Skyepony's WunderBlog

947?

huh?

UH-HUH! :(

what???

Kitten Vs RC Mouse @ Yahoo! Video

Are they MIA?

Turks & Caicos Islands are being wiped out OMG those poor people! Terrible to look at this destruction unfolding.
Gonna light a candle for those being hit by this monster, get some sleep and check-in when I wake up.
Good night Skye and thanks for all the info.

That southern most Bahama island is getting ready to go right thru the eye, I looked up the island on google and mainly it has a few wooden buildings which will be totally destroyed. It looks like it has about 1000 residents, and it produces sea salt, that is the industry there. It also houses a huge bird sanctuary in the middle of it, about 80,000 tropical species.

(Great Inagua)

Very interesting place Gator, it's where all the Pink Flamingos are..




Inagua is home to a large colony of West Indian Flamingos, National Bird of The Islands of The Bahamas. They live in the Great Inagua National Park, a sanctuary that comprises almost half of the island.

In the 1950s, the birds were hunted to near extinction, numbering a mere 3,000. With the help of the National Audubon Society in the United States, the creation of the Bahamas National Trust and the appointment of park wardens, the Inagua population has grown. Inaguans Samuel and James Nixon, brothers who were respectively the park’s first and second wardens, are credited with doing the grassroots work that saved the flamingo population. It was during this time that the Inagua National Park was founded and the birds began to recover from the brink of extinction. The brothers were so effective during their many years of protecting the park that the flamingo population is well over 60,000 today and the birds' biggest concerns are eluding the occasional wild boar and dying of old age.

Flamingos are still an endangered species, even though their numbers are now impressive. It is illegal to harm or capture this bird under the Bahamas Wild Bird (Protection) Act and there are stiff penalties for killing them. The Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) lists the West Indian Flamingo in Appendix H, which means that they are threatened and stand to become endangered. During late summer, autumn and winter the Flamingos fly off to Cuba, Hispaniola and the northern Bahama islands of Abaco and Andros.


see also:

Burning Desire

Great Inagua might lack the amenities of the Bahamas' more famous islands, but for the intrepid traveler, the spectacle of thousands of fiery-pink flamingos dancing and flying more than makes up for it.

By Frank Graham Jr.

Quoting Rainman:

"Look at all these freakin' ants! They're everywhere!"

5 minutes later:

"It's an antsa-palooza out here!"

Awesome info Rainman!! The smaller island off the northeast has no residents except animals. It is a sanctuary.

On this Sat...everything is moving East...how come Ike is predicted to go West?

WOW that is really something to look at, like he knew where land was and wanted to dodge it. But the island got the north eyewall:(

4' catfish! Don't tell Doc, he'll have a fit with such an easy catch :)

OMG, 442mb ~105kts!

Looks like an eel-trout to me...

Good Morning! (78.1°F)

From The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), NASA Goddard Scientific Visualization Studio, and MODIS Rapid Response System, with a bonus YouTube from The NOAA Environmental Visualization Lab - NOAAVisualizations Today's Sat Pics O' The Day.




7 September 2008
CAT 4 IKE HITS GREAT INAGUA ISLAND
This image of hurricane IKE used TRMM data taken at 1834 UTC (2:34 PM EDT) 7 September 2008 after IKE devastated the Bahamas' Great Inagua island. IKE was a powerful category four hurricane on the SAFFIR-SIMPSON scale at this time with wind speeds of 115 knots (132 mph). IKE also caused deadly floods in HAITI as it passed to the north of that country. The rainfall analysis shown on this image was made with data from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR) and TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) instruments . They are overlaid on an image that used TRMM's Visible and infrared (VIRS) data.



6 September 2008
HURRICANE IKE AGAIN A CAT 3
TRMM obtained the data used in this image of hurricane IKE at 11:20 UTC (7:20 AM EDT) 6 September 2008 as IKE was moving toward the Bahamas with wind speeds estimated to be 100 knots (115 mph) making it again a category three hurricane on the SAFFIR-SIMPSON scale. A large area of intense thunderstorms with rainfall intensity greater than 50 millimeters per hour (~2 inches) is shown just southeast of the eye.


Hurricane Ike on September 4, 2008

NASA's TRMM spacecraft observed this view of Hurricane Ike on September 4, 2008 as it strengthened in the Atlantic. At this time the storm was an extremely dangerous category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 125 knots (143 mph) and a pressure reading of 935 millibars. Hurricane-force winds were extending outward 45 miles from the center, while tropical storm-force winds extend up to 140 miles. The cloud cover in this animation is taken by TRMM's Visible and Infrared Scanner(VIRS) and the GOES spacecraft. The rain structure is taken by TRMM's Tropical Microwave Imager (TMI) and TRMM's Precitation Radar(PR) instruments. TRMM looks underneath of the storm's clouds to reveal the underlying rain structure. Blue represents areas with at least 0.25 inches of rain per hour. Green shows at least 0.5 inches of rain per hour. Yellow is at least 1.0 inches of rain and red is at least 2.0 inches of rain per hour.



