrity news...

Limbaugh Leaves Palm Beach Home After Downplaying Hurricane Irma

QuoteConservative broadcaster Rush Limbaugh seems to have abandoned his plans to ride out Hurricane Irma at his Palm Beach home, where he records his radio show, after originally downplaying the risk of the storm as the product of a giant conspiracy.
QuoteOn Tuesday, Limbaugh said that he wasn’t a meteorologist, but rather the “go-to-guy” in his circles for hurricane advice. He painted the storm’s early forecasts as a grand conspiracy between local retailers and media, meteorologists and public officials hungry to sell the public on the reality of climate change.

“Because you have people in all of these government areas who believe man is causing climate change, and they’re hell-bent on proving it, they’re hell-bent on demonstrating it, they’re hell-bent on persuading people of it,” he said of the latter group.
I'm curious to know who is in that "circle" that calls Rush Limbaugh for hurricane updates.

Irma and Rush. That would be two big bags of hot air.

Quote from: Ellrod on Yesterday at 12:27 PMIrma and Rush. That would be two big bags of hot air.
More politics?

Quote from: ronkny on Yesterday at 01:19 PMMore politics?
.

Lush Rimbaugh isn't politics, he is really horrible entertainment radio

Quote from: Russ White on Yesterday at 02:04 PM.

Lush Rimbaugh isn't politics, he is really horrible entertainment radio
Well that's all he talks about on his show, politics.
And he's quite entertaining.

Quote from: ronkny on Yesterday at 01:19 PMMore politics?

I am unaware that Irma has run for or has been elected to political office.

Rush on the other hand, well, wouldn't you classify him as "fake news"?

Quote from: ronkny on Yesterday at 02:37 PMWell that's all he talks about on his show, politics.
And he's quite entertaining.

He's entertaining like Rodney Dangerfield was funny.  You really gotta go for his style.  I don't.

Rush has said he is just an "entertainer" on numerous occasions.

Typically, after the dishonesty of something he has said has been exposed.

That makes it all OK.

I wonder if we're going to find out some people didn't evacuate in time because Rush told them it was all a hoax. Probably not, because they won't be alive to tell us.

Unfortunately it does look as though Hurricane Irma will "devastate" part of the United States, when it bears down on Florida. It is not surprising to see the long lines of traffic with people evacuating themselves from the Florida Peninsula.

The trio of hurricanes - Irma, Katia and Jose - is baffling weather scientists but warmer sea surface temperatures, a virtually non-existent El Nino and a lack of storm slowing high altitude winds has led to the predicted increase in hurricanes.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-08/irma-katia-and-jose-hurricane-trio-baffles-scientists/8884834

In the many articles I have read there does seem to be agreement that global warming is the major cause of such weather events.

Quote from: robcat2075 on Yesterday at 12:19 PMMeanwhile in large surface-area, balloon-like, celebrity news...

Limbaugh Leaves Palm Beach Home After Downplaying Hurricane Irma

I'm curious to know who is in that "circle" that calls Rush Limbaugh for hurricane updates.

I guess Rush is 'hell bent' on saving his fat ignorant ***

Quote from: ronkny on Sep 07, 2017, 03:24PM Sure Russ. Looks like He handled Texas well. No complaints there.....


Wow, I had no idea you were down here for an update. 

Quote from: slide advantage on Yesterday at 04:22 PMWow, I had no idea you were down here for an update. 
Sorry. Forgot to check in with you. 

Latest track seems to have Irma going up the West Coast of Florida and stalling over Tennessee.

Good luck to our members in Tampa-St. Pete and even the Panhandle!  Looks like Tallahassee and Athens GA are in for some punishment, too.

Do they play football in hurricanes?

How do we know that Irma will knot go farther West into the Gulf?

Quote from: BGuttman on Today at 08:05 AMLatest track seems to have Irma going up the West Coast of Florida and stalling over Tennessee.
 
Good luck to our members in Tampa-St. Pete and even the Panhandle!  Looks like Tallahassee and Athens GA are in for some punishment, too.
 
Do they play football in hurricanes?
We're gettin' the football done today, but I doubt anyone's going to miss any practice this week.
 
Projections have dropped down to 30mph-40mph winds by the time Irma runs over us--nothing more than a moderately strong thunderstorm. Sustained winds at those speeds albeit, but no one seems terribly worried around here. A lot of people are evacuating to this area. Land mass kills hurricanes pretty quickly. We've seen this pattern over and over again. We're keeping an eye on the Irma news of course though--Harvey was a pretty damn strong demonstration of how anomalies can go.

Harvey was (if you will pardon the pun) a perfect storm.  It parked over Houston with a lot of it over water so it acted as a big water pump putting more and more water on the ground.  When Irma parks over Tennessee it will have a lot less storm over water and will just dump whatever rain is already stored up.  Still a lot of rain, but nowhere near as bad as Harvey.

For flight fans here is a first-person account of taking a weather plane through the eye of a hurricane

Cyberflight into the Eye of a Hurricane

Man, I'd need a world class barf bag to take one of those rides.  Talk about flying through turbulence!

I'm going to guess the first person to prove you could fly a plane through that didn't do it on purpose. 

Quote from: robcat2075 on Today at 01:43 PMI'm going to guess the first person to prove you could fly a plane through that didn't do it on purpose. 



They've been doing this as a way to track hurricanes as long as I've been around.  Imagine flying through a hurricane in something akin to a B-24.  That's what the early ones looked like.

That's one of the toughest planes in existence. I'd feel more than comfortable in that plane.

Excellent workhorse:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a26156/c-130-badass-plane/

One stout platform there and also the base for ‘Spooky’:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cddlo-jzAI4

Sure, you know what it's built to take, but until you go through a hurricane you don't know what it's going to take.

Let's not forget our other friends:

http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/09/08/mariel-hemingway-to-manager-at-ernest-hemingway-home-take-the-cats-and-go/

This is an old story, but let's hope they are safe with today.

Quote from: robcat2075 on Yesterday at 05:09 PMSure, you know what it's built to take, but until you go through a hurricane you don't know what it's going to take.

Already proven!

Quote from: badger on Yesterday at 05:52 PMAlready proven!

How? Before anyone ever went through a hurricane. If you haven't been through a hurricane yet, how do you know what's in a hurricane?