Jeb and Blake discuss the ISO episode: Hurricanes.  The episode touches on some emotional memories for Jeb, who was directly impacted by Hurricane Katrina, the storm that devastated New Orleans in 2005. (Watch the ISO episode on YouTube.)

(From NOAA - the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)  A tropical cyclone is a rotating low-pressure weather system that has organized thunderstorms but no fronts (a boundary separating two air masses of different densities). Tropical cyclones with maximum sustained surface winds of less than 39 miles per hour (mph) are called tropical depressions. Those with maximum sustained winds of 39 mph or higher are called tropical storms. When a storm's maximum sustained winds reach 74 mph, it is called a hurricane. The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale is a 1 to 5 rating, or category, based on a hurricane's maximum sustained winds. The higher the category, the greater the hurricane's potential for property damage.

Tropical cyclones are categorized according to the speed of sustained winds.

• Tropical Depression - 38 mph or less
• Tropical Storm - 39 to 73 mph Hurricane
• Category 1 - 74 to 95 mph
• Category 2 - 96 to 110 mph
• Category 3 - 111 to 129 mph
• Category 4 - 130 to 156 mph
• Category 5 - 157 or higher mph

The Maya god Hurakan. (Wikipedia) This one-legged diety is the axe who opens storms. Much of the ISO episode centers on Hurricane Camille, now considered the second most intense tropical cyclone to hit the United States.  The most intense since the measurement scale began was Hurricane Carla in 1961. This is based on a ranking that combines Intensity and Size, leaving Camile (1969), Opal (1995) and Katrina (2005) all tied for third with a combined score of 36.  Second place went to Betsy (1965). 

Jeb shares some photos from Katrina. 

The exodus as people flee the coming storm.  

Arial footage of floodwater damage in 9th ward:

Coverage of the tragedy in the lower 9th ward.

Mercenaries after Katrina.

Camp Greyhound - post-Katrina Internment Camp, where people were given the option of labor or being stuck on cold concrete.

Famous Mike Myers & Kanye fundraiser moment.

Trump throwing paper towels in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.

 

Back to shots from the Episode:

Inside the National Hurrican Center in Florida. You can see they're still mostly in paper mode.  They have computers and advanced tools, but a lot of their work is still paper, feeding in report data and drawing projected paths and force on paper maps.

ASCII computer map of the southern US coast.

Richelieu Apartments BEFORE the Hurricane

Richelieu Apartments AFTER the Hurricane

Thankfully the hurricane party itself is a myth, but the tragic loss of lives was real.

Prominently featured in the last third of the episode, but not so much in our coverage, is Dr. Neil Frank who was instrumental in making the National Hurricane Center the institution that it is today.

 

 

On a more positive note, we did get some 70's beach fashion in our Nimoy Fashion Alert!

 

 

Special thanks to Beth Patterson for allowing us to use her song Come Hell or High Water in this episode. Please check out this song and her other amazing music on Bandcamp.