First Tropical Storm Threatens Gulf

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center say there is an 80 percent chance that an area of disturbed weather between Honduras and Grand Cayman that developed into a tropical depression today will become the first named storm of the season. Then if it forms, it could wobble into the Gulf.

“That could be a real problem if a hurricane goes to the west of where most of the oil is,” U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida said. “All of the siphoning operation that is going on now … would have to stop for five days before the hurricane and five days after the hurricane.

“At 60,000 barrels a day, that’s a whole lot of additional oil in the Gulf.”

Nelson said he is worried about the effects any tropical system could have on oil already blackening some Panhandle beaches.

“If a hurricane takes it across the beach and into the wetlands and inlands, that’s going to be adding all the more insult to injury that we have already,” the senator said.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/20…

And here we go.   From now to October.

Hopefully this first one will lose strength at the Yucatan Peninsula.

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  1. for Kinetic Analysis Corporation (KAC) which evaluates the risks of situations like these storms posted this:  

    The impact of a storm on the oil…

    …snip…

    I think the best thing the Gulf Coast could get this year is a direct hit by a big, wet, Cat 1 storm. Strong enough to clean things out, not so bad as to hurt folks much worst than they already are. The currents and wave action would probably mix up and disperse the oil, rain bands and surge would flush out the wetlands without pushing oil much further inland. A worst case might be a mid or southern Gulf bypassing storm – winds, waves could push the oil on to and beyond protective devices as well as deeper in to the marshes, but not be violent enough to seriously mix up the oil and disperse it, and no rain bands to dilute or wash out the wetlands. A direct hit by a stronger storm could potentially push oil far inland, but the mixing and dilution effects should mitigate that somewhat.

    Either way, given climatology, we’re almost certainly going to find out what a hurricane does to an oil spill this year . . .

    The complete article is here .

  2. It’s really more 100,000 barrels a day (calculate 43 gallons a barrel).  

    Throughout, through blunders, whatever, there has been a reason for delay in “clean-up.”  Costner’s machines, as well as those of Holland had been offered from the get-go, but because they couldn’t get up ALL the oil — they were “studied” for over 60 days.  Now BP has purchased over 32 of Costner’s machines and are in agreement with the use Holland’s machines.  But, what?  Gotta’ stop it because of an impending storm or hurricane!  Ever notice how there is always a reason to not “clean up” the Gulf, one way or the other?  I’m not saying that the storms are not a threat, but how soon do you have to “stop” operations (clean-up)?  

    Does anyone else get an eerie feeling about all of this besides me.  I keep wondering if, maybe, they don’t want the Gulf to be cleaned up period.  Afterall, if the entire ocean was “killed off of life” they could, drill, baby, drill, to their hearts’ content — and we would ultimately die off anyway for want of food.  Maybe, the “elite” have a secret reserve of food for themselves, etc.  I dunno,’ it’s all unbelievable how, after nine plus years,* the “planet” is in the most dire circumstances ever, in any way shape or form, environmentally, ecologically, economically, democratically (?) as has never ever been seen before!

    Why do we not hear of this terrible incidence of storms?  National/World News —  Decrease Increase Brazil: Missing from floods drops, deaths up.

    Are the “Dr. Strangeloves” of the planet out to destroy it?

    *Yes, I know, it started with Reagan (and Nixon, too, I think) and so on, but the last nine years have been like a “gas pedal” pushed to the floor of an “agenda” for the elite, which will, ultimately, destroy the planet, IMHO!

  3. Despite early predictions that the storm was going to rumble through Tulum, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, basically Quintana Roo south of Cancun, it came ashore in Belize and ran through Chetumal.  Far as I can tell, not much damage.  Villages on the coast, Xcalak, Mahahual, were evacuated though,  just as a precaution.

    I’ve had my house in Tulum for about 5 years now.  You could spend your time worrying about hurricanes if you wanted to, from now until the beginning of October, but we’ve been hit once (Wilber) hard and twice not so hard in the past 5 years.  Which tells me that BP’s constant moaning about the possible storm and how they’ll have to stop doing whatever mischief they’re doing as  soon as it gets to be within 500 miles of the them is just them making excuses.  You tend to know whether you’re going to get hit about 4 or 5 days before it happens because of computer modeling.

    Sorry for ramble.  Need coffee.  

  4. future that may never arrive, the United States has begun its epilogue. In just over a 60 year period after WWII, this country has taken its incredible opportunity to mould a great republic of justice and equality and thrown it all into the toilet. Un fuckingbelievable. I’ve watched it unfold like a slow horror show during the course of my life.

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