Wham, bam, three more storms, ma’am
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As if Charlottesville won’t get a thorough enough dousing this weekend from Tropical Storm Hanna, two more potential hurricanes, Ike and Josephine, already lurking in the Atlantic Ocean, also appear headed in this direction.
Hanna, drenching the island nation of Haiti today, appears to be widening and will slam into the East Coast somewhere around 6am this Saturday near the border between South and North Carolina, says Jerry Stenger, the UVA climatologist.
“We will probably not see the rain until closer to noon on Saturday,” says Stenger, predicting Charlottesville rainfall will measure between one and three inches.
“It’s entirely possible that some higher elevation locations, like the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge, could get more,” says Stenger. “Winds in our area could be gusty– probably up in the 30-mile-per-hour range.”
Stenger, however, notes that Hanna’s expected path, which has recently been shifting eastward, suggests that if the trend continues, winds and rainfall might diminish. Whatever rain falls, Stenger adds, should end by late Sunday.
“The one thing to keep an eye out for,” says Stenger, “is Ike, which could be moving into our purview in about a week.”
A so-called “Cape Verde hurricane,” Stenger says Ike formed near the Cape Verde Islands off the coast of Africa, so it has plenty of open ocean over which to balloon into an extremely powerful storm– Category 4 or 5. By contrast, Hanna will probably be a Category 1 Hurricane when it hits the East Coast, Stenger says, and will quickly lose strength over land.
Since Monday, the Charlottesville city government has been warning citizens to make preparations for a possible emergency with the arrival of Hanna’s rains and potentially high winds.
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Batten down the hatches, and hide the pets — I’m heading for the hills. No wait — higher rain in the hills. I’m heading to Tennessee!!
We’ll get maybe a 1/4 inch from Hanna which will mostly graze the coast, and not a drop from the other two based on the current models and historical data. We know TJ loves history, and he is always right.
A so-called “Cape Verde hurricane,” Stenger says Ike formed…
What does Stenger think of being called a “Cape Verde hurricanë”?
A so-called “Cape Verde hurricane,” Stenger says Ike formed…
What does Stenger think of being called a “Cape Verde hurricanë”?
Ha, ha, ha. Jerry’s quite a dynamic fellow. Given that he’s now the state climatologist, I guess that his former boss, the global warming - hating Pat Michaels must have gone elsewhere.