Forum:2010 Atlantic hurricane season/Alex

===01L.ALEXEdit=== ====93L.INVESTEdit==== Hm, 92L appears to be gone and 93L has popped up in its place. Either way, still storms moving westward across the Caribbean with a low risk of development at this time. --Patteroast 16:43, June 21, 2010 (UTC)
 * This one looks very good and conditions seem somewhat favorable. SHIPS, LGEM and ICVN all make it a major hurricane in five days but the GFDL, HWRF and GFS don't do much with it. -- SkyFury 19:52, June 21, 2010 (UTC)
 * So far I've been wondering if maybe we'll get a small tropical storm so we can start the season off and everything. But I just checked the latest GFDL run, which makes 93L a category 3 hurricane entering the Gulf of Mexico, aimed at Louisiana. Now I'm starting to get worried. (Hopefully it doesn't end up anything like that!) --Patteroast 08:05, June 22, 2010 (UTC)
 * I just noticed the same thing. The 12Z run makes it a 90kt Category 2 headed for southeast Louisiana by 12Z June 27, which is 53 years to the day after Hurricane Audrey wiped Cameron, LA off the face of the Earth. That said, it is extremely unusual for an Atlantic hurricane to get that strong this early in the season. Still, the GFDL forecast is a little spooky. -- SkyFury 17:59, June 22, 2010 (UTC)
 * I am not sure about what this storm will do, but major hurricanes are rare in June; the last one was Alma in 1966, 44 years ago. We might be overdue by now, and if this storm does end up the way these forecasts are saying, it could be a horiffic enviromental disaster. All of the oil from the oil spill in the Gulf could get caught up in the storm surge of a hurricane, which would not only destroy, but contaminate, all of the water and other resources there. 98.206.70.2 20:34, June 22, 2010 (UTC)
 * It does not look like much today, and the recon flight has been called off. NHC still thinks it has potential though, and it's still at medium risk. --Patteroast 21:37, June 23, 2010 (UTC)
 * Hmm. Still not looking like much, still medium risk, and now a TCFA issued. Models going considerably less crazy about it now, at least. --Patteroast 16:25, June 24, 2010 (UTC)
 * 60% risk.--Guillaume Hébert-Jodoin 00:00, June 25, 2010 (UTC)
 * All the way up to 70% now. --Patteroast 16:58, June 25, 2010 (UTC)
 * Make it 80%--Guillaume Hébert-Jodoin 19:07, June 25, 2010 (UTC)

====Tropical Depression OneEdit==== There we go! Atlantic season's really begun. Forecast to be Alex before hitting the Yucatan, will take a serious hit and will take a while to regenerate after that. --Patteroast 22:38, June 25, 2010 (UTC)
 * Beat me to it, a$$hole! ;P. "The 2010 Atlantic hurricane season has officially begun." -- SkyFury 22:40, June 25, 2010 (UTC)
 * This is a gigantic storm. About the size of the entire Gulf of Mexico. The depression could strengthen to a strong TS and hit western Louisiana where it will have heavy impacts on the oil spill. 2007Astro'sHurricane 23:20, June 25, 2010 (UTC)
 * At this rate,(Alex) will be passing over the Yucatan, and could threaten the Corpus Christi area after it emerges into the Gulf. This isn't what i'm fearing for this season, though. It's nowhere close to being the "monster storm" of 2010 that could wreck the entire gulf coast and beat Katrina as our costliest natural disaster in history. 98.206.70.2 02:02, June 26, 2010 (UTC)

====Tropical Storm AlexEdit==== And there we go.--Guillaume Hébert-Jodoin 11:10, June 26, 2010 (UTC)
 * This storm appears to be larger than Ike, Katrina and Bill, but it is only a TS so far and will likely shrink as it intensifies. However, it is now expected to strengthen to a cat. 1 before hitting Mexico, and there's a real possibility of the forecast changing. GFS, for example, splits the storm in two and sends one part into the Florida Panhandle and Nova Scotia. 2007Astro'sHurricane 15:19, June 26, 2010 (UTC)
 * Currently making landfall on northern Belize. Heavy rains expected for Guatemala. The circulation of Alex extends into the Pacific and may actually absorb stronger Hurricane Darby. 2007Astro'sHurricane 22:13, June 26, 2010 (UTC)

====Tropical Depression Alex (again)Edit==== Back to TD, but expected to intensify again. NHC forecast points to a Tamaulipas, Mexico landfall, but some models still direct it towards Texas or Louisiana. It's now moving back over water, but wow this is a huge storm whose spiral bands already almost cover the entire Gulf. 2007Astro'sHurricane 19:46, June 27, 2010 (UTC) ====Tropical storm Alex (again)Edit==== The latest NHC advisory on Alex is 50 mph and a rather low pressure for the winds, 990 mbars. Forecast to peak at 110 mph (though it will probrably get past that based on how well it's lookin' on the sattelites), and Texas is within a good range of this storm's path, but it isn't threatening the oil spill area... yet.98.206.70.2 11:20, June 28, 2010 (UTC)
 * Alex is simultaneously bringing thunderstorms to Texas, Georgia, Jamaica, and Costa Rica! This is an unbelievably huge WPac-like storm, and it's only the first of the season! 2007Astro'sHurricane 02:46, June 29, 2010 (UTC)

