Government Data Shows Spill Surge Toward Florida

Government data provided by the NOAA shows that the oil from the Deepwater Horizon is moving rapidly to the east.

The agency reported that NOAA scientists continue to generate surface oil trajectories.  In the nearshore, onshore winds are expected to continue through Friday with speeds of 10-15 kts.  The winds will result in northward movement of oil towards the Mississippi/Alabama barrier islands. The northeastward movement of oil could continue over the next few days threatening shorelines as far east as Pensacola, Fla.  Threats to shorelines in Breton Sound, Chandeleur Sound, and the NE side of the Mississippi Delta will be reduced while west of the Delta, more shoreline impacts could occur.  

While BP has freed the mechanical saw that it is using to cut pipes which might allow the company to cap a portion of the crude being released from 5,000 feet below the surface of the Gulf, the plan has apparently bogged down. This means that the only viable program to stanch the flow is several months off when relief well wells can be drilled. If that does now work, the oil could flow for months until the pressure from the well equals that of the water a mile down.

It is still possible that Florida and the lower east coast of the US.

Douglas A. McIntyre