00:00Joining us right now is Vice President of Forecasting Operations, Dan DePodwin,
00:04with kind of an interesting subtext to the way that we're presenting the forecast right now.
00:09Dan, officially, by the book, if you look at the federal government's forecast,
00:14Tropical Storm Arthur is done, and it's no longer a tropical entity,
00:18but this is still a major threat, so we're using the phrase tropical rainstorm.
00:22What's the back story of that phrase?
00:24Jeff, tropical rainstorm is something that AccuWeather developed many decades ago,
00:28and this is really a prime example of why we did so.
00:32We are still referring to this as Tropical Rainstorm Arthur because of the widespread impacts from it,
00:37mainly in the way of flooding and tornadoes.
00:39That's one of the reasons, especially as tropical systems move inland,
00:44they often present many dangers that last far beyond the time that it may be officially designated
00:49still as a tropical depression or a tropical storm.
00:52So we will use tropical rainstorm as we have in this case.
00:55We also sometimes use tropical rain and windstorm.
00:57If wind continues to be a factor, in the case of Arthur, that flooding has been catastrophic
01:02in some localized areas, and there's been widespread reports of flooding across much of the southern United States.
01:10So in general, you're not going to hear phrasing like leftover moisture from the remnants of.
01:17Some of those phrases are things that I used when I worked in local TV for many years,
01:20but they've kind of been abolished from my phrasing here at AccuWeather, and for good reason.
01:26So we've seen over 25 inches in some areas, just tremendous flooding.
01:31And, Dan, the risk is not fully over yet.
01:33No, the risk will continue as we head through the end of the week until Arthur moves its way offshore
01:38and off the Carolina coast.
01:39Just incredible rainfall amounts at AccuWeather, local storm acts of 30 inches.
01:44Tropical systems have a tendency to produce significant rain that can be measured in feet,
01:48and that's what we've seen in parts of Mississippi, Louisiana, and even extending into parts of southern Alabama.
01:54So really a significant risk, and that's why Arthur is a two on the AccuWeather real impact scale for hurricanes.
02:00Again, communicating that risk, and we continue to track it as a rainstorm,
02:05and we use that terminology because that's what it is.
02:08It is a rainstorm producing significant impacts.
02:10All right, Dan, we appreciate your insight.
02:13You can see the footage, just amazing stuff.
02:15So by no means is Arthur over.
02:17The tropical rainstorm continues to bring significant impacts to the Gulf Coast and parts of the southeast.
02:22AccuWeather vice president of forecasting operations, Dan DePappen.
02:25Thanks again, Dan.
02:26You're welcome, Jeff.
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