Gulf Oil Spill: Throw Tropical Storms, Hurricanes into Mix and Catastrophe Could Follow
News, Weather — By Kevin Wolkenfeld on June 14, 2010 at 3:29 pmTar balls are already washing ashore Pensacola and Panama City beach, popular Spring Break getaways for UCF and other college students, and next year’s spring break on Florida’s panhandle is already threatening to be ruined by oil. But what will happen when we throw a tropical storm or hurricane in the mix?
Well hurricane season has already started and a storm is brewing in the Atlantic.
It’s only the beginning of the season, but the storm in the Atlantic already had a 60 percent chance of becoming Tropical Storm Alex, according to the National Hurricane Center’s official 8 a.m. prediction.
It appears hurricane season is already threatening to complicate an already difficult process of clean up. The oil spill intersects with other previous hurricane paths, including the infamous Hurricane Katrina that ravaged the Louisiana coastline.
If there were to be a storm that hit the spill, it would most likely cause the polluted oil water to wash further up the coasts and cause devastation on land.
“The high winds may distribute oil over a wider area, but it is difficult to model exactly where the oil may be transported,” a fact sheet released by NOAA states. It also points out that “movement of oil would depend greatly on the track of the hurricane.”
The NOAA fact sheet itself lacks details and seems to say even the experts are uncertain what could happen. NOAA seems fairly certain, however, that oil won’t rain down from a hurricane, because the area the storm draws strength and moisture from is much larger than the area of the spill.
It seems to be that there is a lot of questions to what the damage would end up being if a storm went through the oil spill. One thing is for certain: If a tropical storm heads that way, many fear the disaster in the Gulf could become an even larger catastrophe for beaches along Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana’s coastlines.
President Barack Obama is touring Pensacola Beach this afternoon, and other areas affected. KnightNews.com will continue following the BP oil disaster and update you as new information becomes available.
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4 Comments
The oil spill in the gulf is without doubt one of the most disgraceful events of this century. While the attack of 9/11 was constrained within that small area of ground zero, this oil spill has effects all the way out across the ocean, impacting wildlife, many miles of the southern coast as well as local tourism and other industry. I with all my heart pray that this disaster is cleaned up as soon as possible.
Woooooooow, you’re a complete moron Barry. You think this is a biblical event!? This is solely a catastrophe caused by humans and their lack of responsibility when it comes to the care for the natural environment. It is people like you who pass the blame on to “god” and think that this is happening because god is angry. Well you know what, that is a load of crap. Get up, and be a man. Take responsibility for your actions. Asking god for forgiveness solves nothing. You’re wasting your own and everyone else’s time. Its people like you who give the few responsible Americans a bad name. God has nothing to do with the events that unfolded and he will not help in the slightest in solving these issues. It is up to rational human beings to face the consequences of their decisions and steer this country to a renewable, sustainable energy future.
Did you know that people who don’t associate themselves with any religion, people who realize that each and every religion is selfish and hateful toward other religions, people who say, “to hell with the race of religions” are the fastest growing minority in the country. They even top blacks. Maybe we’ll finally start to unite and start lobbying in the White House. Someone needs to stand up to you religious fanatics… The whole reason we are having this crisis in the first place is because of religious, conservative, capitalist, money mongers who empower companies like BP in order to insure they continue to increase their revenue. God will not save you. Only you can make a difference.
Nicely written article, relevant, and concise.
I don’t know about all the biblical stuff Barry. I’d also like to think God doesn’t take his wrath out on sinners these days but your entitled to your beleifs.
Hurricane after hurricane over the 24/7 spewing oil gusher means that this is a catastrophic event unprecedented in human history. As of now this is a Biblical event. However, in the coming weeks and months this will turn into a super Biblical event unfathomed even in the Bible.
Something has gone horribly wrong somewhere and God is very angry with the US and UK.