Posted on 08/31/2004 12:50:42 PM PDT by My Favorite Headache
Edited on 08/31/2004 4:05:13 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
Hurricane Frances Now A Severe Category 4 Hurricane VORTEX Bulletin:
--Previous Message-- : 000 : URNT12 KNHC 311907 : VORTEX DATA MESSAGE : A. 31/1907Z : B. 20 DEG 22 MIN N : 65 DEG 20 MIN W : C. 700 MB 2579 M : D. 50 KT : E. 226 DEG 084 NM : F. 323 DEG 123 KT : G. 238 DEG 011 NM : H. 940 MB : I. 13 C/ 3074 M : J. 24 C/ 3057 M : K. 10 C/ NA : L. CLOSED WALL : M. C28 : N. 12345/07 : O. .1 /2 NM : P. AF985 1006A FRANCES OB 11 : MAX FL WIND 139 KT NW QUAD 1735Z. : SMALL HAIL IN SW EYEWALL.
Heads up!!! Frances now Cat 5!
Recon reporting storm still moving west...the 5 pm update should be a doozy...my God...a 5...and still has yet to face the gulf stream.
Great Seneca Highway!!! That is a big storm!
Category One Hurricane:
Winds 74-95 mph (64-82 kt or 119-153 km/hr). Storm surge generally 4-5 ft above normal. No real damage to building structures. Damage primarily to unanchored mobile homes, shrubbery, and trees. Some damage to poorly constructed signs. Also, some coastal road flooding and minor pier damage. Hurricanes Allison of 1995 and Danny of 1997 were Category One hurricanes at peak intensity.
Category Two Hurricane:
Winds 96-110 mph (83-95 kt or 154-177 km/hr). Storm surge generally 6-8 feet above normal. Some roofing material, door, and window damage of buildings. Considerable damage to shrubbery and trees with some trees blown down. Considerable damage to mobile homes, poorly constructed signs, and piers. Coastal and low-lying escape routes flood 2-4 hours before arrival of the hurricane center. Small craft in unprotected anchorages break moorings. Hurricane Bonnie of 1998 was a Category Two hurricane when it hit the North Carolina coast, while Hurricane Georges of 1998 was a Category Two Hurricane when it hit the Florida Keys and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Category Three Hurricane:
Winds 111-130 mph (96-113 kt or 178-209 km/hr). Storm surge generally 9-12 ft above normal. Some structural damage to small residences and utility buildings with a minor amount of curtainwall failures. Damage to shrubbery and trees with foliage blown off trees and large trees blown down. Mobile homes and poorly constructed signs are destroyed. Low-lying escape routes are cut by rising water 3-5 hours before arrival of the center of the hurricane. Flooding near the coast destroys smaller structures with larger structures damaged by battering from floating debris. Terrain continuously lower than 5 ft above mean sea level may be flooded inland 8 miles (13 km) or more. Evacuation of low-lying residences with several blocks of the shoreline may be required. Hurricanes Roxanne of 1995 and Fran of 1996 were Category Three hurricanes at landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and in North Carolina, respectively.
Category Four Hurricane:
Winds 131-155 mph (114-135 kt or 210-249 km/hr). Storm surge generally 13-18 ft above normal. More extensive curtainwall failures with some complete roof structure failures on small residences. Shrubs, trees, and all signs are blown down. Complete destruction of mobile homes. Extensive damage to doors and windows. Low-lying escape routes may be cut by rising water 3-5 hours before arrival of the center of the hurricane. Major damage to lower floors of structures near the shore. Terrain lower than 10 ft above sea level may be flooded requiring massive evacuation of residential areas as far inland as 6 miles (10 km). Hurricane Luis of 1995 was a Category Four hurricane while moving over the Leeward Islands. Hurricanes Felix and Opal of 1995 also reached Category Four status at peak intensity.
Category Five Hurricane:
Winds greater than 155 mph (135 kt or 249 km/hr). Storm surge generally greater than 18 ft above normal. Complete roof failure on many residences and industrial buildings. Some complete building failures with small utility buildings blown over or away. All shrubs, trees, and signs blown down. Complete destruction of mobile homes. Severe and extensive window and door damage. Low-lying escape routes are cut by rising water 3-5 hours before arrival of the center of the hurricane. Major damage to lower floors of all structures located less than 15 ft above sea level and within 500 yards of the shoreline. Massive evacuation of residential areas on low ground within 5-10 miles (8-16 km) of the shoreline may be required. Hurricane Mitch of 1998 was a Category Five hurricane at peak intensity over the western Caribbean. Hurricane Gilbert of 1988 was a Category Five hurricane at peak intensity and is one of the strongest Atlantic tropical cyclones of record.
Bonnie, Charlie, Frances God has it in for Florida.
That's flight-level winds, I believe. Not surface. It's still a 4.
Buy orange juice futures!
Puerto Rico would have been leveled had the storm been 100-110 miles further south.
I once knew a guy that worked in the insurance industry, he told me the course on damage adjustment after a huricane was short and stressed the total limits of liablity of the policy often.
Ooooh... pretty! Unfortunately destructive, but pretty.
Ruh roh.
Isn't it tree that these storms that get really intense, really fast often play out before they make landfall?
frances is not a cat 5 storm...it is a cat 4 with winds of 140mph...cat 5 is 155mph.
137kt flight level winds correspond to 135-140mph at surface.
940mb doesn not correlate to a cat 5 either.
where did you get the info to post this was a cat 5 storm?
If that is flight level you would have to imagine that it is at what? 133-135 surface?
See above.
Sweet Mary & Joseph ping
God is trying to smack some sense into Florida voters before the election.
"Anyone messes with me, and I'll kill ya." (Literally)
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