Tampa Bay’s coming storm SL WaPo

July 28, 2017 2:10 PM

Four million people live in an area that hasn't seen a major storm since the 1920s.
posted by Bee'sWing (19 comments total)

Mm good good paywall.
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 2:18 PM on July 28, 2017 [5 favorites]

Nvrmind. Going incognito tricks the paywall. Very interesting article, and very frightening. The image of bad rains causing wastewater to bubble up through the streets is particularly awful.
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 2:23 PM on July 28, 2017 [2 favorites]

I have a good friend who moved to Madeira Beach (on that teeny little strip of land between St. Petersburg and the Gulf). She utterly adores it there, but I often worry for her.

(says the guy who lives in a city that will be massively affected when The Big One comes, but still...)
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:33 PM on July 28, 2017 [1 favorite]

good paywall
After years of the New York Times, I've switched to the Washington Post. 20 years ago I subscribed to 6 or 7 different magazines and the local paper, why does it feel so strange now?
posted by Bee'sWing at 2:35 PM on July 28, 2017 [4 favorites]

My entire family is there. Comforting.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 3:11 PM on July 28, 2017 [2 favorites]

By Darryl Fears.
posted by trillian at 3:30 PM on July 28, 2017 [1 favorite]

Yep! Climate change, along with storm water and it's drainage are a huge issue in the upcoming Mayor's race. Raw sewage pumping into the bay by the millions of gallons is not something we are especially proud of.
posted by HappyHippo at 4:04 PM on July 28, 2017

Living here does feel a little like waiting for the other shoe to drop. Old Tampa people love swapping perfect-storm hypotheticals after a few drinks.
posted by penduluum at 4:10 PM on July 28, 2017 [5 favorites]

You'd think this was the most depressing climate story I read today, but no: Trump tells mayor of island literally sinking into the ocean ‘not to worry about sea level rise’: Trump denies the key reason Tangier Island is doomed, but the mayor still loves him.
posted by gwint at 5:18 PM on July 28, 2017 [6 favorites]

“We’re saveable, right now. Donald Trump, if you see this, whatever you can do, we welcome any help you can give us.”

Yeah, there's a a lot of people who could say that. I suspect they will all be disappointed in the end.
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:32 PM on July 28, 2017 [5 favorites]

Reflecting on the call, mayor Eskridge said, “So, Donald Trump knows about Tangier Island — that’s going to be the peak of my career.”

He's clearly mistaken Donald Trump for John Frum.
posted by flabdablet at 3:30 AM on July 29, 2017 [2 favorites]

How is sea level rising 6 inches in Tampa Bay, but only a few millimeters elsewhere? How does sea level rise of an inch or two sink a place like Vanuatu? Doesn't all the water have to be, you know, more or less at the same level?
posted by musofire at 10:27 AM on July 29, 2017

I live in Tampa (well, technically St Petersburg) and local media runs these stories every summer during hurricane season. It’s scary and important but also reminds me that we should have a local MeFi meetup while we still can.
posted by _Mona_ at 11:48 AM on July 29, 2017 [1 favorite]

Doesn't all the water have to be, you know, more or less at the same level?

No, it apparently does not, which I find interesting too.
posted by mordax at 12:12 PM on July 29, 2017 [3 favorites]

Water temperature, salinity, currents and even the earth's gravity vary by location. On top of that, land sinks and rises.
posted by Bee'sWing at 1:08 PM on July 29, 2017 [5 favorites]

Oh and there's the part where Florida is built on porous limestone so the water doesn't just come in from the sea, it comes up from the ground.

You can build walls and dykes, maybe, to deal with a rising sea, but water coming up from below? Not a damn thing you can do.
posted by emjaybee at 8:55 PM on July 29, 2017 [2 favorites]

Pffft. Obvious solution there is an ENORMOUS NUCLEAR POWERED PUMP.
posted by flabdablet at 11:25 PM on July 29, 2017 [2 favorites]

You would not believe how many people deny water level rise with that same question, that water level is the same everywhere. Scoffing, hateful responses. So many people are going to be surprised. I collect these on a blog, among other anti science things. Link in profile.
posted by agregoli at 7:31 AM on July 30, 2017 [2 favorites]

And in the perfect timing department, today just off St. Pete, a tropical storm popped up out of nowhere and is dumping 6 inches of rain as it blows through.

(on preview: damn you, hippybear! and in an old thread, no less!)
posted by martin q blank at 9:49 AM on July 31, 2017 [1 favorite]