A writer and a tropical muse. A funky Lubavitcher who enjoys watching the weather, hurricanes, listening to music while enjoying life with a sense of humor and trying to make sense of it all!
Tuesday, December 03, 2019
December... Thanksgiving Over As Is the Hurricane Season of 2019. Traveling Back to the Carolinas Today...
Wondering if Mike makes a Winter Weather Tee Shirt?
Hmnnn.. may ask him.
My favorite place to go to know what's going on in the weather!
Getting quality time when I could with who I could.
Blogging from the road today.
It's December.
I bought LED Chanukah stars in Target for my window.
Going to see if they work back in Raleigh ;)
The Hurricane Season is in the Rear View Mirror.
Well on our side of the world.
It's been a while I know. I spent the last week in sunny, South Florida hanging out with my kids, family, friends and taking in all my favorite places. Today we are continuing this trek back up the coast to more of my favorite places. A new favorite place showed up on the play list last night when we met my son, daughter-in-law and the adorable Olivia and Milo in St. Augustine dining by the harbor all lit up in twinkling lights at night. Beautiful. Writing this from Jacksonville, but by the time you read it we will have gotten back on the road Northbound.
I guess I missed all the hype about the Winter Storm of early December (E name on TWC?) and pretty sure it will be really remembered as the Thanksgiving Travel Storm Mess of 2019. If you were flying somewhere along the Northern rim of the country you may have been stuck in the airport somewhere, but driving in the Southeast the highways were blue, beautiful and sunny.
Thanksgiving Weekend snow may not happen often.
But really not that rare.
The truth is a Winter Storm that impacts the Northeast and Chicago messing up travel is not that rare a thing as if it was in Tampa Florida or even Atlanta... that would be huge news. I heard Cranky is missing on Twitter, hope he finds his way back to our neck of the woods. I've been offline most of this trip just enjoying life and living in the minute. The weather in Miami was beautiful, sometimes cool at night but not blazing hot during the day and the humidity was way down. My son is moving from his apartment that makes you feel like you are in Savannah with the fountain down below up town towards Aventura and the rest of the family.
So I had a long, espresso and said goodbye to my favorite breakfast spot this year when in Florida. New favorites are nice and will pop up this coming year I'm sure. We had a tropical Thanksgiving by my In Law's pool in the backyard where the frying turkey set off the yard's fire alarm system ... the bird was fine and the sprinklers quickly shut down. The house and adjacent Bird Farm (parrots) were fine, the ground just got a bit wet which was fine and the frying turkey barely noticed the fuss.
So what else happened this weekend?
Josh got to chase a cyclone!
Much to be thankful for there.
DaBuh closed the 2019 Hurricane Season out.
Check that off the To Do List.
I'll blog on it once back in Raleigh.
The truth is it was all about Dorian.
Jim Williams wrote up an excellent report.
Note he was on the money totally this year.
All his top places he forecast would get hit...
...got hit so I'd listen to him carefully every year.
Besos BobbiStorm
@bobbistorm on Twitter and Instagram.
Seems we are good when we have winter in all the right places, sunshine in Miami and storms with awesome cores Hurricane Man to chase ... For me I'm chasing really good coffee and an awesome pecan bun for lunch today!!
Updated! NHC Ups Yellow Circle to 50% Orange Circle in the Atlantic......As the Coastal Storm Begins to Move Up the Coast.. Getting Ready to Lift North Along the Coast ...
When you struggle for words & try not to editorialize.... 50% chances for orange area being monitored by the NHC for some sort of designation. Invest should be soon. Morning visible a bit later. pic.twitter.com/SN2FRoZ4Z5
Orange Juice loop ... used to call it that way back when. Shows moisture and it’s a great tool to see when it begins to spin up. 50/50 chances but by the time I Post this could be 60% NHC suddenly bullish 🤷🏻♀️ pic.twitter.com/ENjwWxlXCR
This loop shows when a system begins to spin.
