Hurricanes
An interview with a Hurricane Hunter pilot
In several previous blogs, I’ve posted interviews with Dr. Nicholas Obermeyer, a key character in my novel EYEWALL Dr. Obermeyer, or Obie, as he’s called, is the best hurricane forecaster I’ve ever met. He’s also known to be outspoken and controversial. Today I’d like to introduce you to another prominent player in EYEWALL, Major Arlen…
Read MoreThe Rita Incident
In my previous interview with the outspoken and sometimes controversial hurricane forecaster Dr. Nicholas Obermeyer (a character in EYEWALL), I asked if I could return, after Christmas, to speak with him about the infamous “Rita Incident.” He agreed to sit down with me today in the studios of the Natural Environment TV Network in Atlanta.…
Read MoreThe 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season outlook
Since Colorado State University recently released its 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season outlook, I thought I’d go back to the Natural Environment TV Network and speak with Dr. Nicholas Obermeyer, its controversial hurricane expert. When I talked with Dr. Obermeyer a couple of weeks ago, he termed seasonal hurricane outlooks “pretty damn useless to the general…
Read MoreThe 2010 Atlantic Hurricane Season, a conversation with Dr. Nicholas Obermeyer
The paradoxical 2010 Atlantic Hurricane Season officially ended yesterday–paradoxical because it gave birth to 19 named storms, tying it for the third busiest season on record, while at the same time, hurling not a single hurricane across the shores of the U.S. In fact, only one tropical storm bothered to make a run at us.…
Read MoreRambling thoughts: hurricanes and novels
At my age, it’s okay to allow my thoughts to ramble. So here they go. The numerical forecast models handled our recently-departed holiday visitor, Hurricane Earl, very well, consistently indicating the eye would stay just offshore of the Eastern Seaboard. And that’s exactly what happened. Sustained hurricane-force winds brushed by a few miles east of…
Read MoreEast Coast hurricane?
We’re approaching the time of year when my fictional Hurricane Janet launches its catastrophic attack on the southeast coast of the U.S. Early September is the statistical peak of the Atlantic hurricane season, and in my novel EYEWALL, Janet roars ashore on Labor Day weekend. Well, well. What’s this? For several days now the GFS…
Read MoreHurricane Janet
Janet. Now there’s a hurricane name you probably haven’t heard in a long time. With good reason. It was retired after the 1955 season. Janet was a category 5 monster that ripped through the western Caribbean Sea in September of that year. On September 26 at 8:30 a.m. EST, a Navy reconnaissance plane, a twin-engined…
Read MoreBe afraid, very afraid
I thought I’d pretty much figured out the ultimate hurricane nightmare scenario for my novel EYEWALL: a rapidly strengthening category five storm barreling into an unsuspecting, heavily populated barrier island on a holiday weekend. It’s an event that’s within the realm of possibility, albeit of very low probability. But reality has a funny way of…
Read MoreIke eyes Texas
Another weekend, another hurricane threat. Six days ago it was Ike (doing some saber rattling at Florida and Cuba), and guess what? It’s still Ike, now in the Gulf of Mexico after shunning Florida and lashing Cuba. Now it’s Texas’ turn in the barrel, and the barrel could be a really bad place to be.…
Read MoreA lot of people may not like Ike
The presidential campaign is off and running. And for those of us who have been around awhile (okay, quite awhile) we remember a campaign button from the days of yore that read “I LIKE IKE,” Dwight Eisenhower’s catchy little phrase. We’ve got another Ike around this weekend, and a lot of people may end up…
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