Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Isidore Strikes Yucatan

Aired September 23, 2002 - 08:09   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: While you guys were talking, we were getting an update on Isidore.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: How is Isidore doing?

HEMMER: It was a hurricane over the weekend, now a tropical storm, apparently, losing some steam, anyway. ZAHN: Good.

HEMMER: Yes, Chad's got more on that. You've got the numbers. What's happening?

CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Down to 70 miles an hour now. It was 75. So a little bit better than it was yesterday. At 75 it's a hurricane, at 70 it's just a tropical storm, so things are a little bit lower anyway.

HEMMER: But always the chance to strengthen, especially with the warm Gulf water.

MYERS: Exactly. When these storms are over land, they don't like to strengthen. In fact, they lose their punch. But when they're over water, especially warm water like the Bay of Campici (ph) or the Gulf of Mexico, this thing is going to restrengthen. It's going to good evening back into the Gulf of Mexico, make a big turn toward Houston and then we could have some problems there.

HEMMER: Wow.

MYERS: The probability of it going from Houston all the way over to Mobile now probably close to 70 or 80 percent. The rest of it probably a little bit less, Brownsville on up to Houston, from Mobile over to maybe even Pensacola and Tampa, a little less. It looks like the bulls eye of the storm is really close to about New Orleans.

This is what it looked like yesterday in Mexico. But really Cancun taken out of the mix yesterday as the storm went around the big peninsula here, the Yucatan Peninsula, around and to the north of Cancun and then back down. Right there you see it going back down into the Yucatan Peninsula, just to the west now of Chichen Itza, if you've ever been there or have heard about it. Obviously big Mayan ruins in that area.

This storm will intensify and the forecast is for it to turn back into the Gulf of Mexico as a major hurricane. Right now, though, 70. To get to a major hurricane, got to get to about 130. So we'll keep watching that -- Bill, back to you.

HEMMER: Good deal, Chad.

MYERS: All right.

HEMMER: We want to get down to Galveston, Texas right now. Certainly they're keeping a very close eye on this. KHOU, and Amy Tortolani is the reporter on the scene.

Amy, how are conditions and how are folks feeling right -- OK, we're going to try and hang in here with that satellite signal.

Amy, good morning.

AMY TORTOLANI, KHOU CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

Very, very windy this morning in Galveston. That's probably why you're having a little bit of trouble seeing us this morning. We've been told that the water is rougher than usual here and because of that we've had a lot of the cruise ships coming in much earlier today than people had expected, cutting their vacations short. Some people saying they've already seen too much of Isidore.

The Schaffers (ph) were looking for some fun in the sun. They went out on the rhapsody of the seas. But unfortunately they stayed ahead of the storm, but they said they still felt Isidore.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We could just see the room rising and falling, rocking side to side. It was like riding a roller coaster, but a lot slower.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We knew from the beginning the captain had great respect for the storm.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TORTOLANI: What we've been told is that many of the cruise ships are coming in a day or so early because they just don't want to stay out there and continue to get battled by some of the waves. We've been watching a cruise ship make its way to the port this morning. We're told that it should actually be docking in about 30 minutes or so. It will be very interesting to hear what some of the passengers on board have to say. Many saying what we've heard from the past couple of days, is that it's been very, very rough and if, indeed, this does come closer to the shore here in the Galveston-Houston area, they'll be prepared and take all the warnings necessary.

We're live in Galveston.

I'm Amy Tortolani.

Now back to you.

HEMMER: Thank you, Amy. And thanks to KHOU, our affiliate out of Houston, Texas, working that story in Galveston. Paula, Chad saying at least three days if, indeed, that storm takes that path up toward Galveston, Wednesday night, early Thursday morning, if, indeed, it goes that way.

ZAHN: Having worked in the Dallas/Fort Worth market for many years, I was standing there like that reporter, waiting for storms to blow in, waiting for storms to be blown apart. And as you remember, Galveston at the turn of the century was wiped out.

HEMMER: Oh, yes. A huge story.

ZAHN: So any threat those folks have to take seriously.

