Hurricane Irma: Why did the ocean disappear near the Bahamas?

LONG ISLAND, Bahamas — It’s happened before.

The water around Acklins Island seemingly disappeared in 1936, said Wayne Neely, a forecaster at the Department of Meteorology in Nassau.

Now Hurricane Irma has sucked in the water surrounding Long Island and Exuma.

Although a rare meteorological phenomena, water recedes when the low pressure from a hurricane pushes down on the water and pulls it into the eye of the storm.

This is what also helps create the storm surge, Neely said.

“In the Long Island and Exuma cases care must be taken (into consideration) in this case because the water often returns with even greater fury,” Neely said.

Cox Media Group