Awesome!!

[Sean in New Orleans]

Check it out...it's a terrible thing, but, it's awesome and SOOO BIG!!!! http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/DATA/RT ... -loop.html

[dennis1x1]

and weakening rapidly....even better.

hey...what was the name of the storm a couple years ago that went from a strong cat 4 to a 1 overnight right before landfall south of lafayette?

[Matthew5]

Looks like it has alot of dry air getting into it???

[cswitwer]

I swear we had a rainband come over Charleston SC about 5pm today. Didn't rain (so I guess it wasn't technically a rainband), but it was definitely tropical and the WV imagery looked like it was actually Ivan. Talk about a big storm!

[Burn1]

Not looking healthy at all.....Maybe same luck with Ivan as Frances
....Went from Cat 4 over Bahamas to Cat 2 before landfall in FL

[c5Camille]

i just went outside to grab a smoke... looked
up and i can see the sirus clouds on the outer
periphery of the stom overhead...

it's downhill from here for a few days...

[Mello1]

and weakening rapidly....even better.

hey...what was the name of the storm a couple years ago that went from a strong cat 4 to a 1 overnight right before landfall south of lafayette?

Lili.

[dennis1x1]

lili..thanks....the gulf certainly holds tricks when it comes to very rapid strengthening...and weakening.....heck....Opal did both within a day and a half...

[frankthetank]

buoy out in the gulf shows a 72knot wind gust with 36ft waves...crazy... http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/Maps/Florida.shtml

I noticed that dry air earlier...must finally be working into the storm...i'm no pro, so i leave it at that...this loop you can see it

http://www.rap.ucar.edu/weather/satelli ... g&itype=wv

[Ivanova]

The color scale on that image says red, purple and blue
mean moist, not dry... where are ya'll seeing dry ??

[frankthetank]

look at the scale for the above loop from ucar....blood reds are dry...

[Ivanova]

look at the scale for the above loop from ucar....blood reds are dry..

.

Yeah sure... on THAT image the red is dry... but look at the hurricane

Besides... you'd be a little weak too if you had just given birth


*

[yoda]

and weakening rapidly....even better.

hey...what was the name of the storm a couple years ago that went from a strong cat 4 to a 1 overnight right before landfall south of lafayette?

Not looking healthy at all.....Maybe same luck with Ivan as Frances
....Went from Cat 4 over Bahamas to Cat 2 before landfall in FL

Wrong you both are. Weakening this storm will not. Strengthen tomorrow Ivan will. Make landfall as a major hurricane Ivan will yes yes.

[wxwatcher2]

Y'all in Pascagoula are in for quite a ride.
Hang on tight if you haven't evacuated.
Ivan will not weaken much before landfall
as a Cat four storm.

[Anonymous]

Guys... this is not going to be like Lili. The dry air is not going to hurt it enough to bring it below cat 4, it is moving quick and it should maintain itself until landfall.

[rtd2]

Yoda I dont always agree with your views but you stick by your guns... Taking the latest HP and trough back in Texas along with Faster Mvt. have you changed your track in anyway? B.T.W I agree with you on strength just like this am when IVAN looked ragged we saw what happen this afternoon!

[SouthernWx]

Ivan is still an extremely intense hurricane. On the pass through the eye just after 11 p.m. EDT, the NOAA research aircraft measured 145 kt winds at flight level in the northeast eyewall...on the outbound leg.

Why has the central pressure risen from 928 to 934 mb in the past few hours? The hurricane is passing over an area of cooler water located between latitude 25-26° north.
Tomorrow Ivan will pass across a very warm (86-88°) eddy located from south of Destin to south of Grand Isle...between latitude 26.6 n and 28.5-29.0° north....it's deep and shows up well on the AOML/ NHC TCHP (tropical cyclone heat potential) map. Don't be surprised to see Ivan strengthen significantly while passing over this eddy....to strong cat-4 or possibly even cat-5 intensity.

Warm eddy's of this type are what caused past intense hurricanes such as Anita (1977) and Opal (1995) to deepen rapidly.

[yoda]

Yoda I dont always agree with your views but you stick by your guns... Taking the latest HP and trough back in Texas along with Faster Mvt. have you changed your track in anyway? B.T.W I agree with you on strength just like this am when IVAN looked ragged we saw what happen this afternoon!

My track has stayed in the AL area, near Mobile. I had forecasted winds to be sustained at 140 mph at landfall. I really don't see this weakening much. As SouthernWx said, it is weakening because the water temp is a bit cool. We will all be in for a surprise tomorrow... as Ivan may strengthen over the eddy.