(no subject)

[cactuswatcher]

TV news as usual is next to worthless. They still were talking about a storm surge possible in New Orleans of up to 15 feet. Do these people not have a single meterologist who can read a map? In the direction of travel from gulf, New Orleans is a good 30 miles inland. You can't have a significant storm surge from the south in New Orleans proper ever. You can't have a significant storm surge from the river ever. Not enough water. You can't have a huge storm surge from Lake Pontchartrain unless the storm were coming from the north, which would be physically impossible for a hurricane. A flood from the Lake side would be possible, but not really a storm surge.

Now the news people are all breathing a big sigh of relief, thinking its over, when the biggest question is yet to be answered. How much rain is falling between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, and how high will the river get before this all passes? That's where flooding in New Orleans would come from.

Comments

[cactuswatcher.livejournal.com]

I might add that the communities on the North shore of Lake Pontchartrain and eastward along the gulf are very vulnerable to storm surges from storms like this one. Only a highly unlucky strike from the east could send a storm surge directly into New Orleans from the more open waters of Lake Borgne.