It shows MANY things....
...but it's a great predictive tool.
Took a nice drive up into the country a bit.
The Falls River Recreation Area.
That means the dam...
...by the river where they made a lake.
Too cold up on the path by the lake.
Sat down by river shoots out from the dam.
Hasn't been much color this year.
And what color we had pretty much blew away...
...in the last two storms.
Went up to the lake today ... Fall of Neuse River near the dam to get a look at #fallcolors but this past weeks windy cold storm blew many of the leaves away. Wintry look bit by bit. Front by front. Windy very cold. pic.twitter.com/U5dQilkHGc
Pretty tho... always.
And on the way near the house...
Street near where I live.
Usually more color in mid November.
Lots of trees whose leaves have blown away.
Lastly a bit a color in my neighborhood ... maybe if the sun stays out tomorrow. It’s beautiful in the sunshine. pic.twitter.com/bGpeijh1NR
Check out the beach erosion on Croatan Beach as the NNE wind gusts up to 40 MPH. The highest of the high tides at 10:38 AM here in VA Beach and one homeowner thinks they'll lose the fence again. We're live on @weatherchannel#vawx#waves@NWSWakefieldVApic.twitter.com/WqJgntNtFl
Listening to meteorologists online and on air talk today makes my heart beat faster for football on a Sunday afternoon with a quasi storm stronger than many of our named tropical storms this past summer. Transference of energy.... handing off as the system waits for the strong winter storm to throw a long pass and for the coastal low to pick up yardage and go all the way up the East coast impacting other much loved beaches on the way.... the same way it played with our beaches down here in the Carolinas.
Good article in the Wall Street Journal on Project Storm Fury; leaves out a lot about it's earlier days and I could say much but will leave for another day. Love the use of the word "seriously" here as controlling the weather is the stuff dreams are made of .... And nations do it on a small scale all the time be it rain for crops or no rain on opening day ceremonies at the Olympics. But controlling big hurricanes as romantically heroic as it sounds pales in comparison to the every day enhancing rainfall for crops to grow in their season. A good read on some history, sort of a primer and well worth your time.
I was a little annoyed.
If you read below I explain why.
That's the current Earthnull image.
From far away you can see Nestor.
Or as Cranky calls it an Autumn Gale.
But the NHC that named Barry....
...can't upgrade this to Nestor?
Yes.... 60 MPH.
Gusts stronger around there.
The reason I complain on things such as this is they are a disconnect and they very poorly communicate the true nature and message of this storm that is making landfall, but the NHC is prone lately to dramatically upgrade storms to named status or hurricane status as it's made landfall and that is not what the NHC has always been about. The NHC, once the most respected of government agencies, FORECASTED the movement and track and intensity and dangers of a tropical system in advance of landfall using old school methods of forecasting and they did a bang up, great job with true leaders who were respected locally in Florida as if their face should be on Mt. Rushmore.
getting more @Nespresso meant to tag you haha... great show today, you got great fans, love the comments.... waiting on the 11AM so take care of your "business" & get back to work @tropicalupdate Smelling #Nestor in the wind & the rain https://t.co/NqHYUA4OXK
This is the reason people go online asking Mike on www.spaghettimodels.com questions on Facebook Live because he communicates the dangers as per the NHC and NWS and his own trained gut from living in hurricane country and studying storms. This is why people turn to kids online on youtube or wait for Levi Cowan, an excellent meteorologist, still in college doing videos explaining what is going on...and yes they all (including me) remind people to follow the NHC advisory but it's a poor pattern of randomly upgrading some systems and not others based on whatever random discussion is in use on any given day.
