Hurricane Harvey has formed in the Gulf of Mexico, with Category 1 wind speeds of 80 mph, the National Hurricane Center said Thursday shortly before 12 p.m.Almost makes you proud. Honestly, though, this looks bad.
The storm is still on track toward the coast of Texas, expected to make landfall late Friday night or early Saturday morning as a Category 3 hurricane.
Conditions in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday morning were very favorable for intensification. Satellite images showed that Harvey was a large storm, whose high-level cirrus clouds were already spreading over extreme southern Texas. Harvey had an intense ring of heavy thunderstorms surrounding the eye, and solid low-level spiral bands were forming. The eye was just beginning to appear on both visible and infrared imagery at 10 am CDT. High cirrus clouds streaming away from the center showed the presence of upper-level outflow to the north and east, which was ventilating the storm and allowing intensification to occur. Wind shear was light, 5 – 10 knots, which is favorable for intensification. The atmosphere had a high mid-level relative humidity of 70%, and the ocean was very warm, with sea surface temperatures (SSTs) of 30.5°C (87°F.) This was about 2°F above average for this time of year. Warm waters extended deep into the ocean, providing a large reservoir of heat for the storm to draw upon. The outer bands of Harvey are visible on Brownsville long-range radar.It's less bad for us, of course. Or at least it would be if we had any confidence the drainage system could handle, you know, a thunderstorm or two. We're still waiting for "clarity" on that, though.
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu addressed Tropical Storm Harvey — forecast to be a Category 3 hurricane when it hits the Texas coast — and said more clarity would be offered on Friday regarding both the forecast and the city's pumping capacity.Um, no, we are not going to have to evacuate for a thunderstorm no matter what they think they have to say in order to appear as though they are doing something. Mitch said today it's important that we all "lean forward" which is a thing he likes to say in these situations. I still don't know what that means. Maybe it helps keep you buoyant.
Landrieu remained vague about what circumstances could trigger an evacuation, even as Harvey's rains are expected to start hitting the city this weekend.
On the other hand, if we get into this....
Gov. Edwards: there is potential that Harvey could re-enter the Gulf after landfall in TX— FOX 8 New Orleans (@FOX8NOLA) August 24, 2017
Only source on that so far is John Bel so let's not panic too much. I mean, you know, pre-stage your assets and all if you've got them.
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