A hurricane foursome?

[Len W]

The Atlantic-wide sat pic shows another possible hurricane in its early stage just off the African coast.

The circulation is there as shown by windyty.

[xmetman]

Len

The NHC haven't noticed any new disturbance in the vicinity of the Cape Verde Islands as yet, and even it is an embryonic hurricane, it will have to get a move on because Katia will be no more in 72 hours according to the latest forecast discussion.

Bruce.

[Jack Harrison]

I have to say that to date the forecasts based on "disturbances" to the west of Africa developing into hurricanes have been superb.  Indeed, the subsequent predictions have been quite brilliant.

It's about time that weather forecasters were more widely recognised for their achievements.

Jack

[Jack Harrison]

A later image from this satellite loop

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/east/tatl/h5-loop-avn.html

shows that the 'disturbance' to the west of Africa is fizzling, so that is probably why it isn't being mentioned by NOAA.

Jack

[Len W]

This may be true but by Tues thru Wed. there is definitely something brewing.

[xmetman]

Len

Nothing particular new in a chain of tropical cyclones forming one after the other in an active season from the Cape Verde islands like Irma and Jose.

What I've noticed is that the media is so finely tuned and powerful these days, with people with mobile phones having video devices that broadcast live to Facebook and Twitter that nothing goes unmissed as it may have done in previous hurricane events.

Why can't we build a home for the poor people of the Caribbean with modern building techniques and materials that is more hurricane proof than the ones they live in now? I would have thought bolting it down on a 6" base of concrete might also help.

Bruce.

[Jack Harrison]

Why can't we build a home for the poor people of the Caribbean with modern building techniques and materials that is more hurricane proof than the ones they live in now?

That is laudable but when the winds are strong enough to overturn large cars and rip roofs off apparently substantial buildings, perhaps it would be more economical to build cheaply and replace cheaply.  Instead, investment in communal wind and water proof shelters could be more realistic.  Families could be subsidised to use small secure (anchored/concreted in place) storage for irreplaceable items such as family photos.

After all, these days, the forecasts are so good that several days' warning is usually given.

Jack

[xmetman]

In 2002 we had a holiday in Antigua courtesy of lastminute.com, and as we were landing at the airport and looking down at the houses, it looked like a bomb had hit it! We learned later that was from when the island had been hit by a Hurricane a number of years before. 

I learned a lot about weather in the Caribbean that holiday and found out that days could be cloudy and wet even there.

You might be right about the prefab idea, a kind of super Anderson shelter from the last war.

The one noticeable thing when looking at the damage done, is that the hotels for the tourists although in prime position on the beach front usually remain intact though. I bet the building specs are much higher than the ones for the rest of the island.