Storms
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Tornado1

Ahead of #Irma 'water is literally being sucked out of Tampa Bay'

Anthony Watts
Watts Up With That
Sun, 10 Sep 2017 17:42 UTC
Hurricane Irma
When a hurricane approaches, there is storm surge that piles up water, but when it is out at sea, especially in shallow waters, the vacuum effect of the low pressure of the storm can suck water away from the shores. Offshore winds also play a big role. Such is the case here. This photo, taken by Dana Young and posted on Twitter, shows the effect.

She writes:
Hours before Irma hits, the water is literally being sucked out of Tampa Bay. I took this photo at the end of my street. This was at Albany and Bayshore 15 min ago.

Comment: See also: Hurricane Irma: Florida declares State of Emergency as storm upgraded to Category 5 - UPDATES

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Cloud Precipitation

Satellite images reveal eerie 'face' of Hurricane Irma


RT
Sun, 10 Sep 2017 16:11 UTC
Hurricane Irma
© NASA
Satellite images have revealed a spooky, face-like formation in the eye of Hurricane Irma as the deadly storm is poised to make landfall in the US.

After roaring its way along the Caribbean leaving a trail of carnage in its wake, the Category 4 hurricane is now set to crash into the coast of Florida, with Governor Rick Scott warning that the state is facing the "most catastrophic" storm it has ever seen.

NASA has been sharing satellite images and timelapse videos as the hurricane hurtled through the Bahamas and Cuba, leaving at least 22 people dead and destroying countless homes, businesses, and even hospitals.

The images convey the immense ferocity of the storm as it barrels along its way, though several social media users have noticed an even more chilling feature in some of the pictures - the appearance of a face.
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Tornado1

Hurricane expert Dr. Philip Klotzbach: #Irma at landfall comes in 7th behind 1935 Labor Day storm

Anthony Watts
Watts Up With That
Sun, 10 Sep 2017 14:50 UTC
While this won't be of much comfort for those that are squarely in it's path right now, it is a small bit of good news. Dr. Philip Klotzbach has compiled rankings of both hurricane Irma and Harvey when they made landfall. Compared to the 1935 Labor Day storm, Irma is a distant 7th, tied with the 1928 Lake Okeechobee storm.

Comment: See also: Winds, fire, floods and quakes: Mother Nature's recent nutty run

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Boat

Riders on the storm: Sailor livestreams Hurricane Irma from his boat in Key West, Florida (VIDEO)


RT
Sun, 10 Sep 2017 13:53 UTC
Sailor livestreams storm
© S/V Andromeda / Facebook
A man livestreamed Hurricane Irma from his boat in Key West, as the Category 4 storm prepared to make landfall over the lower Keys.

The footage was broadcast from the sailing vessel Andromeda on the boat's dedicated Facebook page.

Footage was interrupted on a number of occasions, finally cutting out as the eye of Hurricane Irma was just 20 miles east-southeast of Key West.

Rough seas were seen and strong winds could be heard as the sailor, Ryan Stone, pointed out debris in the water from his docked vessel.
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Bizarro Earth

Rare phenomenon caused by Hurricane Irma sucks the water from Bahamas beaches

Kaileen Gaul
Daily Mail (UK)
Sun, 10 Sep 2017 01:42 UTC
Bahamas beach disappears
© Twitter@deejayeasyaBefore: Hurricane Irma temporarily changed the shape of the ocean after hitting the Bahamas on Friday
Extraordinary footage from the Bahamas show the shoreline receded much farther than normal, exposing what is usually the ocean floor.

Twitter user @Kaydi_K from Long Island, Bahamas wrote on Friday: 'I am in disbelief right now... This is Long Island, Bahamas and the ocean water is missing!!! That's as far as they see #HurricaneIrma.'

The strange video shows her walking on the exposed ocean floor which is dry and covered in large shells. Another Twitter user tweeted a photo of the exposed beach at a different beach in the Bahamas and showed it was back to normal within less than a day.

Hurricane Irma, which hit the Bahamas on Friday, is so powerful that it has altered the shape of the ocean in Long Island, but it will likely be back to normal by Sunday afternoon.

Pressure in a hurricane's center is low and Irma is so strong that it is pulling water into its core, sucking it away from the ocean, according to the Washington Post.


Comment: Last month the Atlantic Ocean dramatically receded off the coasts of Uruguay and Brazil. See also:

Meteotsunami? Ocean dramatically recedes on South American Atlantic coast as huge waves batter the Pacific side

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Tornado1

Paradise islands devastated by Hurricane Irma (VIDEOS, PHOTOS)


RT
Sat, 09 Sep 2017 18:30 UTC
St Martin
© Lionel Chamoiseau / AFPOrient Bay on the French Carribean island of Saint-Martin, after the passage of Hurricane Irma.
Images of the devastating impact of Hurricane Irma have filled social media, showing how the deadly storm system has reduced tranquil Caribbean island paradises to ruins.

