CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - The National Hurricane Center released an update on Thursday about Hurricane Laura saying the storm surge threat could be “unsurvivable.”
So what exactly is storm surge? Storm surge is basically ocean water that gets pushed inland. In the center of the hurricane, the pressure drops and as that pressure drops, the water levels rise and water continues to pile up. As the hurricane pushes closer to land, strong winds push that water inland and eventually, the water has no other place to go.
The storm surge from Hurricane Laura is expected to move between 30-40 miles inland. The terrain in southern Louisiana is a lot of marshland and many areas sit below sea-level, so there’s not a whole lot of places for that water to go.
Hurricane Laura is anticipated to make landfall late tonight as a strong Category 4 storm. Tropical storm force winds are expected around 200 miles inland as the storm travels through Louisiana. Some isolated areas could receive up to 15″ of rainfall and flash flooding is also a major concern.
Laura rapidly intensified overnight Tuesday and into Wednesday. Rapid intensification is when the maximum sustained winds of tropical cyclone increase by at least 35 m.p.h in 24 hours. Hurricane Laura increased by 45 m.p.h from 5 a.m. on Tuesday to 5 a.m. on Wednesday. This happened because Hurricane Laura moved into an area ideal for hurricane formation: warm ocean waters and low wind shear.
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August 27, 2020 at 06:28AM
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National Hurricane Center: Storm surge from Laura could be “unsurvivable” - KCRG
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