This Gulf disturbance......

[~SirCane]

reminds me a little of Opal back in 1995. She formed down there about this time near the yucatan.

Should be interesting to see what this does.

[Rainband]

Something to watch and see what happens..recon is on the way now

[GulfBreezer]

Sir.......
I STILL have nightmares about OPAL!! Let's just say a prayer that this is not a repeat!! Been there, done that, and literally have the Tshirt!!

[EmeraldCoast1]

You hit it on the head SirCane. Just because the experts say don't worry, doesn't mean we're all out of the woods. Most of the time they are right, but once in a while Mother Nature throws the curveball.

Us Gulf Coasters never turn our backs when there is a ton of convection out there, regardless of atmospheric influences (right GulfBreezer?). Things can and do change as we are all aware.

Weather is dynamic! That's what makes it fun to track!

-Phil

[GulfBreezer]

Welcome to S2K Phil!! You are my neighbor!! Enjoy the board!

[~SirCane]

and if I remember right, they were expecting Opal to die out.

DIDN'T happen. Turned into a strong CAT 4 Hurricane.

[Rainband]

and if I remember right, they were expecting Opal to die out.

DIDN'T happen. Turned into a strong CAT 4 Hurricane.

Really :o

[~SirCane]

I believe they were forecasting Opal to die out over Mexico at first.

[EmeraldCoast1]

Thanks GulfBreezer - I migrated here after giving up on GoPBI board and am much happier.

When I was going to bed around 2200 the night Opal blew up, TWC and the locat mets were saying that this little storm would probably meander around the tip of the YP for a day or so and then get caught up in a front. They expected a Cat.1 at most.

Well, I stayed up channel surfing for another hour or so and then stumbled across either Cantore or Dave Schwartz showing the latest infrared and they were visibly shocked and concerned over the incredible blow up of convection that occurred in less than two hours. I was wired at this point.

I watched in amazement as this little storm matured into a cat.3 hurricane over the next five hours, while most of the gulf coast slept. I finally started making phone calls around 0400 to family and friends to let them know, to their utter amazement, that a Cat.4 storm would be arriving by the afternoon.

It will always be an unforgettable night.

[GulfBreezer]

Unforgettable is right!! We woke up to fire trucks going down our raod with the sirens on and them screaming on megaphones that we needed to pack up and leave! Opal was nothing when we went to bed the night before! This was happening around 5:00 am!! We also started calling family and friends! It was a very horrible situation because NO-ONE had given her a second thought! We were so wrong in ignoring the wrath that Opal could wreak because she darn sure let us know who and what she was!! I will NEVER ignore ANY disturbance in the GOM or BOC Ever again!!

[ColdFront77]

You hit it on the head SirCane. Just because the experts say don't worry, doesn't mean we're all out of the woods. Most of the time they are right, but once in a while Mother Nature throws the curveball.

Us Gulf Coasters never turn our backs when there is a ton of convection out there, regardless of atmospheric influences (right GulfBreezer?). Things can and do change as we are all aware.

Weather is dynamic! That's what makes it fun to track!

-Phil

Absolutely right, the experts don't expect something at once point and then as they monitor it, things can change from the unexpected to the expected.

There is a lot of convection in the Gulf of Mexico and Bay of Campeche. The NHC/TPC has been indicating that the low may separate from the cold front and become a tropical cyclone. It appears as though this may be happening.

[chris_fit]

chilling stories, lets hope this wont be a repeat.

~Chris

[alicia-w]

We didnt live here during Opal but the rest of the folks on our cul de sac said that you couldnt see the houses because of all the debris stacked up and down the street. There were five huge construction dumspters there for 8 houses! Someone took pictures of our backyard and gave them to us when we moved in;Choctawhatchee Bay was up to our deck!

So, I dont think I want to go through that!

[SIMWMBA]

No more Opals please! It didn't hit here, but it was close enough to wreck much along the AL coast.

The main difference between this system and Opal was Opal was already a TD or TS when in the BoC. And I believe it was fully tropical in origin.

http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/atl ... rack_s.gif

http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/atl ... /track.dat

[wrkh99]

Opal went from 75 to 150 overnight


Amazing !

[PTrackerLA]

This one needs to be watched especially for areas around Mobile eastward. I don't see this one being a big threat to Texas or LA due to those awesome autumn cold fronts.

[Josephine96]

Don't mention Opal or Andrew to a Floridian.. Those are bad words... lets just wait and see what it does

[GulfBreezer]

Opal went from 75 to 150 overnight


Amazing !

It was AMAZING and the thing was that NO-ONE expected it! I think she is the reason that I don't close the door on anything tropical until it is GONE!! To increase intensity 75mph overnight cause many people to panic. Thousands of people were trapped on I-10 when she started coming ashore with tornadoes raging next to their cars. We ended up sleeping in a hotel lobby with about 80-100 other people. If I knew then what I know now, I would not have tried to leave with the panic level that high!

[Josephine96]

Terrifying story about Opal... Sorry that happened.. at least you're ok..

[EmeraldCoast1]

Opal went from 75 to 150 overnight


Amazing !

It was AMAZING and the thing was that NO-ONE expected it! I think she is the reason that I don't close the door on anything tropical until it is GONE!! To increase intensity 75mph overnight cause many people to panic. Thousands of people were trapped on I-10 when she started coming ashore with tornadoes raging next to their cars. We ended up sleeping in a hotel lobby with about 80-100 other people. If I knew then what I know now, I would not have tried to leave with the panic level that high!

So True! We left also when she was at 150mph and forecast to keep on churning into a Cat.5. Of course, we are all thankful that she weakened after getting north of the warm water eddies.

I too remember the incredible sights on I-10 and the mad rush of humanity trying to escape. Thankfully it is very rare to wake up any giving morning and be told a cat.4 storm is knocking at your door - surprise!

I will never leave Pensacola again for a hurricane unless it is of Biblical proportions. I live in a house that I built myself last year with nearly double the amount of normal door and window cripples. I personally nailed over 2,200 nails in over 200 of the new grade hurricane clips into each truss. Most deaths do not occur from being inside the house anyway.