BP has won approval from the Coast Guard and U.S. government to keep the cap on the well, and it may have come just in time. Top Hat 10 is holding, and gas bubbles found two miles away were determined to be from an old well, so the status quo remains while BP continues to work on plans for the final plug static kill. It should not be forgotten that plenty of oil is present in the Gulf of Mexico water, and more may get washed up onshore as wind as waves turn rough. One storm may develop today, but a tropical storm could track into the region by Sunday or Monday.
Remember Hurricane Alex? That passed hundreds of miles away in June, but still made for wind and waves that forced skimming efforts to halt and pushed more oil onshore. A tropical storm could bring 15-foot waves into this region. More details below and full coverage on The Atlantic Hurricane Examiner page.
The forecast for the short term has a developing low pressure that may increase the flow from the south and push oil back onshore. Water levels will be about 1 foot above normal in coastal Louisiana and Alabama today and tomorrow. See more forecast maps in the slide show below.
NOAA Update:
Persistent ESE and E winds are forecast to continue through Thursday with speeds of 10-20 knots. Satellite analysis and overflights indicate surface oil has moved west toward the Delta but has not yet crossed the convergence line associated with the Mississippi River outflow. Scattered streamers and tar patties were also observed to the west of the Delta. With moderately strong easterly winds in the forecast, the Delta and shorelines west to Terrebonne Bay are threatened by shoreline contacts within this forecast period. Trajectories also indicate some oil may move northward threatening the Chandeleur Islands.
The weather should settle down leading into the start of the weekend, but the end of the weekend may be a completely different story. The National Weather Service has given a developing tropical disturbance a 70% chance of developing into a tropical storm in the next two days. This high chance means that winds will organize to a sustained 40 mph. Heavy rain has already dumped on Puerto Rico and The Domincan Republic.
See the complete coverage of this storm and thr tropics on The Atlantic Hurricane Examiner page.
Please Read:
Oil Spill and potential hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico; Live streaming video of oil leak
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Riser Insertion Tube and Skimming COAST GUARD VIDEOS |
In May, BP tried to drop a four-story, 100-ton steel-and-concrete box on the leak, but abandoned it when it was encased by ice-like crystals. That was followed by a mile-long siphon tube designed to suck up oil escaping the leak. That, in turn, was scrapped after it managed to suck up only about 900,000 gallons after roughly a week of operation.
The most anticipated effort was the so-called "top kill," in which mud and cement were pumped down from above the leak. After about three days of the strategy, BP announced on May 29 it had failed.
Then came the cap that was removed Saturday. That device didn't form a perfect seal on the jagged pipe that was cut to make room for it, and the inexact fit meant that it was able to collect only 1 million gallons or so of oil a day.
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