TheProfessor wrote:Steve wrote:Blow_Hard wrote:I wish no one would have to deal with this but I have to say I'm encouraged that Michael affected areas are not likely to be impacted much, if at all by Delta if the current trends continue...
Hopefully. I'm not saying you did, but I personally wouldn't slam the door on Panama City. While the current cone runs to Walton?Bay County on its eastern extreme, cone of uncertainty could have an eastern periphery another 100-150 miles east (or west) in the next 3-4 days. Models are pretty tightly clustered, but we all know the later in the season it gets, the more likely Gulf systems would be on the easterly side of a potential threat area (this is NOT 100% ). Just the same, there looks to be a push from the east in the Atlantic almost guaranteeing that there's some point along the Panhandle that would be too far east for it to get to. Look at Water Vapor:
Water Vapor
https://cdn.star.nesdis.noaa.gov//GOES1 ... 00x540.gif
Now run (press the play button) the GFS @ 500mb. This is easy to match up with the Water Vapor as you can see the ridging across Florida from the W Atlantic not relenting. This ridging (looks like a mid-upper level finger ridge) is clearly the feature that will direct Delta NW for a while before rounding the western periphery. BUT, down the line, the GFS has sort of backed off on the approaching long wave that was set to follow Delta by a couple of days. Now a small buckle (a really shortwave) picks it up and directs it out. The upper trough/longwave now lifts up and out after Delta does, so now there really isn't a large scale continental trough that can push it up farther east more quickly.
GFS @ 500mb
https://www.tropicaltidbits.com/analysi ... 00506&fh=6
If things stay as they are, we can narrow the expected landfall area almost to Morgan City to Navarre Beach and should be able to further hone it in as the week goes on. But again for now, there's no way Panama City should be considered out of the woods IMHO.
It's also important to note that you don't need to be inside the cone to have significant impacts, if the storm comes further east and you're on the east side of it, you're likely to be impacted in some fashion, even if you're not in the cone.
What I worry about with the areas affected by Sally. Still would produce onshore flow if the COC passes further west than Gulf Shores.