Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Isidore's Approach

Aired September 24, 2002 - 10:11   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.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Time to focus now on another threat. This one is posed by Mother Nature, and residents along the Gulf Coast of the U.S. bracing for Isidore and it's projected arrival as a hurricane later this week. Isidore was a category-three hurricane when it barreled into Yucatan Peninsula. On Monday, the storm sheared off roofs, and toppled trees and electrical lines. About 800,000 people lost power, at least two people were killed. A hurricane watch is expected to blanket the gulf coast of the U.S. later today.
Our John Zarrella is in the National Hurricane Center in South Florida and joins us now with the latest.

John, this is the stuff you're made of, hurricanes.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, I tell you, it's just ratcheting up right now because of the fact that Isidore has finally come off of the coast, and the big question is for the forecasters here at the National Hurricane Center, and right now, you can see they are all huddled behind me, and they are on a conference call where they are talk to NOAA weather officials in Washington, talking to local forecasters, and forecast offices from the National Weather Services all along the Gulf Coast.

The problem, as we know, is forecasting intensity. That is the most difficult thing for forecasters to do. How strong will Isidore be? It's only a tropical storm right now, when it finally reaches the Gulf Coast. It is one of those where they pull their hair out at the hurricane center, And what they will do in the next 30 minutes or so and the next advisory is put up watches and warnings for the portions of the Gulf Coast. Folks out there need to pay careful attention to the watches and warning areas when they are posted, literally within the next hour Eastern Time.

Now, of course, people are already preparing for Isidore in the Gulf Coast. In Louisiana, because of the difficulty in getting your boats in to high ground, because there isn't any high ground or safe passage or safe harbor, already we have seen people moving their boats inland behind the locks as best they can so that they can protect them from the rising water.

Louisiana, of course, very, very susceptible, Particularly the New Orleans area, the high water. If they should get the right side of the storm, it would be the worst part of the storm forcing a lot of the water from the lake and the gulf of Mexico, serious flooding problems, potentially there in New Orleans, and Mobile, Alabama.

The Alabama side, people are preparing to board up, buying supplies, getting to go the stores, getting the water, and that is wise preparations, because no one really has any idea how strong Isidore is going to be when it finally makes landfall. They predicts sometime around Thursday, not quite exactly clear where along the Gulf Coast, so everyone needs to be prepared.

And of course now forecasters are watching Tropical Storm Lilly that is moving through the Caribbean islands, and forecasts to come very close to Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and a portion of Cuba, also on Thursday, and potentially a threat to the East Coast of the United States some time over the weekend, although that's way the too far off right now, but they really have their work cut out for them here, to the extent they brought in bring in one additional forecaster to help out, and Max Mayfield, director of the National Weather Center, who you guys will be talking with next hour, for an actual update asking on the storm, is asking that a second meteorologist be brought in at some point to help them out as well, because of the workload that they are facing with both Lilly, Isidore and least we forget tropical storm Kyle.

So a lot going on here.

KAGAN: Crowded out there.

Let me put this potential situation out there for you. You have Isidore, you have Lilly -- what if the two get together, and you know --it would not be a love match?

ZARRELLA: No, it would not, and it's called the Fujiwara Effect, and it's not likely to happen in this case, but Fujiware Effect is the tendency for two nearby tropical cyclones to rotate around each other, so what you actually have happening is you have got one storm that would be the dominant storm, and they would rotate around each other like this, and it happened in the Pacific last year, and it happened in 1995 in the Atlantic, with Hurricanes Iris, Omberto (ph) and Karen all interacting at one point or another with each other. So it's not likely to happen here, but it has happened in the past and it is called Fujiwara affect.

KAGAN: Fujiwara. Our word of the day, Fujiwara Effect. Well, let's hope that doesn't happen and that Mack gets his extra meteorologist down there to help out. We're sending out a call of support for them. Thank you, John.

