What these doubters need to see is video of the I-10 bridge at the top of Pensacola Bay. ‘The deck is about 20 feet above the water, rising to 50+ at the center boat channel. When it was replaced after Opal in 1995 they designed so that the road surface was actually concrete and steel slabs that drop into place on the structure. They did it because the old structure was destroyed by water rising up under the bridge and pushing it apart.

After Ivan a dozen of those multi-ton panels had been popped out of the bridge when the storm surge forced the water into the bay and created a water dam prevented the rivers from draining. The two forces met under the bridge and pushed out the panels.

People get ‘eaten’ by rogue waves all the time when they mess with hurricanes.

It’s almost as if there are no dead bodies to show, people don’t believe it’s dangerous. The media should be re-running some of the video from Katrina in Mississippi to help to educate people about storm surge.

– Badtux the “I understand why he’s exasperated!” Penguin

Some of the dunes on the Carolina barrier islands are already being topped, and the storm is over 200 miles away.

When you add the rain to the storm surge, and an area already saturated by very heavy rainfall all month, it is the flooding that is going to do the damage, not the wind.

I was over 200 miles away from Katrina, but we had an 8-foot surge in the bay. Same deal – huge, slow moving storm. We didn’t get up to tropical storm force winds.

The only good news is that Irene is fat but Irene isn’t blowing too hard compared to some hurricanes that have hit the Gulf Coast in recent history. Still, you got a hurricane that’s above a Category 1, it’s not something to play with.

– Badtux the Blown-on Penguin