On September 4, 2008 Hurricane Ike organized into a very symmetrical hurricane. The blue region represents areas where the storm is dumping at least 0.25 inches of rain per hour. Green is 0.5 inches of rain per hour, yellow is 1.0 inches of rain and red is 2.0 inches of rain per hour.



Notice the rainbands that power the storm. Hurricane force winds extended outward up to 45 miles from the center of this storm and tropical storm force winds extended outward up to 140 miles.



Hurricane Ike's clouds are viewed through TRMM's Visible and Infrared Scanner(VIRS).


2008/251 - 09/07 at 18 :25 UTC
Hurricane Ike (09L) over Cuba, Hispaniola, and the Bahamas
Satellite: Aqua




2008 Hurricane Season



The NOAA Climate Predication Center has increased the likelihood of an above-normal hurricane season and has raised the total number of named storms and hurricanes that may form. So far (Sept 4, 2008), the National Hurricane Center has tracked 10 named storms in the Atlantic. This animations shows the storms observed by the GOES satellite from July to September.

NOAA is now predicting 14-18 named storms this year.

weekly CPC report is out.

18MAY2008_-0.3 _0.0 -0.6 -0.8
25MAY2008_ 0.1 _0.2 -0.4 -0.6
02JUN2008_ 0.4 _0.4 -0.4 -0.6
09JUN2008_ 0.5 _0.3 -0.3 -0.6
16JUN2008_ 0.5 _0.2 -0.4 -0.6
23JUN2008_ 0.4 _0.0 -0.4 -0.6
30JUN2008_ 0.4 _0.0 -0.3 -0.5
07JUL2008_ 0.4 _0.4 -0.1 -0.4
14JUL2008_ 0.6 _0.5 _0.1 -0.3
21JUL2008_ 0.9 _0.6 _0.2 -0.3
28JUL2008_ 1.0 _0.5 _0.1 -0.3
04AUG2008_ 0.9 _0.6 _0.2 -0.3
11AUG2008_ 0.9 _0.7 _0.2 -0.2
18AUG2008_ 1.6 _0.8 _0.3 -0.2
25AUG2008_ 0.4 _0.5 _0.0 -0.4
01SEP2008_ 0.6 _0.4 -0.1 -0.4
08SEP2008_ 0.7 _0.4 -0.1 -0.4

REGION 1.2 INCREASED .1
REGION 3 ---Even---
REGION 3.4 ---Even---
REGION 4 ---Even---

ROTF Aqua, never seen an eel trout but if I had to pick a photo, THAT would be it. LTT just has to see this! LOL

Rain, that second to last sat pic of IKE in all his glory is fantastic. If only there were not so much suffering underneath the storm, it would be a true thing of beauty!

Aircraft: Air Force Aircraft (Last 3 digits of the tail number are 309)
Storm Number & Year: 09L in 2008
Storm Name: Ike (in the North Atlantic basin)
Mission Number: 12
Observation Number: 07
A. Time of Center Fix: 8th day of the month at 20:13Z
B. Center Fix Coordinates: 21°21'N 79°29'W (21.35N 79.4833W)
B. Center Fix Location: 83 miles (133 km) to the SE (132°) from Cienfuegos, Cuba.
C. Minimum Height at Standard Level: 2,806m (9,206ft) at 700mb
D. Estimated (by SFMR or visually) Maximum Surface Wind: 62kts (~ 71.3mph)
E. Location of the Estimated Maximum Surface Wind: 18 nautical miles (21 statute miles) to the SSW/SW (213°) of center fix
F. Maximum Flight Level Wind Inbound: From 297° at 53kts (From the WNW at ~ 61.0mph)
G. Location of Maximum Flight Level Wind Inbound: 23 nautical miles (26 statute miles) to the SW (214°) of center fix
H. Minimum Sea Level Pressure: 965mb (28.50 inHg)
I. Maximum Flight Level Temp & Pressure Altitude Outside Eye: 9°C (48°F) at a pressure alt. of 3,054m (10,020ft)
J. Maximum Flight Level Temp & Pressure Altitude Inside Eye: 13°C (55°F) at a pressure alt. of 3,052m (10,013ft)
K. Dewpoint Temp (collected at same location as temp inside eye): 13°C (55°F)
K. Sea Surface Temp (collected at same location as temp inside eye): Not Available
L. Eye Character: Closed Wall
M. Eye Shape & Diameter: Circular with a diameter of 10 nautical miles (12 statute miles)
N. Fix Determined By: Penetration, Radar, Wind, Pressure and Temperature
N. Fix Level: 700mb
O. Navigation Fix Accuracy: 0.2 nautical miles
O. Meteorological Accuracy: 7 nautical miles
Remarks Section:
Maximum Flight Level Wind: 73kts (~ 84.0mph) in the northeast quadrant at 20:22Z