On the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 1979, Hurricane Frederic was in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, packing top winds of 85 mph. The central pressure in the storm was 985 millibars. The hurricane was moving northwestward at 5 mph and that motion was expected to continue during the day.
Just two hours later, NOAA reconnaissance found that the central pressure had fallen to 980 millibars. Two hours later, around 8 a.m. CDT, the central pressure had fallen another nine millibars. The rapid deepening was the result of a burst of convection moving around the center. On the 11 a.m. forecast package, the official track was adjusted westward. Two interesting notes from the tropical cyclone discussion. Neal Frank wrote the discussion. Also noteworthy was the fact that the discussions were not released to the public then, like they are today. In fact, the discussions ended with the statement, “THE FOLLOWING FORECAST POSITIONS ARE NOT TO BE RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC.”
The 11:20 a.m. Alabama Weather Summary was headlined “ALL EYES ON HURRICANR FREDERIC.” Shortly after noon, the NOAA plane found a central pressure of 968 millibars. Winds were increased to 110 mph. I recorded a NOAA Weatheradio broadcast just after 2 p.m. that state “Hurricane Frederic is expected to make landfall early Thursday morning between Pensacola and Mobile and then move westward through North Alabama.”
The 4:00 p.m. Alabama Weather Summary was headlined “...FREDERIC IS NO LADY...ALABAMA RESIDENTS SHOULD KEEP POSTED…” On the 5 p.m. Advisory, a Hurricane Watch was ordered along the Gulf Coast from Panama City to Vermillion Bay in Louisiana. The hurricane was 450 miles southeast of New Orleans with top winds of 110 mph. The central pressure began dropping again during the evening hours, lowering to 958 millibars by 8:53 p.m. CDT. Frederic was beginning to move faster, to the northwest at a speed of 10 mph. Hurricane Warning flags were hoisted along the Gulf Coast from Panama City to Grand Isle, Louisiana on the 9:30 pm CDT advisory package.
Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center were keeping their eyes on a closed low in the upper atmosphere to the northwest of Frederic. This was pulling the growing hurricane more to the northwest. But the low was beginning to kick out to the northeast, and forecasters accurately predicted that the hurricane would respond by turning to the north. They also forecast continued intensification of the storm during the overnight hours.
We will finish the story tomorrow...
Remembering Frederic
September 10, 2005, 10:10 pm
by Bill Murray
in General Thoughts
Thanks For Responding!
September 10, 2005, 4:47 pm
Many of you read the post here one week ago called "A Call For Help - Mississippi".
I wanted to post this follow-up today from Keith Miller:
I wanted to post this follow-up today from Keith Miller:
First and foremost, I want to sincerely thank you for posting my letter on
your website. The response has been overwhelming with the outpouring of
individuals offering donations and any help whatever it may be. I had no idea
this would grow as it has. Your posting significantly made a difference and for
that, I thank you
We had successful missions all last weekend. David McGiffin and I along
with our wives loaded our two planes more than you could imagine and launched
off for Stennis International Airport in Bay St. Louis last Saturday. When we
arrived, we finally found the right contacts after much searching. I met the
local airport manager, Bill Conner, told him who we were and what we were doing
and after a minute of wiping his eyes, said that was the area he and his family
lived in and they lost everything.
He immediately arranged transportation for us and I got his daughter in law to go with us a show us how to get to where we wanted to go. Two separate forester crews, one from Wisconsin and the other from New Mexico, formed lines while offloading our supplies on to trucks. We have some great photos I'm getting together to email you for your viewing. As expected, nearly everywhere we went, we were the first people to offer help which is sad being that we have a well funded government with a whole lot more individuals smarter than I.
As the day progressed, we were told of downtown Bay St. Louis having shelters that desperately needed help. We parked our convoy at the courthouse and eventually found three sheriff deputies. Telling them the same as before, they again after wiping there eyes said we were the only ones who had been in to check and bring supplies. He took us to the Baptist Church and the High School. We unloaded, asked what else they needed and said we would be back some time Monday afternoon.