====Hurricane AlexEdit==== Upgraded! NHC notes it's the first June hurricane since 1995 in the Atlantic. --Patteroast 04:46, June 30, 2010 (UTC)
 * And the strongest since Audrey in 1957; 961 mbars right now(Alma peaked at 970, and the 1945 storm has no known pressure). Looks like it'll miss Texas, but it's big enough to affect the state with heavy rain and winds.98.206.70.2 11:26, June 30, 2010 (UTC)
 * Where IS everybody? The storm is currently at 959 mb, the strength of a category three hurricane! It's expected to be a category two at landfall, and mandatory evacuations are in effect for South Padre Island. This will be worse than Dolly, simply because it is much, much larger. It's likely to be about the size of Ike when it makes landfall, and it currently spans half the Gulf. However, the mountains of Mexico will likely slow it down, and it could stall to intensify farther. Given the current pressure, NHC says

HOWEVER...GIVEN THE RELATIVELY LOW CENTRAL PRESSURE RECENTLY MEASURED BY THE RECON AIRCRAFT...RAPID INTENSIFICATION OF AT LEAST 30 KT IN 24 HOURS IS A DISTINCT POSSIBILITY. This means that Alex could make landfall as a category three hurricane! This is a very dangerous storm, and all residents of the western Gulf need to take notice. Rainfall in areas of south Texas could be in upwards of 12 inches over a large area and 15+ inches locally. I estimate that the storm surge in some areas can be up to 25 ft. 2007Astro'sHurricane 12:11, June 30, 2010 (UTC)
 * I'm taking close note of this storm, and it could become a very dangerous storm as it comes on into Texas. This Ike size storm is moving very slowly to Texas and when it comes in, it will shatter all July records for rainfall in the state; Dolly fails in comparison to Alex. This storm will also be very destructive, Some areas in Texas are still recovering from Dolly, which did over a billion dollars in damage to the same area a month later 2 years ago. It could be the most destructive pre-August hurricane to hit the U.S. on record, beating Dennis, which did ~2 billion in damage.98.206.70.2 20:10, June 30, 2010 (UTC)
 * It might be weakening.70.189.242.229 20:12, June 30, 2010 (UTC)
 * Or it might not be. It's on the verge of becoming (or already is!) a category two. It's just hours from landfall, went through what resembled a reverse EWRC, and now has what looks like a PINHOLE EYE! 2007Astro'sHurricane 21:58, June 30, 2010 (UTC)
 * It's now a 100 mph category two. NHC expects to issue another advisory at 8 pm CDT, or 9 pm EDT. It looks like a cat. 4. The storm is strengthening so rapidly, and wobbling so much that it could be as bad for South Padre as Ike was for Galveston. But that's just a guess, as it's strengthened so quickly. Remember folks, this is only the first storm of the season. It's now 950 mb, and if it drops a few mb more it will beat Audrey as the strongest June hurricane on record. I'd hate to think what kind of damage the inland flooding from this storm will do. 2007Astro'sHurricane 23:10, June 30, 2010 (UTC)
 * Very close to making landfall over Tampaulipas' barrier island. Wish y'all were here right now. 2007Astro'sHurricane 01:51, July 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * Right now, Alex is rapidly strengthening,and I could see Alex becoming a cat. 4 just before landfall, or in the worst case scenario, it could briefly jump for cat. 5 intensity. It has the next advisory to beat Audrey, and that's it, but Alex is large enough to batter South Padre with 50+ mph winds and up to an 8 ft. storm surge, it won't matter if it beats Audrey, either way it will be very destructive.98.206.70.2 02:11, July 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * Up, latest advisory, And Alex came just one mbar short of beating Audrey, 105 and 947 is Alex's final stats. Still, this hurricane will be very destructive.98.206.70.2 02:15, July 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * Alex has made landfall. Audrey was 946 mb, and this storm likely intensified after recon left the final reading at 947. Might have to examine any pressure readings at the surface in Mexico. Same for winds, as this storm looked way higher than 105 mb at landfall. If this storm had more time over water, it could have been very destructive. But the inland flooding will be a concern. Some models drift one of Alex's layers over the Bay of Campeche. This is still such a large storm that mountain and river flooding will be widespread wherever it goes. It still has a chance of crossing Mexico into the Pacific, so we'll see. 2007Astro'sHurricane 02:30, July 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * Astro, I don't know where this storm is goin' by it's damage, but this storm could be one of the wettest - if not the wettest pre - August storm in the Atlantic for Mexico on record, and it also is the strongest storm to hit Mexico before July on record (In EDT, not UTC). Also, this storm could be signifying a very active hurricane season ahead of us - even 2005 wasn't like this at this time of year.98.206.70.2 02:51, July 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * Astro, I don't know where this storm is goin' by it's damage, but this storm could be one of the wettest - if not the wettest pre - August storm in the Atlantic for Mexico on record, and it also is the strongest storm to hit Mexico before July on record (In EDT, not UTC). Also, this storm could be signifying a very active hurricane season ahead of us - even 2005 wasn't like this at this time of year.98.206.70.2 02:51, July 1, 2010 (UTC)


