Flashback : “Hurricane” Irene At Landfall Was Barely A Tropical Storm

9 Responses to Flashback : “Hurricane” Irene At Landfall Was Barely A Tropical Storm

1. rocknblues81 says:

   August 3, 2012 at 8:26 am

   Irene was truly a monster.

   Reply
2. corev says:

   August 3, 2012 at 11:41 am

   Irene caused enough damage on its northern fringe to be a wake up call for the Mid-Atlantic. Compare the results to the recent derecho. Put a full fledged hurricane, even a weak one, in the same area, and the damage costs will be astronomical. Move a little further north and you can guess how much damage will occur.

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   • stevengoddard says:

     August 3, 2012 at 12:30 pm

     Tropical storm Irene dropped a lot of rain on places where the ground was saturated and caused major flooding, as tropical storms often do.

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     • corev says:

       August 3, 2012 at 3:20 pm

       Steven, I was talking about wind damage. Combined with the saturated ground much of the damage was barns and trees in the rural area it effected.

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       • stevengoddard says:

         August 3, 2012 at 3:26 pm

         No one was claiming that Irene was a hurricane when it hit the “northern regions”
     • corev says:

       August 3, 2012 at 7:34 pm

       Steven do you think I am disagreeing with you? This was my point. “Put a full fledged hurricane, even a weak one, in the same area, and the damage costs will be astronomical.”

       Yes, I live in the area and remember the extensive damage in the wake of this non-storm.

       Reply
3. Andy DC says:

   August 3, 2012 at 12:47 pm

   The structure of Irene was a mess. Despite barometric pressures that would indicate a major hurricane, there were no major land stations that had sustained winds anywhere near hurricane force. Tropical storms over land are prolific rain producers and Irene was no exception.

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   • Eric Webb says:

     August 3, 2012 at 1:14 pm

     “There were no land stations that had sustained winds anywhere near hurricane force.” You are exactly right, the highest sustained wind reported was near cape lookout NC with a sustained wind of 67 MPH, well short of a hurricane. If I’m correct it made landfall as a “90 MPH category 1” Not even close, but the barometric pressure was unbelievable for a storm like Irene, and the flooding rains from the slow moving storm, combined with some gale force winds would be enough to cause severe damage for areas along its path.

     Reply
4. Anthony Scalzi says:

   August 3, 2012 at 3:18 pm

   Maybe they confused the temperature with the wind speed.

   /sarc

   Reply