Hurricane Delta may make landfall in 'radar hole' along the Gulf Coast
By
Brian Lada, AccuWeather meteorologist &
Kevin Byrne, AccuWeather senior editor
Published Oct 8, 2020 11:07 AM EST
Lightning flickered as Hurricane Hunters flew over the Gulf of Mexico into Hurricane Delta on Oct. 7. The storm is expected to make its way to the Gulf Coast of the United States in the coming days.
Southwestern Louisiana is bracing for a strike from a powerful hurricane for the second time in less than two months as Hurricane Delta churns through the Gulf of Mexico. Delta is currently navigating the warm waters of the Gulf on a path eerily similar to the one deadly Hurricane Laura took in late August.
When Laura made landfall in southwestern Louisiana in late August, it left behind extensive damage, including to the radar system in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Radar is an essential tool for meteorologists as it provides real-time data about the weather, such as where precipitation is falling and estimated wind speeds above the ground.
The damage to the radar in Lake Charles was so severe that it is still out of commission. In late September, the National Weather Service (NWS) removed one of the crucial components of the radar to repair it, but it will be some time before it is back up and running.
Unfortunately, repairs will not be complete before the arrival of Hurricane Delta, which is forecast to make landfall along the coast of Louisiana on Friday. The next closest radar sites are located in New Orleans and Fort Polk, Louisiana, and Houston.
These three radars will still provide data about Delta as it approaches the Louisiana coast, but since they are farther away, they will not provide the same data that the radar in Lake Charles would if it were fully operational. An area that is not located near a radar is sometimes referred to as a "radar hole" due to the weak coverage from the distant radars.
On Thursday afternoon, the National Weather Service announced that the University of Oklahoma is sending a mobile radar to Lake Charles to help provide additional radar coverage along the coast of Louisiana.
“With the outage of the Lake Charles NEXRAD, it is great to collaborate with our colleagues at the University of Oklahoma to provide valuable supplemental weather data to NWS forecasters and decision-makers during this unprecedented hurricane season,” said Terrance Clark, Radar Operations Center director.
Andy Patrick, Meteorologist-in-Charge with the NWS Lake Charles since 2007, said the office is still trying to get back to normal in the aftermath of Laura. Many forecasters have had to deal with damage to their homes from Laura and a number of employees have only begun to scratch the surface on home repairs as they deal with contractors and insurance claims. With the surrounding area still in a significant recovery phase, Patrick noted there's a lot of concern in the region as Delta looms.
Patrick noted not having their regular radar on hand has been a "challenge" but emphasized that the mobile radar from the University of Oklahoma will be a big help in covering Delta, particularly since the storm is farther away from Houston and Slidell, Louisiana, where the NWS New Orleans office is headquartered. But since the team returned its building, it has been able to provide a general range of weather forecasting services by relying on radars from Houston and elsewhere in Louisiana, including Fort Polk and Slidell.
"We do have that gap, and given this is a pretty significant weather situation, we're glad that this OU mobile unit is really gonna help out," Patrick told AccuWeather in a phone interview.
The office's evacuation ahead of Laura was primarily due to the level of storm surge that was forecast with that storm. Delta's storm surge will be significant, but Patrick said they likely won't evacuate this time with storm surge levels forecast to top out around 10 feet. He noted that a storm surge of 15-20 feet is usually when the office needs to evacuate.
Delta is the latest powerful storm of what's been a hyperactive Atlantic hurricane season, a season that has seemed relentless for residents of the northern Gulf Coast.
"Even prior to Laura, it's been a busier-than-normal season," Patrick said, pointing out that Cristobal and Hanna were two systems that came close to the area earlier this year. "We just have to work through it. That's what we do and we'll continue to plug away," he said adding that they'll continue to provide forecasts and warning services for their communities.
The forecasters at the Lake Charles office evacuated their office ahead of Laura's approach and didn't get to return to their building until late September. Meteorologists there said on Twitter that "full operational responsibility for the region" had resumed upon the office being reopened.
In the interim, forecasting duties had been assumed by NWS meteorologists in Brownsville, Texas.
Delta is currently expected to roar ashore on Friday evening as a Category 2 hurricane and bring a life-threatening storm surge, flooding rain and damaging winds.
