Issac Finally Upgraded to a Hurricane
By Quincy Vagell on August 28, 2012, 2:15pm
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Isaac has finally come a hurricane, after developing over a week ago.
The tropical system had been churning in the Gulf for a couple of days, but the storm was never upgraded to a hurricane. (until an intermediate upgrade around 1 p.m. ET)
Hurricane hunters found mid-level winds of up to 100 miles per hour, but the National Hurricane Center (NHC) did not feel that hurricane-force winds, of at least 74 mph, were "mixing down" to the surface. This means that although winds in the atmosphere were clearly hurricane-force, the column around the center of the storm had not organized enough to produce hurricane-force winds near the surface.
After a surface wind of 75 mph was detected sometime shortly after noon, the NHC pulled the trigger and upgraded Isaac to a minimal Category 1 hurricane.
The 2 p.m. advisory keeps winds at 75 miles per hour. Slight strengthening is possible before the system approaches landfall along the Louisiana coast.
The technicalities don't really mean much. The heavy rains are still going to happen and coastal flooding, along with storm surge, is occurring. If anything, it will validate the Hurricane Warnings, which had been posted for the north-central Gulf Coast for the last few days.
WXedge.com will have more complete updates on Hurricane Isaac later today.
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