
Live View of Hurricane Laura - ajay-d
https://www.windy.com/?28.695,-93.082,7
======
apsec112
This isn't live at all. It's based on the ECMWF/GFS models, which are updated
every six hours, and are estimates rather than raw observations. For actual
live data, you can see a live feed from the Hurricane Hunters recon aircraft
(updated every ten minutes) here:

[https://www.tropicaltidbits.com/recon/](https://www.tropicaltidbits.com/recon/)

~~~
nouveaux
Can someone explain what I'm looking at here? Thanks!

~~~
apsec112
MSLP = mean sea level pressure, lower means a stronger storm

SFMR = instrument to measure winds on the ground/ocean, which are usually
weaker than at the plane's altitude

kts = knots = multiply by 1.15 to get wind speeds in miles per hour

dropsonde = thing they drop out of the plane to measure wind, temperature, and
pressure at different altitudes as it falls

Here's how to read wind barbs:
[http://weather.rap.ucar.edu/info/about_windbarb.html](http://weather.rap.ucar.edu/info/about_windbarb.html)

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ra
There's a better link. Windy.com has a hurricane tracker view:
[https://www.windy.com/-Hurricane-
tracker/hurricanes?gustAccu...](https://www.windy.com/-Hurricane-
tracker/hurricanes?gustAccu,28.800,-101.889,5,i:pressure)

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xbmcuser
Just 1-2 days ago someone posted an article that if a bad hurricane hits
Houston area it will be like Chernobyl because of all the oil and chemicals
stored in the area. Now the hurricane seems to be heading there. Man this year
2020 keeps on giving.

~~~
gremlinsinc
My wife said today, if someone wrote a movie about 2020, it'd be unbelievable,
nobody would buy it.... well until next year anyways.

~~~
Larrikin
On a different but similar note. If the exact movie Contagion, shot for shot,
had come out next year everybody would hate it for basically being a slight
exaggeration and following the news too closely with barely any originality.

~~~
iso947
Pandemic seems to be the most popular board game of the year. I don’t have
figures for beer, but I suspect corona is doing well too.

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cryptoz
Ya'll probably know this but I'm very interested in tracking Laura as she
landfalls using specifically barometers in phones. I do this with All Clear:

[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.allclearwe...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.allclearweather.android)
(US android app), source code I write for the clever 'background' sensor data
on Android here [1] and animation of the non-landfalling Hurricane Dorian last
year as viewed from phones in Eastern Florida [2]

I think with Laura landfalling and travelling across the US for a while, there
should be a lot of interesting and maybe useful surface-pressure readings to
be had.

Stay safe if you are anywhere near this hurricane. It is ...unprecedented.

[1]
[https://github.com/JacobSheehy/AllClearSensorLibrary](https://github.com/JacobSheehy/AllClearSensorLibrary)

[2] [https://www.allclearweather.com/hurricane-
dorian](https://www.allclearweather.com/hurricane-dorian)

Also I suppose it's important to shoutout /r/tropicalweather, just about the
best community on reddit. Their megathreads and links are always useful.
[https://reddit.com/r/tropicalweather](https://reddit.com/r/tropicalweather)

~~~
purple-again
What is unprecedented about this hurricane?

~~~
cryptoz
The extreme rapid intensification over the last 24-36 hours is record setting
I believe. And presently it is still strengthening and will potentially set
many records - I suppose I shouldn't speak too soon with 'unprecedented' but
all signs indicate this will be an extreme event.

~~~
xwdv
God, it’d be incredible if this became a Category 6 in 2020. Hurricane Dorian
almost hit that milestone.

~~~
cryptoz
FWIW there is no official category 6, as 5 is deemed as essentially total
destruction and there isn't much need for a 6. It's a topic of debate however.

Also Laura may reach a minimal category 5 but is unlikely to intensify past
baseline 5 status.

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totetsu
Looks like it will make landfall right on top of a hazardous wastes management
plant.
[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ecoserv/@29.7813554,-93.33...](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ecoserv/@29.7813554,-93.3372794,361m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m10!1m2!2m1!1smonkey+island+cameron+new+orleans!3m6!1s0x863c698f5763d2d7:0xc406ceb9a4dd8203!8m2!3d29.7825049!4d-93.3334581!11m1!2e1)

~~~
chrisco255
There are tons of oil refineries and chemical plants in that area. I hope they
built them to withstand these kind of winds.

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acomjean
NOAA generally has good coverage of US Storms (of all sorts)

Here is the satelite:
[https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/goes/floater.php?stormid=AL...](https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/goes/floater.php?stormid=AL132020)

lots of maps and such updated frequently

"Unsurvivable Storm Surge" yikes.
[https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at3+shtml/031757.s...](https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at3+shtml/031757.shtml?key_messages#contents)

"Maximum sustained winds are near 150 mph (240 km/h) with higher gusts. No
significant change in strength is likely before landfall. Rapid weakening is
expected after Laura moves inland."[1]

[1][https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCPAT3+shtml/270253...](https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCPAT3+shtml/270253.shtml)?

~~~
elihu
Wow. Apparently a category four is 130-156 mph sustained, and category 5 is
anything over that.

[https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshws.php](https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshws.php)

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WalterGR
FYI the updates are pretty old - nearly 12 hours by this point. Laura is
projected to be a Cat 4 hurricane at landfall.

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tmikaeld
Windy has a satellite view of the hurricane here:

[https://www.windy.com/sv/-Satellit-
satellite?satellite,29.07...](https://www.windy.com/sv/-Satellit-
satellite?satellite,29.071,-91.741,7)

Hit play button to see progress from last hour to current.

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algorithmsRcool
I've always liked
[https://earth.nullschool.net/](https://earth.nullschool.net/)

If you click the button in the bottom left, it has a lot of features for
viewing things like Wind speed, Wave Height, Atmospheric particulates and even
Aroura activity.

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rendall
That is a beautiful app, and internationalization is ideal. If Ivo and team
read HN, great job!

~~~
mercer
I didn't want to noise up the comments, but the first thing I noticed is that
the site worked fine even with uBlock Origin turned on. That's a rare sight!
Compliments from me too.

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daxfohl
Looks like it is affecting wind patterns blowing outward all the way to
Minnesota and Wyoming. Or are those streams normal?

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shmerl
Is it supposed to have completely black background?

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avmich
Does anybody work on how to extract energy from hurricanes? A pretty powerful
wind turbine...

~~~
robjan
That's basically how offshore windfarms work. Electricity generation firms
place wind turbines offshore where there is usually stronger wind. Having
windfarms specifically for hurricanes wouldn't be viable since hurricanes
strike infrequently and in different locations.

~~~
avmich
Well, maybe you need mobile devices. Or, more exotic, a way to influence the
hurricane path...

