First clear satellite view in days..

Actually

I'm taking a closer look at it in google earth.. and it appears to already be in the gulf stream. I'll post it in a minute.

equally opportunity disaster. So maybe they will know a bit of our pain. Hate to see this happen but also tired of the why go back to New Orleans talk....

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Bay, how far north do the models show the loop current extending this hurricane season?

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this model isn't a forecasting model, it's a nowcasting model. The last output (and the one I used in the map above) is actually yesterday's currents.

How far south are they going?

I'd be very, very surprised if they even need to take samples. If we can see it from space, you'd be able to see it from a boat.

Hey Bay, it looks like the loop is pretty far north at the moment. Have you heard if it is expected to continue northward and eventually pinch off to form a big eddy?

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I'm not an oceanographer.

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Me neither. Thanks for the pics.

Bay, good stuff here

LINK

I'd guess pretty good looking at the satellite images from these links posted. I'm heading to Destin July 4th so keeping my fingers crossed this current can dump the oil somewhere else

Favorable surface currents and winds have kept them clean so far. But we are probably about done with northerly winds this season, and if a south-southwest low level wind pattern sets up - as it nearly always does late spring through early Fall - they are in trouble.

Here LINK you can see that a sustained south-southwest wind pattern would push the slick into the eddy south of the panhandle, where it would probably circulate until being flushed into the loop. Also, notice how quickly the oil pushes southward now that it has entered the loop.