Tropical Action Is The Story

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THUMBS UP: Yesterday morning I had a rant here about the media and politician hypesters who told us that Gustav was the “storm of the century”, and was going to be the “worst storm to ever hit the U.S. coast” (among others). I am convinced many reporters were almost ready to cry last night since they could not find broken levees, and mass destruction. They just couldn’t find the story they were seemingly looking for. But, forget the rants, lets give a big thumbs up:

*Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal: This guy seemed well informed, made some great decisions, and kept a level head through the whole ordeal. Evacuation orders were timely, and proper.

*National Hurricane Center: What a great forecast. Their track was right on the money, and they did not waver when the models did the hokey pokey. They never got hung up in the hyperbole and did an excellent job.

THE ALABAMA WEATHER STORY: Quite frankly, our weather looks very benign through the weekend. Sure, there could be a few isolated showers on a day or two, but the weather looks generally dry with Gustav to the west, and Hanna to the east. We will be on the dry side of Hanna.

TROPICAL PARADE: Got em lined up all the way to Africa this morning. Lets take them from west to east….

GUSTAV: Now a tropical depression, this thing will hang around Louisiana/Arkansas in coming days and will continue to bring the risk of inland flooding and isolated tornadoes. I see the NWS in Jackson is still busy issuing tornado warnings this morning. All of the deep moisture will remain west of Alabama.

HANNA: This one is still expected to strike the South Atlantic coast Friday as a category two hurricane. The latest NHC track brings Hanna to near Charleston, SC, with an inland path toward the Northeast U.S. on Saturday. Remember, the worst weather will be to the right (north) of the landfall center… so no rain for Alabama, and most likely, no rain for Atlanta and much of Georgia. All of the action will be from the Carolinas northward; it will be very wet and windy in New York City and Boston by the weekend. Keep in mind there is some chance Hanna could be a major hurricane at the time of landfall.

IKE: This tropical storm in the Central Atlantic is forecast to be a hurricane near the Southeast Bahamas this weekend. Seems more and more like this won’t be recurving, meaning it could enter the Gulf of Mexico, or be a problem for Florida or the South Atlantic coast.

TD10: This one, south of the Cape Verde Islands in the far eastern Atlantic, is expected to become Tropical Storm Josephine in coming days… too early to determine if this will recurve, or keep chugging along toward the Caribbean, the Gulf, or the U.S. coast.

The current MJO pulse responsible for the tropical action should diminish by mid-month…

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Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 3:30 this afternoon… enjoy the day!

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