Hurricane Lee is moving slowly in the southern Atlantic approaching the Leeward Islands. [NHC DATA HERE] Residents on the Southeast coast of the USA should monitor. Lee is expected to become a major hurricane later tonight as it moves toward the west-northwest over the next few days.
Hurricane Lee is still a long distance from presenting any immediate risk, but prudent checks and evaluations of your situation should take place. Keep an eye on the National Hurricane Center for updates. The storm is not anticipated to be a major focus until mid-week next week.
At 1100 AM AST (1500 UTC), the center of Hurricane Lee was located near latitude 16.4 North, longitude 50.0 West. Lee is moving toward the west-northwest near 15 mph (24 km/h), and this motion is expected to continue through Friday. A slower motion toward the west-northwest is forecast over the weekend. On the forecast track,the core of Lee will move north of the northern Leeward islands during the next few days. (link)
Obviously, this is currently a long way from the eastern U.S. However, coastal residents should keep an eye on Lee and evaluate their pre-existing preparedness plans.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) released an urgent consumer notification that Citgo fuel services from the Port of Tampa accidentally mixed Diesel Fuel into gasoline tanker trucks that offloaded product at gas pumps in Tampa, Fort Myers, Cape Coral and other areas. [FDACS Notice HERE]
Customers who purchased Citgo gas at the affected areas after August 26th are at risk. Those fuel stations pumped diesel instead of unleaded gasoline.
(AP) – […] The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said late Sunday that gasoline purchased after 10 a.m. Saturday at some Citgo-supplied stations had a strong likelihood of being contaminated with diesel fuel. Citgo identified 29 affected stations — sold at chains like 7-Eleven, BJ’s Wholesale and other convenience stores — in cities including Tampa, Fort Myers, Sarasota and more.
The time for preparations and/or evacuation decisions is past. This is pure hunker down time right now. Those in the immediate impact zone of Hurricane Idalia will see rapidly deteriorating weather conditions over the next few hours. Landfall expected at sunrise Wednesday.
Idalia will remain at hurricane strength throughout Georgia and likely into South Carolina. There will be a large swath of area impacted. There will be power outages and severe disruptions in all three states throughout the day today.
At 200 AM EDT (0600 UTC), the center of Hurricane Idalia was located near latitude 28.3 North, longitude 84.5 West. Idalia is moving toward the north near 15 mph (24 km/h). A northward to north-northeastward motion is expected through morning, with Idalia’s center forecast to reach the Big Bend coast of Florida this morning. After landfall, Idalia is forecast to turn toward the northeast and east-northeast, moving near or along the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina late today and Thursday.
Hurricane Hunter aircraft data indicate that maximum sustained winds have increased to near 120 mph (195 km/h) with higher gusts. Idalia is a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. Additional strengthening is forecast, and Idalia is forecast to become a category 4 hurricane before it reaches the Big Bend coast of Florida this morning. Idalia is likely to still be a hurricane while moving across southern Georgia, and possibly when it reaches the coast of Georgia or southern South Carolina late today. (more)
What follows is the #1 requested information by those who nervously anticipate the arrival of their first Hurricane experience.
Forecast updates provide a mix of good and bad news. [National Hurricane Center] On the good side, Idalia looks like she will be fast in forward movement as she arrives in Florida. On the bad side of the updates Idalia will be bigger, stronger, and the faster forward movement means the hurricane will be felt further inland potentially into southern Georgia. All advance preparations should be moved to completion within the next 48 hours.
Remember, you are in control. There is no need for panic or dark imaginings. Calm, prudent preparations should be taken if you are in the zone of uncertainty. Specific interests in the Tampa/St Pete region should be playing close attention. A a lot of change in impact zone can happen quickly with these northerly moving storms. Storm surge is expected to be significant.
[National Hurricane Center] – ..”At 700 AM CDT (1200 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Idalia was located near latitude 20.6 North, longitude 85.2 West. Idalia is moving toward the north near 8 mph (13 km/h). A northward motion is expected through tonight, followed by a faster north-northeast motion on Tuesday and Wednesday. On the forecast track, the center of Idalia is forecast to pass near or over western Cuba tonight, over the extreme southeastern Gulf of Mexico by early Tuesday, and reach the Gulf coast of Florida on Wednesday.
Maximum sustained winds are near 65 mph (100 km/h) with higher gusts. Idalia is forecast to become a hurricane later today and a dangerous major hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico by early Wednesday.”.. (more)
Idalia will come fast, now predicted to make landfall as a category 3+ hurricane. Those in the cone of uncertainty should pay attention, and people in the Tampa and St Pete region who have really lucked out in the past 30 years, should pay very close attention.
I hope you will understand why my proactive tips, advice and planning have modified since our experience with the September 2022 Hurricane, Ian. {Go Deep} Thankfully Idalia is not expected to be anything similar to slow moving Ian. Prior preparation advice remains solid and follows below.
Information from the National Hurricane Center [DATA HERE] indicates currently slow-moving Tropical Storm Idalia will likely speed up quickly tomorrow and form a Hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday. The current cone of uncertainty puts the Northern and Western portion of Florida at greatest risk.
At 100 PM CDT (1800 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Idalia was located near latitude 20.0 North, longitude 85.8 West. Idalia is moving toward the north near 2 mph (4 km/h), and it is likely to meander near the Yucatan Channel through tonight. A faster motion toward the north is expected on Monday, bringing the system over the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
Maximum sustained winds remain near 40 mph (65 km/h) with higher gusts. Strengthening is forecast, and Idalia is expected to become a hurricane by Tuesday.