Disappointing. I'm sure they will get it right but this is about COMMUNICATING a message, giving warning to the public that doesn't sit around the nightly news anymore and wait for the radio to break into it's music to tell us there's a hurricane coming. In the old days radio stations in Miami gave out Hurricane Tracking Maps and they were the go to source. But today they don't break into Spotify to tell you there's a hurricane warning and someone looks at an old graphic that shows it doesn't have a name yet and doesn't pay attention to the fact that they found 60 MPH winds. Communicating the forecast far in advance rather than trying to justify a forecast with various models is what the NHC should be doing ... but luckily we have people online who fill in the blanks for us but.... they are usually preaching to the choir that generally knows what is happening. I'm worried on the general public ...that thinks nothing is out there, yet something is out there and it's intensifying towards hurricane force winds yet the NHC is driving with the brakes on it my opinion... just my honest truth.
Even this year they have used it to name a system.
Yet hurricane recon is looking for a center.
NHC is weighing it's options.
There's already a Potential Cyclone Warning.
And a closed system with 60 MPH winds.
Knocking on hurricane strength door.
But they haven't gone with the Nestor name yet.
Hmnnn
BOBBISTORM'S BOTTOM LINE
This storm will could have hurricane force winds at some point.
Strong Tropical Storm.
It's a mix of definitions but it's closed.
And getting stronger as it moves towards landfall.
The Florida Panhandle to the Big Bend get the center.
The WEATHER goes across Florida...
..crossing over.
Remember this system carries with it moisture..
...from the Epac system that crossed over into the BOC
It will carry the potential for tornadoes across Central Florida.
Maybe even up towards Tallahassee and Jax.
Then it moves up along the coast..
GA SC NC VA
The same track as most our systems this year.
Be prepared for power outages.
For high winds in strong squalls moving fast.
If you are traveling up the spine of Florida
From I 10 from Nola to Jax
Florida Turnpike.
I-4 Tampa to Daytona
Anyone traveling needs to be ready for weather.
Rapidly developing weather.
Even parts of I95 in the path of storms.
Air travel may get messy.
Dangerous weather will happen...
...far outside the NHC Cone.
So stay on top of NWS and Apps.
And really love that gutsy tropical wave.
keeps moving West being ignored.
Watch the radar...
...but know high winds are everywhere.
Yes we can watch the radar.
I'll be back later.
I'm sure NHC will probably upgrade eventually.
I'm going to enjoy the cool air and take a walk.
I'll update later today.
Keep reading if you have not.
Much good hurricane history as analogs for "Nestor"
And discussion from the 5AM advisory.
Back later.
Leaving the blog rolling live for now.
There are 60 MPH winds in there.
A center on Earthnull.
A center exactly over their X for 16.
Yet they don't want to upgrade yet.
Maybe breaking news later and they will...
There is no ...zero consistency these days.
NHC has truly become the NWS.
They hoist Tornado Warnings after it's on the ground.
Post a quick warning that will expire soon.
Talk on trained spotters.
Perhaps we need trained spotters in the GOM.
A little hover craft or something...
...sending info in.
They name Barry that never looked this good.
They make Barry a hurricane at landfall.
Verifying their forecast.
As of 5 AM Friday....
...we have a Potential Tropical Cyclone.
packing Tropical Storm force winds.
Hurricane Hunters in the storm now.
A great loop to use for a system such as this one.
Watch it come together.
Note all of South Florida stays green.
Even after "Nestor" speeds up to OBX
I don't want to say this is basically a cold front...
...with a tropical low forming/attached.
It's that mix of seasons that...
create dangerous weather.
As I said YESTERDAY.....
in this blog below.
Do not follow the exact center of the cone.
5 AM Friday Cone.
You can compare this track with the next.
But pretty sure the NHC won't change much.
Problem is weather forms FAST in these systems.
You aren't watching an eye or an eye wall.
You're seeing squalls form and slam some beach..
...some beach somewhere far from the "center"
Waterspouts along the coast.
And depending on speed of the system/front..
Inland Tornadoes.
This system forms in real time.
So real weather forms everywhere.
Take a storm like Earl in 1998.
