National Hurricane Center

[JonathanBelles]

any opinions?

[Matt-hurricanewatcher]

If a Katrina like cat5 moved right over the NHC. In flaten it the safest bet would be DC. Reason is the hurricane would not be that strong once it made it to DC. So thats the best choice on there.

[Tampa Bay Hurricane]

Yea New York sounds good.

Tampa Bay is not a place to build an NHC center. Man this
place is sooo prone to surge- a strong thunderstorm
or line of storms can push a big surge up Tampa Bay.
You don't even need a hurricane to send tidal flooding.

In 1998, a big squall moved in, gusty 60-70 mph winds ahead of
the squall pushed a surge of 6-8 foot rise in tides IT WAS DEADLY!!!
I was 10 Years old my dad was driving on a road at 6 feet above
sea level- the road was quickly inundated with surge and
water pushed the car and it was really unbelievable seeing
everything go underwater.
Anyway...Tampa Bay...is so prone to surge, a big thunderstorm
in 2004 made the tides rise 3-4 feet in 90 minutes. FLooded
all the mobile homes in this one neighborhood in NE St.Pete.

So even a Cat 1-2 coming in at the nightmare angle (just north
of tampa landfall) would create DISASTER in terms of surge.

[JonathanBelles]

If a Katrina like cat5 moved right over the NHC. In flaten it the safest bet would be DC. Reason is the hurricane would not be that strong once it made it to DC. So thats the best choice on there.

yes but many strong storms like andrew have moved over miami where the current NHC is

[george_r_1961]

One place I would NOT put it is at Cape Hatteras. Its a barrier island off the NC coast, not a good place. In fact there used to be an NWS office at Hatteras; it was closed during the reorganization in the mid 90's

[senorpepr]

Personally, I would never expect it to leave Miami. It's a public reception issue.

An NHC office in Washington or in New York would not get any respect because they are not a "tropical" area. Yeah, they may get some tropical cyclones, but it doesn't make since to build a national center there. The Storm Prediction Center is in the heart of the action--Oklahoma. It makes sense. The National Hurricane Center makes sense to remain where it is in Florida.

Cape Hatteras wouldn't fly either. You need a staff to run the office and the local community really wouldn't support such an office. Same goes for Biloxi. Hell... where in Biloxi would you put an NHC office--top floor of the Beau Rivage?

As for the other three locations (Tampa, New Orleans, and Houston), while you have the aforementioned issues accounted for, you don't serve a purpose for a move. Why move from Miami to Tampa? ...to New Orleans? ...to Houston? Even if the office was destroyed, it would be cheaper to rebuilt on location than to move to another location. Remember, if they move from Miami to another place, they have to pay to move all the employees. That alone would cost more that the building itself.

[x-y-no]

I agree with senorpepr, I sse no sense in moving from Miami.

[Pearl River]

Back in the 60's, when a storm entered a certain area of the Atlantic, GOM or Carribbean, certain weather services took over from the NHC and issued advisories. Example; west of 85 and north of 20, New Orleans took over issuing advisories. I believe Boston and San Juan were the others.

[Aslkahuna]

San Francisco also used to put out the EPAC advisories. However, the backup NHC is in Camp Springs MD at the NCEP so that's where it would be located until a new one could be built-most likely again in the Miami area (if Miami still existed since if the current NHC bulding were to go then nothing else would be left in the city). The 1993 Superstorm also brought a substantial (and fatal) storm surge to the west coast of FL.

Steve

[Matt-hurricanewatcher]

A 1935 hurricane which go's north into the nhc would do it.

Lets say its August of 2006 theres a tropical depression forming near 20 north/60 west. It moves westward for about two days. The system is upgraded to a tropical storm the next day. In strengthings into a hurricane at 22 north/74 west. The storm then pulls a Wilma but this time it heads west-northwestward. It hits Miami,Nhc as a storm ever bit as powerful as the 1935 hurricane. In with how fast it bombed like Wilma but this is small in tight. There was no time to get our forecasters out of the nhc.

[Jim Cantore]

Well one Hurricane Magnet deserves another

New Orleans

[george_r_1961]

A 1935 hurricane which go's north into the nhc would do it.

Lets say its August of 2006 theres a tropical depression forming near 20 north/60 west. It moves westward for about two days. The system is upgraded to a tropical storm the next day. In strengthings into a hurricane at 22 north/74 west. The storm then pulls a Wilma but this time it heads west-northwestward. It hits Miami,Nhc as a storm ever bit as powerful as the 1935 hurricane. In with how fast it bombed like Wilma but this is small in tight. There was no time to get our forecasters out of the nhc.

The buildiing housing NHC is a concrete reinforced bunker type structure built to take anything Mother Nature can throw at it. The forecasters would be the safest people in Florida.

[WindRunner]

If we had to move it for safety issues, DC. However, either Savannah, Charleston, or maybe Pensacola would probably be a better choice.

[Jim Cantore]

How about New Jersey? It would be our only claim to fame

[joe_koehle]

you forgot camden.

[Jim Cantore]

camden? as in the nastiest, dirtiest, ugliest, most drug and crime filled town in america?

[joe_koehle]

exactly.

[Jim Cantore]

its worse then they say trust me

[yzerfan]

Pensacola actually wouldn't be bad since you can go about 10-20 miles inland and be 100 feet above mean sea level.

[EDR1222]

I would think D.C.