If you are a fan of astronomy and like to view stars and or planets the crystal clear skies we have had the last few weeks have made for great viewing. In fact every evening we have had 2 planets plainly visible in the southwestern sky. Venus and Jupiter have been very bright in the southwestern sky. Venus is the brightest planet visible and then you will notice Jupiter, while much dimmer, it is still easy to pick out versus any old star. If you capture a picture of these to stellar planets feel free to send it to me or better yet send it to our viewer net page on www.kplctv.com; or directly send it to viewernet@kplctv.com. If you want to know at any time what planets, meteor showers, or other astronomical sights are visible check out this website: http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/press/skyreport/index.html. Thanks to our weather watcher Theresa Lyons, in Lake Arthur, for reminding me to post this to the blog as a reminder to all of you. Happy viewing!!!
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Recapping Hurricane Ike...Below Normal Temperatures Continue...
Good afternoon. It has been awhile since my last entry, but I hope everyone is doing well. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with those who are still reeling from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.
It has been over 2 months since the very powerful storms affected the Louisiana and Texas Gulf coast.
Recently, the National Weather Service issued some parish maps of Calcasieu and Cameron Parishes overlaying storm surge data from Hurricane Ike.
This data is preliminary, but it does offer a good representation of the total storm surge generated by Ike.
I will post the maps below, and you can also access them on our Hurricane page.
Here are a few bullet points:
-Ike produced one of the most devastating storm surges in 150 years along the Gulf coast.
-Surge levels across SW Louisiana were equal to or higher than that of Hurricane Rita in 2005.
-At the height of the storm surge, which was a few hours after Ike made landfall near Galveston, nearly 1/3 of Lake Charles was flooded.
-The surge produced some of the worst flooding of record along the Lower Calcasieu River.
-A level of 9.5' of Lake Charles itself was the 100 year flood. The highest level of record at this location. Much of downtown Lake Charles was flooded, as well as Westlake, and portions of Sulphur and Carlyss.
-The flood stage at the Salt Water Barrier was the 2nd highest ever recorded. The level reached 11' at 9 a.m. on 9/13. The highest level ever recorded at this location was 13' which occurred in October of 1913. The flood stage at the Salt Water Barrier is 4'.
-A top 5 flood of record also occurred at Old Town Bay. Major flooding occurred in this area as well with a recorded stage of 11.2'. The river reached its peak here during the evening of the 13th.
In Cameron Parish, the devastation caused by the storm surge from Ike was similar to that of Rita, although most places that had been rebuilt to meet the new building codes standards are still standing. Total devastation occurred from Holly Beach to the Texas state line with many structures being completely washed out including Johnson Bayou High School which had 7' of water in it.
For a look at the storm surge level at other specific locations across SW Louisiana and SE Texas click here:
For a composite look at more data on Hurricane Ike from the National Weather Service click here:
I will have a complete look back at the 2008 Hurricane Season upon its conclusion, November 30. It will mainly focus on the 3 storms that affected our area this year.
Before I wrap this up, I wanted to take a minute to talk about the below normal temperatures we've been experiencing lately.
It has been a nice stretch of weather overall since Ike. We got some much needed rainfall last week which was really our first significant rainfall since the storm. Generally, though we've been in a dry and cool to seasonable pattern with temperatures averaging below normal on more days than above normal. This has been case here especially since the end of October.
Many areas have already seen their first frost of the season with the usual colder locations experiencing a light freeze. Some record lows were established the final week of October when a strong cold front from Canada moved through and sent lows down into the mid 30s. Officially we were one degree off of a record here in Lake Charles on October 28 at 36. This cool stretch has continued as of late with some more 30s areawide Sunday and Monday morning this week, with 30s expected again tonight. This once again produced frost across a good portion of the area. Daytime highs have been upper 50s to upper 60s this week.
The average lows this time of year are in the upper 40s to around 50..49 specifically here at LCH while the average high is near 70. The average first freeze of the season across SW Louisiana varies upon your location. Areas north of I-10 typically see their first freeze during the first half of November, while here along the I-10 corridor the first freeze generally occurs during the latter half of November. Areas in closest proximity to the coast don't typically see their first freeze until the first half of December.
Hopefully this cool weather will stick around for the holidays. Have a great Tuesday!!!
-Drew McLachlan-
Hurricane Paloma
Paloma has strengthened into a hurricane in the Caribbean. Maximum winds are sustained at 80 mph and forward movement is to the north at about 5 mph. Hurricane warnings have been posted for the Cayman Islands and hurricane watches are posted for a good portion of Cuba. This storm will not be allowed to enter the gulf because of a cold front. Paloma will take a northeasterly turn and pass over Cuba this weekend and then head into the Atlantic before dissipating.
Tropical Storm Paloma
Hurricane season has been quiet, but it is certainly not over yet. The 17th named storm of the season has developed. Tropical storm Paloma is located in the Caribbean and is affecting Nicaragua and Honduras. Tropical storm watches are in effect for those areas. Winds are sustained at 40 mph but the storm is strengthening some this morning.
Paloma is expected to take a turn to the northeast and move over Cuba this weekend possibly as a hurricane. A cold front passing through tonight and moving into the gulf will help to keep the storm out of the gulf.
All of the orange shading in the gulf is very dry air that will help to steer Paloma away from the gulf.
Hurricane season officially ends November 30.
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