Book Thoughts: "Isaac's Storm," by Erik Larson

I love reading about hurricanes, and I love reading about the lives of fairly ordinary people who endure a lot. This book had both of those things. A great account of the 1900 Galveston Hurricane, told not only through the thoughts of weather man Isaac Cline, but through the recorded experiences of others that survived as well.

First off, here's what you won't find here. You won't find a lengthy scientific discussion of the Galveston Hurricane. There's some of it, and Larson does talk a bit about what drives hurricanes and hurricane hazards, but this isn't really a science book or weather book.

Instead it's a very human account of a great catastrophe. It's an account not of famous people and what they thought of the event, but the accounts of everyday residents of Galveston Island. It talks about what they saw, thought, heard, and smelled.

Larson is probably one of the best descriptive writers I've had the privilege to read. His vocabulary and power to evoke an image is utterly astounding. As he writes about the city in the aftermath of the storm, he gives a description of what can only be described as the closest possible thing to hell on earth. Pyres of thousands of bodies that raged all over the island in the weeks after the storm. Think of the sights, the sounds, the smells. Larson portrays it all.

This is a great book for a weather fan, someone who's interested in the power of hurricanes, or someone that just likes a good story. Check it out, you won't be disappointed.

Book Thoughts: "Hurricane Watch" by Bob Sheets and Jack Williams

Great book with great info that should be read by anyone who is interested in the history and science of tropical cyclones. It contains extensive chapters on the various historical eras since hurricane records have been kept, as well some pretty heavy scientific chapters on topics such as hurricane recon flights as well as computer modeling.

The only draw back to this book is that it's a bit outdated now, covering only the period ending in 2000. However, it's interesting to look back now and see the author's warnings about future US hurricanes reflected in names we now know like Katrina, Rita, and Ike.

I would love to see a supplement or new edition to this book with info on recent storm seasons, still, it deserves a respected place on the shelf of anyone interested in tropical weather.

Book Thoughts: "Roar of the Heavens" by Stefan Bechtel

"Roar of the Heavens" is an account of Hurricane Camille, the second strongest hurricane to ever strike the United States. She hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast on August 17, 1969, making landfall as a Cat 5 hurricane, packing winds of 200 mph.

The book itself is divided into two parts. The first deals with Camille's strike on the Gulf Coast, the second deals with her run in with Nelson County, VA, a couple of days later where she dumped what may have been a world record amount of rain on a tiny rural area, exacting a toll about equal to her damage on the Gulf.

I've always been interested in hurricanes and tropical meteorology, so it was the the first part of the book that interested me the most and led me to order it. I wasn't disappointed either. Bechtel does a great job of telling the story of Camille's landfall on the gulf. It's very descriptive and very emotional, without being overly dramatic or cheesy, as some disaster stories are. Many accounts of Camille revolve around the supposed "hurricane party" that took place in the Richelieu apartments. and Bechtel does treat it, but he tells the story of the whole area through the perspective of several gulf coast residents, which just adds layers and depth.

The second part tells of Camille raining out over Nelson County, VA on August 19. I was a little skeptical at first because my main interest was in the Gulf Coast strike, but I was pleasantly surprised. This has been called a "once in a thousand years" event, where perhaps 31 inches of rain was dumped on a small area of rural VA in less than 8 hours, killing upwards of 150 people. This part of the story was equally as compelling, although he used so many different people's stories and recollections, it was a bit difficult to keep straight at times.

I rated this book as three stars and not four for three reasons. First, there some fairly noticeable editing issues, with misspellings and words left out, though it didn't detract horribly from the story. Second, Bechtel goes out of his way to put the storm in historical context with the late 1960s, and he goes a little too far. This results in several rather windy passages (pun intended) about Woodstock, which is alright, but I wasn't reading a book about Woodstock. One mention would have accomplished what he was going for. Finally, the writing itself started to struggle toward the end of the second part, with certain words starting to pop up over and over again in descriptions. I got tired of reading about things being "bucolic." There was even an exact quote used two different times, explaining the same situation, just a few pages apart, and that stuck out like a sore thumb.

The end result is a good read though, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys casual reading about hurricanes and accounts of natural disasters. Not a masterpiece but a satisfying and enjoyable read.

Tropical Update, Aug 18.

Well it looks like Ana petered out on us, and it looks like we might also be spared the wrath of Hurricane Bill, which was upgraded to a major hurricane today, the first major Hurricane in the Atlantic this year.

According to the NHC forecast, Bill should be headed northward through a break in a subtropical ridge. Hopefully at that point it will be scooped up in a trough exiting the Eastern USA and pushed northeast out to see. That would be good news indeed.

Tropical Storm Claudette landfall

According to NHC, Tropical Storm Claudette made landfall in the Florida panhandle at 1:12 AM Eastern this morning. It should be downgraded to a depression by Monday evening over the southern USA.



