sma10 wrote:wxman57 wrote:Irene is definitely a depression now, just a low-level swirl. I think it WAS a TS earlier today, but the convection died 2 hours before it was upgraded. Center appears to be moving toward about 300 degrees now, too. Not likely a threat to anyone, even the fish.
Since Irene is definitely a depression now, I suppose we'll see a downgraded advisory at 5pm then?
I can't tell if you're just being sarcastic or if you're seriously asking me that question, but I can tell you that 18Z Dvorak estimates are 1.0. Not only would that make it a depression, but a weak depression with 20kt winds:
07/1745 UTC 20.7N 46.0W T1.0/2.0 IRENE -- Atlantic Ocean
The T1.0 is current intensity estimate.
Personally, I've been studying hurricanes for over 40 years, and a provessional met for 25 of those years. I dont' need a quickscat pass to tell me when a TS loses all of its convection and is merely a swirl of low clouds that it is no longer a TS.
But, as to your question, I'd be HIGHLY surprised if the NHC downgraded Irene to a TD on the next advisory. As I stated in my 9am CDT forecast to our customers, I think it'll fluctuate between TD/TS intensity for the next 24 hours. I see no point in downgrading it, then upgrading it, then downgrading it every 6 hours.
By the way, I place the center at 19.9N/46.4W at 2:24pm CDT. Here's that satellite image with 1 deg lat/lon lines. Well-defined low-level swirl, but hardly a shower near the center any more.
http://myweb.cableone.net/nolasue/irene27.gif
Here's an enhanced IR shot on which I've circled the center in red. As you can see, no squalls anywhere near the center, and almost no squalls anywhere now. It's a TD:
http://myweb.cableone.net/nolasue/irene28.gif