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| Typhoon Merbok | |
Paris barked at me tonight and said, "But Mom, this doesn't have anything to do with the drug wars, Her Majesty the Queen, funny animal videos, the Ukraine or bark bark bark ggggrowl Donald Trump !" Yes darling, I know...but it does have to do with climate change and you know how miserable you were during the last heat wave.
Luckily, it has cooled down here, but check this out:
~ From CNN:
Alaska Is Facing Its Strongest Storm In Over a Decade
"All eyes in Alaska will be on the remnants of Typhoon Merbok as the system moves over the southern Bering Sea on Thursday night -- before becoming what's expected to be the strongest storm to impact the state in more than a decade.
The National Weather Service in Fairbanks is urging coastal residents to complete preparations for the storm by Friday morning, as conditions will begin to rapidly deteriorate by Friday afternoon.
"This
is likely going to be the strongest storm in over a decade, with
impacts likely rivaling impacts we saw in 2011 from what's referred to
as the Bering Sea Superstorm," Jonathan Chriest, a meteorologist with the weather service in Fairbanks, told CNN.
That
2011 Alaskan storm, with wind gusts over 90 mph, left behind a wide
swath of destruction. Like Merbok, the 2011 system was an extratropical
storm. An extratropical storm or cyclone has cold air at its core --
unlike a tropical storm or cyclone which has a warm core. Both can cause
significant damage from strong winds, heavy rain and storm surge.
"When
a big storm comes in, we always say 'does it compare to the 2011
storm?'" Chriest told CNN.
"This is the first storm since 2011 that we
have high confidence ... will compare impact-wise."
This
week's storm will not only rival the 2011 event, but is expected to
reach a magnitude unlike any other for the month of September.
The
storm's central pressure, a metric which can indicate how much wind and
storm surge a system can produce, is forecast to drop to a mind-bending
940 millibars -- a number typically found in Category 3 and Category 4
hurricanes. Generally speaking, the lower the central pressure, the
stronger the storm.
"In September we've never had a storm with the central pressure in the Bering Sea below 960 millibars," Chriest said.
On Friday, the remnants of Typhoon Merbok are forecast to move into the
Bering Sea and are forecast to "bomb out." That process is also known as
bombogenesis,
referring to a pressure drop of 24 millibars in 24 hours or less. That
means the storm is rapidly strengthening and has the potential to cause
significant damage.
The storm has the capability to generate major flooding, significant storm surge, 50-foot wave heights and hurricane-force winds.
"Nome-Council Road runs along the coast and there's potential that road
may be washed out. Since it's September it's still hunting season, so
there's likely hundreds of folks hunting in the mountains north of Nome
where Nome-Council Road runs through," Chriest said.
Chriest said many of the hunters are off the grid and may not have access to the latest storm forecasts.
"In addition to coastal flooding, shoreline erosion is also possible,"
Eric Drewitz, a meteorologist with the weather service in Anchorage told
CNN.
"Hurricane
force winds are expected in the Bering Sea. The western and central
Aleutians are under a high wind warning for winds of 50 to 70 mph,
gusting to 90 mph. The Pribilof Islands are under a high wind watch for
winds of 50 to 65 mph, gusting to 85 mph."
Coastal flood watches have also been issued for all coastlines along the west coast of Alaska between just north of the Arctic Circle down through the Kuskokwim Delta coast.
While
high winds and storm surge are expected to be the main impacts of this
storm, rainfall accumulations cannot be ignored. Anchorage has already
been exceptionally wet this year. In fact, it's on track for its wettest
year on record.
"Even
if no rain fell for (the remainder of 2022) they would finish in the
top 10 wettest years all-time," the weather service said in a tweet.
While
most areas will see around 1 inch of rain with this storm, some areas
could pick up as much as 2 to 3 inches through the weekend. Even if
Anchorage only picks up 1 to 2 inches from this storm, it will push this
year into the top five wettest years on record."
~ From The Washington Post: Must read -
September 14, 2022 at 1:48 p.m. EDT
~~~~~
See you guys later...
............
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