More than 20 people died as extreme weather barrelled across the Caribbean bringing winds of up to 150mph. Whole neighborhoods have been turned-upside down on islands such as Barbuda, St Barts and the Virgin Islands.

Irma continues to travel west towards Florida, and the US Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has warned that it will bring "life-threatening wind, storm surge and rainfall hazards".

As islanders struggle to come to terms with the natural disaster, and as MSM coverage continues to focus on Florida, here is the latest on the worst-hit Caribbean regions.

Comment: See also: Hurricane Irma: Florida declares State of Emergency as storm upgraded to Category 5 - UPDATES

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Blue Planet

Winds, fire, floods and quakes: Mother Nature's recent nutty run

Seth Borenstein
AP
Sat, 09 Sep 2017 18:52 UTC
hurricane damage
With four big hurricanes, a powerful earthquake and wildfires, it seems that nature recently has just gone nuts.

Some of these disasters, like Friday's earthquake in Mexico, are natural. Others may end up having a mix of natural and man-made ingredients after scientists examine them. We also always tend to look for patterns and order in chaos, even when they aren't there, psychologists say.

"Nature's gone crazy," mused Jeff Masters, meteorology director at the private service Weather Underground. "Welcome to the future. Extreme weather like this is going to be occurring simultaneously more often because of global warming."


Comment: Global warming? - Still no warming for 17 years 9 months


A look at a rough few weeks in North America:
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Tornado1

Deserted Florida: Miami transforms into ghost town ahead of Hurricane Irma as seven million citizens are ordered to evacuate


RT
Sat, 09 Sep 2017 17:15 UTC
Florida coast
© Saul Loeb / AFPA nearly-deserted beach after residents and visitors evacuated from Miami Beach, Florida, September 7, 2017, ahead of Hurricane Irma.
Eerie footage and images of southwest Florida reveal deserted beaches and cities in areas usually thronging with crowds as residents flee the region ahead of Hurricane Irma making US landfall.

Seven million citizens have now been ordered to evacuate and at least 51,000 people are staying in shelters in southeastern Florida, according to Florida emergency management officials.

The National Weather Service has warned residents that nowhere in the Florida Keys will be safe when Irma hits, while Florida Governor Rick Scott urged any hold-out citizens Friday night to leave immediately.

Looking at footage from the scene, it appears many have heeded the warnings, as bustling tourist hotspots like Miami seem all but abandoned.

Comment: See also:
Hurricane Irma: Florida declares State of Emergency as storm upgraded to Category 5 - UPDATES

Hurricane Irma crackles with lightning in satellite video

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Cloud Lightning

New Zealand blasted by 2200 lightning strikes in 24 hours


Stuff
Sat, 09 Sep 2017 13:09 UTC
The country's been thrashed by lightning as unstable weather takes hold.
© METSERVICEThe country's been thrashed by lightning as unstable weather takes hold.
New Zealand has been hit by lightning more than 2200 times over 24 hours, with the West Coast of the South Island bearing the brunt of the strikes.

MetService meteorologist Tui McInnes said from 6.15pm on Friday to 7.20pm on Saturday, the country was blasted by 2206 lightning strikes as unstable weather took hold.

Most of those strikes had occurred offshore.

In the 24-hour period, Auckland had been hit nine times, the Bay of Plenty was hit 20 times and Westland was hit 163 times, McInnes said.
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Cloud Lightning

Hurricane Irma crackles with lightning in satellite video

Mike Wall
SPACE.com
Fri, 08 Sep 2017 09:38 UTC
irma
Hurricane Irma
Hurricane Irma looks like a gigantic electrified beast in an amazing new video captured by an Earth-observing satellite.

The video, which is composed of imagery taken by the GOES-16 satellite, shows countless lightning storms crackling within Hurricane Irma day and night as the monster storm churns its way toward Florida.

The movie condenses more than 80 hours of observations — beginning Monday (Sept. 4) at about 8 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT) — into 49 jaw-dropping seconds.

"Of interest in this loop is the lightning within Hurricane Irma itself, particularly around the eye of the storm," officials with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which operates GOES-16 along with NASA, said in a description of the video.

"Hurricanes don't often exhibit a great deal of lightning, because their winds are mostly horizontal, not vertical," the officials added. "So, the vertical churning within storms that generates lightning doesn't normally happen."

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