Ooh, I see a few
Shakespeare fans out there! Jolly good. In this topsy-turvy year, a bit o’culture
and art is a nice change, isn’t it? J
Hurricane
Ophelia was upgraded to a cat 3 storm today, and currently has winds of 115mph,
central pressure of 960mb. This makes her a relatively weak cat 3 storm (cat 3
winds: 111-130mph):
There is a
little circulation (vorticity) in the upper troposphere, which means she is a
hurricane because her structure is good throughout this part of the atmosphere. And she's definitely still a cat 2 with that good eye. But the vorticity isn't as strong as we see with a cat 3 storm. She is moving
over cold water – the surface water is less than 26 deg C – not great there
either for a storm. Normally, I would say she is a cat 2 storm, but I
can see why they increased the category based on wind speed. The reason is that
she finally merged with a front which was working its way across the Atlantic,
which added its own energy and forward motion to the storm, so the winds are
higher. Otherwise, she should not be more than a cat 2 at the most. Here
are a few stills to show the front (the long curvy line of blue and yellow clouds north of Ophelia) moving across to the east and south and meeting up with Ophelia earlier today (I
wasn’t able to get a moving satellite image- and oopsie on the layout too! :-)):
She is currently
at 35.9N, 23.7W, heading NE at 28mph. This incredibly fast forward speed is
another indication that she is actually caught up and is moving along with a low-pressure
front. She is passing just south of the Azores at the moment, still forecast to
head to Emerald Isle and then bonnie Scotland…
Over the last couple of days she has been forecast
to be a hurricane more-or-less all the way to Ireland,
but I see that today the NHC have downgraded that to a Tropical Storm by the time she gets to
Ireland. There is some wind shear ahead of her so this is reasonable. An autumn front on its own in Ireland and the UK would bring a blustery,
rainy day. A front plus the energy from a tropical storm means gale force winds
and a rainy day. Here’s the forecast from the Met Office, which pretty much
sums it up:
Sunday:
Wet and windy in western Scotland, rain
spreading into parts of southern Scotland and northern England later. Elsewhere,
will be warm, dry with some sunny spells and easing winds.
Monday to Wednesday:
Windy with severe gales in the west on
Monday. Breezy, warm and bright in the east. Strong winds in the north Tuesday,
settled and cooler further south. Unsettled on Wednesday.
Pretty much a normal wintery storm over in these parts.
I’m traveling
tomorrow, so I won’t be checking in on progress - unless I run into a weather
delay. J But I’ll be flying over Ophelia and will
tell her to turn it down a notch! I’m currently in the UK and will be heading
to the US, personally evacuating some vital Jaffa Cakes, Jelly Babies,
Prawn Cocktail crisps, and Pickled Onion Monster Munch. It was a hastily
planned visit because I was actually supposed to be in Puerto Rico... and next
week I am supposed to be in Sonoma County, CA, and after that er, hmm... maybe
I should just stay put for a while…?
Anyway, enough
of that silly storm stuff! Here’s what you have really been waiting for… the Answers from the Shakespeare quiz:
1.
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. From Julius Caesar. (No, he’s not
asking for people to do a Van Gogh and literally lend him their ears!)
2.
…when last we met… From er…
that well-known Shakespearean piece that I remember well, called er… Star Wars. Umm, ok, that
was a deliberate red herring. Although don't you think Darth Vadar was based upon Romeo?
3…. O
wonderful, wonderful, and most wonderful wonderful! From As You Like It.
(Shakespeare accidentally hit copy and paste too often – easily done when the
keyboard is sensitive)
4. … And so,
once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more! From Henry V. (I use this
one quite often in daily conversation – especially when I’m talking to myself)
5. …glass of fashion… From Hamlet (the glass of fashion means a mirror of
comportment or mirror of form… not to be confused with Harry Potter’s Mirror of
Eirised)
6.
Tempest From The Tempest
(ok, this was more of a title than a quote… I won’t hold it against you if you
didn’t count this one)
7.
…though she be but little, she is fierce. From A Midsummer Night’s Dream. (Sounds
just like me)
8. …more things in heaven and earth. From Hamlet. (with
Ophelia around, how could I not have Hamlet in this list?)
9.
…all that glisters is not gold… From The Merchant of Venice (sometimes contorted to all the glistens is not
gold – I think)
10.
… it appears no other thing to me than a foul and pestilent
congregation of vapours.
From Hamlet (more about humans than storms, but it works oh so well… I admit
I was rubbing my hands in glee at this one)
11. … royal throne of kings,
this sceptred isle.
From Richard II. (luckily Shakespeare wrote a few words about the British
isles).
12. … Scotland
hath foisons to fill up your will. From Macbeth (meaning that Scotland has
enough treasures to satisfy you… very apropos for this storm methinks)
13. …this blessed plot, this earth,
this realm, this England. From
Richard II (pretty much continued from the quote above)
14. …do not compare Ophelia
to a summer's day. From
Sonnet 18 (with a slight modification of course… the actual line is Shall
I compare thee to a summer’s day?)
15. You may be saying a
plague upon this howling! They are louder than the weather or our office. From The Tempest. (of
course!)
16. …where shall we three
meet again in thunder, lightning, or in rain? When the hurlyburly 's done, when
the battle 's lost and won. From Macbeth (that Scottish play!)
If you remove
the red herring, the title, and the split Richard II quote, then we have 13. Otherwise, I’d say 14. J
Back when I can!
Stay safe my peeps on this side of the Atlantic... keep the smarties safe for me! :-)
Ciao,
J.
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Blogs archived at http://jyotikastorms.blogspot.com/
Twitter @JyovianStorm
-------------------------------
DISCLAIMER: These remarks are just what I think/see regarding tropical storms -
not the opinion of any organization I represent. If you are making an
evacuation decision, please heed your local emergency management and the
National Hurricane Center's official forecast and the National Weather Service
announcements. This is not an official forecast. If I "run away, run
away" (Monty Python), I'll let you know.
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