If you've ever wondered (hurricane Camille advisory #17)

[Steve]

>>A Camille with the size of Ivan and the slow speed of 3-5 mph would be beyond what most of us could imagine, in terms of destructive power.

How about Gilbert with the speed of that D storm from a few years back that emptied out Mobile Bay as it sat around?

fred79,

Local news did a story on a Camile museum on the MGC that opened up in 2002 or 2003. I posted a thread about it back then, but I can't find anything on the web. Plymouth College has historical (reconstructed?) SST and surface charts going back decades. You might try there. *edit* looks like they may only have archived upper data back into the late 50's.

TPS

[mikey mike]

I don't believe this guy either because the wind never let up where we were and we were about 12 miles from landfall.That wind howled like a screaming banshee all night long.I have never in my life seen adults as terrified as I saw that night.Me? I was clinging to daddy!!

[mikey mike]

One more thing.Yes,those advisories were chilling.I was only 11 but I knew we were going to experience something very bad.My parents and all my other relatives just kept getting shock after shock after each advisory.No one believed or wanted to believe that mother nature could breed such a monster.

[frederic79]

Perry,

I agree that some of the information on the site I listed seems exaggerated, but the general overall experience sound authentic.

For what it's worth, I have long felt that climatology in June and July, as well as normal SST's, generally don't favor Cat. 5 storms. Cape Verde is usually not a factor then, either. September has it's share of dry air from fronts that can serve to weaken storms as they approach the northern Gulf (ie Lily, Opal, Ivan, etc.) but apart from anomalous situations like last years strong front (that turned Charley into Florida), August is prime time for a Cat. 4 or 5 hurricane (however rare) to affect the northern Gulf coastal regions. Timing is everything and with SST's already approaching the mid 80's, I believe this year may hold some very interesting scenarios. What do you think?

[SouthernWx]

Timing is everything and with SST's already approaching the mid 80's, I believe this year may hold some very interesting scenarios. What do you think?

I'm very concerned about the dangerous potential this season holds, especially across southern Florida and the Gulf Coast between the Florida panhandle and Texas; anytime sea surface temperatures are above normal it is disconcerting, because it only adds to the potential of an extreme intensity hurricane occurring.

[donsutherland1]

Frederic79,


Some statistics concerning Category 4 or above hurricanes (1851-2004):

August-October: 21/22 (95%) storms

Category 4 or above hurricanes (1800-2004):

August-October: 25/26 (96%) storms

In both cases, September saw 50% of such storms.

Note: The 1800-2004 sample includes only storms that were Category 4 or above. Those that were possible category 4 storms for which there is less certainty were excluded.

[Josephine96]

That was a bit chilling

Kinda like reading the tornado warnings over again from our tornado outbreak back in 1998.. That was arguably my scariest weather event in my life besides Hurricane Charley.

Frances and Jeanne didn't really scare me.. During Charley.. I could hear things hitting the house or getting ripped off the roof.. Plus I kept hearing VERY LOUD thumps from the trees crashing down

[frederic79]

Also, if I'm not mistaken, I understand that much of the Atlantic and Carribean are showing temperatures higher than normal even now. That is one of the main things concerning the forecasters. A relatively tepid Catagory 1 hurricane moving in a favorable environment over warmer than usual SST's could strengthen very quickly as it enters the Gulf.
As of now, SST's under strong high pressure and few clouds seem to be increasing about 1 degree F per seven days on average. If that continues, that means an overall Gulf average of around 90 degrees by the first week in August. Obviously that may not happen exactly, but water temperatures like those are certainly high-octane fuel for any storm entering the Gulf.[/i]

[Radar]

I know this is going to sound preposterous to some of you here but I have always heard "RUMORS" living here in Biloxi from some of the locals who believe the government flew something into Camille (a chemical?) to try and diminish it and it actually had the adverse effect and made it bomb... Just wondering if anyone else has heard these outrageous claims?

