Everyone thinking about looking for hurricane birds near the coast should read
this blog entry. Jeff Masters is the founder of the Weather Underground and a
hurricane scientist. He lays out what could happen with with various scenarios
if Irene takes one track or another. It is sobering reading.
http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=1899
He says in part "The region I am most concerned
about, though, is the stretch of coast running from southern Maryland to
Central New Jersey, including Delaware and the cities of Ocean City and
Atlantic City. A Category 1 hurricane can bring a storm surge of 5 - 9
feet here. Irene's large size, slow movement, and arrival at the highest tide
of the month could easily bring a surge one Category higher than
the storm's winds might suggest, resulting in a Category 2 type
inundation along the coast, near 10 - 15 feet. This portion of the coast has
no
hurricane experience, and loss of life could be heavy if evacuation
orders are not heeded. I give a 30% chance that the storm surge from
Irene will bring water depths in excess of 10 feet to the coasts of
Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey."
The exact track and strength of the storm will be critical to what happens in
Virginia/Maryland/Delaware, and to the north.
Stay safe!
Rob Hilton
Silver Spring, MD