Not a place you want to be, though, when it's evacuated. Very few ways to get off that little island, as it kind of is.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired September 23, 2002 - 08:09   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: While you guys were talking, we were getting an update on Isidore.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: How is Isidore doing?

HEMMER: It was a hurricane over the weekend, now a tropical storm, apparently, losing some steam, anyway. ZAHN: Good.

HEMMER: Yes, Chad's got more on that. You've got the numbers. What's happening?

CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Down to 70 miles an hour now. It was 75. So a little bit better than it was yesterday. At 75 it's a hurricane, at 70 it's just a tropical storm, so things are a little bit lower anyway.

HEMMER: But always the chance to strengthen, especially with the warm Gulf water.

MYERS: Exactly. When these storms are over land, they don't like to strengthen. In fact, they lose their punch. But when they're over water, especially warm water like the Bay of Campici (ph) or the Gulf of Mexico, this thing is going to restrengthen. It's going to good evening back into the Gulf of Mexico, make a big turn toward Houston and then we could have some problems there.

HEMMER: Wow.

MYERS: The probability of it going from Houston all the way over to Mobile now probably close to 70 or 80 percent. The rest of it probably a little bit less, Brownsville on up to Houston, from Mobile over to maybe even Pensacola and Tampa, a little less. It looks like the bulls eye of the storm is really close to about New Orleans.

This is what it looked like yesterday in Mexico. But really Cancun taken out of the mix yesterday as the storm went around the big peninsula here, the Yucatan Peninsula, around and to the north of Cancun and then back down. Right there you see it going back down into the Yucatan Peninsula, just to the west now of Chichen Itza, if you've ever been there or have heard about it. Obviously big Mayan ruins in that area.

This storm will intensify and the forecast is for it to turn back into the Gulf of Mexico as a major hurricane. Right now, though, 70. To get to a major hurricane, got to get to about 130. So we'll keep watching that -- Bill, back to you.

HEMMER: Good deal, Chad.

MYERS: All right.

HEMMER: We want to get down to Galveston, Texas right now. Certainly they're keeping a very close eye on this. KHOU, and Amy Tortolani is the reporter on the scene.

Amy, how are conditions and how are folks feeling right -- OK, we're going to try and hang in here with that satellite signal.

Amy, good morning.

AMY TORTOLANI, KHOU CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

Very, very windy this morning in Galveston. That's probably why you're having a little bit of trouble seeing us this morning. We've been told that the water is rougher than usual here and because of that we've had a lot of the cruise ships coming in much earlier today than people had expected, cutting their vacations short. Some people saying they've already seen too much of Isidore.

The Schaffers (ph) were looking for some fun in the sun. They went out on the rhapsody of the seas. But unfortunately they stayed ahead of the storm, but they said they still felt Isidore.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We could just see the room rising and falling, rocking side to side. It was like riding a roller coaster, but a lot slower.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We knew from the beginning the captain had great respect for the storm.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TORTOLANI: What we've been told is that many of the cruise ships are coming in a day or so early because they just don't want to stay out there and continue to get battled by some of the waves. We've been watching a cruise ship make its way to the port this morning. We're told that it should actually be docking in about 30 minutes or so. It will be very interesting to hear what some of the passengers on board have to say. Many saying what we've heard from the past couple of days, is that it's been very, very rough and if, indeed, this does come closer to the shore here in the Galveston-Houston area, they'll be prepared and take all the warnings necessary.

We're live in Galveston.

I'm Amy Tortolani.

Now back to you.

HEMMER: Thank you, Amy. And thanks to KHOU, our affiliate out of Houston, Texas, working that story in Galveston. Paula, Chad saying at least three days if, indeed, that storm takes that path up toward Galveston, Wednesday night, early Thursday morning, if, indeed, it goes that way.

ZAHN: Having worked in the Dallas/Fort Worth market for many years, I was standing there like that reporter, waiting for storms to blow in, waiting for storms to be blown apart. And as you remember, Galveston at the turn of the century was wiped out.

HEMMER: Oh, yes. A huge story.

ZAHN: So any threat those folks have to take seriously.

Not a place you want to be, though, when it's evacuated. Very few ways to get off that little island, as it kind of is.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com