ZARRELLA: You're welcome.

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 24, 2002 - 10:11   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Time to focus now on another threat. This one is posed by Mother Nature, and residents along the Gulf Coast of the U.S. bracing for Isidore and it's projected arrival as a hurricane later this week. Isidore was a category-three hurricane when it barreled into Yucatan Peninsula. On Monday, the storm sheared off roofs, and toppled trees and electrical lines. About 800,000 people lost power, at least two people were killed. A hurricane watch is expected to blanket the gulf coast of the U.S. later today.
Our John Zarrella is in the National Hurricane Center in South Florida and joins us now with the latest.

John, this is the stuff you're made of, hurricanes.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, I tell you, it's just ratcheting up right now because of the fact that Isidore has finally come off of the coast, and the big question is for the forecasters here at the National Hurricane Center, and right now, you can see they are all huddled behind me, and they are on a conference call where they are talk to NOAA weather officials in Washington, talking to local forecasters, and forecast offices from the National Weather Services all along the Gulf Coast.

The problem, as we know, is forecasting intensity. That is the most difficult thing for forecasters to do. How strong will Isidore be? It's only a tropical storm right now, when it finally reaches the Gulf Coast. It is one of those where they pull their hair out at the hurricane center, And what they will do in the next 30 minutes or so and the next advisory is put up watches and warnings for the portions of the Gulf Coast. Folks out there need to pay careful attention to the watches and warning areas when they are posted, literally within the next hour Eastern Time.

Now, of course, people are already preparing for Isidore in the Gulf Coast. In Louisiana, because of the difficulty in getting your boats in to high ground, because there isn't any high ground or safe passage or safe harbor, already we have seen people moving their boats inland behind the locks as best they can so that they can protect them from the rising water.

Louisiana, of course, very, very susceptible, Particularly the New Orleans area, the high water. If they should get the right side of the storm, it would be the worst part of the storm forcing a lot of the water from the lake and the gulf of Mexico, serious flooding problems, potentially there in New Orleans, and Mobile, Alabama.

The Alabama side, people are preparing to board up, buying supplies, getting to go the stores, getting the water, and that is wise preparations, because no one really has any idea how strong Isidore is going to be when it finally makes landfall. They predicts sometime around Thursday, not quite exactly clear where along the Gulf Coast, so everyone needs to be prepared.

And of course now forecasters are watching Tropical Storm Lilly that is moving through the Caribbean islands, and forecasts to come very close to Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and a portion of Cuba, also on Thursday, and potentially a threat to the East Coast of the United States some time over the weekend, although that's way the too far off right now, but they really have their work cut out for them here, to the extent they brought in bring in one additional forecaster to help out, and Max Mayfield, director of the National Weather Center, who you guys will be talking with next hour, for an actual update asking on the storm, is asking that a second meteorologist be brought in at some point to help them out as well, because of the workload that they are facing with both Lilly, Isidore and least we forget tropical storm Kyle.

So a lot going on here.

KAGAN: Crowded out there.

Let me put this potential situation out there for you. You have Isidore, you have Lilly -- what if the two get together, and you know --it would not be a love match?

ZARRELLA: No, it would not, and it's called the Fujiwara Effect, and it's not likely to happen in this case, but Fujiware Effect is the tendency for two nearby tropical cyclones to rotate around each other, so what you actually have happening is you have got one storm that would be the dominant storm, and they would rotate around each other like this, and it happened in the Pacific last year, and it happened in 1995 in the Atlantic, with Hurricanes Iris, Omberto (ph) and Karen all interacting at one point or another with each other. So it's not likely to happen here, but it has happened in the past and it is called Fujiwara affect.

KAGAN: Fujiwara. Our word of the day, Fujiwara Effect. Well, let's hope that doesn't happen and that Mack gets his extra meteorologist down there to help out. We're sending out a call of support for them. Thank you, John.

ZARRELLA: You're welcome.

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