Notes from the Bridge
The Rage
If you are like me, I’m always fascinated by the weather.?Right now, Hurricane Larry is slowly churning in the Atlantic.?The swells generated by Harry radiate it in all directions.?With nothing to impede them, the energy does not dissipate over time and when this energy gets into shallower waters the swell dramatically grows in height.?I was in St. Thomas, USVI with some friends visiting me.?I took them over to the Northside to look at the swells coming in.?We walked out on the rocks, more like coral, very jagged and sharp.?The swells were towering when they hit the shore.?My friend decided to get closer and in a “blink-of-an-eye” he was gone. I mean gone, nowhere to be seen.?I got a real sick feeling in my stomach.?His wife became panic-stricken and wanted to go in and find him.?I held her back as I didn’t want to lose her as well.?After what seemed an eternity, we saw him but only for a second.?After another agonizing period, he surfaced again, and this time was able to get ashore.?Cut up pretty good and with a broken wrist we got him to the emergency room where he recovered.?
Islanders call this a rage and, in some port-of calls cause a real problem. Though out the Caribbean Isles the Keys, and the Bahamas with North facing entrances can be impossible to get in our out.?Normally you must cross a reef to get into the harbor.?If swells are coming in, you stand the risk of grounding on the reef if your timing is not perfect.?As you approach the reef the swells will substantially lower the depth in the trough of the wave.?This also can happen when New England has a Nor'Easter in the Winter.?
Nor’ Easter vs Hurricane
From Sciencing.com
Both are strong low-pressure systems.?Nor’easters are cold-core lows that usually occur between October and April whereas Hurricanes are warm-core lows that happen between June and November. Nor’easters thrive on cold Canadian cold fronts and relatively warm Atlantic waters were as Hurricanes thrive on warm waters of the tropical southern Atlantic.?An interesting aspect of each is that hurricane's rainfall is close to the eyewall were as the snowfield in a Nor’easter is away (approx. (100 miles) from the center!??