NOAA Oil Spill Forecast Map July 8, 2010 Credit: NOAA
July 8, 2010 – Yesterday, the Coast Guard confirmed that oil which washed ashore on McFaddin Beach, Texas, on Monday was connected to the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. McFaddin Beach is near Port Arthur and much closer to the Louisiana/Texas border than Galveston which was the first area in the state to be impacted by the oil spill.
Tar balls were found on Texas beaches around Galveston over the 4th of July weekend and again Tuesday and Wednesday. It had already been announced that all tar balls collected from the Crystal Beach area of the Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston's East Beach on Saturday and Sunday came from the Deepwater Horizon spill.
July 9, 2010 Update from the Coast Guard:
Gulf oil spill update: July 9, 2010, most Texas tar balls not from BP, NOAA weekend forecast
In the new forecast below, NOAA predicts that strong currents and winds may carry more tar balls to Texas.
Orange Beach and Gulf Shores, Alabama, were again hit by oil sheen, emulsified oil and tar balls this morning. It's been an especially hard last three days for Orange Beach. (See slide show below.) More of the heavy mousse patty type oil was seen in large amounts offshore.
News headlines from the Unified Command:
The Navy MZ-3A airship or blimp was scheduled to arrive at Lake Front Airport, New Orleans, mid-afternoon today. The ship will be helping out in the response effort.-- Media update
The Helix Producer, which is the third platform to be hooked up to the current containment system
was originally scheduled to have been done on around June 30 but was delayed due to the weather from Hurricane Alex and the current front that's coming through. We hope over the next 48 hours that the sea state will die down and allow that hook-up to take place.-- Daily briefing
National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen sent a letter today to BP Chief Managing Director Bob Dudley setting forth a 24-hour deadline for timeline and plans for completing the Helix Producer hook-up and possible removing the current containment device and replacing it with a fixed cap that might be able to contain all the oil that is flowing from the broken wellhead.-- Release today
NOAA oil spill forecast for July 8-10, 2010:
"Strong southeasterly winds are expected to diminish by Wednesday evening. Due to weather conditions, NOAA conducted very few overflights. The coastlines of MS, AL, and the FL panhandle west of Pensacola may continue to experience shoreline oiling. For Louisiana, models continue to show winds and currents moving oil from the MC252 well head to a region west around the Delta and then to the north, with potential new shoreline oiling in the area between Barataria Bay, LA and Caillou Bay, LA. Further west, satellite-based observations from Monday indicate possible small patches of oil south of Vermillion Bay, LA. Models indicate that oil in this region is moving westward by coastal currents and winds which will result in some continued scattered tarball impacts in Texas."
View full-size NOAA oil spill forecast maps for July 8, July 9 and July 10, 2010.
NOAA has also released a new forecast model for South Florida and the Florida Keys, with as high as an 80% chance oil will reach Florida Keys and Miami. See map at NOAA.
Read new fact sheet "What to Expect in South Florida from the Deepwater Horizon/BP Oil Spill."
MSNBC has an interactive map that shows from day one where oil from the BP oil spill has moved.
Read the latest oil spill updates:
Gulf oil spill update: Where the oil is, where it's been and where it's going, NOAA maps (video)
Gulf oil spill update: BP oil found on Texas beaches, threatens Lake Pontchartrain
Gulf oil spill update: Airship to join response, A Whale in rough waters, empty beaches (pictures)
Gulf oil spill update: A Whale skimmer test continues, oil pushes into Louisiana marshes (pictures)
Gulf oil spill update: EPA news, NOAA map, what South Florida can expect, oiled beaches (pictures)
Read about the skimmer "A Whale" and see a slide show of 20 pictures, plus video:
Gulf oil spill: Will it go to work? World's biggest oil skimmer reports for duty (video, pictures)
Gulf oil spill: A Whale, world's largest skimmer now being tested in the Gulf of Mexico
Comments
The SEC should step in and freeze all trading in BP stock, then just like the FDIC prepare to sell the company, with all proceeds put in a damages fund. Just like any other company facing bankruptcy a receiver is appointed to protect and administer the assets. Anyone who thinks BP intends to pay the true costs, or thinks BP is even capable, of paying the true costs of this crime against humanity, is clueless. The present and future damages already exceed the liquidated net worth of the entire company. The key asset to look at is BP cash. No bankrupt oyster farmer or restaurant wants to be compensated with used drill bits. True damages will exceed $100 billion.
Ive lived in Texas or been associated with the Texas Coast since 1949, there have always been tar balls. All the parks at the beaches, the motels and such have tar cleaning stations. There is natural oil seeping out there. The American Natives used the "pitch" (tar) for their canoes. It was traded inland. Tar balls are not new here. We did have the Ixtoc oil spill and survived with no permanent harm done.
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