#hurricane

iCyclone's profile picture

I'm back home after hunting #EDOUARD—an odd little storm. I don't chase tropical storms, generally. It's just not my thing, because I get turned on by wind, not water. But there was always the *chance* EDOUARD would become a #hurricane. As several computer models predicted, the tiny cyclone did strengthen significantly *just* before landfall, crossing the coast with an estimated intensity of 50 knots—but fortunately, it just didn't have enough time to become a hurricane. Still, it was a spicy little system that packed a punch in the SW corner of #Louisiana and the industrial cities SE #Texas. Me: I started in Sabine Pass, TX—then drove across the state line into Louisiana to get into the calm center (what we'd call an eye if it were a hurricane) as it hit land. My location at landfall: a gas station on Highway 82 (29.7646N 93.7564W). I measured 999.6 mb at 2:36 pm CDT, but it's possible there was lower pressure before or after the time I was taking readings in that spot. Crossing back into Texas, I drove back into the W "eyewall" as I entered the S outskirts of Port Arthur, hitting extremely heavy rain and big gusts. The ships in the canal sat stoically in the gloom, like sleeping dinosaurs—seemingly unbothered by the atmospheric theatrics—but I noticed wind-driven waves from Sabine Lake jumping up onto waterfront lawns as I crept up the highway. I soon got back into the calm eye feature, which I "surfed" as I drove N through the city. I went through Downtown Port Arthur when the exact center of the storm passed over it. The rain had stopped, but the sky was very dark on the horizon, and the traffic lights swung angrily in the gusts. Heading NE to Orange and then E on I-10, I hit one last *extremely* heavy outer rainband near Lake Charles—rain so heavy I almost pulled over, because I couldn’t see. But that was the very outer edge of this tiny storm: once I cleared that rainband, conditions instantly improved, the road dried, and I enjoyed fair weather all the way back to Mississippi. EDOUARD was a compact, self-contained little thing. Here are just some images and moments from the day.

Josh Morgerman

27,258 просмотров • 2 дней назад