Posted on 09/17/2003 8:14:30 PM PDT by My Favorite Headache
Hurricane Isabel Advisory Number 48
Statement as of 11:00 PM EDT on September 17, 2003
...Outer bands of Hurricane Isabel moving onshore...weather should gradually worsen...
A Hurricane Warning remains in effect from Cape Fear North Carolina to Chincoteague Virginia...including Pamlico and Albemarle sounds...and the Chesapeake Bay south of Smith Point. A Hurricane Warning means that hurricane conditions are expected within the warning area...generally within 24 hours.
All preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion in the Hurricane Warning area.
A Tropical Storm Warning remains in effect south of Cape Fear to South Santee River South Carolina...and north of Chincoteague to Sandy Hook New Jersey...including Delaware Bay. A Tropical Storm Warning also remains in effect for the Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point northward...and for the tidal Potomac.
At 11 PM EDT...0300z...the center of Hurricane Isabel was located by an Air Force reconnaissance aircraft near latitude 31.9 north... longitude 73.9 west or about 250 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras North Carolina.
Isabel is moving toward the north-northwest near 13 mph. A turn to the northwest with an increase in forward speed is expected prior to landfall. On the forecast track...the center of Isabel is expected to make landfall in eastern North Carolina during the day Thursday. However...conditions will deteriorate over a large area well before the center reaches the coast. Tropical storm conditions are already spreading across the coastline.
Maximum sustained winds are near 105 mph...with higher gusts. A slight increase in strength is possible prior to landfall.
Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 115 miles from the center...and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 315 miles. A buoy located west of the hurricane recently reported wind gusts to 74 mph and 32 foot waves.
An Air Force hurricane hunter plane recently reported a minimum central pressure of 956 mb...28.23 inches.
Storm surge flooding of 7 to 11 feet above normal tide levels... along with extremely large and dangerous battering waves...is expected near and to the north of where the center crosses the coast. Storm surge flooding of 4 to 8 ft above normal tide levels is expected in Chesapeake Bay and the tidal portions of adjacent rivers.
Storm total rainfalls of 6 to 10 inches...with locally higher amounts...are likely in association with Isabel.
There is a threat of isolated tornadoes over eastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia on Thursday.
Repeating the 11 PM EDT position...31.9 N... 73.9 W. Movement toward...north-northwest near 13 mph. Maximum sustained winds...105 mph. Minimum central pressure... 956 mb.
For storm information specific to your area...please monitor products issued by your local weather office.
An intermediate advisory will be issued by the National Hurricane Center at 2 am EDT followed by the next complete advisory at 5 am EDT.
Forecaster Avila
We could also use some good cooks...how 'bout it, Auntie Fawnn, wanna move to Arizona?
Well, I do have to warn you...Slippy may not have seen any scorpions, but I 'spect that's because she lives in the Valley...too urban for them. We've had one or two in the house. I've got to keep reminding the boys to shut the screen door. Our bug man says there's really no way to prevent them without poisoning the pets...they live in the rocks and rotting wood that make up a portion of my landscaping.
I am the woman that had TWO houses to worry about, the one in Delaware where we now live and one in Pasadena, Merryland that is now for sale. The one in Merryland is on the water.
Here in Delaware we lost our cable which is now back on. No electricity loss at all. I walked the mutts this morning and everything looks fine down here.
My daughter lives in Baltimore and had no electricity last night up until an hour ago when I talked to her. She drove down to the waterfront property and had good news and bad news.
The house is fine with a little bit of water in the basement. The electricity, oddly, is still on in that now empty house. There are tree limbs all over the yard.
The river, my goodness, she told me the roof of my boat pavillion is the only thing showing. This boat pavillion is about 20 feet high!
I asked her if she was sure about this, trying to imagine such a thing. She said the river was into the back yard some twenty five closer to the house than it had ever been. She couldn't believe her eyes. This was her childhood home and we have seen the river rise pretty high. She said the boat house, a two story structure, is completed flooded on the first floor.
The company I consult for has a marina on Kent Island. The owner called me and told me his property is under four feet of water and he has boats on the parking lot!
Seems the Chesapeake Bay got quite a storm surge with Isabel. Fox news is showing pics of Baltimore and Annapolis. The inner harbor in Baltimore overflowed the banks and is causing quite some chaos. They have been periodically interviewing Ehrlich and O'Malley.
Here I live about 8 miles from the ocean in Delaware and I was nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs over this hurricane. In fact, husband and I talked about going back to Merryland to our empty waterfront home to be safer.
Heh. We were safer 8 miles from the ocean than we would have been there! Thankfully the house is high on the hill at the waterfront property and daughter reports it is fine. SHE still has no electicity while I am snug with all services eight miles down from the Atlantic Ocean.
Go figger.
Oh my. Try finding a tree surgeon for an emergency visit in the aftermath of a hurricane while a tree is being uprooted by continuing high winds . . . I must have called half the numbers in the book, and was largely resigned to having the tree fall on the house. By some miracle, one of the tree guys took pity on us and inserted us into his schedule, showing up 10 minutes after I called. He and his helper managed to stablilize the tree and dropped both of these monsters safely in the back yard. It will be expensive, but nothing compared to the cost of having them fall on the house. I was very grateful to the tree surgeon. He has saved us untold grief and expense.
We do live in the East Valley. Haven't seen a scorpion yet. Haven't seen a flea nor a tick either. LOL!
Glad you saw that tree in time...... what a horrible mess that would have caused!
We lost power about 1200 yesterday, but the winds really didn't pick up untul about 1700. We came though the storm pretty well, but I've worked all day today helping neighbors remove downed trees from their houses with my chainsaw. We also drove over to our church and helped clear debris there for Sunday services.
Right now, we're under curfew in Newport News tonight and are supposed to boil water for the next couple of days. Dominion Power is already saying it may take up to a week to restore power.
My family and I are O.K. I have 35 gallons of water jugged for emergencies plus propane and camp fuel out the whazzoo. We have canned and dry food enough for a week, so we're in good shape.
I'll check in now and again to see what's happening in the world. Meanwhile, please pray for those who need help. Oh, and zot any trolls for me!!
Thanks! Jonah.
We were able to get just a whiff of that tropical ocean air here in the WNC mountains during Floyd, but it hasn't come in yet with Isabel -- this afternoon, maybe.
We are seeing the outermost bands of clounds from Isabel in the upper atmosphere now, just above the ridgeline of the Blue Ridge -- skies to the west are sunny and clear, temps in the 50s moving into the 60s. Sorry you folks in the east aren't sharing our mountain weather today!
Footnote: that balmy tropical ocean air finally did arrive in WNC Thursday evening, around 8-11pm or so.
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