Hurricane Irma vs Hurricane Harvey: Which Storm Will be Worse?
Hurricane Harvey has caused massive damage in southeastern Texas and western Louisiana, leaving about 4 feet of flood water in Houston. With a new megastorm approaching, how much damage should we expect from Irma?
On Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) has declared Hurricane Irma as a Category 5 storm with sustained winds of 185 miles per hour, shortly after upgrading it to a Category 4.
"Storms with weaker winds are more likely to stall and dump heavier rainfall," Hal Needham, a hurricane scientist at Louisiana State University, said. "This shocks people, as it would seem intuitive that a Category 5 hurricane would tend to dump more rain than a Category 1 hurricane. But the opposite is true."
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Harvey was a Category 4 but winds weakened and downgraded it to a tropical storm, which consequently caused the widespread destruction to the Texas Gulf Coast, leaving feet of water behind. Irma, on the other hand, is already the strongest storms in the Atlantic. When it makes landfall, it could make the areas it hits uninhabitable for weeks or months.
Typically, Category 5 storms cause total destruction of buildings, and power lines. Power could be out for weeks or months.
The latest forecast issues on 11 p.m. AST warns the northern Leeward Islands as well as the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico of life-threatening winds, storm surge, and heavy rainfall. Irma should hit the said areas on Wednesday.
The Dominican Republic, Haiti, the southern Bahamas, the Turks, and Caicos are encouraged to be alert. Strong winds, storm surge, and rainfall are also expected to hit the said areas from Wednesday night throughout Friday.
The chance direct impact in Florida Keys and the Florida Peninsula are increasing. However, it is still too early to determine the exact time of impact and its magnitude.
Again, residents living in the aforementioned areas are encouraged to monitor Irma's track.
Stay tuned for more updates on Hurricane Irma.
