Sometimes high pressure is a good thing
Those residents who are new to the Gulf Coast or hurricane country in general might wonder, what’s the big deal about high pressure ridges?
For those of us who’ve spent much of our lives watching the Gulf, it’s plain. Hurricanes, like most everything else in nature (or life) move to the area of least resistance. High (barometric) pressure areas are like hurricane repellent. That’s what keeping Hurricane Dean moving more westerly and headed toward Mexico rather than Beaumont.
So, in general, high pressure might not be a wonderful thing, but in hurricane terms, it’s definitely on the wish list.
As we wait and watch and hope for landfall in some remotely populated area far away from us, some readers might also have noticed information in Sunday’s Enterprise regarding a helpful Web site, http://www.texashurricanenews.com/.
The Web site is an offshoot of The Enterprise’s experience during Hurricane Rita in September of 2005.
Though we’ve hosted a newspaper Web site for years, the storm was one of our first real tests as a news media evolving to react to news more immediately. It’s when we became more keenly aware of the need to make our product available not only in a daily printed format, but in a frequently updated electronic form as well.
When the storm blew in, taking out our electricity and seriously damaging our newspaper building, our staff didn’t shirk its responsibility to report the news, we simply took the news on-line.
After the storm, we received a multitude of e-mails and letters thanking us for providing so much information in a form that evacuees and their concerned families could use. The evolution of that experience led to a permanent site offering information on all things hurricane related, including this year’s hurricane handbook.
So, though we appear to have dodged a big one this time with Dean’s current predicted path, we all know there will, most likely, be more scares in the coming weeks.
Bookmark the site to get the information you need, and, of course, keep checking The Enterprise site for updates on news as well.
For those of us who’ve spent much of our lives watching the Gulf, it’s plain. Hurricanes, like most everything else in nature (or life) move to the area of least resistance. High (barometric) pressure areas are like hurricane repellent. That’s what keeping Hurricane Dean moving more westerly and headed toward Mexico rather than Beaumont.
So, in general, high pressure might not be a wonderful thing, but in hurricane terms, it’s definitely on the wish list.
As we wait and watch and hope for landfall in some remotely populated area far away from us, some readers might also have noticed information in Sunday’s Enterprise regarding a helpful Web site, http://www.texashurricanenews.com/.
The Web site is an offshoot of The Enterprise’s experience during Hurricane Rita in September of 2005.
Though we’ve hosted a newspaper Web site for years, the storm was one of our first real tests as a news media evolving to react to news more immediately. It’s when we became more keenly aware of the need to make our product available not only in a daily printed format, but in a frequently updated electronic form as well.
When the storm blew in, taking out our electricity and seriously damaging our newspaper building, our staff didn’t shirk its responsibility to report the news, we simply took the news on-line.
After the storm, we received a multitude of e-mails and letters thanking us for providing so much information in a form that evacuees and their concerned families could use. The evolution of that experience led to a permanent site offering information on all things hurricane related, including this year’s hurricane handbook.
So, though we appear to have dodged a big one this time with Dean’s current predicted path, we all know there will, most likely, be more scares in the coming weeks.
Bookmark the site to get the information you need, and, of course, keep checking The Enterprise site for updates on news as well.
posted by Sheila Friedeck at 1:06 PM
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