(09-14-2017, 12:23 AM)TJBender Wrote:

(09-13-2017, 06:17 AM)JaguarsWoman Wrote: Probably people who have major mental issues.

So tell me, J-Dub, what exactly caused Irma to set sail for the US in the first place? Do you know what two elements caused it to stay in over open waters much longer than expected, and why it ultimately went up the peninsula rather than hugging the east or west coasts of the state, or worse, getting into the Gulf? What caused it to weaken as rapidly as it did, even when the storm's organization prior to landfall suggested that it should have held its strength longer than it did? And what combination of those factors combined to keep it from being a devastating event for Tampa?

See, I do. And I'm not a meteorologist, just a hobbyist with a few years of highly informal training. There were no "serious mental issues" in play when warnings went out to Tampa that it could suffer a devastating hit from a category 4 storm. As late as 6-12 hours prior to landfall, that was a very real possibility, and if it had happened, the conversation would be less about Jacksonville flooding and more about the dozens of people who would have died in Tampa as large swaths of the city were rendered uninhabitable. So, since you're of sound mind and a better forecaster than, you know, the paid forecasters, answer the questions above for me. No asking your neighbor's cat. He has a much better grasp of the situation than you ever will, and his help would be cheating.

Well, I know making landfall causes tropical storms and hurricanes to weaken. That is why a Category 5 storm on the peninsula is so rare. I also know many storms are unpredictable and Irma was one of them. As for not hugging the east or west coast, Irma was as big as France so its outer bands could easily hit both sides of the state.

Obviously I should have deleted that post because people don't know how to interpret it. What I really meant was people worried too much about getting hit by Irma if it did not hit a Gulf Coast city worse than northeast Florida. My mind rewound to last year when the Gators canceled a game, stations ran out of gas, etc. and Matthew only caused a power outage.

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