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Radar Source: Weather Underground
I have a few simple pleasures that I indulge in. Weather is one of them. Severe weather, that is. I especially love tornado and hurricane seasons. I marvel at both - for their raw power and dynamics. But tropical storm Fay, soon to be hurricane Fay, is a pretty baffling and awe inspiring storm in her own right.
During hurricane season I am pretty much glued to a host of weather sites. But my favorite happens to be Weather Underground. And I love reading Dr. Jeff Masters blog for some fun insights about the different storms. I usually watch the storms come alive off the coast of Africa. And I continue to track them for strengthening. Fay jumped onto the scene in an obstinate form. She defied weather experts by denying wind shear and dry African air to her north. Wind shear tends to rip storms apart and dry air denies it of valuable moisture. But never mind, Fay didn’t care about any of that. In fact, she thrived and pushed moisture out to shove the dry air away. But her struggles were only beginning.
The Dominican Republic has been the graveyard for many a tropical storm or hurricane. Its four mountain ranges serve to tear apart the wind patterns of these tropical giants. I guess rock is stronger than air. And as Fay approached the Republic, experts once again talked about the possible demise of this storm. I watched with particular interest as she traversed the Dominican Republic - and survived. She definitely took a beating, but came out alive. As she entered the channel beneath Cuba, it looked like Fay’s fortunes had changed. A nice anticyclone settled upon Fay and it looked like outflow would be great. And those nice, hot, deep waters under Cuba could help feed Fay. But Fay is a fickle one. And she sort of lumbered on. Almost as if to say, “Nah, that’s too easy.” That, my friends, would be an understatement for what she would soon do.
As Fay emerged on the north side of Cuba, Florida went on alert. Would Fay be like hurricane Charley? Charley came along like Fay and put on an incredible strengthening cycle right before landfall. No, Fay steadily and predictably strengthened. Hitting the keys with 50-60mph winds. And then she came ashore to mainland Florida. Not really that impressive with an open eyewall. But then something really odd happened. You can see it in those frames when Fay goes inland in the image above. By the way, that image is courtesy of Weather Underground. Fay’s eyewall closed. Typically, you see storms quickly dissipate as the hit land. Eyewalls get really ragged and fall apart. But Fay’s eyewall closed and intensified. Even after being on land for 12 hours, her eyewall stayed intact. But that’s not the whole story. Fay’s central pressure dropped an incredible 10 millibars of mercury! Now, 10 millibars of mercury is an incredible drop by any measure - but while on land. I can’t remember a tropical storm doing that. If anyone has indication of another storm, I would love to know about it. But Fay’s story isn’t over. Her track will bring her back out into the waters east of the Florida mainland shortly. And then, all indications are that she will wrap back around to northern Florida or Georgia. Incredibly, some long term models put her back into the Gulf later on. Fay is one fickle storm - and amazing to watch.
Update #1: Fay practically stalled just off the coast near Melbourne, Fl. Parts of Northern Melbourne have reported 25 inches of rain and alligators and snakes in the streets. I wouldn’t want to be there right now. Fay is now projected not to reach hurricane status before making a second landfall in Northern Florida. Then maybe she will go back out to the Gulf of Mexico for a short bit. It seems Fay has only a little more time - or does she have even more up her sleeve?
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You can easily track Fay using the links on USA Media Guide to the National Hurricane Center, Florida webcams and local Florida media outlets covering the storm.
The link is http://www.USAMediaGuide.com