Wild Weather Explanation in 150 Seconds

Text & Social Media First When Hurricane Hits

This caught my eye this morning.  Makes a lot of sense.  The Twitter traffic from Irene shows the trend.


http://www.clickorlando.com/news/29030108/detail.html


ORLANDO, Fla. -- Hurricane Irene steered clear of Central Florida for the most part, sparing the region of not just damages but communication troubles, as well, but experts warn that families need a plan.

More than 60 percent of all phone calls are made on a cellphone, and when an earthquake shook the East Coast last week and Hurricane Irene roared ashore over the weekend, many people couldn't get through to family and friends because the networks were jammed.

To avoid these problems in the future should a natural disaster hit Central Florida, FEMA suggests emailing or texting first. While a call might not go through, a text message should.

When Hurricanes Charley, Frances and Jeanne whirled through Central Florida in 2004, sheriff's deputies and fire fighters also had problems with cellphones.

Volusia County's community information director, Dave Byron, said that it really is a problem when cellphones don't work during hurricanes .

"When you get a disaster and you're a first responder like I am and you don't have a main communication tool, that does put you at somewhat of a disadvantage," Byron said. "I do think that is a subject that those that have some control over this ought to take a look at."

Not only do networks jam, but the wind and weather affects the equipment on the towers, so should a hurricane hit Central Florida, plan ahead:

• If a phone call or text message doesn't go through, use social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter.
• Consider getting a landline phone that plugs into the wall, because like cellphones, portable phones might not work during or after a hurricane.
• Make an emergency plan with family and friends should all of these options fall through, such as picking a place to meet after a storm.

FEMA has a new mobile app for Android (iPhone coming soon) and a text messaging program.  Here are the details.

Katia will get the attention, but I'm watching the Caribbean and Gulf

While important to keep an eye in both directions, there are the makings of a storm system to the South of Florida in the Northwest Caribbean worthy of watching.  See the Accuweather forecast box on the right rail of this blog.

Irene's said goodnight but there's more storms a-brewin'!

TD 12 is out there in the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico is waking up.  


Read all about it from Accuweather.

How many tweets did Irene generate?

More than a million Twitter messages were posted about Irene. Hurricane Ike, by contrast, will be remembered in only about 10,000 Tweets.

Odd Turnabout!

Coming to Florida to Escape a Hurricane.  Who would have thought?

Irene- Please Be Kind!

Best of luck to everyone along the East Coast!   We're praying that Irene provides as Good a Night (and day) as possible!

Cuts could limit Hurricane Research

From the Miami Herald 

Meanwhile:

Tropical Storm Don making landfall in Texas

Only three hurricanes have struck Florida in July since 1900, but.....

The three incidents include Dennis, a Category 3 when it struck near Pensacola in 2005, a Category 2 system that hit near Cocoa Beach in 1926 and a Category 1 storm that struck Central Florida in 1933.

Read the entire SunSentinel story here. 

Early Tropical Disturbance in Atlantic

From the Palm Beach Post and the Weather Underground:

Early tropical disturbance in Atlantic not a sign of active season, hurricane expert says

By John Nelander | Friday, April 22, 2011, 08:56 AM

The low pressure system north of Puerto Rico was still holding together Friday, but the National Hurricane Center cut its chances of tropical development. (Credit: NOAA)

It’s unusual for the National Hurricane Center to start tracking a tropical system this early in the year - hurricane season doesn’t officially begin until June 1.

But there’s no need to hit the panic button, a hurricane expert says. Early disturbances in that part of the Atlantic basin do not portend a busy season.

The NHC began discussing the system, designated 91L, on Thursday. It was still on their radar Friday morning, although forecasters had reduced the chances that the disturbance would grow into Tropical Storm Arlene, the first of the 2011 season.
Satellite images showed the swirl of clouds and storms was still holding together, though.

“It’s interesting that it’s done as well as it has, because there’s really high wind shear,” meteorologist Jeff Masters, co-founder of online weather portal Weather Underground, said in an interview Thursday. “We’re talking 70 or 80 knots when 20 is often enough to tear something apart.

“It is early to be having a tropical disturbance like this because you don’t often see that in April. But it’s definitely not a harbinger of an active season. Sings of an early season are systems that are coming off the coast of Africa, or in the Caribbean.
“You start to get a lot of early activity down there and that’s when you worry. But early activity between the Bahamas and Bermuda doesn’t really matter that much.”

On Friday, 91L was plotted at 25.3N 63W, or 496 miles south-southeast of Bermuda and 1,064 miles due east of Palm Beach. It had winds of 40 mph but had not developed into a true tropical system. It was moving to the north at about 10 mph.
But some computer models show the system - or at least moisture associated with the low - nearing the Florida coast early next week.