5 years ago today. Hurricane Isabel.

[Category 5]

Today is Thursday September 18th, last time we said that..............

ZCZC MIATCPAT3 ALL
TTAA00 KNHC DDHHMM
BULLETIN
HURRICANE ISABEL INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY NUMBER 50A
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
1 PM EDT THU SEP 18 2003

...LARGE EYE OF ISABEL COMING ASHORE JUST SOUTH OF OCRACOKE
ISLAND...

A HURRICANE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM CAPE FEAR NORTH CAROLINA
TO CHINCOTEAGUE VIRGINIA...INCLUDING PAMLICO AND ALBEMARLE SOUNDS...
AND THE CHESAPEAKE BAY SOUTH OF SMITH POINT.

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT NORTH OF CHINCOTEAGUE TO
MORICHES INLET NEW YORK...INCLUDING DELAWARE BAY. A TROPICAL STORM
WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT SOUTH OF CAPE FEAR TO SOUTH SANTEE RIVER
SOUTH CAROLINA...FOR THE CHESAPEAKE BAY FROM SMITH POINT
NORTHWARD...AND FOR THE TIDAL POTOMAC.

AT 1 PM EDT...1700Z...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE ISABEL WAS LOCATED
NEAR LATITUDE 34.9 NORTH... LONGITUDE 76.1 WEST OR ABOUT 40 MILES
SOUTHWEST OF CAPE HATTERAS NORTH CAROLINA. THIS POSITION IS ALSO
ABOUT 30 MILES NORTHEAST OF CAPE LOOKOUT NORTH CAROLINA...AND VERY
NEAR OCRACOKE ISLAND ON THE NORTH CAROLINA OUTER BANKS.

ISABEL HAS A VERY LARGE EYE...AND WINDS WITHIN THE EYE WILL
DIMINISH...BEFORE INCREASING RAPIDLY AS THE BACK EDGE OF THE EYE
PASSES BY. PEOPLE ARE STRONGLY CAUTIONED NOT TO VENTURE OUT DURING
THE EYE PASSAGE UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.

ISABEL IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHWEST NEAR 18 MPH AND THIS MOTION IS
EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TODAY WITH A TURN TO THE NORTH-NORTHWEST
OVERNIGHT. ON THE FORECAST TRACK...THE CENTER OF ISABEL IS EXPECTED
TO CONTINUE MOVING INLAND OVER EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND
SOUTHEASTERN VIRGINIA OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 100 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS. ALTHOUGH
ISABEL WILL WEAKEN AS IT MOVES INLAND...UNUSUALLY STRONG
WINDS...WITH GUSTS TO HURRICANE FORCE...MAY BE EXPERIENCED FAR
INLAND OVER THE ELEVATED TERRAIN OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA AND
MARYLAND...AS WELL AS ON HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS AND OTHER STRUCTURES.

HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 115 MILES FROM THE
CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 345
MILES.

A WIND GUST TO 105 MPH WAS RECENTLY REPORTED AT OCRACOKE ISLAND ON
THE OUTER BANKS. SUSTAINED WINDS TO 80 MPH HAVE ALSO BEEN REPORTED
AT OCRACOKE. CAPE HATTERAS IS REPORTING SUSTAINED WINDS OF 79 MPH
AND GUSTS TO 98 MPH.

THE MOST RECENT MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE REPORTED BY A HURRICANE
HUNTER AIRCRAFT WAS 957 MB...28.26 INCHES.

STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 5 TO 8 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS...
ALONG WITH EXTREMELY LARGE AND DANGEROUS BATTERING WAVES...IS
EXPECTED NEAR AND TO THE NORTH OF WHERE THE CENTER CROSSES THE
COAST. STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 4 TO 8 FT ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS
IS EXPECTED IN CHESAPEAKE BAY AND THE TIDAL PORTIONS OF ADJACENT
RIVERS. A STORM SURGE OF 5 TO 6 FEET WAS REPORTED AT CAPE
HATTERAS...AND HAM RADIO OPERATORS REPORT A SURGE OF 5 TO 6 FEET AT
NEW BERN NORTH CAROLINA ON THE NEUSE RIVER.

STORM TOTAL RAINFALLS OF 6 TO 10 INCHES...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER
AMOUNTS...ARE LIKELY IN ASSOCIATION WITH ISABEL.

THERE IS A THREAT OF ISOLATED TORNADOES OVER EASTERN NORTH
CAROLINA...EASTERN VIRGINIA...AND SOUTHEASTERN MARYLAND TODAY.

REPEATING THE 1 PM EDT POSITION......34.9 N... 76.1 W. MOVEMENT
TOWARD...NORTHWEST NEAR 18 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED
WINDS...100 MPH. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE... 957 MB.

FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...PLEASE MONITOR
PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL WEATHER OFFICE...AND STATEMENTS FROM
LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS.

AN INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL
HURRICANE CENTER AT 3 PM EDT FOLLOWED BY THE NEXT
COMPLETE ADVISORY AT 5 PM EDT.

FORECASTER FRANKLIN


NNNN

[Category 5]

I was only 13 when it hit. I was on vacation in Avalon (a barrier island down at Cape May County). The storm surge ran 1-3 feet, just enough to poke into the dunes. The winds ran 30-40kts gusting to 50kts. I'll never forget the waves smashing over the jetties. Some people actually went fishing along the banks of the inlet and were catching bluefish left and right. One person further north had the bright idea to go boating out in Barnegat Bay (not an easy task even on a nice day). He didn't live to tell his story. I was running around all day with a little disposable camera (Had I had the equipment I do now I'd of had awesome pics). I may still have a few of those pics somewhere, I'll have to find them. I was running around on the beach and getting blasted by the sand drifts (which sting in TS winds). Despite everything, we didn't get much rain. However, when it did rain, it came down hard and loud. That night the outer bands rolled in and it sounded like rocks.

The bay actually rose about 4-5 feet, and backed up the storm drains, causing some minor street flooding. Other then that, the only damage was beach erosion, one down tree that I saw, and a bunch of leaves and branches. Any windows facing into the wind had about an inch of salt accumulation on them.

Sadly, areas to the south didn't fare so well.

[Category 5]

Dug up some old TWC videos. They did not have a good day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlLrj_SM ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YE1jq_QqvhU

[stu]

Isabel was the first Hurricane that I ever chased - Was it really 5 years ago?

I was a bit green in those days - I ended up at Virginia Beach - miles away from the eye.

[CrazyC83]

Isabel had a HUGE wind field if I recall correctly. Almost every square inch of the US between 73°W and 80°W saw at least tropical storm conditions...

[O Town]

Gez, that storm was insane at its peak. I watched a few of those TWC Utube clips. parts 1,2, and 3
So symmetrical and perfect, the only true annular cane I have ever seen.

[Category 5]

Isabel had a HUGE wind field if I recall correctly. Almost every square inch of the US between 73°W and 80°W saw at least tropical storm conditions...

Tell me about it, I was 300 miles from the eye.

[Ptarmigan]

Hurricane Isabel was quite a monster hurricane, larger than Ike in terms of tropical storm force winds! I can empathize with you guys on the East Coast with Isabel in 2003.