All About Haiyan - 195 MPH Winds...

Going to post some pics and track and I'll be back tomorrow with reliable information on damage and wind speed at landfall. And, note this storm is making a second landfall in Vietnam after pummeling the Philippines. Early reports are never reliable and there is much controversy as to what the actual wind speeds were at landfall, as most measuring apparatus blew away. In the 1926 Great Miami Hurricane just prior to the height of the storm the wind gauge at the Allison Hotel (which later was St. Francis Hospital) on Miami Beach blew away. Also, sadly death tolls in any disaster of this magnitude rise steadily as more reliable data comes in ... it goes without saying the area is without power.. 

If you had to grade Haiyan it would probably be a Category 6..at least. We can't compare to any hurricane in the Atlantic Basin. At one point winds were reported to be 190 or 195 MPH with gusts way over 200. 

This is the most amazing picture to me. So amazing I can't think of a way to describe it other than.. "oh my goodness" or "wow" or stunning"

Look at the perfection and intensity of this storm that may be the strongest cyclone to make landfall. Again, verification will come later after the fact when we know more. Can you imagine if this was headed for Key West? It would obliterate it... I doubt much would be left standing. Charleston? It would be way stronger than Hugo. The 1900 Galveston Hurricane would seem much milder in comparison..  Anywhere on the planet this disaster would be horrific ....

Here's a graphic from    that shows what that scenario might look like...

http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Geographical-Coverage-Hiayan.jpg

Look at that loop above.. it is a SOLID BALL of destructive winds swirling around a pin point eye.

Ryan Mauve put up this graphic on Twitter of it's future landfall in Vietnam.

Why do the most terrible storms always seem to make landfall more than once? It will be weaker than second time it hits land, but still... a very strong storm.

While it is heartening to know that the region that suffered the most from the Earthquake in Cebu was spared the strongest winds... to have a Category 2 Storm make landfall in an area filled with debris and trying to rebuild and recover will set back the recovery a long time and many weakened structures will be destroyed that otherwise might have been able to be saved. 

It's been a bad, bad year for the Pacific. The Atlantic has been very quiet. Often, when you have that sort of imbalance "energy" flows elsewhere. The years that Miami did not get a landfall from a Hurricane (between 1965 until 1972) the Gulf of Mexico hosted some of the strongest hurricanes that hit elsewhere. 

Mind boggling to me that while I was enjoying a beautiful day in St. Marys, Georgia soaking in the quiet, beauty of the low country and the Sea Islands... such destruction and devastation could be occurring on the other side of the planet. 

Really you have to enjoy the day, the moment...the life you have... because you never know when the tide will turn and it could all be taken away. I needed to relax and breathe... it was the perfect place. I've always been a big fan of the Low Country...the views, the vistas and the serene peace and natural beauty.

Find a place you love and enjoy it.. visit it...give thanks.

That's my advice for today..

Besos Bobbi