"Vegeta, what does the scouter say about his power?" "It's over NINE THOUSAAAAAAAND!"

June 4, 2007 1:07 PM

CycloneFilter : Super Cyclone Gonu prepares to slam into Oman. Cyclones this far north in the gulf are rare; doubly so for one so powerful. Latest readings have Gonu at Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Some are worried about what this will do to oil prices.
posted by suckerpunch (25 comments total)

Some of the links in the comment thread at the Oil Drum are quite interesting. Check out this graph of water temperature; the storm is expected to weaken quickly due to dry air and rough terrain, but it's certainly got fuel. Also of note is the oil field pictured here, which may be under the gun.
posted by suckerpunch at 1:15 PM on June 4, 2007

Meh. These days, I'm pretty sure oil prices are controlled by a butterfly flapping its wings or a monkey farting in another hemisphere or something.
posted by Krrrlson at 1:29 PM on June 4, 2007 [2 favorites]

Oh man.
posted by papakwanz at 2:12 PM on June 4, 2007 [1 favorite]

Hey, new track information came out. Current models have it bending to the north. So, for those worried about oil prices, I guess it's all about shipping interruptions now.

So now it's just storm porn. Which is still totally awesome.
posted by suckerpunch at 2:17 PM on June 4, 2007

Fascinating.

Also fascinating is the system moving into the U.S. Northern Plains on Wed. afternoon/evening. Storm chasers are already making plans to fly in from various parts of the country to chase this set-up. North-central Nebraska and south-central South Dakota might want to clear the root cellars of cobwebs in preparation. </derail>
posted by spock at 2:18 PM on June 4, 2007

So this isn't a post about my alma mater?
posted by TBoneMcCool at 2:31 PM on June 4, 2007

Eponysterical I dare say.
posted by Skorgu at 2:51 PM on June 4, 2007

My concern would be for the people in the path. That sort of storm is so rare in that part of the world, that I doubt they're prepared.
posted by dejah420 at 3:07 PM on June 4, 2007

From the third link:

If Gonu were in the Western North Pacific Ocean, it would be classified by JTWC as a super typhoon.

Damn. "Super typhoons" are a regular classification. Strange that they limit the terminologies to certain areas, though, isn't it? Why not just use the term for whatever storm it applies to, wherever it turns up?
posted by mediareport at 3:16 PM on June 4, 2007

dejah : Very true. I'm personally unsure of how much destruction Gonu will bring to Oman. Many cities are in the path, including the capital, Muscat. The cities are generally positioned to suffer from huge storm surges. However, the populace should be able to reach a safe height with relative ease, since a small mountain range begins just to the south. I do not know how wind will affect these cities, except that the storm should have weakened somewhat by the time they are under the worst of it. The question is how many buildings directly on the coast will survive? Depending on the circumstances, we may see a repeat of Katrina's scourging of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Iran should be fine (God willing, in'sh'Allah, etc). I'm unaware on any issues a category-1 storm would bring to them.
posted by suckerpunch at 3:20 PM on June 4, 2007

Man, these people don't even have the benefit of blender drinks.
posted by ColdChef at 4:31 PM on June 4, 2007 [2 favorites]

Meh. These days, I'm pretty sure oil prices are controlled by a butterfly flapping its wings or a monkey farting in another hemisphere a greedy, frankly rather gregariously evil multinational Cabal of only the darkest origins and goals, or something.

There, fixed that for you. Leave the butterflies out of this, man, they're just trying to keep from going splat on your windshield.
posted by loquacious at 4:56 PM on June 4, 2007

Hurricane exotica.
posted by stbalbach at 5:02 PM on June 4, 2007

Tropical storm Barry was just what the doctor ordered for the Southeast, now this monster is aimed at Iran. Alex Jones is going to be steamed about Gonu if anyone tells him about it.
posted by Huplescat at 5:04 PM on June 4, 2007

That is just asking to be goatsed.
posted by chlorus at 5:30 PM on June 4, 2007

Checking in from Key West, FL.

Living here these days, with all the Big News storm whoring, is like living on the soundstage for a production of The Weather Channel as produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.

No shit.
posted by humannaire at 5:43 PM on June 4, 2007

I had CNN on a lot today and I heard nothing of this potential catastrophe.

Also, is "Gonu" a cool name for a mega-distuctor or what?
posted by longsleeves at 6:40 PM on June 4, 2007

mega-distructor
posted by longsleeves at 7:07 PM on June 4, 2007

Gonu is (as expected) losing his/her/its eye and slowly weakening. Predictions have the center missing landfall, while still weakening to cat-1 on landfall in Iran.

HURRICANE FEVER. CAN YOU FEEL IT?
posted by suckerpunch at 7:11 PM on June 4, 2007

[DragonBall] Clearly we must train and become stronger to overcome this new enemy! [/DragonBall]
posted by ilsa at 7:18 PM on June 4, 2007

WHAT? NINE THOUSAND?

Well, there goes the rest of my evening. *shuffles off to youtube*
posted by Eideteker at 7:38 PM on June 4, 2007

Looks like the storm isn't losing its eye, merely going through an ERC.

Which is good news in that it won't be a Cat 5, but bad news because ERCs widen the windfield.

That water is certainly hot. Looks like the Gulf of Mexico circa August/September 2005.
posted by dw at 8:19 PM on June 4, 2007

That is just asking to be goatsed.

Your wish is my command.

This is the second time I've done this now...
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 12:48 AM on June 5, 2007

Minor update : The path of Gonu continues to bend north. Great for most of Oman, but the city of Sur will still be strongly affected, and it has wide areas that are low and directly on the coast.

Iran is now under the gun.
posted by suckerpunch at 6:22 AM on June 5, 2007

I’ve been goatsed better than that by masters of the art.
posted by Huplescat at 6:04 PM on June 5, 2007