Post by glennkoks on Sept 19, 2019 0:32:20 GMT
More anecdotal evidence based on my experience with tropical systems:
The worst storms obviously move slow. In addition to that the amount of lighting is incredible. Tropical Storm Claudette in 1979 still holds the 24 hour rainfall record for the continental US. 43 inches of rain in a 24 hour time period in Alvin, Texas which is about 10 miles from my house. It flooded... As did thousands of other homes in Houston. The lighting was constant and scary.
About 40" of rain over several days in Houston during tropical storm Allison in 2001. Most of Houston flooded and the lighting was intense. Rainfall rates of 3-4 inches per hour were widespread and it was scary.
Harvey was about the worst I've experienced in 2017. 51" of rain was recorded in my home town of Friendswood over about a 4 day period. Lighting was incredible as it seemed you did not need a flashlight it was so frequent. My home flooded again. Keep in mind I am outside the 500 year flood plane.
I have been through at least a dozen or more tropical systems that ranged from Catagory 3 hurricanes (Ike 2008 and Alicia 1983) to weak tropical storms. While Ike and Alicia were bad, really bad they moved through quickly and the lighting was not nearly as intense.
Any tropical system can stall. Steering currents become weak and things happen. But whether it be a massive Cat 4 hurricane like Harvey or a weak tropical storm like Claudette the freakish intense lightning is a bad omen. Not being a physicist or even a meteorologist I have no idea why some weak tropical systems produce legendary lighting storms and 4 inch an hour rainfall totals and other much stronger hurricanes seem to lack much lightning at all. I am assuming it has to do with the how high the thunderstorm tops reach.
But this I know. Storm speed and lightning are key indicators.
Tropical storm Imelda produced some localized rainfall totals of 20+ inches and it's still slowly moving out of SE Texas. There was very little lighting...
Go figure.
The worst storms obviously move slow. In addition to that the amount of lighting is incredible. Tropical Storm Claudette in 1979 still holds the 24 hour rainfall record for the continental US. 43 inches of rain in a 24 hour time period in Alvin, Texas which is about 10 miles from my house. It flooded... As did thousands of other homes in Houston. The lighting was constant and scary.
About 40" of rain over several days in Houston during tropical storm Allison in 2001. Most of Houston flooded and the lighting was intense. Rainfall rates of 3-4 inches per hour were widespread and it was scary.
Harvey was about the worst I've experienced in 2017. 51" of rain was recorded in my home town of Friendswood over about a 4 day period. Lighting was incredible as it seemed you did not need a flashlight it was so frequent. My home flooded again. Keep in mind I am outside the 500 year flood plane.
I have been through at least a dozen or more tropical systems that ranged from Catagory 3 hurricanes (Ike 2008 and Alicia 1983) to weak tropical storms. While Ike and Alicia were bad, really bad they moved through quickly and the lighting was not nearly as intense.
Any tropical system can stall. Steering currents become weak and things happen. But whether it be a massive Cat 4 hurricane like Harvey or a weak tropical storm like Claudette the freakish intense lightning is a bad omen. Not being a physicist or even a meteorologist I have no idea why some weak tropical systems produce legendary lighting storms and 4 inch an hour rainfall totals and other much stronger hurricanes seem to lack much lightning at all. I am assuming it has to do with the how high the thunderstorm tops reach.
But this I know. Storm speed and lightning are key indicators.
Tropical storm Imelda produced some localized rainfall totals of 20+ inches and it's still slowly moving out of SE Texas. There was very little lighting...
Go figure.