Given the number of times Masters has been forced to use phrases like "exceptional" in the last year, I nominate his opening sentence for Unintentionally Ironic Statement Of The Month:
And it looks like an Australian version of Rita, threatening their fossil fuel industries.
We've got a truly exceptional Category 5 tropical cyclone in the waters off of the Western Australia coast to discuss, so the continuation of my blog on whether the global number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes are increasing will have to wait.
(...)
Two weeks after suffering an estimated $1 billion in damage from Cyclone Larry, Australia must brace for another strike from a major hurricane.
The region of Western Australia likely to be threatened by Glenda is not heavily populated, but is home to many important mining, oil, and gas operations. Over 1,500 people were eveacuated earlier this year when Tropical Cyclone Clare battered the area with 70 mph winds. Oil and gas operations are already shutting down as Australia battens down again. Glenda is in a very favorable environment for continued intensification, with water temperatures averaging 30 C (86F) underneath, and very light wind shear. It is possible that later today Glenda will reach the highest winds ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere, equalling the record of 150 knots (172 mph) estimated for Cyclone Daryl/Agnielle in November 1995. Increasing wind shear on Wednesday should act to weaken Glenda, but she is still expected to be a formidable Category 3 or higher storm at landfall (Category 5 on the Australian intensity scale, which goes by wind gust). Glenda is the sixth tropical cyclone this season for the Western Australia area. On average, five of these storms form during the season, which runs November through April.
http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=328&tstamp=200603
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
