Key West is under the gun right now, and Texas looks to be next in line… but in a season of worst-case hurricane scenarios, what about you, New York, New York?
But the New York City area worries experts such as Jarvinen the most. Here the north-south running coast starts to run west-east, creating a “corner” that helps push the water of a surge higher. Jarvinen says a computer simulation using 1989’s Hurricane Hugo shows what could happen.In the simulation, the computer had Hugo turning north instead of moving ashore just north of Charleston, S.C. It weakened to a Category 3 storm, but picked up forward speed before coming ashore near Atlantic City, N.J. From here, its eye followed New Jersey’s Garden State Parkway north to around Newark, N.J. This path would bring the highest surge into New York Harbor.
The computer simulation showed that such a storm would push more than 10 feet of water over John F. Kennedy Airport and Battery Park on the tip of Manhattan. It would be a major disaster for New York City.
Jarvinen notes that no strong hurricane has ever followed such a course. But, strong storms have followed courses on both sides of such a path. “It’s not of matter of will it happen,” he says. “It’s a matter of when it will happen. It could be 500 years from now. It could be next week.”
That’s from, of all places, the Louisiana Department of Homeland Security. It was written before Katrina, as evidenced by the article’s somewhat blasé statement: “a strong Category 3, or a 4 or 5 could cause serious flooding in New Orleans.”
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Categories: Hurricane Rita
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September 20th, 2005 at 12:58:31 pm
Don’t try to scare us new yorkers with this weather bs. We stared down jihad, and would love the opportunity to make Mother Nature our b*tch.
September 20th, 2005 at 1:25:13 pm
LOL
September 20th, 2005 at 2:18:26 pm
But what about Detroit (Rock City)??!! Between Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River, they could be in for a fierce soaking if the winds start to bluster. For the love of God, people, it’s a death trap!
September 20th, 2005 at 2:25:20 pm
Cobo Hall is already worse than the N.O. Convention center, and K.I.S.S. just played there. It’s a suicide rap!
September 20th, 2005 at 3:06:46 pm
WAW HAW HAW, Broadway Johnny Leahy and Champion (not to be confused with Long Gyeland :) Sound!
“…its eye followed New Jersey’s Garden State Parkway north to around Newark…”
Yes but WHY? ;>
September 20th, 2005 at 3:43:31 pm
Great Point, Joe.
If that Hurricane had any sense at all, it would clearly take a right turn, avoid Cesspool City and the Trump Shanty, go out to sea, then head due north to make landfall on the pristine coast of CT. in Long Gyeland Sound.
Imagine a 20 foot storm surge in Greenwich? I see a lot of Bridgeport beach stickers in their future.