Sunday, September 14, 2008

Powerful wind and rain move north

Tropical Depression Ike continues to cause damage and injuries as he races north at 55mph. The storm is now moving into Ontario with heavy rain and wind. Today the Midwest was hammered with 9 inches of rain in metro Chicago and 80mph winds in Ohio and Indiana. Wind warnings are in effect for northern New York, Vermont and Quebec.

I am in Seabrook, NH tonight. It is a night more suited for the deep south in July. High humidity, 23C and dew points near 22C. It is similar to many other areas in the northeast. All regions south and east of the track of Ike have a tropical air mass in place. Winds here will gust over 30mph tomorrow out of the southwest with seas building to 3-5feet along the Atlantic coastline.

This is from Environment Canada at this hour...

Tropical depression Ike heads towards southern Ontario with heavy rainfall and wind tonight.Post-tropical storm Ike is moving rapidly towards the lower Great Lakes from northeast Indiana at a speed of 80 km/h. Ike's trajectory is expected to move across the west end of Lake Erie early this evening and north of Toronto then north of Ottawa around midnight. As a result of this adjusted northward track..The heaviest rainfall will shift accordingly. The heaviest rainfall is anticipated to stretch from near Sarnia northeast across cottage country into the Renfrew area with amounts of 40 to locally 70 mm. Significant amounts of up to 25 mm are expected south of this swath from Toronto through Ottawa as well but this is below the warning threshold of 50 mm in 12 hours.Another issue with Ike is the wind. Strong winds wrapping around Ike this evening remain strong with a few gusts of 120 km/h across Indiana and Ohio. These winds may weaken slightly this evening as Ike crosses southern Ontario but remain strong enough to warrant concern. Southerly winds of 60 gusting to 100 km/h are expected for areas adjacent to Lake Erie from early to mid evening. Winds just north of Lake Ontario will also become strong..At 50 to 80 km/h..But not likely severe. The winds will shift into the northwest at 50 to 70 km/h later this evening.The heavy rain will end this evening for western regions and late tonight or early Monday morning over eastern Ontario.Environment Canada will continue monitor this situation closely.

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