[vbhoutex]

I know this is going to sound preposterous to some of you here but I have always heard "RUMORS" living here in Biloxi from some of the locals who believe the government flew something into Camille (a chemical?) to try and diminish it and it actually had the adverse effect and made it bomb... Just wondering if anyone else has heard these outrageous claims?

Yes I have heard those rumors and those claims have been debunked many times. No one has ever found any concrete proof of it happening.

[cajungal]

I was not born; yet for Camille. But, my mom told me they were terrified. They just went through Betsy just 3 years before. And at first Camille seemed to be coming straight for them. Just think if she went straight up the mouth of the river. New Orleans would of done with. I bet the people there were almost messing in their pants thinking Camille could come straight up the MS river.

[SouthernWx]

I know this is going to sound preposterous to some of you here but I have always heard "RUMORS" living here in Biloxi from some of the locals who believe the government flew something into Camille (a chemical?) to try and diminish it and it actually had the adverse effect and made it bomb... Just wondering if anyone else has heard these outrageous claims?

I've heard those rumors for many years, but don't buy it...

The reason for so many rumors was the fact the U.S. military was "seeding" another major hurricane at the same time Camille exploded and slammed into the Gulf Coast; "Debbie", a 125 mph cat-3 hurricane was far at sea east of the Leeward Islands and was seeded over several days by "Project Stormsfury" with mixed results.

In any event, the seeding restrictions on hurricanes were very strict....it had to be a hurricane that was a "fish"; one with virtually no chance of impacting any land mass. There's no way a storm in the western Caribbean would have ever been seeded (not only outrage in the U.S., but just imagine the uproar from Castro in Cuba).

The reason hurricane Camille exploded into a cat-5 monster is the same reason hurricane Gilbert did...the same reason hurricanes Allen, Mitch, Ivan, Isabel, Andrew, and Janet did: the atmospheric and enviroment was extremely favorable....in Camille's case, almost perfect from the very warm potent ocean beneath it to the top of the stratosphere for rapid deepening and maintaining extreme intensity from just NW of Cuba to the Mississippi Coast.

I see Camille in the same way I analyze the April 3, 1974 tornado "superoutbreak"....it was a freak; an incredible storm event that only occurs once in 100, 200, perhaps every 500 years when all atmospheric parameters come together perfectly. It doesn't happen often, but when it does....sadly usually a lot of lives are lost

PW

[Matt-hurricanewatcher]

We should let mother nature control the planet. In stop messing around or its going to bite us in the back in. Build stronger or be more ready to get out of its way. Or even take bigger steps like moving whole cities away from the coast.

[mobilebay]

We should let mother nature control the planet. In stop messing around or its going to bite us in the back in. Build stronger or be more ready to get out of its way. Or even take bigger steps like moving whole cities away from the coast.

Matt come on! Move whole cities? This idea has been beaten to death and will NEVER happen.

[Matt-hurricanewatcher]

They did something like this thousands of years ago. Humans use to pack up in move when things got to bad. Why can't the most powerful country an world history do that to some of its coastal cities?

Those where mere goat farmers..We are much more Advance in we sure could move our cities to safety.

[HurricaneBill]

They did something like this thousands of years ago. Humans use to pack up in move when things got to bad. Why can't the most powerful country an world history do that to some of its coastal cities?

Those where mere goat farmers..We are much more Advance in we sure could move our cities to safety.

And where do you propose we put these cities?

[HurricaneBill]

They did something like this thousands of years ago. Humans use to pack up in move when things got to bad.

In case you haven't noticed, things have changed quite a bit since then.

[Normandy]

Well....it would be plausible except for the TRILLIONS of dollars it would take to move Houston, New orleans, Miami, and Tampa alone.

[Matt-hurricanewatcher]

All I can say is, if you don't went to live with the weather/quakes/Tsunumi Mars might be a place for you!!! No weather but maybe your dust devil or polar area low. You can have all the water you went from the ice caps. Don't know yet if its good for you. Because there is no weather then theres no air. So you can always build your self a green house?


I'm not being serious people just messing around

[Normandy]

No....i think u were serious.