Category 2 Evan batters Samoa, killing two
The Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone season is beginning to heat up. Category 2 Tropical Cyclone Evan is pounding Samoa and American Samoa with heavy rains and high winds, after making landfall earlier today on the north shore of Samoa near the capital of Apia. At landfall, Evan had a small 10-mile diameter eye and top winds of 90 mph, but has since intensified to 105 mph winds. Media reports indicate that Evan has killed two, and brought a 12 - 15' storm surge, heavy rains, and severe damage to the island nation. Satellite loops show a well-organized storm with a tiny 7-mile diameter eye. Evan has plenty of intense heavy thunderstorm activity near its core, solid upper-level outflow, and is in an area with weak steering currents. Evan is expected to meander over Samoa until about 18 UTC on Friday, when a ridge of high pressure will build in and force the cyclone to the west. The storm will be in a region with light wind shear and very warm ocean waters that extend to great depth, and could intensify into a Category 3 or 4 cyclone by this weekend. On Sunday, when the ECMWF model predicts that Evan will be near Fiji, the storm will encounter increasing wind shear and should weaken.
Figure 1. True-color MODIS satellite image of Tropical Cyclone Evan over Samoa at 01:05 UTC December 13, 2012. At the time, Evan was a Category 1 storm with 90 mph winds. Image credit: NASA.
Jeff Masters
Reader Comments
Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 — Blog Index
Meanwhile look at that huge 948 mb south of Greenland
The temperature of the water on the cars surface can cool further than the surrounding air temperature due to evaporation though.
unless the thermometer is wet and the air is not saturated, that's the whole idea behind wet bulb temperature.
If the temperature of the car is lower than 32 degrees even if the air temp is higher, the water will still freeze, is the point I was trying to make. I understand what you are getting at. Has nothing to do with wind... (I typed before I really thought it through ;))
Agreed but we were talking windchill not evaporational cooling, which by the way works very well in Arizona
That is true if its at or below freezing. Water on a car will not freeze if it's windy and only in the low 40's plain and simple. The only way to due so is if you super cool the surface, or, if its extremely dry and you continue to place water on the surface until enough evaporative cooling takes place, but that would be very difficult, and would have to be practiced with intention.
Dew can freeze when temps are above freezing during a radiational cooling event where the wind goes calm or near calm because surfaces cool much more efficiently. The air is poor conductor of heat, thus, surfaces will cooler first, causing the air near the surface to cool faster then above, proving calm or near calm or sheltered low lying conditions. However, wind whipping across a surface will prevent that. windy weather and temps in the 40's will not freeze dew. Its really not that complicated...
Sorry, I thought we were talking about ice forming above 32F.
Think heat index it feels hotter to you but not the telephone pole
FWIW I live in Northern MN and understand Windchill and its effects quite well
Well the weather service has no record of temps cold enough to due so. If it was a calm clear night, I could believe that it was locally cold enough for a frost as temperatures can vary dramatically over short distances on calm cold nights. However, although not impossible it would have taken ideal radiational cooling to cause that.
But from what you told me, it was the wind that she said caused it. I'm really not trying to be harsh, just stating the nature of the physics involved in this process, either she doesn't know what she is talking about, or she just made a mistake recalling the story to you.
Sorry if it feels like I'm arguing, I don't want to come off cold or arrogant, I'm just trying to give some weather tips.
Exactly now you own it
Try using the map link in the upper right. They are based on bufkit profiles, so if the site you entered doesn't have a bufkit profile available, it wont show data for that site.
And here in TX in the summer you can add another "0" if its out in the sun for more than 20 mins :)
Speaking of that. Are idiots still complaining about winter storms being named?
Someone was asking for the science on this a couple weeks ago, came across this paper:
Consciousness and the double-slit interference pattern: Six experiments
Link
I think there were some smart ones too.
??? who?
Name-calling?
For any who might be interested, reposting here some of my comments posted earlier on LowerCal's Astronomy blog -
Wanted to check in with first hand report on those Geminids.. In fact I posted quick comment on Dr Jeff's blog last night, in between watching the Sandy Relief concert which was awesome in it's on right... although I doubt many readers there paid attention to the heads-up I tried to offer.
But WOW, was I surprised, went out for a casual look-see at 10:50 PM local CST and in 10 minutes I quickly saw 5 meteors, plus another 4 of those peripherals... Back / forth while concert was on, but later spent night out till near 3:30 AM. Had a gorgeous clear view with cold temps, lol, which turned out my coldest night yet here with 31F low, my 1st light freeze and frost covering everything... But man, was it worth it!
Altogether, clearly saw and counted 58 Geminids! Plus, another 40-50 of the peripheral faint short burst "maybes", lol, given how fleeting they are... Most were short duration, but saw one near 11:45 PM that was an incredible beauty, lasted over 2-3 seconds moving due E-W... My best viewing was looking up, facing west (or WNW).. as time went on early morn hrs, seemed most were roughly ranging between Pleiades and Orion... all traveling generally east to west (SE-NW to ENE-WSW)... Saw as many as 3 within one minute period, to stretches of 3-4 to as long as 7-10 minutes seeing none... LOL, but that's when those "maybes" also occurred, so... As for best viewing time, who knows, there was excellent activity as soon as went out to look!
IMHO, sure appears the 2012 Geminids will rank the best meteor shower of the year, at least in numbers / activity! And last night's view was definitely the most I've seen, highest count since the 2001 Leonids, which I now measure all others up against...
Hey, and all this occurring on the night BEFORE the predicted peak! If tonight's activity matches or exceeds what I saw last night it'll be a spectacle worth losing sleep over, again, lol!
Best wishes for clear skies,
Great viewing all!
Umm thats put a dampener on my evening was getting used to 4 whole days of nice but frosty weather...Oh Well
Nope, why would I care about that?
I'm complaining cuz they won't do tricks like "Shake hands, Brutus" or "Roll over, Caesar".
Samoa reels as tropical cyclone strikes
Updated 7:53 AM Friday Dec 14, 2012
Cyclone Evan, which has already reportedly claimed the lives of three people, continues to batter Samoa today and is expected to intensify with winds up to 145km/h.
At least three people, two of them children, were reported to have been killed in the cyclone overnight.
Samoa's Meteorology Division this morning issued a special weather bulletin, predicting winds will pick up to between 120km/h and 145km/h within the next 6-12 hours.
More on New Zealand Herald
Telefone interview with bad news and video footage:
Samoa braces for second lashing from Cyclone Evan
Three reported dead as cyclone pounds Samoa
updated 08:57
Published: 5:48AM Friday December 14, 2012 Source: ONE News
Three people are feared to have been killed in Samoa as Cyclone Evan makes a u-turn over the country and heads back southwest after already causing massive damage.
The cyclone slammed into the west coast of Samoa yesterday before stalling over the islands, bringing torrential rains and intense winds that brought down trees and buildings, and causing widespread flooding.
The capital Apia has been largely evacuated, phones and electricity are out across much of the country, and tourists in many areas have fled inland from the coast.
It is believed two of the reported fatalities could have been children.
The storm is now a Category 3 tropical cyclone and is gathering force as it roars back to the southwest, where it is expected to pass over vulnerable parts of Tonga before arriving in Fiji on Sunday.
More with photos
What exactly do winter storms have to do with dogs?
Considering two are children, they were most likely carried away by surge or floods and diddnt know how to swim.
I <3 Mid-latitude cyclones...
It..can't..be..possible..
I'm doing good.
Good afternoon everyone, wonderful weather today, barely a cloud in the sky.
From the New Zealand Herald report
Last night there were reports of widespread flash floods, blocked roads, damaged buildings and evacuations.
Radio Samoa reported that one of the victims, a man, drowned in the Vaisigano, a river that runs alongside the famous Aggie Grey's hotel in Apia.
The river burst its banks, and local media said Aggie Grey's had been badly damaged.
It is the same river where a New Zealand teenager perished in March.
Taiana Pilitati, 18, from Wellington, drowned while desperately trying to save her 8-year-old sister Vaiola after they were hit by a large wave while swimming. Taiana was a cousin for former All Blacks Tana Umaga and Ne'emia Tialata.
It was not known last night how the other two storm victims died.
Samoa newspaper editor Terry Tavita told Radio New Zealand people were still missing.
"In fact there are a couple missing from my village which is about five minutes from downtown (Apia)."
The amount of warning locals got before the cyclone pounded the region would need to be reviewed, he said.
"Some people were taken by surprise by this cyclone. Yesterday we drove around the villages, the cyclone was picking up and some of the people said they didn't get enough warning."
Remember, Samoa just recovered from the devastating tsunami in 2009. Unfortunately Evan will cause a lot of widespread destruction again.
Source
Oh it is my friend :) And yes, today is a beautiful yet chilly day here in NOVA, about 42° and sunny.
I am surprised though that it was removed.
We have basically the same weather in SE MI.
Learning is always a good thing :)
haha
You made me laugh out loud in my quiet office. Now everyone knows I wasn't working for a minute. :)
This is the last paragraph from the area discussion from the NWS in Detroit. There could be a storm for the east coast.
The upper low stalls briefly over Ontario as the trough becomes negatively tilted sending another
weak vort max and a cool air mass through northern lower Tuesday leading to a low chance of light
snow showers. Then as the model solutions become more divergent next week there, a strong +160 knot
jet max will enter the nw Contiguous U.S. which looks to dig a west coast trough and could lead to
another large system over the eastern Contiguous U.S. later in the week, but that is about all there
is to say currently on that system this far out.
I'm watching, and I'm really excited... for a chilly, windy rain!
~No One Ever
Ditto my comment in #145. You guys are blowing my covert browsing! :)
Last updated 09:59 14/12/2012
LATEST: Cyclone Evan is set to hit Apia again this morning with greater force, after reportedly killing three people - including two children - yesterday.
The cyclone has already inflicted massive damage on the Samoan capital while details around the fatalities are not yet available.
Winds close to the cyclone's centre are predicted to increase to 120 kmh to 145 kmh within the next 6-12 hours.
A special weather bulletin said Upolu could expect to see high gusts of wind up to 160 kmh and damaging storm surges of 3.6 metres to 4.3m.
Phone lines are still down in Samoa and the country's High Commissioner in New Zealand has been struggling to get updated information.
"We don't have any update (on whether the next phase of the cyclone has hit). We've been trying to call the Disaster Management Office but have had no luck," a spokesman said.
He could confirm that at least three people were dead - two children and one adult. But did not have detail on ages or nationalities.
Samoan newspaper editor Tevita Terrance said wind gusts of up to 112 kph were being experienced.
"There are several missing people at the moment. The damage is pretty extensive," he told RNZ.
More with raw video from Reuters
That is why I call them weather terrorists because the next storm is the worst one ever, even if they have to manufacture it.
Here is nice example
">
just for fun here is one more
">
What a couple of dolts
Viewing: 101 - 151
Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 — Blog Index