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Florida Gov. Declares State Of Emergency Over Hurricane Irma (Up: clean-up begins)

DietRob

DietRob

i've been begging for over 5 years.
Maybe I'm stupid but I don't understand how some places water is just disappearing. Like that picture yesterday of the Bahamas where miles and miles of ocean is just gone.

I guess the water is being sucked up into the storm? Is that right?

Whatever it is it's an incredible sight. Can someone explain?
 
P

Poltergust

Member
Starting to get some light rain here in Orlando. Winds are picking up, but just as I thought the winds are not breaching the courtyard because the apartment building is completely covering it on the south and west sides; the trees within the courtyard are barely moving at all while the trees outside the apartment building are swaying quite a bit.
 
C

cntr

Banned
DietRob said:
Maybe I'm stupid but I don't understand how some places water is just disappearing. Like that picture yesterday of the Bahamas where miles and miles of ocean is just gone.

I guess the water is being sucked up into the storm? Is that right?

Whatever it is it's an incredible sight. Can someone explain?
Click to expand...
According to WaPo, it's that hurricanes are at such low pressure that the ocean starts bulging up under them, pulling water in from surrounding areas, combined with a strong wind pushing the water away.

It's really rare.
 
B

Baroquemantic

Member
Hoping for the best for all of you. I've got family there. Don't know what part of Florida my sister's in, but my father is in West Palm Beach, I think.
 
C

Chairhome

Member
I'm in East Orlando. Got some light flooding already after a very brief period of hard rain...
jUjqDvJ.jpg


Don't mind the weeds... Uh, Irma did it
Edit: it has since receded
 
M

Mindlog

Member
@_@
Tim Scheu @scheuster

#Tampa bay now an effective dog park as we wait for #irma. With @CityofTampa parks closed ahead of storm, this is the best we've got.
Click to expand...
video

He already updated of a tweet with the dogs back at the hotel taking a shower.
 
E

Eye for an Eye

Member
DietRob said:
Maybe I'm stupid but I don't understand how some places water is just disappearing. Like that picture yesterday of the Bahamas where miles and miles of ocean is just gone.

I guess the water is being sucked up into the storm? Is that right?

Whatever it is it's an incredible sight. Can someone explain?
Click to expand...
That's part of the storm surge they keep talking about. Irma has sucked up all this water and raised the sea level underneath her by several feet. When it comes on shore that higher sea level is brought on shore too and causes the flooding in coastal areas.

The flooding from Harvey in Houston came from above with the rain it dropped for a week. Storm surge is much more rapid and comes from sea level.
 
D

Dubbedinenglish

Banned
DietRob said:
Maybe I'm stupid but I don't understand how some places water is just disappearing. Like that picture yesterday of the Bahamas where miles and miles of ocean is just gone.

I guess the water is being sucked up into the storm? Is that right?

Whatever it is it's an incredible sight. Can someone explain?
Click to expand...

The air pressure in a hurricane is extremely low so the ocean has a point where the air is nor pushing down on it as much as the surrounding area. This you get an area where water rushes in like a pimple of water traveling with the storm.
 
G

Goodacre0081

Member
DietRob said:
Maybe I'm stupid but I don't understand how some places water is just disappearing. Like that picture yesterday of the Bahamas where miles and miles of ocean is just gone.

I guess the water is being sucked up into the storm? Is that right?

Whatever it is it's an incredible sight. Can someone explain?
Click to expand...

i think the left most text explains whats happening. the eye's low pressure is piling up ocean water so much it's draining those rivers and coastal shorelines. not into the storm itself but think of a massive mound of ocean water under the eye

hurricane-sandy-stormsurgediagram-1.jpg
 
DietRob

DietRob

i've been begging for over 5 years.
cntr said:
According to WaPo, it's that hurricanes are at such low pressure that the ocean starts bulging up under them, pulling water in from surrounding areas, combined with a strong wind pushing the water away.

It's really rare.
Click to expand...

Hmm... OK.. I still don't really understand. So the water from the bahamas for example is sucked up into the hurricane which makes it stronger and then that excess water then starts to rain down as the hurricane moves and that causes the 'storm surge' we keep hearing about? ''''
 
I

III-V

Member
Goodacre0081 said:
i think the left most text explains whats happening. the eye's low pressure is piling up ocean water so much it's draining those rivers and coastal shorelines. not into the storm itself but think of a massive mount of ocean water under the eye

hurricane-sandy-stormsurgediagram-1.jpg
Click to expand...

Yes, except on Bayshore we are currently about 200 miles from the eye. Scary stuff how powerful Irma is.

DietRob said:
Hmm... OK.. I still don't really understand. So the water from the bahamas for example is sucked up into the hurricane which makes it stronger and then that excess water then starts to rain down as the hurricane moves and that causes the 'storm surge' we keep hearing about? ''''
Click to expand...

No, its all generated by the wind. Any rain flooding is on top of the storm surge. Remember that the winds are rotating, so you will get an initial push from the storm, and as it passes, powerful winds push water onshore from offshore as well.

The water is gone now, but within 12-24 hours, that entire area will likely be flooded.
 
DietRob

DietRob

i've been begging for over 5 years.
Eye for an Eye said:
That's part of the storm surge they keep talking about. Irma has sucked up all this water and raised the sea level underneath her by several feet. When it comes on shore that higher sea level is brought on shore too and causes the flooding in coastal areas.

The flooding from Harvey in Houston came from above with the rain it dropped for a week. Storm surge is much more rapid and comes from sea level.
Click to expand...

Dubbedinenglish said:
The air pressure in a hurricane is extremely low so the ocean has a point where the air is nor pushing down on it as much as the surrounding area. This you get an area where water rushes in like a pimple of water traveling with the storm.
Click to expand...

Goodacre0081 said:
i think the left most text explains whats happening. the eye's low pressure is piling up ocean water so much it's draining those rivers and coastal shorelines. not into the storm itself but think of a massive mound of ocean water under the eye

hurricane-sandy-stormsurgediagram-1.jpg
Click to expand...

Thanks everyone for the run down. It's such jarring imagery to see miles and miles of ocean water just gone. Truly looks like something out of a Sci-Fi movie.
 
P

Par Score

Member
DietRob said:
Hmm... OK.. I still don't really understand. So the water from the bahamas for example is sucked up into the hurricane which makes it stronger and then that excess water then starts to rain down as the hurricane moves and that causes the 'storm surge' we keep hearing about? ''''
Click to expand...

No.

The water is still in the Ocean, but under the low pressure area the water is higher. This extra water has to come from somewhere, and that 'somewhere' is everywhere else.

The oceans aren't some perfectly flat sheet. Hurricanes are just some of the most extreme shifts in height you generally sea, like a regular tide but hyper-local.
 
D

DJ88

Member
PolarBearsClub said:
Top image looks like it's near downtown Miami (Brickell), and second image looks like Miami Beach. Not 100% sure though.
Click to expand...

Yup. Top pic is definitely Brickell (Downtown Miami).

Not surprised considering how bad the drainage system is there and how bad it flooded a few weeks ago during some extended rain.
 
I

III-V

Member
Marco Island preparing for eyeball landfall.



Expect catastrophic damage from 9'+ storm surge. Stay safe Marco Island GAF
 
Warnen

Warnen

Don't pass gaas, it is your Destiny!
In Coconut Creek (just outside of Boca Raton) fence just got blown down but still have power/internet. Worst almost done here so hope everyone else stays safe.
 
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