This looks to be mainly a rain event, a short article on the landfall from CNN can be found here. Officials in the area are asking people to stay off of the roads for the remainder of the evening.

Ana, Bill, and Claudette

Well, looks like we know have 3 systems out there with the potential to have some effect on the US.

Ana has been downgraded to a depression as of this afternoon, but the forecast track brings it into the gulf where it may restrengthen.

Tropical Storm Bill will perhaps become a hurricane tonight. However, the forecast right now indicates a more northern direction so the chance for a recurve to the Atlantic is greater:



Still way to early to say for sure though.

In addition, we had Claudette pop up off the gulf Coast of Florida today. This should make a landfall this evening as a Tropical Storm in the Florida panhandle.



Barometer Bob will have a Hurricane Hollow show at 6 PM Eastern this evening to cover all 3 of these storms. Listen at WRBN.net and keep an eye on local weather info outlets and the NHC.

Tropical Storm Ana 1

Well, TD 2 died, then became Tropical Storm Ana, which just goes to show you can't let your guard down. As of the Saturday morning advisories, it's a minimal storm, but is perhaps forecast to strike the US and the Caribbean.

Latest NHC Advisory on Ana.

This one isn't going to get as much press as TD 3 is going to get once it gets a name, but this could bring some rains and gusty winds to the Caribbean and Florida, and if it gets into the Gulf, hey, who knows? Still it is a potential land-falling system so it bears watching.



Keep in Touch with your local weather outlets and sites like Hurricane Hollow for the latest on this system. I'll also be posting updates through the week.

The tropics wake up.

So if you know me, you know one of my interests is weather, specifically severe weather and tropical weather. Well basically I don't have any more than a layman's understanding of it, but it does fascinate me and I enjoy learning about it.

Obviously, Mariel and I have a vested interest in Florida, with her family being there, and hell, a lot of our stuff is still there. We'll probably end up back there too someday, so I really keep an eye on it.

Well, June and July of this year have passed with nothing in the Atlantic. Well, the dead time is over folks. Right now we have two systems in the tropical Atlantic that will have the potential to threaten the USA in the next 10 days or so, and the Caribbean even sooner than that.

First off, Tropical Storm Ana is the first named storm of the season. As of the Saturday morning advisories, it's a minimal storm and really isn't expected to gain hurricane strength. The 5 day track from NHC takes it either into South Florida or the Gulf by Wednesday night or Thursday.

Secondly. Tropical Depression 3 is churning off the coast of Africa. This is expected to progress to PERHAPS major hurricane strength, but it's still too far off to really track. Look for this to perhaps become a named storm tonight or tomorrow.

If you live on the East Coast or the Gulf Coast, this is always a concern this time of year. Here are some links that either you, or even just a casual tropical observer like myself can use.

National Hurricane Center

Hamweather Tropics page

Hurricane Hollow Weather and Barometer Bob

Barometer Bob's Blog

Storm Carib--The Caribbean Hurricane Network

Check these links out for great info on the tropics, Barometer Bob's sites and Storm Carib are particularly good reads.

Hurricane Ike

Well, if you read my interests, you'll know one of them is weather. Despite the fact that I no longer live in Florida, I follow the Tropical weather with great interest, and right now Hurricane Ike is the big game in town on a collision course with the Texas coast.

While moving back here to Utah this summer, my wife and I drove through the Texas Gulf coast. Honestly, it wasn't our box of rocks. I think we both enjoyed the lush green of Louisiana more, and the ride through Houston was less than fun.

So it looks like Ike is gonna hit as a category 2, not a major hurricane, but hey, I'm glad I'm not in the way right now. Let's hope everybody that needed to get out got out, and hope for the best for the folks still there. The National Weather Service issued an advisory this evening saying people in single family homes "face certain death" if they don't evacuate the coastal areas. Rather strong wording from that agency, so even though it's only 2, looks like it's still a big time player. The NWS is also calling for a 15-22 foot storm surge in Galveston, that could be heavy duty.

Latest CNN Story on Ike

Here's hoping for the folks in Texas.

Also if you're a tropical weather enthusiast such as myself I strongly recommend checking out Hurricane Hollow Weather

Barometer Bob does a great job of putting together a great clearinghouse of information of all things tropical weather related, including an award winning podcast that I listen to on a regular basis.

No matter where you live I recommend getting a NOAA weather radio. They're almost an essential in Florida, and my wife and I picked up this one, endorsed by weatherman extraordinaire Tom Terry from Channel 9 in Orlando, while living there:

The NOAA radio will let you hear all the weather related watches and warnings for the area in which you live, and is especially helpful in waking you up at night if there is a warning. Trust me, you won't sleep through this alarm!