2009.11.09
Hurricane Ida: Something extraordinary may be happening
Going on leave for the next 2 weeks, I said I wouldn't get on the blog unless something extraordinary happens, and that appears to be on its way as Hurricane Ida defies a weak Atlantic tropical season and November norms and takes aim on the northern Gulf Coast. Hurricane warnings are out for portions of the Mississippi, Alabama and Florida Panhandle coasts. Ida will eventually be running over cooler water and into shearing winds aloft, but may have enough momentum to reach the Gulf Coast intact as a hurricane before becoming "extratropical." What happens to Ida's remnants afterward could be very important in Virginia's weather, as it has the potential to become an extratropical nore'easter type storm that could bring windy rain up and down the East Coast by mid-week ... or possibly only to parts of the Southeast, mostly staying to our south, if it is suppressed by a cold front advancing across the nation.
I will not be able to follow this closely the next few days, but you can on the following Web sites:
Hydrometoerological Prediction Center rainfall forecast maps
RSS feed 
I wound up driving through a lot of rain last night on the way back to the area, though thankfully it wasn't too heavy and traffic mostly played it smart. We had over an inch and a half of rain as of this morning at the house, and probably are close to 2 inches now as the rain shield appears to be shifting eastward. Looks like some places along the ridges got slammed pretty heavily with rain, and places east of here are getting it a lot heavier too. Hopefully flooding doesn't get too bad, the radar returns show 6-8 inches on the storm totals.
Comment by Other John — November 11, 2009 @ 11:54 am
Jus somethig interesting here, - ridges in Highland County are reporting up to 1" of snow, with 1-2 more expected! Down to 43, and been dropping all day, wouldn't be surprised to see some snow here in Bluefiled, all be it just a flake or two.
Comment by Zach — November 11, 2009 @ 6:59 pm