Hurricane Igor

[Jonathon]

Zoomed in view of Igor.

[TWCmatthew]

Wow, the eye is almost a perfect circle! Igor has a very intense eye wall, as well. I can only imagine what those fish are going through right now. 

[TWCToday]

The definition of weather porn

Caution: GIF is 38mb.
http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/100913_g15_igor_vis_anim.gif

[wxmediafan]

The definition of weather porn

Caution: GIF is 38mb.
http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/100913_g15_igor_vis_anim.gif

YES!  What an amazing picture.  Hurricanes are so facinating.  It's so sad that they do so much damage, while their structure is so beautiful. 

[phw115wvwx]

Igor is still a Category 4 hurricane, but the winds have weakened a little to 135 mph due to an eyewall replacement cycle.  It's still in a good environment to maintain its strength for the next 3 days.

That view from space is amazing, Martin!  You can see the "stadium effect" and the little mesovortices spinning within the eye.  The only other perspective that beats this view from outer space is in a hurricane hunter plane flying in the eye.  Kyle, a lot of weather phenomena on Earth and in space are beautiful to watch from a distance but are so destructive and deadly.

Update as of 11 PM EDT:  Igor has completed the eyewall replacement cycle, and is charging hard for that elusive status of Category 5.  Winds are now 155 mph, and the pressure is down to 925 mb.  I sure hope Bermuda is watching this closely as the forecast track is taking dead aim for that island.

[Mike M]

Latest on HUGE, long-time Hurricane Igor:

ZCZC MIATCPAT1 ALL
TTAA00 KNHC DDHHMM
BULLETIN
HURRICANE IGOR ADVISORY NUMBER  40
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL     AL112010
1100 PM AST FRI SEP 17 2010
 
...LARGE HURRICANE IGOR GETTING BETTER ORGANIZED AGAIN AS IT
CONTINUES TO MOVE NORTHWESTWARD...
 
 
SUMMARY OF 1100 PM AST...0300 UTC...INFORMATION
-----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...24.6N 62.0W
ABOUT 560 MI...900 KM SSE OF BERMUDA
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...110 MPH...175 KM/HR
PRESENT MOVEMENT...NW OR 315 DEGREES AT 13 MPH...20 KM/HR
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...947 MB...27.96 INCHES
 
 
WATCHES AND WARNINGS
--------------------
CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY...
 
NONE.
 
SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT...
 
A HURRICANE WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR...
* BERMUDA
 
A HURRICANE WARNING MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED
SOMEWHERE WITHIN THE WARNING AREA. A WARNING IS TYPICALLY ISSUED
36 HOURS BEFORE THE ANTICIPATED FIRST OCCURRENCE OF TROPICAL-STORM-
FORCE WINDS...CONDITIONS THAT MAKE OUTSIDE PREPARATIONS DIFFICULT
OR DANGEROUS. PREPARATIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY SHOULD BE
RUSHED TO COMPLETION.
 
FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA IN THE UNITED
STATES...INCLUDING POSSIBLE INLAND WATCHES AND WARNINGS...PLEASE
MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
FORECAST OFFICE. FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA OUTSIDE
THE UNITED STATES...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR NATIONAL
METEOROLOGICAL SERVICE.
 
 
DISCUSSION AND 48-HOUR OUTLOOK
------------------------------
AT 1100 PM AST...0300 UTC...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE IGOR WAS LOCATED
NEAR LATITUDE 24.6 NORTH...LONGITUDE 62.0 WEST.  IGOR IS MOVING
TOWARD THE NORTHWEST NEAR 13 MPH...20 KM/HR. THIS GENERAL MOTION
IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON...FOLLOWED BY A
TURN TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHWEST LATE SATURDAY...AND A TURN TOWARD
THE NORTH ON SUNDAY. ON THE FORECAST TRACK...THE CENTER OF LARGE
HURRICANE IGOR WILL BE APPROACHING BERMUDA BY LATE SUNDAY.
HOWEVER...ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL BEGIN TO AFFECT BERMUDA
AS EARLY AS LATE SATURDAY NIGHT.
 
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 110 MPH...175 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS.  IGOR IS A CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON
HURRICANE WIND SCALE.  SOME STRENGTHENING IS POSSIBLE ON
SATURDAY...AND IGOR COULD BECOME A MAJOR HURRICANE AGAIN. GRADUAL
WEAKENING IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN BY EARLY SUNDAY.
 
IGOR IS A PARTICULARLY LARGE HURRICANE. HURRICANE-FORCE WINDS EXTEND
OUTWARD UP TO 105 MILES...165 KM...FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL-
STORM-FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 345 MILES...555 KM. DURING
THE PAST HOUR...TROPICAL-STORM-FORCE WINDS NEAR 40 MPH...65 KM/HR...
WERE REPORTED AT NOAA BUOY 41049 LOCATED ABOUT 225 MI...365 KM...
NORTHWEST OF THE CENTER OF IGOR.
 
ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 947 MB...27.96 INCHES.

[Mike M]

Igor is going through another eyewall replacement cycle, and is now reporting winds of 110 mph. It's still large and powerful, as hurricane force wind gusts are still being reported as far as 120 miles from the center.

[TWCToday]

Live stream from Bermuda.
HurricaneTrack.com Live Video

Despite the large wind field, Bermuda should see little damage from this imo. The island is extremely prepared for storms like these. As of 2pm winds are down to 85mph

[TWCToday]

93mph wind gust recorded
http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/TXKF/2010/9/19/DailyHistory.html

[phw115wvwx]

Bermuda should be very thankful that Igor has weakened over the past couple days.

[Mike M]

Igor still a cat 1 extratropical hurricane, with 75 mph winds. Newfoundland still under tropical storm warning and hurricane watch. Igor's winds continue to expand as well, with tropical storm force winds up to 460 miles away from the center!

[TWCmatthew]

It's interesting how it's not considerably losing strength, even though it's far into those chilly waters.

[Mike M]

O_o The NHC discontinued advisories since it's extratropical, which shouldn't have happened yet since tropical storm warnings are still in effect for coastal Canada.

[TWCmatthew]

Greenland is going to get a major storm/potential snow storm from Igor.

[phw115wvwx]

It's interesting how it's not considerably losing strength, even though it's far into those chilly waters.

That's because processes that normally help intensify storms with fronts are helping it to maintain its strength when it undergoes extratropical transition.  Storms that become extratropical just don't die right away.  Ask Europe, Greenland, Iceland, and Canada as they receive huge often and powerful storms that were once hurricanes.

O_o The NHC discontinued advisories since it's extratropical, which shouldn't have happened yet since tropical storm warnings are still in effect for coastal Canada.

NHC is only responsible for issuing watches and warnings over the United States.  It's up to the other countries to issue them for themselves.  Canada will realize that Igor is now in a frontal zone with this last advisory, which means it's extratropical, and replace the tropical storm warnings with just regular gale and storm warnings.