Earl was STRONGER..
so this is a weak version.
Going to do a full update after 11 AM.
Waiting to see if the NHC names it Nestor or not.
Nothing new to say since yesterday.
BUT... I want you to read what I said below.
About Irene in 1999.
While ?Nestor? appears to be coming together.
Today it has the convection it lacked.
Neat ball beginning to form.
And a HUGE SHIELD of BAD WEATHER
To the right of it.
Right sided....
The NHC will track the "center"
But strong weather with TS winds
across a very wide area.
TS winds NOT near the line in the Cone.
And there are different threats here.
Flash flooding in small coastal communities.
Tropical Storm force winds moving fast..
Fast forward speed + TS winds = trouble.
Tornado potential there.
People in Naples, Florida Keys and Miami...
FLL and WPB going to be asking
"huh?? it's hitting the Panhandle"
I wouldn't count out a stronger system.
Then currently forecast in the 5 AM
Keep reading if you didn't.
I'll do a update at 11 AM
But wanted this blog to stand alone.
Especially the part about Earl and Irene.
Some hurricane history possibly repeating.
Models. Nestor?
Models are in good agreement.
Makes me wonder what can go wrong?
Note the points below on the cone.
Far apart as PTC16 skips along.
GOM systems often kind of hop about.
They stop, loop, hook, form.
Or you wake up and WOW they are there.
It reminds me of skipping stones on a fishing pond.
I live in Raleigh... it's a Carolina thing.
Though kids in Miami would try it as well.
Rockpits not fishing ponds but the same thing.
Remember Andy and Opie?
Stopping to throw a rock...
...or skip it across the pond?
To be honest this guy is cooler.
Check out that huge rock he uses..
It doesn't matter the model they all do this.
Another set....
Forms on Friday.
Saturday landfall.
Sunday AM Carolinas.
And the best for last.
The good ole NAM
Saturday 5 AM near landfall.
Nice looking system.
Mean looking tail to it's SE
Saturday night...
Carolina Beach Storm.
What's the forward speed there?
Cone below is from 5 PM EST.
Compare and contrast it with 11 PM EST.
Fast moving storm.
The problem with this is that they better be clear on that fast timing as it may take many by surprise. People have a tendency to look at a track for information regarding actual track, movement, etc and not to pay attention to the details. 5 PM cone has it moving from 1 PM on Saturday near the FL/GA line to 1 PM Sunday on the Outer Banks. The communication of this fast forward speed if it continues to play out this way needs to be communicated properly to all concerned. That's my concern.
Moving a bit faster now.
They also moved the center a bit.
Again the center and the storm IS evolving.
It doesn't exist yet, remember that.
It's a potential tropical cyclone...
...that already has 40 mph winds.
Confusing I know.
It's complicated.
You can read parts of the discussion below:
Currently the system has tropical storm force winds.
But..... an elongated center devoid of real precipitation.
As the NHC can post the cone and warnings.
They are able to breathe a bit and wait for it to wrap up.
That's why the Potential Tropical Cyclone idea is not bad.
Models are shown below.
Know they can change....
...if it reforms somewhere else.
GOM systems such as this are very complicated.
Earlier I wrote on similar messy systems...
...that had wicked weather far from the "center"
So until Nestor forms and develops.
We won't be sure which storm we get.
I'll be back later.
Keep reading if you didn't so far.
And note they moved a Tropical Storm Watch
...down to Cedar Key.
Moving NNE and due to move more to the NE.
I'm going out for a bit.
Need to figure out what to wear.
It's suddenly cold here ;)
Going down into the low 50s soon...
Sounds like very warm boots!
Personally if I'd watch the WEATHER from Naples North...
Weather not "center" as this will be an evolving storm.
One that is forming, strengthening in motion.
The evolution issue is big.
As per it's current track....
...things happen fast.
It will be interesting to see the discussion at 5 PM.
