Revenge of: What # hurricane would you ride out?

[DanKellFla]

I shoulda been in the movies...

I didn't want to get too off topic, so I decided to start a new thread.

There seems to be a bit of confusion with the original question. It asks when the last tme your area experienced Cat 3+ wind conditions, not whether you've been on the fringes of a Cat 3 hurricane. Very few inland locations have ever seen true 111+ mph 1-minute sustained wind, even with a Cat 3 making landfall. Frictional effects reduce the wind speeds to below Cat 3 almost immediately upon landfall, so only some beach areas might see spotty Cat 3 winds with a Cat 3-4 making landfall.

Now this is interesting. So, I am 5 miles inland. If there is a cat 4 hurricane headed my way, typically, by the time you reach 1 mile in-land, frictional effects will reduce the windspeed to something lower than a cat 3. Right? What is the dropoff for 5 miles inland?
I always wondered about this. Over the water I would think that the flow would be laminar. As soon as it hits land, it would become much more turbulant and create a much larger boundry layer... dozens of feet? I forget the calculation for that. This is the region where things become chaotic and difficult to quantify. Although, this turbulance can be one explanation for micro-bursts.

[Derek Ortt]

hard to say

Would need to know the terrain of your area, the size of the hurricane, the speed of the motion, the upper winds, and whether it was intensifying or weakening at landfall. All of thsoe would affect your winds, along with the foliage and construction

[docjoe]

I shoulda been in the movies...

I didn't want to get too off topic, so I decided to start a new thread.

There seems to be a bit of confusion with the original question. It asks when the last tme your area experienced Cat 3+ wind conditions, not whether you've been on the fringes of a Cat 3 hurricane. Very few inland locations have ever seen true 111+ mph 1-minute sustained wind, even with a Cat 3 making landfall. Frictional effects reduce the wind speeds to below Cat 3 almost immediately upon landfall, so only some beach areas might see spotty Cat 3 winds with a Cat 3-4 making landfall.

Now this is interesting. So, I am 5 miles inland. If there is a cat 4 hurricane headed my way, typically, by the time you reach 1 mile in-land, frictional effects will reduce the windspeed to something lower than a cat 3. Right? What is the dropoff for 5 miles inland?
I always wondered about this. Over the water I would think that the flow would be laminar. As soon as it hits land, it would become much more turbulant and create a much larger boundry layer... dozens of feet? I forget the calculation for that. This is the region where things become chaotic and difficult to quantify. Although, this turbulance can be one explanation for micro-bursts.

I think local factors have to be considered. I am roughly 10 miles inland as the crow flies. However between my area and the Gulf exists a narrow barrier island(average 1/4 mile wide) Santa Rosa Sound, Gulf Breeze peninsula (roughly 1/2 mile to 1 mile in width) and then 2 large bays that extend roughly 10 miles inland. So between my area and the open Gulf lie two narrow peninsulas and the remainder is open water. I would guess this scenario would allow somewhat higher winds to reach farther inland than if there was just 10 miles of land between here and the gulf...course I have been wrong before

docjoe