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Weather Expert, Former Hurricane Hunter Forecaster: What North Escambia Can Expect
November 9, 2009
Flooding and power outages will be the primary threats from Tropical Storm Ida in North Escambia, according to Dr. Jeff Masters, Ph.D., founder of wunderground.com and former flight meteorologist with the NOAA Hurricane Hunters.
“Power outages, downed trees and flooding will be your primary threat,” Dr. Masters told NorthEcambia.com, “probably not any households destroyed or anything like that.”
Dr. Masters said that North Escambia will likely see sustained winds from Ida in the 30-40 mph range, and gusts from 50 to 60 mph. The storm will likely dump 3-5 inches of rain on our inland communities, he said.
“This is not going to be like your area had from Ivan,” he said. The remnants the northeaster quadrant of Ivan’s eyewall skirted North Escambia, bringing widespread damage.
The threat of inland tornadoes is very low for North Escambia, he said. “The air is just not unstable enough for tornadoes.”
“Ida is beginning to transition to an extratropical storm, and it is often the case that during such a transition the winds will gain energy from the process, though that’s looking unlikely in this case,” Dr. Masters said. “I expect Ida’s top winds will be in the 50 – 60 mph range along the coast tonight and Tuesday morning.”
He said that the worst weather may arrive before landfall.
“Ida’s most intense thunderstorms are on the north side of the storm, and the heaviest rains and highest winds will hit the coast tonight, well in advance of the arrival of the center,” Masters said.
Dr. Jeff Masters holds a B.S. and M.S. degrees in meteorology, and a Ph.D. degree in air pollution meteorology. He served as the flight meteorologist with the NOAA Hurricane Hunters from 1986-1990. While with the Hurricane Hunters, Dr. Masters flew into storms that included Hurricane Gilbert and Hurricane Hugo. He founded The Weather Underground in 1995. To visit The Weather Underground, click here.
Comments
2 Responses to “Weather Expert, Former Hurricane Hunter Forecaster: What North Escambia Can Expect”
I am a meteorology student at the University of South Alabama. For those that don’t know, Dr. Masters is like one of the most important figures in America meteorology. A “Weather God’, if you will.
I can’t believe he tood the time to talk to NorthEscambia. It’s amazing. The PNJ has a meteorology student as their expert…NorthEscambia has one of the top men in meteorology in the entire country.
All of us at USA are in awe of you. Amazing!
Thanks William! When there are any serious storms coming I always go to Weather Underground and read Dr. Masters’ blogs. Pretty cool to hear him talk about little ole North Escambia.