Jose was a dud, but will Maria pack a wallop?

By Thomas Greenberg & Ethan Hartley
Posted 9/21/17

Jose came, we saw him, but he didn't necessarily conquer, as top winds from the now tropical storm reached just 17 mph in Providence and amounted to not even an inch of rain.

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

Jose was a dud, but will Maria pack a wallop?

Posted

Jose came, we saw him, but he didn’t necessarily conquer, as top winds from the now tropical storm reached just 17 mph in Providence and amounted to not even an inch of rain.

Although some might chuckle or roll their eyes in the wake of what was, based on some earlier reports, an over-hyped storm, to Rhode Island emergency preparedness personnel, the result wasn't disappointing news.

"It's quite alright that Jose was something less than advertised," said Peter Gaynor, Director of the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency. "[The predictions] are all based on forecasts and models and sometimes they represent a best scientific guess based on history and the current weather...Sometimes you can't predict the future."

Gaynor said that Jose is presenting more of a problem for the Massachusetts Cape and its islands, as well as Block Island, than any part of the Rhode Island mainland. He predicted that the storm should be totally dissipated by the end of Friday.

"Jose is winding down but it's a slow lingering wind down," Gaynor said.

Next week, however, Maria will be moving right in. Although that storm had been downgraded to a Category 2 as of press time, it wreaked havoc on Puerto Rico and surrounding island communities as it climbed as high as a Category 5 storm. It is currently moving north, and could regain steam or fizzle out as it does so.

“It looks like Maria might take a similar path to Jose, meaning it’ll go just south of us then stall before moving out to sea,” said the National Weather Service Spokesman Bob Thompson. “Hopefully it moves out north/northwest like Jose did. That’s what we think so far.”

Maria's overall effects might be felt greater than Jose’s were. However if it does follow in the same path as Jose, the impact on Rhode Island may be just as serious, which in fact wasn’t very serious at all.

That won't stop the state from preparing for the worst, though.

"It only takes one storm to ruin our day in Rhode Island," Gaynor said. “So whether it's Jose or Maria we want to be prepared.”

Comments

2 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here

  • richardcorrente

    Irma was deadly. By some miracle, it went up the middle of Florida. If it hit the coast it would have destroyed the coast. Jose, fortunately, was a dud. Maria has all the makings of a category 5 disaster that could catch southern Florida in a mindset of over-confidence. My son lives in West Palm Beach. I speak to him several times a day while tracking this storm and recommend any readers with family there to do the same. As of this writing (12:30PM on 9-21-17), Maria was not headed toward southern Florida. In fact if you draw a straight line, it's headed right toward Rhode Island.

    Stay safe.

    Rick

    Thursday, September 21, 2017 Report this

  • CrickeeRaven

    Add "hurricane prediction" to the long list of things the losing former candidate gets wrong.

    "In fact if you draw a straight line, it's headed right toward Rhode Island."

    Hurricanes do not travel in "straight lines."

    The National Weather Service spokesman, representing professionals who DO know how hurricanes behave, stated: "It looks like Maria might take a similar path to Jose, meaning it’ll go just south of us then stall before moving out to sea."

    Thursday, September 21, 2017 Report this