Ida's remnants pounding North and South Carolina; El Salvador flooding toll at 160
The remnants of Tropical Storm Ida have pushed off the coast of Georgia, and are adding fuel to a developing extratropical storm that is pounding North and South Carolina with heavy rain and high winds. Over two inches of rain has fallen across much of the region, and NOAA's Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (Figure 1) predicts that up to eight inches of rain could fall in coastal North Carolina by Saturday. Adding to the rainwater flooding problems from all this rain will be coastal flooding from tropical storm-force winds of 40 mph expected to build tonight through Thursday along the Outer Banks of North Carolina. High tides up to four feet above normal are expected from the strong winds. North Carolina will end up getting a more severe pounding from Ida's remnants than Ida gave to the Gulf Coast. You can follow the storm with our Severe Weather Page.
Figure 1. Forecast precipitation for the 5-day period ending at 7 am EST Saturday November 14, 2009. Image credit: NOAA/Hydrometeorological Prediction Center
Invest 98L no threat
Another extratropical storm (Invest 98L), currently spinning over the Atlantic a few hundred miles northwest of Puerto Rico, is showing no signs of development, and will be entering a region of very high wind shear of 30 - 40 knots on Thursday. It currently appears that 98L will swing northward and northeast out to sea on Friday and Saturday, and not merge with the extratropical remnants of Ida currently pounding North Carolina.
Gulf Coast cleans up after Ida
Tropical Storm Ida left mostly minor damage across the Gulf Coast, with the heaviest damage being reported on the west end of Alabama's Dauphin Island. Roads there were covered with sand and water, and moderate beach erosion was reported. At Gulf State Park at Orange Beach, Alabama, the new fishing pier--the longest on the Gulf of Mexico--suffered heavy damage, and will be closed indefinitely. The pier was replaced after being destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in 2004, and just opened in July. "We may have significant losses," said Phillip West, Orange Beach coastal resources manager, discussing beach erosion from Ida. "Not catastrophic or devastating, but significant."
In the Florida Panhandle near Pensacola, Ida washed huge amounts of sand over Fort Pickens Road in Gulf Islands National Seashore, and over heavily traveled J. Earle Bowden Way, which connects Pensacola and Navarre beaches. Both roads are closed indefinitely. Fort Pickens Road was washed out by Hurricane Opal in 1995, and moved to a new location. Hurricane Ivan washed the road out in 2004. It was rebuilt, but was destroyed and rebuilt three more times in 2005, thanks to Tropical Storm Arlene and Hurricanes Cindy and Dennis. The most recent rebuilding of the road put it at a lower elevation, to allow sand to wash over it. It is hoped the cost of this latest repair will be under $1 million.
Editorial comment: perhaps having a low-lying road along a barrier island that regularly washes out, requiring millions in taxpayer repair money to fix, is a bad idea?? Seems to me like this is taxpayer money ill-spent. The 1988 Stafford Act, authorizing the rebuilding of damaged infrastructure after presidentially declared emergencies, has resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer money being spent to rebuild infrastructure damaged by tropical storms and hurricanes on barrier islands. In an era of rising sea levels, and with the U.S. in the midst of an active hurricane period expected to last at least another decade, the Stafford Act just doesn't make sense. Those living in areas subject to a very high level of repeated coastal hazards should pay the bills for their willingness to live in harm's way, rather than depending on Uncle Sam.
In a interview in the New York Times after the last time Fort Pickens Road was washed out, Dr. Orrin Pilkey, professor emeritus in the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University and author of the excellent 2009 book The Rising Sea, said, "People say, 'What are you going to do, let the road fall in? The correct answer, of course, is yes."
Food shortages in El Salvador after floods kill at least 160
A tropical disturbance that dumped up to 17.4" (442 mm) of rain in 24 hours over central El Salvador on Sunday has triggered the need for urgent food aid after flood and landslides destroyed huge swaths of crops during harvest season, according to the U.N. World Food Program. The storm killed at leat 160 people, with dozens more still missing. About 13,000 people are homeless after the disaster.
