Anyone live in Florida? Dorian really winding up and is following Andrew's track almost exactly. Could become a cat 5 like Andrew once it hits the gulf stream.
Monday is the 84th anniversary of the most intense Hurricane to ever hit Florida and the United States.Already a 4, ahead of schedule. Gonna be a bad one. My mom's on the gulf coast outside of Tampa and told me yesterday that the grocery stores have been ransacked. Can't imagine the Atlantic coast...
I have family on the coast that got the hell outta dodge and family in Orlando that are going to ride it out. Also fam in Tampa area that aren’t that concerned. I told them safer than sorry but they’re on opposite coast and not as worried for some stupid reason.
If you mean you want to be on the left side of the eye as it moves north, then yes you're right. You do not want to be on the right side of the eye as it moves north along the coast, that would be very bad. Most people will be on the left side because that's where the coastline will be if Dorian stays just offshore. However if you live on an island well offshore get out now. Conversely as the storm continues with a westerly track being north of the eye will get the worst of it while south of the eye will not be as bad. The actual size of the eye and the storms pressure gradient also has a big effect on how fast the wind speeds are. Pressure gradient is how fast the pressure drops from the outer bands to the eyewall.The reason they're not as worried is they won't see significant winds or tidal surge. They're biggest concerns should be any tornadoes in the outer bands of the storm and probably logistical stuff on the ground like gas and groceries as other parts of the state getting hit harder will have higher priority. I have a sister in the Orlando area and she is staying put. I'd do the same if I were in Orlando or the west coast of Florida.
With the counter clockwise rotation you always want to be between 12 and 6 o'clock and have that moisture from the ocean already dropped over land.
If you mean you want to be on the left side of the eye as it moves north, then yes you're right. You do not want to be on the right side of the eye as it moves north along the coast, that would be very bad. Most people will be on the left side because that's where the coastline will be if Dorian stays just offshore. However if you live on an island well offshore get out now.
There is another component to flooding in a hurricane that is extremely important, and it is the main reason why the deeper (deeper ........meaning the lower the sea level barometric pressure is) the storm is the greater the expected storm surge is the closer you get to the eye. That component is simple to visualize, the atmospheric pressure right under the eye is the lowest in the storm and rises as you get away from the eye, so what you get is a "mound" of water that is under the storm and it is highest right under the eye and eye wall and slopes away toward the edge of the storm. So if you have an intense Cat 5 hurricane the storm surge and that "mound of water" is correlated with how deep the storm is even if the hurricane is stationary. This component is much more important than the winds at sea level "pushing" the water around the eye, though that does add something. The great Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 was a small compact storm that had a very small eye and moved over the Keys at only 4 or 5 mph but had a huge storm surge all around it of 20 or 30 feet. It was that "mound" of water that covered the islands as it slowly moved and is irregardless of it being high tide or low tide, obviously though that "mound" has a big head start if it comes at high tide.Yes, left side, especially inland.
The east coast of Florida, Georgian and the Carolinas may be on the left side but depending on how close to the coastline the eye is, there can/will be significant flooding as the storms whips all the water from the Atlantic up against the coast.
And it's not just the tidal surge on the coastline. All those rivers emptying in to the Atlantic essentially get stuffed as the normal flow of water in to the Atlantic is countered by the storm pushing the Atlantic water in to those waterways. Throw in 5"-6" of rain and you can get significant inland flooding.
In northern Florida you have the St. John's River, You have the Savannah at Ga/SC line and a bunch of others too.
To the experts:
Whoa Nellie, that’s way too much family in Florida! Have they been checked?I have family on the coast that got the hell outta dodge and family in Orlando that are going to ride it out. Also fam in Tampa area that aren’t that concerned.