Hurricane Center Director Smooth in Rough Waters
Dealing with his first major hurricane as director of the National Hurricane Center, Bob Sheets wasn't skipping a beat Tuesday as a multitude of reporters fired questions at him. Sheets, who was acting director during the 1987 Atlantic hurricane season and was named director in March, spent most of the morning on the sixth floor of hurricane headquarters beside a large monitor showing the destructive Hurricane Gilbert sprawled across much of the western Caribbean. His schedule of interviews was timed to the minute. But Sheets, rosy-cheeked and good-natured, didn't so much as flinch in his seat. After all, he noted, ``I've flown into 200 hurricanes ... I really don't think this is difficult.'' The transition from former Director Neil Frank, widely known for his distinctive style and flattop haircut, to Sheets, his dark blond hair carefully coiffed and wearing a bright pink shirt with a gray wool-blend jacket, has been a smooth one. ``He knows his job very well and he's a calm personality,'' Vivian Jorge, the center's budget analyst, said of Sheets. On days with active tropical weather, Ms. Jorge steps in to coordinate media interviews. And interest in Gilbert has been high since it started packing hurricane-force winds over the weekend and by Tuesday afternoon became a Category 5 storm with winds of 160 mph and a central pressure of 26.66 inches. A Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale of strength has winds in excess of 155 mph and pressure less than 27.17 inches and has the potential for causing catastrophic damage. ``This would be considered a `Great Hurricane,' '' said Sheets. ``It's certainly in the top 10 percent as far as intensity, size and destructive potential.'' Gilbert was being compared to the hurricane of 1935, which slammed into the Florida Keys and killed 600 people, and Hurricane Camille, which devastated the Mississippi coast in 1969, killing 256. Those are the only Category 5 storms which have made landfall this century. The last major hurricane to make landfall was Elena in 1985, along the Mississippi, Alabama and Florida Panhandle. The major television networks, local stations and newspapers media were on hand to monitor the hurricane, which could reach the Gulf of Mexico by Thursday, said Sheets. From there, it's anybody's guess where it will go, he said. ``It's a brand new ball game as far as the continental United States is concerned,'' said Sheets. The center's 33-member crew, including seven hurricane forecasters and specialists, are keeping a close watch of the hurricane in a large, open room of blue monitors flickering with color and non-color graphics. And while Sheets might appear to be spend most of his day with tiny microphones snaking down his back for TV interviews and fielding questions, he also writes most of the hurricane advisories issued every three hours and makes hurricane forecasts. Dealing with a major hurricane isn't much different from dealing with smaller ones or tropical storms, Sheets said, adding that Gilbert has been particularly ``well-behaved.'' ``It does what we think it's going to do ... You feel a lot more confident about what you're doing than with weaker systems,'' he said.
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