Figure 2. Collapsed bridge at Santa Cruz La Libertad, El Salvador, with people trying to cross the river. Image credit: Wunderphotographer DiegoSagrera
For those interested in making a donation to assist in disaster relief for El Salvador, Portlight.org has a Paypal donation page set up for this. All funds raised will be forwarded to José Luis Escobar Alas, Catholic Archbishop of San Salvador, and used to assist flooding victims at the discretion of the Archbishop.
Jeff Masters
Tuesday morning as Ida passes through.
Reader Comments
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My point has always been that given the chance wouldn't we all do it? Too many opportunities to pay less=too many people paying lees than they are responsible for paying...
Okay, that off-topic topic has been beaten to death...anyone for ultra-right wing religious organizations? LMAO
Which would indicate that you are a typical horrid leader.
Hey! Old hippie? I'll have you know that I'm a middle-aged hippie!
Naturally, darlin'! How are you, by the way?
Hi, Squawk. Yup, prob. sandbags at the doors of the expensive shops/restaurants, lol.
Oh yea lets see you run around the building, Hold on have shery dial 91 first!! lol
Well said. One of the arguments for rebuilding the Fort Pickens Road has been the tourist dollars it brings in. It is a very popular campground in a great natural environment. Another option that has been suggested is to have ferry service to Fort Pickens and by having it downtown it could bring more tourist dollars there. That being said, good old boy politics is still rampant here and trying to get something like that going would probably take ten years or more. I don't know what the right thing to do is. I understand both sides of the argument, but I do wonder what people would be saying if it were a more popular/populated area where there is more income involved (i.e. Miami, WPB, Eastern Seaboard).
All has to do with the long term capital gains tax rate, the vast majority of thoses individuals income is from long term capital gains.
Link
Live local weather: AAARRRGGGHHH!!!
guess i'll see you all when my ban is over! :)
according to that table the top 400 earners in this country only pay taxes on 17% of there AGI, 53% is itemized deductions, and as a percentage of all AGI in the country it is 1.77%
gotta love the rich. yes they pay more (dollar amount) in taxes then the average person but pay just 2% of the national total THAT my friends is a travisty!!
My point has always been that given the chance wouldn't we all do it? Too many opportunities to pay less=too many people paying lees than they are responsible for paying...
Okay, that off-topic topic has been beaten to death...anyone for ultra-right wing religious organizations? LMAO
Everyone tries and pay less than they should not just the rich. The low income get earned income credit and usually end up getting more back than they pay in. People file married but separated when they aren`t. People claim dependents they don`t have. The list goes on and on. To try and say only the rich do it is just plain wrong.. These are all reasons for a fair tax.
IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT BY 72 HRS...THERE GETS TO BE SOME
COMPLICATION OFFSHORE AS MOST OF THE GLOBAL MDLS SHOW SOME
INTERACTION WITH A SFC LOW CURRENTLY NEAR 26.5N 67.0W WHICH IS
PROGGED TO MOVE NWD AROUND THE E SIDE OF THE MID-ATL LOW CENTER.
THE 00Z GEM GLOB IN PARTICULAR IS INTERESTING AS IT SUGGESTS A
FUJIWARA WITH THE SRN MOST LOW EVENTUALLY WRAPPING AROUND THE N
SIDE OF THE MID-ATL LOW AND TWD THE MID-ATL COAST. THE 12Z GFS MAY
BE TRYING TO DO SOMETHING COMPARABLE AT LEAST WITH ITS SHRTWV
ENERGY...AND ALLOWING IS STRONGER NRLY SOLN OFFSHORE THE NRN
MID-ATL BY 84 HRS.
There are more important things than jobs. Shall we spend money we do not have just to create jobs, if there is not enough demand in the first place to sustain those jobs? If that is the case, then maybe those jobs should not exist. Why not let the so-called tourist dollars pay for it, then?
Action: Quote | Ignore User
you're very close here...the solution to the problem Dr. Masters addresses is to make these roads self-insured toll roads...