AccuWeather users can track Delta from home using our local hurricane tracker pages that provide detailed information about a specific location. Click on the city name to track how Delta will impact each place as it churns northward:
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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News / Hurricane
Hurricane Delta may make landfall in 'radar hole' along the Gulf Coast
By Brian Lada, AccuWeather meteorologist & Kevin Byrne, AccuWeather senior editor
Published Oct 8, 2020 11:07 AM EST
Lightning flickered as Hurricane Hunters flew over the Gulf of Mexico into Hurricane Delta on Oct. 7. The storm is expected to make its way to the Gulf Coast of the United States in the coming days.
Southwestern Louisiana is bracing for a strike from a powerful hurricane for the second time in less than two months as Hurricane Delta churns through the Gulf of Mexico. Delta is currently navigating the warm waters of the Gulf on a path eerily similar to the one deadly Hurricane Laura took in late August.
When Laura made landfall in southwestern Louisiana in late August, it left behind extensive damage, including to the radar system in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Radar is an essential tool for meteorologists as it provides real-time data about the weather, such as where precipitation is falling and estimated wind speeds above the ground.
The damage to the radar in Lake Charles was so severe that it is still out of commission. In late September, the National Weather Service (NWS) removed one of the crucial components of the radar to repair it, but it will be some time before it is back up and running.
Unfortunately, repairs will not be complete before the arrival of Hurricane Delta, which is forecast to make landfall along the coast of Louisiana on Friday. The next closest radar sites are located in New Orleans and Fort Polk, Louisiana, and Houston.
These three radars will still provide data about Delta as it approaches the Louisiana coast, but since they are farther away, they will not provide the same data that the radar in Lake Charles would if it were fully operational. An area that is not located near a radar is sometimes referred to as a "radar hole" due to the weak coverage from the distant radars.
On Thursday afternoon, the National Weather Service announced that the University of Oklahoma is sending a mobile radar to Lake Charles to help provide additional radar coverage along the coast of Louisiana.
“With the outage of the Lake Charles NEXRAD, it is great to collaborate with our colleagues at the University of Oklahoma to provide valuable supplemental weather data to NWS forecasters and decision-makers during this unprecedented hurricane season,” said Terrance Clark, Radar Operations Center director.
Andy Patrick, Meteorologist-in-Charge with the NWS Lake Charles since 2007, said the office is still trying to get back to normal in the aftermath of Laura. Many forecasters have had to deal with damage to their homes from Laura and a number of employees have only begun to scratch the surface on home repairs as they deal with contractors and insurance claims. With the surrounding area still in a significant recovery phase, Patrick noted there's a lot of concern in the region as Delta looms.
Patrick noted not having their regular radar on hand has been a "challenge" but emphasized that the mobile radar from the University of Oklahoma will be a big help in covering Delta, particularly since the storm is farther away from Houston and Slidell, Louisiana, where the NWS New Orleans office is headquartered. But since the team returned its building, it has been able to provide a general range of weather forecasting services by relying on radars from Houston and elsewhere in Louisiana, including Fort Polk and Slidell.
"We do have that gap, and given this is a pretty significant weather situation, we're glad that this OU mobile unit is really gonna help out," Patrick told AccuWeather in a phone interview.
The office's evacuation ahead of Laura was primarily due to the level of storm surge that was forecast with that storm. Delta's storm surge will be significant, but Patrick said they likely won't evacuate this time with storm surge levels forecast to top out around 10 feet. He noted that a storm surge of 15-20 feet is usually when the office needs to evacuate.
Delta is the latest powerful storm of what's been a hyperactive Atlantic hurricane season, a season that has seemed relentless for residents of the northern Gulf Coast.
"Even prior to Laura, it's been a busier-than-normal season," Patrick said, pointing out that Cristobal and Hanna were two systems that came close to the area earlier this year. "We just have to work through it. That's what we do and we'll continue to plug away," he said adding that they'll continue to provide forecasts and warning services for their communities.
The forecasters at the Lake Charles office evacuated their office ahead of Laura's approach and didn't get to return to their building until late September. Meteorologists there said on Twitter that "full operational responsibility for the region" had resumed upon the office being reopened.
In the interim, forecasting duties had been assumed by NWS meteorologists in Brownsville, Texas.
Delta is currently expected to roar ashore on Friday evening as a Category 2 hurricane and bring a life-threatening storm surge, flooding rain and damaging winds.
Related:
AccuWeather users can track Delta from home using our local hurricane tracker pages that provide detailed information about a specific location. Click on the city name to track how Delta will impact each place as it churns northward:
New Orleans, LA
Lafayette, LA
Lake Charles, LA
Gulfport, MS
Jackson, MS
Gulf Shores, AL
Report a TypoKeep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.