I got to thinking (maybe too much)

[metallicafan18]

I was thinking this and I was wondering if this is even possible:

So will all the oil in the Gulf, I was seeing on the news this is going to be a bad hurricane season. Is it possible that the oil could be picked up into the hurricane and thrown all over the cities? Then, if something caught fire, would it all burn?

Just wondering.

[Radical Edward]

I do not know the answer to your question, but it seems likely. I also have heard that the oil is going to intensify the hurricanes.
Scary stuff.

[Thunderscreech]

The ecological and tourism impacts will be felt decades after this disaster

[Auzzie-Phoenix]

It's an election year... get on your congressperson's case. The possibilities of hurricanes moving the oil inland are entirely possible. So the least your politicians can do is start making new laws to prevent disasters like this from happening again, and to hold the people responsible fully accountable. If you don't speak, they won't act... especially if they're sympathetic to the oil companies. Nothing motivates a politician more than the fear of not being re-elected and losing any power they once held.

[Bassman316]

Now I'm hearing that the El Nino system is weakening which means more possibility for stronger storms. I don't even want to think of what the BP spill plus a hurricane in the Gulf would do.

[metallicafan18]

That is a scary thought. I'm gonna be in Sannabell Island on the Gulf this July too. May have to cancel.

[mike_v_s]

"Pick up" the oil with the water? No. But it can push the mixture inland. As a hurricane spins, it also spins the water below it. The stronger the winds, the more water is displaced. The sea level actually rises with this push and is called storm surge. When Katrina made landfall, there were reports of 15-20 foot storm surges. Below is what Louisiana looked like 4 days after Katrina, it was worse:



Had the oil leak been there at that time, the whole of Plaquemines Parish and most fo St. Bernard would have been covered and basically unlivable.

Now, to this summer. It will really depend on what side of the storm hits the the oil. A hurricane spins counter clockwise and pushes the water in the same direction. If the storm passes to the right of the spill, the oil will be pushed out into the gulf. If it goes to the left, it will be pushed onto land.

The physical size of the storm will affect this greatly, as well. A larger storm has the possibility of churning the oil over a greater area and pushing it into areas of the gulf that would not have been touched by this otherwise. It's basically a ******* mess.

Mike

[ehque]

Crude oil, depending on its composition, can be difficult to ignite.

[jp58]

Originally Posted by ehque

Crude oil, depending on its composition, can be difficult to ignite.

I thought it had to be pressurized or in vapor form to ignite, but I may be wrong.

In any case, getting oil inland due to hurricane/tropical storm is really bad.

[Jim Nazium]

I don't think there's any danger of massive fires as a result, but certainly a hurricane could spread the spilled oil all over the place and make an even worse mess.

[L-A]

Originally Posted by jp58

I thought it had to be pressurized or in vapor form to ignite, but I may be wrong.

In any case, getting oil inland due to hurricane/tropical storm is really bad.

It has to evaporate. It's even the case with car-grade gas. To say it like a scientist wouldn't, you either evaporate it first and then light the gas (like in a car), or heat it enough that it starts to evaporate and combust by itself (like, say, lighting a puddle of gas).

It does not take that much for it to ignite, but while the ocean can carry enough oil to do some damage, it will drag in waaay too much water to make considerable fires in the flooded areas.

[ehque]

Originally Posted by L-A

It has to evaporate. It's even the case with car-grade gas. To say it like a scientist wouldn't, you either evaporate it first and then light the gas (like in a car), or heat it enough that it starts to evaporate and combust by itself (like, say, lighting a puddle of gas).

It does not take that much for it to ignite, but while the ocean can carry enough oil to do some damage, it will drag in waaay too much water to make considerable fires in the flooded areas.

Of course, there's always the worst case scenario:

[Happynoj]

Originally Posted by ehque

Of course, there's always the worst case scenario:

Dude, I was totally going to post that.

[BlakeJustBlake]

From what I understand from a Scientific American article I read a couple days ago, the NOAA says that the oil won't affect how bad any hurricanes will be, but the hurricanes may bring the oil water onto shores.