The one thing I do disagree with the pro ferry people is their comparison to the ferries from Biloxi and Gulfport to Ship Island. Those are to get people to the Gulf of Mexico beaches and do not carry vehicles. They cannot drive to the GoM like we can so it's apples and oranges. They also have no camping facilities like Fort Pickens. Have no idea how much it would cost to set up a ferry service, but I guarantee whoever tried to do that would expect the local gov to pick up the tab for the docking facilities. Then they cold just come in and their only investment being to transport their already existing ferry here and start making a profit with no initial outlay. (yea, has already been tried here)
Link
That was the only bid...from what I understand, they turned it down and are waiting for more...said it was TOO high
In the case of Ft. Pickens, it technically is self insured since it is part of the National Seashore (Fed park) and fees are charged to enter and camp. That's kind of the irony, feds pay millions to help shore up private beach areas (think FEMA, replenishing sand, restoring utilities) yet balk at rebuilding the road. Not saying whether I agree or not, just think the logic is, well, not logical sometimes.
There are more important things than jobs. Shall we spend money we do not have just to create jobs, if there is not enough demand in the first place to sustain those jobs? If that is the case, then maybe those jobs should not exist.
That has nothing to do with what I said. Go get political somewhere else.
And there you have it. to quote Ten Years After, "tax the rich, feed the poor, till there are no rich no more". How many of us have ever been given a job by a poor person? Seems the rich provide the jobs, so they're paying in many ways other than taxes.
It certainly happens...one solution would be to charge tourists an impact fee...750,000 well heeled tourists drive be my house every year enroute to Kiawah Island...they often pay north of $5000 per week for a beach front home...suits me to stick 'em with a healthy surcharge...
WTNT31 KWNH 111450
TCPAT1
PUBLIC ADVISORY NUMBER 31 FOR REMNANTS OF IDA
NWS HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL PREDICTION CENTER CAMP SPRINGS MD AL112009
1000 AM EST WED NOV 11 2009
...HEAVY RAINS SPREAD NORTHEAST ACROSS THE CAROLINAS AND THE
MID-ATLANTIC STATES...
FLOOD AND FLASH FLOOD WATCHES...WARNINGS...AND ADVISORIES REMAIN
IN EFFECT ALONG THE GULF COAST...NORTHEASTWARD ACROSS THE
SOUTHEAST...AND NORTHWARD INTO THE MID-ATLANTIC STATES.
FOR INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...INCLUDING POSSIBLE WATCHES
AND WARNINGS...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE AT WWW.WEATHER.GOV.
AT 1000 AM EST...1500 UTC...THE CENTER OF REMNANTS OF IDA WAS
LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 31.9 NORTH...AND LONGITUDE 81.5 WEST...OR 20
MILES...35 KM...SOUTHWEST OF SAVANNAH GEORGIA.
A NEW LOW PRESSURE CENTER IS CURRENTLY FORMING NEAR MYRTLE BEACH
SOUTH CAROLINA...WHICH SHOULD BECOME THE DOMINANT CENTER OF
CIRCULATION LATER TODAY. THIS NEW LOW PRESSURE CENTER WILL TRACK
SLOWLY EAST-NORTHEASTWARD OFFSHORE THE CAROLINAS THURSDAY
NIGHT...BEFORE DROPPING SOUTHWARD ON FRIDAY.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 35 MPH...55 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS. THE MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 1006 MB...29.71 INCHES.
SELECTED STORM TOTAL RAINFALL IN INCHES THROUGH 7 AM EST
...ALABAMA...
OPELIKA 11.0 S 9.83
FOLEY 0.5 ESE 6.66
PHENIX CITY 2.2 NNW 6.33
CLANTON 8.6 E 6.30
TUSKEGEE 8.9 E 6.22
SYLACAUGA 9.2 S 6.17
SUMMERDALE 2.5 ESE 6.13
ELBERTA 3.1 SSW 5.85
FOLEY 2.0 SSW 5.62
MOBILE 3.61
...FLORIDA...
