Coastal low—a bigger wind event than Hanna?

You probably saw all the media coverage Tropical Storm Hanna got a few weeks ago. The storm that will affect our weather today and Friday may never have a name, but could be a bigger wind event than Hanna was.

Make no mistake, the only reason this storm does not have a name is that it is not "tropical" in nature. All that means is that it is a cold core system rather than a warm core system like tropical storms and hurricanes which originate in the very warm tropics. You'll notice that eventhough this system looks much like a tropical system on satellite and radar and has much of the same heavy rain as well as tropical storm force winds, it is very, very cool outside. If this were a tropical system, it would be very warm and very muggy feeling as the storm moved through such as it was with Hanna and other tropical systems that have affected Eastern Carolina.

All that said, what some would consider a mere technicality is the only thing keeping this storm from having a name and probably getting a lot more media coverage. The actual sensible weather will rival that of Hanna from a few weeks ago, although I doubt very seriously we'll see nearly as much rain. This means there will likely be isolated power outages from the wind, as well as coastal overwash of the sand dunes along the coast at high tide and minor beach erosion.

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