TornadoVideos.net

Posted At: January 9, 2008 @ 11:13 PM

Posted By: Reed Timmer

Here are some damage photos and radar image from Tropical Cyclone Helen, which made landfall just southwest of Darwin, Australia on January 4-5, 2008, courtesy of Mike O'Neill of StormScapesDarwin.com
Helen made landfall as a category 2 tropical cyclone near the town of Port Keats between 11:00 pm and 1:00 am, and caused minor structural damage and downed massive trees in Darwin.  Thanks to Mike for sharing these with us...check out his website for a more detailed report about Tropical Cyclone Helen.

Posted At: November 15, 2007 @ 10:52 AM

Posted By: Reed Timmer

Tropical Cyclone Sidr has maintained its intensity over the last 24 hours, with maximum sustained winds currently estimated at 130 knots with gusts to 160 knots as of 12z Thursday.  The storm is expected to make landfall over the next few hours over Southwest Bangladesh, and the impacts will be catastrophic.  A storm surge of 20+ feet can be expected just to the east of the center at landfall, especially along the numerous river mouths that feed into the Bay of Bengal, which will leave very few structures left standing anywhere in the vicinity of the coast.  This is a very bad situation for Bangladesh, and will likely go down as one of the most devastating natural disasters in the country's history.

The updated forecast track map from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center is shown below, which is a worst-case scenario for Bangladesh as most of the major river mouths will be located just to the east of the center at landfall.  Thus, strong, persistent southerly flow will "pile-up" the water in these inlets, and the swampy low-lands will be covered in 20+ feet of water.  Thankfully, evacuations have been underway in this region for the past 24-48 hours, with residents near the coast being moved well inland as quickly and efficiently as possible.  Stay tuned for updates on this dangerous situation.  Here are some links to news stories about Sidr:

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-11/15/content_7083396.htm 

http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/blogs/hurricanes-storms/cyclone-sidr-47111211

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/11/14/bangladesh.cyclone.ap/index.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12784349/

Posted At: November 14, 2007 @ 10:44 AM

Posted By: Reed Timmer

Tropical Cyclone Sidr, with maximum sustained winds currently estimated at 130 knots with gusts to 160 knots, is heading straight for the populated and storm surge-prone Southeast India/western Bangladesh Coast, including the city of Calcutta, India.   The satellite image below from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center shows the textbook tropical cyclone in the center of the Bay of Bengal, where water temperatures are some of the warmest in the world!


Wave heights are estimated to be around 10 m (33 ft) in the vicinity of the eye, setting the stage for a potentially catastrophic storm surge at landfall in about 36 hours, especially immediately east of the eye.  Compounding the severity of the situation, the mouths of the Ganges and Padma Rivers are located in this region, which will likely experience a 20 foot wall of water if located immediately east of the eye, as 100+ knot southerlies will "pile-up" the water within these inlets.   Shown below is the official track map of the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, which shows the storm making landfall shortly before 00z on Nov 16.  Stay tuned for updates on this dangerous situation.

Posted At: October 29, 2007 @ 12:57 AM

Posted By: Reed Timmer

Tropical Storm Noel is likely producing catastrophic flooding over mountainous Hispaniola tonight, as explosive convection on the north side of the tropical cyclone continues to pound southern Haiti and Dominican Republic.  While little strengthening has occurred over the last 24 hours, intense convection is ongoing on the north side of the circulation.  The 11:00 pm EDT NHC advisory from Sunday night still indicated maximum sustained winds of 50 kts.  An IR loop of Noel from over the last several hours is displayed below:


The mountains over southeastern Haiti and southwestern Dominican Republic are 8000+ feet in elevation, and are located very near to the coast.  Thus, orographic enhancement of the already heavy tropical rainfall must be out of control...Meaning that catastrophic flash floods and mud slides will be inevitable.  Here is a picture of the beautiful south-Haiti coastline, showing the proximity of the massive mountains to the sea:


Tropical Storm Noel is forecast to track slowly NNW as an upper-level anticyclone strengthens and drifts to the east.  Westerly wind shear and the mountains terrain of Hispaniola and eastern Cuba will likely keep Noel from strengthening much more, but minimal hurricane status is definitely attainable.  Fortunately through, Noel will not impact the eastern U.S. Coast, except for slightly higher surf at the beaches.  The 5-day track forecast from the 11:00 pm EDT NHC advisory is displayed below:

Posted At: October 7, 2007 @ 11:49 AM

Posted By: Reed Timmer

Here is video of Typhoon Krosa as it made landfall in northern Taiwan yesterday, from typhoon chaser James Reynolds.  According to James, the eye actually made landfall twice as it made a cyclonic loop over the northern part of the island.  The Joint Typhoon Warning Center had the intensity of Krosa at 115 knots as it made landfall!