GONZALEZ 2.5 NNW 6.78
PORT ST. JOE 0.6 SE 6.32
LAKELAND 1.5 W 5.75
ENSLEY 2.1 ENE 5.36
BELLVIEW 1.7 NW 5.12
MILTON 17.7 NNE 4.83
PACE 2.4 N 4.72
DE FUNIAK SPRINGS 12.5 NW 4.65
WEST PENSACOLA 10.9 SW 4.41
...GEORGIA...
FORSYTH 6.0 NNW 6.86
BOGART 4.2 SE 6.00
DOUGLASVILLE 0.2 N 5.90
BLUE RIDGE 11.9 SSE 5.79
CEDARTOWN 3.0 SW 5.77
STOCKBRIDGE 3.1 E 5.72
BLAIRSVILLE 6.8 SSE 5.70
COLUMBUS 5.60
LA GRANGE 10.6 ESE 5.52
FORT BENNING 5.33
...MISSISSIPPI...
WIGGINS 6E 4.08
WAYNESBORO 2W 4.05
VANCLEAVE 4.1 NNW 3.74
PASCAGOULA 3NE 3.42
NEW AUGUSTA 1N 3.28
OCEAN SPRINGS 3.3 E 3.24
MOSS POINT 10.2 NE 3.10
BUCKATUNNA 3.10
MOSS POINT 2.5 SSW 3.06
...NORTH CAROLINA ...
COLUMBUS 6.6 NNW 5.10
BREVARD 8.2 SE 4.84
FRANKLIN 9.6 S 4.83
EAST FLAT ROCK 0.5 NNE 4.45
LAUREL PARK 1.7 NW 4.43
ELIZABETHTOWN 6.2 NW 4.33
HENDERSONVILLE 9.6 ENE 4.32
BREVARD 0.8 W 4.26
COLUMBUS 1.9 E 4.21
CHARLOTTE 2.75
...SOUTH CAROLINA...
WALHALLA 1.5 NW 5.10
MARIETTA 1.8 SW 5.04
SENECA 4.9 N 4.98
GREENWOOD 0.5 SSE 4.86
WEST UNION 1.5 ESE 4.82
SALEM 0.1 SE 4.74
SENECA 5.5 SSE 4.73
POMARIA 4.0 N 4.69
GREENWOOD 2.8 NNW 4.50
GREENVILLE-SPARTENBURG 4.25
...TENNESSEE...
SEVIERVILLE 5.4 ENE 3.57
NEWPORT 5.0 W 3.57
GREENEVILLE 10.1 S 3.17
CLEVELAND 3.0 ESE 3.05
MOSHEIM 7.5 WSW 3.03
MARYVILLE 4.1 SSW 3.02
ERWIN 8.6 SW 3.02
WHITE PINE 2.0 NE 2.95
CHATTANOOGA 2.68
...VIRGINIA...
BRISTOL 6.7 W 2.02
MONETA 3.7 SW 1.91
COPPER HILL 6.2 S 1.88
BOONES MILL 12.6 E 1.85
SALTVILLE 1.8 SE 1.81
DANVILLE 5.5 N 1.77
ROCKY MOUNT 6.4 NE 1.74
MONETA 3.6 SW 1.74
WOOLWINE 0.4 SW 1.70
LYNCHBURG 1.35
BY FRIDAY MORNING...ADDITIONAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 4 TO 8
INCHES...WITH ISOLATED AMOUNTS OF UP TO 12 INCHES...ARE EXPECTED
ACROSS THE CAROLINAS AND SOUTHERN VIRGINIA.
...SUMMARY OF 1000 AM EST INFORMATION...
LOCATION...31.9N 81.5W
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...35 MPH
PRESENT MOVEMENT...EAST-NORTHEAST OR 075 DEGREES AT 25 MPH
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...1006 MB
THE NEXT ADVISORY ON THIS SYSTEM WILL BE ISSUED BY THE
HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL PREDICTION CENTER AT 400 PM EST. PLEASE REFER
TO YOUR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION ON THIS STORM.
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