dhweather wrote:I'm not emotional about it at all.
I see water lines 35 feet above MSL. That's not emotion, that's fact.
If you want to call a tape measure scientific, then so be it.
I see palm trees snapped in the middle. That's typical of 4/5 winds.
My anemometer was destroyed early on by debris. So was the
anemometer at the Diamondhead Fire department, which failed at 144 MPH.
I see rooftop structures peeled off of condominiums and tossed like
leaves. This in an area 40-60 feet above MSL, so it's clearly a wind
event.
I see large number of trees leveled - gone.
Nothing personal here, but as I mentioned before, we went to war based
on satellite "intelligence". In hindsight, every intelligence agency stated
clearly that we needed on the ground intelligence for accurate information.
The same thing applies to this - satellite and radar loops only tell you so
much of the story. Coming here, looking at physical evidence, measure
debris lines, interview local officials, gather data from local weather stations.
I have yet to hear one person that was here for Camille, an agreed upon
Cat 5, say that Katrina was not as bad as Camille was.
All of this, yet we take the measurements from a guy that was knocked
out and woke up in a tree as the gospel without any reservation (1935
keys hurricane). Nobody questions the calibration of his instruments
or his personal observations. It's carved in stone.
First of all, I'm not debating at all about the storm surge. I wouldn't be able to tell what was actually caused by waves and what was caused by just the surge; I'm not qualified for that. What I am debating is why some people refuse to believe that a Cat 3 produced a Cat 5 surge, since this is what data suggests.
About the anemometers, well since they failed they can't provide conclusive evidence about anything.
I'm not doubting any of your damage observations at all, I'm doubting the perception that only Cat 4 winds can produce that kind of damage, especially given the evidence suggesting a Cat 3. How do you know for certain that only Cat 4 sustained winds can do the damage you observed?
Radar and satellite loops? How Katrina looked on these was never part of the equation. What is is the SFMR, dropsondes, and radar velocity data...and the consistency of several flights showing that this could very well have been a Cat 3 at both landfalls, certainly a Cat 3 in MS.
Regarding Camille, all of those statements were made in reference to the storm surge, NOT wind damage.
I said I saw numerous palm trees SNAPPED, as in broken in half. I saw the same in video from hurricane frances, snapped palm trees.
