UAMS Blog: 2018
What's been happening in our weather world.
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10/25/18: Hurricane Willa and Super Typhoon Yutu
10/25/18: Hurricane Willa and Super Typhoon Yutu
Even though the Atlantic has been quiet, the rest of the tropics are still active! On Monday, Hurricane Willa became the first Category 5 hurricane in the East Pacific with 160 mph winds and 925 hPa surface pressure, and on Tuesday evening, Willa made landfall in Sinaloa, Mexico, with maximum winds of 120 mph. The remnants of Willa are tracking toward the northeast U.S. and may turn into a nor'easter this weekend. With Hurricane Willa, 2018 is the most active Pacific hurricane season in history in terms of accumulated cyclone energy (ACE).
Super Typhoon Yutu made landfall on the U.S. commonwealth of Tinian, part of the Northern Mariana Islands, at around 12pm EDT on Wednesday with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph, tied for the fifth-strongest landfall in history. Images of the devastation are just beginning to emerge.
-Jimmy
10/10/18: Hurricane Michael (919 hPa, 155 mph) makes landfall near Mexico Beach, FL
10/10/18: Hurricane Michael (919 hPa, 155 mph) makes landfall near Mexico Beach, FL
Hurricane Michael has deepened much more than originally predicted last night, and it has just made landfall at peak intensity near Mexico Beach on the Florida Panhandle, and the eyewall is directly over Panama City. It currently has 919 hPa min. surface pressure with 155 mph max. sustained winds, putting it at just under Category 5 strength (although at this point, it makes no difference whatsoever)! According to officials, this is the worst storm to affect the Florida panhandle since records were first kept in 1851.
I attached an animation of 30-second visible satellite imagery showing the storm approaching the Florida coast this morning. 1-minute visible imagery of the storm can be found at http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/ramsdis/online/goes-16.asp (MDS 1 Sector 5 (center) Band 2 (0.64 µm, 0.5 km)). You can also find Doppler radar loops of the storm (and much more!) on Brian McNoldy's website: http://andrew.rsmas.miami.edu/bmcnoldy/tropics/radar/.
Please do not rely on these products for life and death decisions if you have loved ones in the area. Consult local emergency management officials for more information regarding specific locations.
-Jimmy
10/8/18: Hurricane Michael forms in W. Caribbean, predicted to make U.S. landfall as major hurricane.
10/8/18: Hurricane Michael forms in W. Caribbean, predicted to make U.S. landfall as major hurricane.
The thirteenth named storm and seventh hurricane this year, Hurricane Michael is currently located just off of western Cuba with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph and minimum surface pressure of 982 hPa. Hurricane watches are up for the entire Florida panhandle as the storm is forecast to make landfall on Wednesday with winds of up to 120 mph. Although we might not be able to stream the NOAA forecast discussion in the Ungar student lounge at 12:30 pm today, we will definitely try to have it tomorrow.
-Jimmy
9/12/18: 4 Named Tropical Systems in the Atlantic
9/12/18: 4 Named Tropical Systems in the Atlantic
Subtropical storm Joyce has officially formed in the Atlantic, making four simultaneously active storms in the basin with Florence, Helene, and Isaac. Joyce is expected to transition into a fully tropical storm as it heads north far away from any land mass. The most recent season to feature four storms at once was 2008... ten years ago.
This season also saw the formation of four subtropical storms, Alberto, Debby, Ernesto, and Joyce. The last time this happened was in 1974. This excludes Hurricane Beryl, whose remnants briefly became subtropical.
Hurricane Florence's maximum sustained winds weakened slightly further today to 120 mph; however, its wind field has expanded. Hurricane-force winds extend to 70 miles from the center and tropical storm conditions to 195 miles. This means the storm surge and inland flooding threat has increased significantly.
UAMS will be streaming the NOAA Hurricane Research Division's daily map discussion tomorrow from 12:30 - 1 pm in the Ungar 2nd floor student lounge.
-Jimmy
9/10/18: Hurricane Florence reaches Cat 4 strength
9/10/18: Hurricane Florence reaches Cat 4 strength
As of Sep. 11 03:00 UTC, Hurricane Florence is a Category 4 storm with maximum 1-min sustained winds of 140 mph. Florence is expected to strengthen even further to become one of the strongest hurricanes at time of landfall in the U.S. north of Florida.
We will be listening to the NOAA Hurricane Research Division's daily map discussion from 12:30 to 1:00 pm in the student lounge on the second floor of the Ungar Building. These informal seminars offer a look at what goes on behind the scenes of hurricane forecasts and are very informative even if you are completely new to the field.
-Jimmy
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