On sunday, they said Bertha wouldn't be a hurricane till wednesday

[greenman3610]

this am, its a cat 3 already.

this is a pattern that we have been seeing,
rapid fulmination of tropical storms into
powerful caines.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/07/07/hurricane.bertha/?iref=mpstoryview

[LakeSamish706]

1. And just wait until George W figures out how to steer these suckers, and we will all be doomed. n/t

[lpbk2713]

11. BushCo would love to steer a Cat 5 right over Hyannis Port.

And then send truck loads of cake and guitars.


:eyes:

[JeanGrey]

2. Who are "they"? Several weather forecasting sites said it

might intensify quickly. Today it has already lost steam.

[Warpy]

3. They also said that today the winds would shear the top off

weaken it, and send it on out to sea.

Looks like they got 2 out of 3.

[Eurobabe]

4. I heard an hour ago, that it is only a 1 again

and is wobbling. Bye-Bye-Berthie!

[Speck Tater]

5. Move along. Nothing to see here.

No disaster this time around. Better luck next time.

Bertha, which on Monday became a powerful Category 3 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, had dropped back to Category 1 by 5 p.m. EDT on Tuesday with top sustained winds of 85 mph, the Miami-based center said in an advisory.

on edit: add link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080708/ts_nm/storm_bertha_dc;_ylt=Au6a5nEo.BJnKEKxEybMZv8PLBIF

[Clear Blue Sky]

6. As accurate as predicting the weather for the next several days...

[Firespirit]

7. The rapid intensification of Bertha worries me a lot

The U.S. dodged a bullet with this specific hurricane, but the implications are disturbing for the rest of the season. She's weakening right now because she is getting sheared; with minimal shear she likely would have continued to Category 4 (and may have done that anyway; satellite estimates from her peak period suggested 135 mph). Yet the conditions were not optimal. The water was 27 C, but it sent her from a 60 mph storm to 115-135 mph in less than a day. The Gulf is hotter, and the hottest water is offshore, i.e. no just-before-landfall weakening like with Ivan and Katrina, should something get into the Gulf. The Gulf is sheared right now, but that always relaxes. I am worried. Bertha seems like the Atlantic's warning shot that it is back in its 2004 and 2005 mode of business (or 2007 if you were in the Caribbean).

Edit: I should add, rapid intensification is common enough in August and September, but in early July in the open ocean it's pretty much unheard of.

[Baclava]

8. It petered out. Closing up panic shop in...3...2...1...

Move along

[greenman3610]

12. I wasn't worried about this particular storm, so much as

the pattern of hurricanes seeming to feed on the increased heat
and blow up into major storms quickly.
Just wondering if any of our weather heads had a handle on that,
if it's happening statistically.

[spanone]

9. i live in nashville tn and the weather people are probably right about 47% of the time

[Breeze54]

10. It's an OCEAN Hurricane ONLY! -- Relax and have a nightcap!

:hi: