Envirocast Media Update for Thursday, September 11, 2003

Envirocast^TM TV for Thursday, September 11, 2003

Extremely Dangerous Isabel Now at Category 5 Intensity

Background

Images

The images to the right were taken by the MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard NASA's Terra satellite. They show Hurricane Isabel at 16:40 UTC (12:40 p.m. EDT) on September 10, 2003 and at 14:15 UTC (10:15 a.m. EDT) on September 11, 2003.

The September 10 images show an impressive outflow region on Isabel's western side, as indicated by the thin cirrus clouds. This outflow region keeps the hurricane work efficiently by exhausting cool, dry air from the top of the storm, allowing more warm, moist air to feed in at the bottom.

The NOAA satellite images below show Hurricane Isabel at 8:45 a.m. EDT on Sept. 11, 2003:
720x486	640x480	720x486	640x480

Environmental Impacts:

As of 5 p.m. EDT on Sept. 11:

Isabel was located 500 miles east-northeast of the Northern Leeward Islands of the Caribbean Sea.
The storm was moving to the west at a speed near 9 mph.
Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 160 mph.
Isabel is rated as a category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
The estimated minimum central pressure is 921 mb, 27.22 inches. The last hurricane with a pressure this low was Hurricane Floyd in 1999.

Before Isabel, only 23 Atlantic storms have reached category 5 intensity, and only nine were of category 5 strength at time of landfall. This includes the updated classification of Andrew in 2002.

Only three Category 5 hurricanes have hit the USA:

Florida Keys "Labor Day" hurricane (1935)
Hurricane Camille (1969)
Hurricane Andrew (1992)

Isabel is the fourth hurricane and the second major (category 3 or higher) hurricane so far this year in the Atlantic.

The table below outlines the how this year's Atlantic hurricane season compares with an average season, as well as the updated seasonal forecasts made by NOAA and Colorado State University hurricane researcher Dr. Bill Gray:

Named Storms Hurricanes Major Hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5)

Actual (as of 9/9/03) 9 4 2

Average Season 10 6 2

NOAA Forecast 12-15 7-9 3-4

Dr. Bill Gray's Forecast 14 7 3

September 10 Images:
	Image NTSC 720x486 030911_01_tva.jpg shows Hurricane Isabel on Sept. 10, 2003, with annotations.
	Image NTSC 720x486 030911_02_tva.jpg is the same as above, with lmited annotations.
	Image NTSC 720x486 030911_03_tva.jpg is the same as above, without annotations.
September 11 Images:
	Image NTSC 720x486 030909_04_tva.jpg shows Hurricane Isabel on Sept. 11, 2003, with annotations.
	Image NTSC 720x486 030911_05_tva.jpg is the same as above, without annotations.
September 11 Hi-Res Zoom Into the Eye:
	Image NTSC 720x486 030911_06_tva.jpg shows a close-up of Isabel's eye on Sept. 11, 2003, with annotations.
	Image NTSC 720x486 030911_07_tva.jpg is the same as above, without annotations.

September 10 Images:
	Image NTSC 640x480 030911_01_tvb.jpg shows Hurricane Isabel on Sept. 10, 2003, with annotations.
	Image NTSC 640x480 030911_02_tvb.jpg is the same as above, with limited annotations.
	Image NTSC 640x480 030911_03_tvb.jpg is the same as above, without annotations.
September 11 Images:
	Image NTSC 640x480 030911_04_tvb.jpg shows Hurricane Isabel on Sept. 11, 2003, with annotations.
	Image NTSC 640x480 030911_05_tvb.jpg is the same as above, without annotations.
September 11 Hi-Res Zoom Into the Eye:
	Image NTSC 640x480 030911_06_tvb.jpg shows a close-up of Isabel's eye on Sept. 11, 2003, with annotations.
	Image NTSC 640x480 030911_07_tvb.jpg is the same as above, without annotations.

Related Envirocast^TM TV Updates:

September 9, 2003

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