 * For the record, 947 millibars is ridiculous for a 90 kt hurricane, particularly in June. 947 mb is equivalent to a Cat 4. To put this in perspective, Hurricane Audrey of 1957, the strongest June hurricane of all time, had 125-kt winds and a 946 mb pressure. This is a rather ominous start to the hurricane season. Alex is the strongest Atlantic hurricane in June in 44 years and the strongest in terms of pressure since Audrey, which beat Alex by a millibar. The fact that the pressure got that low is very unsettling. And like Jim Cantore and Astro said, I don't think Alex is just going to ride off into the sunset. It's been onshore for a couple of hours now and doesn't appear to have weakened at all. This could turn into a pretty ugly rain event for northeast Mexico. -- SkyFury 03:26, July 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * Also, that pressure nosedived 15 millibars from the 1 pm CDT advisory until landfall 8 hours later; 962 to 947. In fact, between 1pm and the 6pm advisory, the pressure plummetted 12 millibars. 12 millibars in five hours is ridiculous, especially when you're talking about only a 10kt increase in wind. This very much resembled Opal's 18 mb drop in 6 hours in 1995. Four hours later, Opal's pressure had dropped another 19 mb and the winds had jumped 20 kts. The people of Mexico and south Texas better thank the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit that Alex hit land when it did. This thing was getting ready to explode. Had the ridge over the southern US not strengthened at the last minute like some of the models were predicting, we could've easily had a Category 4 hurricane making landfall in south Texas this morning. This was a wake up call. We got lucky with this one. Alex had it so easy. I shudder to think what the future holds for the rest of the season. -- SkyFury 05:58, July 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * Sky, this storm is remarkable now, being the strongest non-major hurricane in the Atlantic on record, but we don't know what the rest of the season will have. It could be like '05, which was nasty all the way through, but it could also be like '68, with a nasty start but nothing else. Just because Alex gave 2010 a fast start doesn't tell us what the rest of 2010 will have in store for us. The East Pacific has had one of their fastest starts on record, but the West Pacific, on the other hand, is so dead right now that, at this rate, it could beat 1977 as the least active season on record there. I remember last year when we talked about the deadened basins worldwide in July(yes, I am also the "76" guy), and 2010 is also very quiet right now by terms of numbers; last year only 74 named storms formed worldwide, and this year has had only 29 named storms so far, 9 of which were from the northern hemisphere. So this year is rather quiet by terms of numbers, but a few of the storms this year have been notable in the least.98.206.70.2 06:28, July 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * Also, I take credit for what you mentioned about Alex about to explode, Sky. This storm was about to pull something like the 1880 Brownsville Hurricane, but it pulled a storm like Isidore of 2002 instead. What Isidore did was it's pressure plunged down to 934 mbars (the lowest pressure from any Atlantic hurricane that didn't beat cat. 3), and it was forecast to hit Texas/Louisiana as a 150 mph cat. 4, but the ridge north of Isidore strengthened so much that Isidore was forced down onto the northern part of the Yucatan Peninsula at that intensity, which tore the storm apart. And all we got from Isidore was a 65 mph storm in southern Louisiana; it brought heavy rain, but damage was not severe in the U.S.98.206.70.2 06:52, July 1, 2010 (UTC)

====Post-tropical AlexEdit==== OK, I don't know what happened to the updating as the storm weakened, but the NHC had issued its last advisory and Alex is no more. However, looking at the satellite imagery, the remnant circulation of Alex is over northwestern Mexico, but its influence extends far and wide. This stretches from Kansas to the northeastern Gulf to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec to the East Pacific (that part looks like a cold front). Wherever the remnants go, it's going to cause even more flooding. 28 deaths have been blamed on Alex already. In fact, there's a good chance that one or a few portions of Alex's remnant moisture and/or circulation will combine with other tropical disturbances to "reincarnate" Alex. Ominously but perhaps irrelavently, Alex's ACE when it made landfall was 6.66. 2007Astro'sHurricane 15:54, July 2, 2010 (UTC)
 * By the way, I forgot to mention that Alex's eye redeveloped on land as a TS just as it was about to move from the plateaus of Mexico to the higher mountains. 2007Astro'sHurricane 15:55, July 2, 2010 (UTC)