New state climatologist, former TV meteorologist, addresses Beryl’s rapid intensification
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - In 48 hours, Beryl exploded from a tropical depression to a record-breaking major hurricane through a process called rapid intensification. It hit the Grenadine Islands with 150 mph winds and a destructive storm surge on July 1, then continued to intensify into the basin’s earliest Category 5 storm on record.
As of Wednesday (July 3) afternoon, Beryl was roaring across Jamaica, its eyewall just missed the southernmost tip of the island. The storm is expected to approach the Cayman Islands Wednesday night into Thursday and make a second landfall in the Yucatan Peninsula Thursday night into Friday.
That kind of rapid intensification is something the Gulf Coast may have to get used to this hurricane season and beyond. The increasingly fast-developing nature of storms can affect the collective preparation for hurricanes.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry introduced Jay Grymes as the state climatologist for the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) at a news conference Wednesday morning.
Grymes is a familiar face and voice to TV viewers in the Baton Rouge area. He spent many years as chief meteorologist at WAFB-TV. Grymes has more than 30 years of experience working in climatology and meteorology, including 12 years as LSU’s climatologist.
In his newly-created role, Grymes will advise GOHSEP during weather events and help the office be a singular voice of weather and climate information.
“It is important that we be aware of that type of ramp up of tropical systems can happen anytime anywhere, and that includes the Gulf of Mexico,” said Grymes.
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“We want to make sure that our parishes, our industries, and our citizens are getting the proper information directly from the governor’s office of homeland security as it relates to weather events,” said Governor Landry.
In his introduction of Grymes, Governor Landry mentioned the state’s “changing climate”. Answering a reporter’s question regarding the role climate plays in some of the recent trends of increased heat waves and quicker developing hurricanes, the governor’s response was far from a full acknowledgement of climate change.
“I don’t think anyone will deny that the earth’s climate has consistently changed over the years. Right now, we’re experiencing a tremendous amount of maybe warming. We could be talking in many years how we’re all freezing,” said Governor Landry.
Regardless of politics, members of the GOHSEP team realize the rapid intensification associated with storm development has practical ramifications. The window of time to prepare is smaller. It’s why the head of GOHSEP said it’s critical Louisiana have its emergency plans in place now and be ready to react with much less notice than in past years.
“So, the rapid intensification for us, we know we’re going to have a compressed timeline. So, now we have to make decisions earlier,” said Jacques Thibodeaux, director of GOHSEP.
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