Idalia will come fast, most likely making landfall at a category 2 hurricane. Those in the cone of uncertainty should pay attention, and people in the Tampa and St Pete region who have really lucked out in the past 30 years, should pay very close attention.
I hope you will understand why my proactive tips, advice and planning have modified since our experience with the September 2022 Hurricane, Ian. {Go Deep} Thankfully Idalia is not expected to be anything similar to Ian. However, for those in the Tampa/St Pete area, do not be complacent. This is a large metropolitan area with a similar demographic to the impact zone of Ian.
The next sixty days are peak hurricane and storm season for the Southeast coast. While we all hope for a non-eventful next few months, several people have requested a repost of the lessons from Hurricane Ian. I am duplicating that information for sharing and bookmarking in case you missed it last year.
The ‘context’ of Ian was shared previously {Go Deep}. What follows below are things to consider if you are prepping for a hurricane impact and/or deciding whether to stay in your home or evacuate. Standard hurricane preparations should always be followed. Protect your family, secure your property and belongings, and prepare for the aftermath.
Everything about the Maui fire is sketchy. It was sketchy when it happened. It is sketchy in the aftermath, and it remains sketchy in the recovery stage. The FBI, EPA and FEMA have essentially locked down the island, and there are reports of people being evicted who did not perish and did not lose their homes.
I’m not sure if the issues are related to systemically gross incompetence, nefarious constructs, a blue state with poor systems and weak leaders, or a combination of all the above. However, what is abundantly clear is that the people of Maui are victims of more than just a massive wildfire.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green appears on “Face the Nation” to tell Margareet Brennan that the failure of the now-resigned Maui Emergency Management Agency Administrator was “utterly unsatisfactory, to the world.” “Of course, as a person, as a father, as a doctor, I wish all the sirens went off,” Green said. The governor also stated there are more than 1,000 people still missing and many of them are children. He blames global warming. WATCH:
[Transcript] – MARGARET BRENNAN: We go now to Hawaii’s Governor Joshua Green in Honolulu. Good morning. Thank you for getting up so early, and I’m so sorry for what is going on in your state.
GOV. JOSH GREEN: Thank you, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Governor, can you tell us how many are still unaccounted for, and how long will it take to identify remains?
GOV. GREEN: More than 1000 are unaccounted for, about 1050. It will take several weeks, still, some of the challenges are going to be extraordinary. As you reported, 85% of the- of the land of the impact zone has been covered now by what amounts to an army of search and rescue teams and 41 dogs. So 85% of the land has been covered. Now we go into the larger buildings, which require peeling back some of the floors and structures. That last 15% could take weeks. We do have extreme concerns that because of the temperature of the fire, the remains of those who have died, in some cases, may be impossible to recover meaningfully. So, there are going to be people that are lost forever. And right now, we’re working obviously with the FBI and everyone on the ground to make sure that we do what we can to assess who’s missing.
We loaded a CERT toolbox trailer yesterday that is heading to Mississippi to assist as recovery efforts get underway. Samaritan’s Purse is now on the ground in two locations, Rolling Fork and Armory [Register to Volunteer Here] Any Treepers in the impact zone check in and feel free to provide updates on the ground events that relate to your area.
(Via Fox News) – Help began pouring into one of the poorest regions of the U.S. after a deadly tornado tore a path of destruction for more than an hour across a long swath of Mississippi, even as furious new storms Sunday struck across the Deep South.
At least 25 people were killed and dozens of others were injured in Mississippi as the massive storm ripped through more than a half-dozen towns late Friday. A man was also killed in Alabama after his trailer home flipped over several times.
“Everything I can see is in some state of destruction,” said Jarrod Kunze, who drove to the hard-hit Mississippi town of Rolling Fork from his home in Alabama, ready to help “in whatever capacity I’m needed.”
At approximately 8:55pm on February 3rd a major train derailment happened near the border between Ohio and Pennsylvania. In an Ohio town called East Palestine, a Norfolk Southern train pulling 150 cars derailed. 20 of those cars were carrying hazardous materials, including a liquified substance called “Vinyl Chloride.”
A massive explosion and fire resulted from the derailment and the nature of the cargo. In an effort to mitigate the problem, responding emergency authorities dug a trench and allowed the chemicals to burn off into the atmosphere. However, vinyl chloride turns into hydrochloric acid when it mixes with water vapor. The resulting chemical toxins can travel with wind, forming toxic clouds.
Several people in the downwind region from the initial explosion have reported health issues. Additionally, animals and fish have been reported to have been killed in the zone where the chemical cloud traveled.
There is now increasing concern about longer term impacts from the release of the chemicals including vinyl chloride.
♦Vinyl chloride: a colorless gas that is used to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics and is highly flammable and decomposes to make toxic fumes. According to the National Library of Medicine, it is also carcinogenic and can cause other health issues.
Hurricane conditions are expected from Boca Raton to Flagler/Volusia County line along the coast in Florida tonight. However, do not focus only on the center of the storm. Hurricane winds extend 25 miles from center, tropical storm winds 400+ miles from center, and massive rain are anticipated over central Florida with significant flooding north of Lake O. Residents along coastal and inland waterways should be fully prepared for this storm. Overnight conditions will deteriorate rapidly.
At 1000 PM EST (0300 UTC), the center of Hurricane Nicole was located near latitude 27.0 North, longitude 78.9 West. Nicole is moving toward the west-northwest near 13 mph (20 km/h). A turn toward the northwest is expected on Thursday, followed by a turn toward the north and north-northeast on Friday.
On the forecast track, the center of Nicole will move onshore the east coast of Florida within the hurricane warning area late tonight or early Thursday. Nicole’s center is then expected to move across central and northern Florida into southern Georgia Thursday and Thursday night, and into the Carolinas Friday.
