How a thunderstorm with the force of a hurricane capsized a ship

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“It has been a meteorologically crazy day with very strong winds from both a series of thunderstorms, and a prolonged strong wind event from a wake low,” the National Weather Service office in New Orleans said Tuesday evening.

A stationary front positioned across the southeast led to a large cluster of thunderstorms moving across Louisiana and other Gulf Coast states on Tuesday.

The New Orleans weather office had one special maritime warning Tuesday on steep waves off the coastal waters in and around Port Fourchon, Louisiana.

Shortly after the 36-meter Seacor Power lift boat, a vessel that serves oil platforms, left Port Fourchon on Tuesday afternoon, it is said to have faced a strong series of thunderstorms. The ship was about seven nautical miles south of Port Fourchon when the ship made a mayday call just before 4:30 PM

A marine warning was issued before the storm, but the system was moving quickly, perhaps too fast for the ship’s crew to respond in a timely manner. The storm also intensified as it moved offshore.

High waves and winds of 40 to 100 km / h were reported at nearby land stations, even up to 12 hours after the boat capsized.

A separate ship in the same general area of ​​Port Fourchon measured one wind gust of 102 knots (117 mph), which is equivalent to a Category 3 hurricane.

“The cloud tops reached more than 15,000 meters, indicating very strong storms,” ​​said CNN meteorologist Taylor Ward. “Very strong winds were drawn to the surface and radar data also showed that there was rotation embedded in those storms, so there is a possibility that water spouts have also occurred.”

As if that were not enough, there was also something going on called “gravitational waves”.

The weather service noted that gravitational waves were trapped under a strong temperature inversion – an increase in air temperature with altitude – just above the surface, about the lowest 1,500 feet of the atmosphere. That reversal led to “waves of stronger winds mixing in gusts over land and sustained gale-force storms over larger bodies of water.”

This would have made it even more difficult on any ship in that region, let alone a large ship already fighting storm conditions.

Rescue efforts continue

Six people have been rescued from the water, while the bodies of four people have been recovered so far.

Multiple agencies, including the United States Coast Guard, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office, and other Louisiana groups, are participating in the search and rescue for the nine still missing people. The effort includes helicopters, planes and boats.

The Coast Guard has been using contracted private divers to conduct search and rescue operations in recent days. However, the weather was not ideal. Thunderstorms have repeatedly surfaced around the search area with gusts of wind, small hail and the possibility of waterspouts. The chance of rain and thunder stays in the forecast all weekend, making it more difficult for the search and rescue teams.

“Our rescue teams have diligently pursued the search and rescue efforts for the missing people from the capsized ship,” said Captain Will Watson, commander of the New Orleans Coast Guard sector.

One body was recovered, but 12 people were still missing after a commercial ship capsized off the coast of Louisiana

Watson noted that the water temperature is above 70 degrees, which is an important detail.

According to the U.S. Search and Rescue Task Force, the human body can survive in the water for extended periods of time as long as the temperature is around or above 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The physical conditions of the person involved also play a role.

So with water temperatures in the low 70s, currently around the ship’s location, the temperatures may not be exactly warm, but they are survivable.

Crew members of the US Coast Guard cutter Glenn Harris retrieve a person after the commercial jack-up boat Seacor Power capsized on Tuesday, April 13.

Mallika Kallingal, Joe Sutton and Taylor Ward contributed to this report.

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