Posted At: October 6, 2007 @ 2:06 AM

Posted By: Reed Timmer

Typhoon Krosa is just now making landfall on the extreme northeast coast of Taiwan, packing winds of ~120 knots, with higher gusts.  The earlier Joint Typhoon Warning Center outlook noted that Krosa was weakening, with an eroded northwest eyewall...However, it appears that this may have been associated with an eyewall replacement cycle, because the typhoon has strengthened rapidly the last few hours before landfall, with a well-defined central dense overcast and enclosed eye.   Typhoon chaser James Reynolds is currently in Taiwan, but I have not heard from him since his departure from China a few days ago.  Hopefully he is safe and will provide us with an update soon...the typhoon took a much further south track than was forecast by the JTWC, which means that the eyewall of this intense typhoon will persist over northern Taiwan (before the track had the eye barely missing the island to the north!)...bringing much more intense conditions to James' position.  Shown below is the most recent track map from the JTWC:

Posted At: September 17, 2007 @ 10:42 PM

Posted By: Reed Timmer

Super-typhoon Wipha is closing in on northern Taiwan with maximum sustained winds of 135 knots gusting to 165 knots!  Wipha has been tracking consistently to the WNW and passed just to the south of Ishigaki Jima, where sustained winds of 64 kts with gusts to 88 kts were reported.  This storm is forecast to pass just to north of Taipei by 12z on Sept. 18 with 125 kt winds, and will make landfall in China south of Shanghai by 21z Sept. 19.  James Reynolds is heading to the city of Wenzhou, China (population ~ 5 million) for intercept.  Satellite imagery and the official Joint Typhoon Warning Center track map are displayed below.  Stay tuned for updates from James! 

Posted At: September 13, 2007 @ 1:28 AM

Posted By: Reed Timmer

About an hour ago, a special advisory was issued by the NHC upgrading Humberto to a hurricane, based on reconnaissance aircraft data.  A hurricane warning has also been issued for the northeast TX/southwest LA Coast, with maximum sustained winds estimated at 70 knots!  The center of Humberto can be seen clearly on Houston, TX radar, which shows a fairly compact but intense storm.  Shown above is a loop showing the landfall of Humberto.  Shown below is the special advisory issued by the NHC:

WTNT44 KNHC 130534

TCDAT4
HURRICANE HUMBERTO SPECIAL DISCUSSION NUMBER   4
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL   AL092007
115 AM EDT THU SEP 13 2007

THIS SPECIAL ADVISORY IS BEING ISSUED TO UPGRADE HUMBERTO TO A
HURRICANE.  BOTH THE INITIAL AND 12-HOUR INTENSITY FORECAST HAVE
BEEN INCREASED...AND A HURRICANE WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED.  THE
UPGRADE IS BASED ON DATA RECEIVED FROM AIR FORCE RECONNAISSANCE
AIRCRAFT AND NOAA NWS DOPPLER RADAR. 

THIS SPECIAL ADVISORY SUPERSEDES THE INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY...WHICH
WOULD HAVE BEEN ISSUED AT 0600 UTC. 

FORECAST POSITIONS AND MAX WINDS

INITIAL      13/0515Z 29.4N  94.4W    70 KT
 12HR VT     13/1200Z 30.1N  93.9W    55 KT...INLAND
 24HR VT     14/0000Z 31.6N  92.7W    30 KT...INLAND
 36HR VT     14/1200Z 32.5N  91.2W    25 KT...INLAND
 48HR VT     15/0000Z 32.5N  90.0W    20 KT...REMNANT LOW
 72HR VT     16/0000Z...DISSIPATED

$$
FORECASTER MAINELLI/AVILA

Here is a satellite image of Hurricane Humberto from peak intensity, at around 1:30 am CDT.  The Weather Channel reported frequent lightning with the eyewall of Humberto!  It is likely that if Humberto had more time over the warm Gulf of Mexico waters, it could have become a rather significant hurricane.

Posted At: September 9, 2007 @ 1:14 AM

Posted By: Reed Timmer

Tropical Storm Gabrielle appears to have intensified slightly over the last several hours, as upper-level shear has lessened and the storm remains over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream.  Maximum sustained winds are still estimated at 35 knots as of the 2:00 am EDT advisory, but Gabrielle will likely intensify before passing over the North Carolina Outer Banks early tomorrow afternoon.  The current NHC forecast indicates 45 knot sustained winds with Gabrielle at the time of landfall.  The IR loop as of 2:00 am EDT is displayed below:
The likely center of circulation and outer bands of Gabrielle are well-defined on Morehead City, NC radar, with occasional supercells developing within these bands and near the center.  Heavy rain, isolated tornadoes, and gusty winds will be the main threat as the tropical storm comes ashore, with a 2-3 foot storm surge causing minor beach erosion. 
As is normally the case with recurving tropical cyclones at this latitude, Gabrielle will make a quick transition to an extratropical cyclone as it merges with the jet stream and accelerates to the northeast along the Gulf Stream.  This storm will likely become an intense mid-latitude cyclone over the North Atlantic, and could cause heavy rain and strong winds several days from now somewhere in the UK.

Posted At: September 7, 2007 @ 2:05 PM

Posted By: Reed Timmer

Click the link below for video of a Hurricane Hunter mission into the eye of Category 5 Hurricane Felix early in the morning of September 3.  The best part of the video is during the last few minutes, when still photos of the eye from the aircraft are displayed.  The eye was only 10 miles across at the time of this mission!  More information on this flight is provided at HurricaneHunters.com.

http://www.airshowbuzz.com/videos/view.php?v=9f061057