We stopped by Kamp Katrina in the Kmart parking lot and gave out medicine and supplies to the people Bob Echols and I met Friday. I was even able to find the stranded National Guard sgt. and tell him we got word to his parents in Dallas he was alive and needed fuel. You can use your imagination from there. Also, all the children there were badly sunburned and had numerous bug bites. After getting home to B'ham, we got back to work getting stuff that was requested. I have to also give a much needed thanks to Chris who is a pharmacist at CVS on Rocky Ridge in Vestavia. I called him that night and told him what we were doing and the situation with the children. I had him mix up a 50/50 mixture of viscous Lidocaine(aka novocaine) and benedryl of all he had and to get a bag full of 2 & 4 oz bottles for us to dispense the medicine in to. He paid for this to donate because he knew it would be hand delivered on Monday by us. This can be applied like a lotion to numb the burn and itch and help heal as well.
He immediately arranged transportation for us and I got his daughter in law to go with us a show us how to get to where we wanted to go. Two separate forester crews, one from Wisconsin and the other from New Mexico, formed lines while offloading our supplies on to trucks. We have some great photos I'm getting together to email you for your viewing. As expected, nearly everywhere we went, we were the first people to offer help which is sad being that we have a well funded government with a whole lot more individuals smarter than I.
As the day progressed, we were told of downtown Bay St. Louis having shelters that desperately needed help. We parked our convoy at the courthouse and eventually found three sheriff deputies. Telling them the same as before, they again after wiping there eyes said we were the only ones who had been in to check and bring supplies. He took us to the Baptist Church and the High School. We unloaded, asked what else they needed and said we would be back some time Monday afternoon.
We stopped by Kamp Katrina in the Kmart parking lot and gave out medicine and supplies to the people Bob Echols and I met Friday. I was even able to find the stranded National Guard sgt. and tell him we got word to his parents in Dallas he was alive and needed fuel. You can use your imagination from there. Also, all the children there were badly sunburned and had numerous bug bites. After getting home to B'ham, we got back to work getting stuff that was requested. I have to also give a much needed thanks to Chris who is a pharmacist at CVS on Rocky Ridge in Vestavia. I called him that night and told him what we were doing and the situation with the children. I had him mix up a 50/50 mixture of viscous Lidocaine(aka novocaine) and benedryl of all he had and to get a bag full of 2 & 4 oz bottles for us to dispense the medicine in to. He paid for this to donate because he knew it would be hand delivered on Monday by us. This can be applied like a lotion to numb the burn and itch and help heal as well.
We took last Sunday off from flying to reorganize and prepare for Monday
morning. At approx. 9:00am Labor Day, Bob Echols, David McGiffin, A.C. Frese and
myself left out of BHM with our planes loaded full of supplies. I left room for
five passengers in my plane so only the front and rear baggage space along with
the area normally occupied with a sixth seat was loaded. My wife, Kim
Trobridge (friend and RN), Lynn Oldshue (John's wife) and myself left a little
earlier and stopped at Dothan to pick up Bill Conner and take back with us. We
had evacuated Bill and his family to Dothan to stay with friends and family. We
all met up at Stenniss airport and Bill arranged transportation for us.
We had two military HumVees (with trailers along with MP'S) and two large pick-up trucks provided for us. An airport employee named Paul drove us around for directions. I had brought two 2-way radios so we could communicate with each other. We started in the Lakeshore area southwest of Waveland just going house to house giving out living supplies and clothes; whatever they needed. Again, we were the first faces these people had seen. They had gotten just enough for a few days because they didn't think it would be that bad. We continued east through the rural parts of Waveland and Bay St. Louis doing the same. The medicine we had made up was probably the biggest hit.
Oh, and by the way, as we were heading back to the airport, we stopped at Kamp Katrina and gave the ones who needed the medicine and off loaded their supplies they had requested. I even got to meet the Sgts. parents from Dallas that day. What a successful mission we had.