Turn the sound up for discussion or just enjoy the transformation of #ptc16 into #Nestor on the water vapor imagery. Do not follow the center of the cone nasty #weather will happen over a large area as it moves rapidly towards landfall https://t.co/XLVVLmtkcSpic.twitter.com/4QoV1fmTBn
I want to go over a bit of Hurricane History and take a look at a problematic storm from the past. In 1999 a storm down in the Caribbean formed and was forecast to move slowly up towards the West coast of Florida with cones and discussions and in retrospect what seemed a disconnect with the actual storm and where it's weather was headed. The NHC maintained that the "center" of Irene was headed towards the SW Florida coast, while admitting strong weather could occur far from the center of the storm. Jim Cantore stood on a beach near Naples where there were barely waves but a noticeable strong breeze while people in Miami were slammed with buckets of water, buckets of water we siphoned off the floor in our house in North Miami Beach. There was flooding outside, people died and employers didn't want to let their "workers" go home as there were no warnings up for Miami. Post storm analysis brought up the issues of the "weather mass" went right but insisting the "center" went where the NHC had forecast it to go. Much in the way that Hurricane Irma's naked swirl of a center moved up towards Atlanta and Georgia while the Northeast Florida coast was pounded with punishing rains, storm surge and an incredible amount of beach erosion for a storm that was making landfall somewhere else. They are still trying to rebuild the docks in St. Mary's Georgia that had a historic storm surge that funneled in to the coastline while the "center" was seemingly cruising up the Interstate towards Atlanta.
So let's look back at 1999 and Irene. You really got to love the simplistic beauty of old style TWC where they followed the storm and didn't do Howard Costell sort of banter on interesting trivia while discussing models and how a storm surge forms. Mind you if it was an educational channel for Earth Science in Middle School I would love the way they show how storm surge surges in towards beachfront propery; I loved the old style following the weather in live time.
This is the final track map for Irene.
Early October...catching the cold front.
The cone is below as shown on TWC
Note Miami Beach seemed out of it....
Far from Irene's projected track towards Tampa and Naples.
A look at the radar from the video.
Shows moisture funneling in towards the SE Coast of FL.
The Florida Keys....Miami... North Miami Beach.
My best friend Sharon was hysterical.
I mean that truly.
As if it was a World Series game
and she was upset with the umpires.
I can hear here now,
"what are they thinking"
"that storm is coming straight for us"
"It's not going to Tampa"
etc... etc....
Usually it's not good to try and explain...
...to an irrational person she's right but the NHC...
TWC however showed the set up.
Explained the Miami area was getting strong bands.
Moving onshore way ahead of Irene.
To be fair they did a good job.
Even though they kept waiting at the beach in Naples.
Or somewhere pretty like Naples.
Models and cones for PTC16 aka Nestor below.
While the "center" of Nestor may move towards
the Big Bend of Florida.
it's very possible bad weather will impact many further South.
And as that weather with threat of tornadoes moves...
...the threat will move towards WPB, Pt. St Lucie.
The NHC has spoken ...press release from earlier today.
And the forecast package shown above didn't disappoint.
Look at it there now...
Slowly pulling together.
Note how much moisture is to the South and East.
But things are fluid, changing rapidly.
I spent the morning unpacking and catching up on models, loops and discussion while looking at similar previous October or late season storms that align well with the signature on models for what should be Nestor...regardless ....if it's a subtropical or ends up a tropical storm Nasty Weather definitely on the way and when I say nasty I'm concerned with the threat for tornadoes. Anytime you have an October tropical system moving towards land at that angle hooking up with cold front energy you end up with nasty tornadoes. I seriously hope I am wrong. But as I was Googling Josephine... other's began posting about it as well. Josephine left a terrible memory in that part of Florida when tornadoes surprised many expecting a more tropical event.
And note that Tornado threat travels with it up the coast.
Anyone that went thru Josephine remembers it always.
