Hurricane SlowLEE (teehee) is finally approaching land, so I thought I better pop in and say a few words. And also, we have just crossed the statistical mid-way mark of the hurricane season (Sept 10th)...  Wo-oah, we're halfway there, wo-oah...  (and if you are like me, you will never sing the original lyrics to that song again! :-)). Lee been a been moving at a bit of a sedate pace as storms go - he was named on the 5th of Sept, and looked a bit ferocious on the 7th when he was officially and briefly a cat 5 hurricane,  but dropped down cat 4 on the 8th and he's been weak ..read more

Busy day today all over the place! Well, maybe not in Florida, but everywhere else I'm sure. ;-) Ok ok, I know you have been very busy over yonder, preparing today, boarding up, and getting supplies so you are well stocked up (or have evacuated)... but hands up, who's also been doing this... (Image Credit: unknown from the internet, but The Simpsons are great!) Hurricane Idalia  She is currently at 27.4N, 84.6 W heading N at a very fast 18mph. She is on track to make landfall in the Florida Big Bend area tomorrow morning at around 8 or 9am. She is tracking slightly west of the official ..read more

I'll sum up some wrap-up thoughts from last week on the US west coast some other day. Today, it's once more unto the breach dear friends, and over to the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico where the game's afoot. Are your supplies ready? Water? Candles? Ice Cream? Wine? Tropical Storm Idalia She is getting stronger as I'm sure everyone in Florida and the southeastern US are already aware...  She's currently at 22.0N, 85.0W, heading N at a stately 8 mph. Her track is bringing her into Florida, but the center could be anywhere in that cone so don't focus on the center of it. We ar ..read more

As I sit here, sipping my tea, in the skies overhead there are clouds circling and a helicopter circling. One of these is normal for LA. :-) Hurricane Hilary is at 24.4N, 114.2W, heading NNW at a fast 17mph! They have moved the track forward in time, so if you were expecting her to pass by on Monday, that was yesterday's plan. Now her center will clip Baja tonight...  Make landfall tomorrow afternoon (Sunday, 12pm = noon), and have zoomed by the LA region by midnight. This doesn't mean that the effects of the storm will be over by midnight on Sunday - those I expect will continue into M ..read more

With Hurricane Hilary out there and still heading in this direction, I've started going through my hurricane checklist... two lychee martinis later, I'm now onto the ice cream which, may I say, is quite delicious. If you are a regular reader, you may be wondering where the wine went... me too! ;-) Before we get to what else is on my checklist, what's going on with Hilary? As expected, she intensified to a mid-size cat 4 earlier today (winds got to 145mph - cat 4 range is 130-156), and also as expected, she is slowly starting to weaken - she is a bit weaker now and is back to being a borderline ..read more

Hello my friends! I know, I know, this is not the start of the 2023 Hurricane Season! I haven't forgotten you, but I was a bit busy with wotnots and ice cream, so I came up with a cunning plan...  Yes, I was definitely marching with oodles of ill-deserved confidence... my cunning plan was to retire this year (from the blog, not in general)! I didn't think anyone would notice... after all, the NHC is doing so much better these days (well done, chaps) and even I defer to their track in the last 24 hours of landfall these days.  But, apparently, Mother Nature had other plans ..read more

It's the weekend after one long week, so I'm sure you'll be happy to know that this will be my last update on what is now Post-Tropical Storm Ian.  He made his final landfall just after 2pm local time near Georgetown, South Carolina, 55 miles NE of Charleston, as a cat 1 level storm with winds of 85 mph, central pressure 977mb. He is now at 35.3N, 79.5W and heading north at 15mph. Winds are around 50mph, central pressure of 994mb, which makes him the equivalent of a weak Tropical Storm. Now he has moved away from the Gulf Stream there isn't much left in this system as far as convection go ..read more

Phew... this was a two glasses of wine evening! The good news is that the Tampa Bay area got off fairly lightly, but I'm sure you have all seen the destruction in the Ft. Myers area and other parts of the state with many areas still flooded, almost 2 million without power, and 14 deaths so far in Florida. This will be the last time we have a Hurricane Ian on the roster and in 6 years, it will be another name for 'I'. But, alas, Ian isn't quite over yet...  He is now officially a mid-intensity cat 1 storm with winds of 85mph, central pressure 984mb (cat 1 range: 74-95mph): His convection ..read more

Oh dearie me. Ian is such a nice human being... but not such a nice storm. In Cuba, he wiped out power - not just on the western side but across the entire island (for the first time).  Hurricane Ian In Florida, he made landfall a few hours ago at Cayo Costa in the Sanibel/Captiva/Fort Meyers/Charlotte Harbor area of Florida and they are now experiencing what remains of his rougher weather as he passes by: He officially made landfall at around noon local time as a cat 4 storm with winds just under 150mph, central pressure of 940 mb (cat 4 range: 131-156mph) - a big storm covering a lot ..read more

It's getting a bit hot out there, so I've got my ice cream and I'm ready to check in on Hurricane Ian... Track: I, along with a few hundred thousand of my closest friends, have been watching Ian's track shifting to the east (and hence south) all day. He is currently at 24.4N, 83W, heading NNE at 10mph - making that turn towards the east sooner than officially forecast yesterday. This means he will be making landfall tomorrow, not Thursday: That change in track also means his intensity will be a little different than forecast but more on that later. After landfall, the pressure fields are set ..read more