James, I haven't even scratched the surface with the stories I have to tell as well as the experiences. Each plane we took other than mine had one other passenger to help once we got there. Teri Kirkland, who works at UAB and the Kirkland Clinic, went with David in his plane and was truly instrumental in helping organize these missions. She got a lot of the nurses at UAB to help call for donations, load the planes and man the hanger for when more stuff got there. We all would come back exhausted, but a good exhausted.
This was an experience that I will never forget and will always be able to look back on. We made many friends with our neighbors that otherwise, probably would have never happened. We sent out a truck this morning loaded with the remaining supplies and he was to go to the Baptist church in downtown Bay St. Louis. I spoke with Bill Conner yesterday and he said power is slowly being restored in isolated areas and more supplies are finally being dispensed out. He could not express his thanks in what our team did.
We had two military HumVees (with trailers along with MP'S) and two large pick-up trucks provided for us. An airport employee named Paul drove us around for directions. I had brought two 2-way radios so we could communicate with each other. We started in the Lakeshore area southwest of Waveland just going house to house giving out living supplies and clothes; whatever they needed. Again, we were the first faces these people had seen. They had gotten just enough for a few days because they didn't think it would be that bad. We continued east through the rural parts of Waveland and Bay St. Louis doing the same. The medicine we had made up was probably the biggest hit.
Oh, and by the way, as we were heading back to the airport, we stopped at Kamp Katrina and gave the ones who needed the medicine and off loaded their supplies they had requested. I even got to meet the Sgts. parents from Dallas that day. What a successful mission we had.
James, I haven't even scratched the surface with the stories I have to tell as well as the experiences. Each plane we took other than mine had one other passenger to help once we got there. Teri Kirkland, who works at UAB and the Kirkland Clinic, went with David in his plane and was truly instrumental in helping organize these missions. She got a lot of the nurses at UAB to help call for donations, load the planes and man the hanger for when more stuff got there. We all would come back exhausted, but a good exhausted.
This was an experience that I will never forget and will always be able to look back on. We made many friends with our neighbors that otherwise, probably would have never happened. We sent out a truck this morning loaded with the remaining supplies and he was to go to the Baptist church in downtown Bay St. Louis. I spoke with Bill Conner yesterday and he said power is slowly being restored in isolated areas and more supplies are finally being dispensed out. He could not express his thanks in what our team did.
I wanted to share this with you and if you want to hear any more, just let
me know and I can talk until you are tired of hearing. Thanks again James for
all you did in helping us in this hopefully once in a lifetime tragedy.
Keith Miller
by James Spann
in General Thoughts
Map Discussion Video for Sat., Sep. 10, 2005
September 10, 2005, 8:09 am
The Saturday map discussion video is on the server at:
http://beta.abc3340.com/weather/video.hrb
After filling in for Jason this past week, I'm at a loss for words in describing our never-changing, tranquil weather pattern. It has certainly been interesting to have a hurricane only 500 miles southeast of the Brimingham area but no serious threat to us. Helps to give me something to talk about as we see the pattern of cool mornings and warm afternoons continuing.
Speaking of Ophelia, she is once again a hurricane and has moved away from the Florida coast. I know those folks must be breathing a sigh of relief. But Opheila is expected to turn back to the northwest and come ashore on the central South Carolina coast next Tuesday as a category 2 hurricane. Outside of some cirrus clouds there should be no impact from this storm on central Alabama.
Weather patterns can change but it sure looks at this moment like September, 2005, will be one of the dryest months of the year. Not really a good sign for us as we head for October which is climatologically the dryest month of the year. This extended dry pattern could spell some serious concerns for vegetation as well as wildfire dangers.
I was pleased to attend the ABC 33/40 telethon on Thursday evening and appreciate the wonderful outpouring of support for the Katrina victims. Katrina has had far reaching impacts and could become the single worst natural disaster in our country's history. In some ways, it already has captured that title. I'll be at the Helena Amphictheater tomorrow from about 1 to 3 and again from 6 to 7 to help emcee the concert sponsored by the Helena Business Professional Association to benefit Katrina victims. I hope you can join me and support this community effort on behalf of all of those whose lives have been turned upside down.
-Brian-
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