But this is not just a Florida Storm....
...impacts the Southeast.
The Carolinas...
Then how much does the NE get?
I'll update later today on that part of this puzzle.
IF the system tracks just inland, there would be a small tornado threat for coastal South Carolina Saturday night into early Sunday morning. #scwx#ncwxpic.twitter.com/pq7l6FqcFn
Models are coming into alignment and currently they show the center curving up across the Southeast (near me) but I'm wondering if the track will lean a bit lower or just the center of a large messy storm follows this track but the severe weather is to the South and East of it as currently it's forecast to be a right sided storm and that is why I prefer treating these types of systems as more than just the "center" as it's not a Cat 4 Hurricane heading WNW with a tightly wrapped eye. It's a behemoth sort of large mess that could.... possibly....wrap up tighter just before landfall. While shear is present, it's got lots of watery, warm real estate to cross before it makes landfall and as it's a bull in a china shop in the Gulf of Mexico it will make landfall. And, then it rides up along the East Coast and possibly slams the NE with another big punch of cold front infused with tropical moisture and hopefully some planes will take off in a day or so as many airports are closed and travel is a mess. More on that later. Let's stick with PTC 16 forecast to be Nestor.
Intensity forecast for now it on the low side.
A solid punch of Tropical Storm force winds.
I wouldn't rule out Hurricane force ...
....let's wait and watch how this evolves.
I love to follow a wide variety of people.
I love creativity so Thor is a natural.
He's good... another view of this storm.
And why I'm putting him here is...
...he has been talking on "this storm" for months.
Since I believe before Hurricane Season.
He's had a thing for a Crystal River track.
But as I said before...
...this is not tightly wound hurricane.
So do NOT look at the line in the cone.
Watch the weather.
Enjoy...
Going to watch my local weather people...
And Dabuh and Cranky...
I'll be living at Spaghetti Models.
Today is Mike's Birthday.
He is born on National Pasta Day?
Can't make that up.... www.spaghettimodels.com
I've always felt there would be a big GOM storm.
In October .... what wasn't exactly sure.
But the potential was there...
..and when Larry Cosgrove agrees.
I definitely watch and listen to my gut.
As for November...
Something crazy will come out of the Caribbean.
Most likely.
On a personal note.
These October storms play havoc with Sukkoth often.
It's a Jewish Holiday where people build huts.
Not permanent some made of wood...
...other's pre-made of fabric.
And they often fall apart in a hurricane like Wilma.
Or even a storm like Floyd in 1987 in Florida.
And in New York the recent Bomb Cyclone
(whatever name it had)
Blew through and took many a Sukkoth hut with it.
Looks like that scene in Twitter...
...where they drive through the house.
My brother is on an anniversary cruise in Halifax.
Yes... he knew he could get weather.
Not sure he told the new wife but...
...he was hoping to get some.
Though he was worried on the previous storm.
But he got the unnamned Bomb Cyclone.
Or as they called it in Halifax "Wind Storm"
Amazingly they may get a piece of Nestor too.
This is a storm track stuck in stone right now.
And just as we have had Coastal Cruisers... missing the coast.
I did say later in the Hurricane Season...
...when they approach from the GOM.
The same catching the cold front...
...will guarantee landfall.
I would not rule out hurricane force gusts.
And again those tornadoes possible.
I'll update later this afternoon.
Still unpacking.
Enjoying being home in time for Nestor.
And the NC State Fair.
Somehow there is always a tropical threat...
...mixed with sweater weather for the Fair.
Can't wait to see the fire works ;)
Location: Miami, Raleigh, Crown Heights, Florida, United States
Weather Historian. Studied meteorology and geography at FIU. Been quoted in Wall Street Journal, Washington Post & everywhere else... Lecturer, stormchaser, writer, dancer. If it's tropical it's topical ... covering the weather & musing on life. Follow me on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/#!/BobbiStorm
