Georgia Likely Spared; East Coast to Get Hit by Hanna
It’s beginning to look like the Georgia coast will be spared any significant effects from Tropical Storm Hanna. The storm’s forecast track has been moving steadily east, with landfall now predicted somewhere around Wilmington, North Carolina, then moving northeast along the coast past Wilmington, Delaware and Wilmington, Massachusetts, and then finally up through Nova Scotia by the end of the weekend.
The real question is how strong Hanna will get before it does make landfall. At this point, it is forecast by the Hurricane Center to be a category 1 hurricane with 80 MPH winds just before landfall. In comparison, Gustav had 115 MPH winds just before making landfall in Louisiana. The Hurricane Center is only calling for a 30% chance of tropical storm winds along the Georgia coast, although high tides and rip currents are definitely likely. Around an inch of rain is predicted along the coast, with far less called for in Georgia’s interior. Atlanta won’t see anything from the storm, and the Bulldogs should enjoy great weather this weekend in Athens.
The east coast could risk a second hit next week with Hurricane Ike, which will be a much more powerful storm than Hanna. By Monday, Ike will be a category 3 hurricane located just a little west of where Hanna is now. Models indicate that an upper level weather pattern may be in place that is similar to what we are going to see in the next day or two, meaning Ike could take a path similar to that of Hanna. But the weather can change, so we’ll have a better sense of what will happen with Ike by the end of the weekend.
The biggest problem in Louisiana, besides plenty of rain, is lack of power. Much of the electrical grid in the Pelican State is down, however the reverse diaspora has begun, and residents are beginning to pick up the pieces. Gustav hasn’t moved very far since arriving in Arkansas, although it will begin to travel north, bringing rain to Wilmington, Ohio and Wilmington, Illinois and should finally be gone by Friday. The HPC is reporting that New Orleans only received 3.1 inches of rain from Gustav–far less than further northwest. Jonesville, Louisiana is still having tornado warnings, and has recorded 17.7 inches of rain through this morning.
Vicksburg, Mississippi got almost 9 inches of rain, as did Hot Springs, Arkansas and Monroe, Louisiana. And, it is continuing to rain, so the final totals will be higher. And, if you want to stay out of the rain this weekend, avoid Wilmington.
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September 3rd, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Even though this storm is only going to be cat 1, it could still do some real damage with the storm surge. Also, folks in along the Georgia coast should be ready for large sea swells and deadly rip tides as this things moves on past.
We’ve been writing all week about Gustav on our blog and I hope we will not have to spend the next week writing about Hanna.
Thanks for the post.