The diagnosis: Coastal storm is NOT tropical
Posted Sep24, 2008 at 07:55 PM
The Air Force has completed a
reconnaissance mission on the storm system off the coast of the Carolinas and determined that the system does not have tropical characteristics. The flight found that the strongest winds were not near a tight central core but instead well to the northwest of the center, more like a non-tropical low pressure system. As expected beforehand, this is more nor'easter than hurricane, but that's largely an academic point, as the waves it will churn up along the coast will likely be equal or greater than some hurricanes. As you can see in the inset water vapor satellite image, the western extent of high clouds has reached Southwest Virginia. Moisture will slowly build overnight into Thursday morning in a very dry air mass, and rain is expected by late Thursday, continuing into Friday before gradually diminishing overnight Friday into Saturday morning. Northerly to northeasterly winds could get a bit gusty in our region, too, perhaps topping 40 mph on Thursday afternoon, especially in higher elevations. This is largely because of the difference in air pressure between a strong high to the north and the coastal low to the south.
Click here for the latest 3-day rainfall projection map from the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center, showing generally about an inch of rain in our region between now and Saturday evening, the bulk of which is expected to fall in the 2-day period ending Friday evening.
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