RP: NorEaster Forming, Waves Crashing

Here's an update on what impact the big East Coast storm has had thus far as of Sunday morning.

The Cape Hatteras webcam also shows very choppy seas this morning, with heavy rain, with the nearest buoy reporting plunging pressure at 29.50" and winds increasing at a nearby buoy, from near calm yesterday to gusting to 43 knots (49 mph) as of 11:45 AM (LIVE GRAPH | ARCHIVED). Those pressure falls, which are strongest near Cape Hatteras, show us that the energy transfer is starting to take place and our coastal storm is about to form.

Stay tuned to my blog today and tomorrow for updates on the highest winds, waves, rain and snow from this storm.

The latest screen capture from
AccuWeather.com RadarPlus is shown at right. You can see the blue color indicating that low pressure is still over the Carolinas and the wind arrows are spiraling inwards. See also screen captures from yesterday afternoon and last night.

Wave heights have spiked from 2 feet last night to 12 feet this morning (LIVE GRAPH | ARCHIVED).

Even though the storm is just beginning to form, we are already seeing winds from the southeast lashing the Northeast Coast, as today's AP Photo of the Day illustrates:

Water from the Great South Bay crashes
near a house during a spring storm in Babylon,
New York, Sunday, April 15, 2007 (AP Photo/Ed Betz)

40 Tornado Warnings and 57 Severe Thunderstorm Warnings have been issued since 8 PM last night in the Southeast, according to the StormMatrix. Overall, 4 tornadoes, 42 wind reports and 13 hail reports were issued by spotters yesterday.

AccuWeather.com Professional's Joe Bastardi [BIO] (PRO) said in his blog last night: