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Hurricane Science On Two Storms Churning in the Gulf; Discussing Movie Theater Safety Amid Coronavirus Concerns
Aired August 25, 2020 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: We`re going to the movies today on CNN 10. How many theaters have reopened? How are they reassuring cautious movie goers?
Those are some of the questions we`re exploring. I`m Carl Azuz. Our first story concerns Marco and Laura, not the kids who sat next to you in
Biology. These are the names of two storms that are currently circulating in the Gulf of Mexico and Marco was expected to be the first to make
landfall in the United States. That was set to happen Monday night or Tuesday morning. People along the coasts of Louisiana and Texas were
preparing for it. The good news is that though Marco was a Category 1 hurricane at one point with wind speeds of at least 74 miles per hour, it
had weakened to Tropical Storm status by Monday and meteorologists said it could lose even more strength while moving near the U.S. coastline.
Still, strong winds, heavy rain and isolated tornadoes are possible in the region and forecasters were particularly concerned about storm surge, a
rise in sea water levels pushed ashore by major storms. Another system named Laura could make matters worse. When we produced this show, Laura
was in the western Caribbean headed toward the Gulf of Mexico. When it gets there, meteorologists expect Laura will strengthen from Tropical Storm
status to Hurricane status. Initial projections estimated that Category 2 levels were possible which carries wind speeds of at least 96 miles per
hour.
If Laura stays on track to hit Louisiana as it`s likely path indicated, the storm could further complicate any recovery efforts in the state. One
thing officials are concerned about is a short window of time between the two storms. Will they be able to help people in need before the second
arrives? How long with the lights be out if Marco knocks out power? Those aren`t the only concerns about having two storms in the same region, near
the same time. Here`s CNN contributor Tyler Mauldin. Tyler.
TYLER MAULDIN, CNN METEOROLOGIST AND WEATHER ANCHOR: As if 2020 couldn`t get any crazier Carl, we have been watching the possibility of having two
named tropical systems in the Gulf of Mexico at the same time this week. That exact scenario doesn`t happen often. Actually it`s only happened two
other times since records began. Weather records date all the way back to the mid 19th century. The other occurrences were in 1959 and 1933. So
yes, you could say it`s been awhile. And there have never been two hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico simultaneously. If we were to see two
hurricanes move over those warm waters at the same time, we would surely see this huge, mega, behemoth hurricane form. Right? Not quite, let me
explain.
You see, physics just won`t allow that to happen. Hurricanes have both a counter clockwise rotation at one level, we call this cyclonic spin and at
another level they have a clockwise rotation, known as anti-cyclonic spin. These opposing spins prevent two hurricanes from congealing into a super
hurricane. It`s like trying to force the same ends of a magnet to attract. It won`t happen. The two will always repel. So it`s the same with two
hurricanes. Also under certain rare situations, something known as the Fujiwhara effect will occur.
It`s a meteorological phenomenon discovered in the early 1920s` and it says that when two hurricanes get within a certain proximity of each other,
the two will begin revolving in a circle. Again, imagine two magnets repelling and bouncing off each other. If the two get closer and closer,
the stronger hurricane will cause the smaller one to weaken. If the two are similar in strength, both will weaken. So the one thing you will not
get out of it Carl is a mega hurricane forming. That`s at least one less thing for you to worry about this year.
AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. Which of these movies became the first summer blockbuster according to Guinness World Records? Gone With the Wind, Jaws,
Jurassic Park, or Titanic. In 1975, Jaws became the first film to earn $100 million at the box office.
Before Jaws, Hollywood didn`t really consider summer the best season to release movies. It invested more in winter releases. Jaws helped change
that and some of the highest grossing movies in history have been summer releases. This summer though, like so many other things this year, is
different. Before COVID arrived, there were 6,000 places in North America where you could see a new movie on the big screen. An estimated 1,400 of
them have reopened within the past couple weeks and people`s reactions are all over the map, literally.
Some folks are chomping at the bit to chomp down on some oil popped popcorn. Some are avoiding theaters because of concerns about corona virus
and some are staying home because they prefer watching on their TVs or mobile devices anyway. I just found out that Jurassic Park is playing at a
theater near me. But Carl, you might be thinking, Jurassic Park came out in 1993. Right. But showing older summer blockbusters is one way in which
theaters are hoping to rekindle American`s love for the movies. Is it safe and will it work are the dinosaurs in the room.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: More than 70 million people in the United States go to the movies eight weeks. To get away from their cares and to find
entertainment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some Americans are finally able to go back to the movies with many new caveats. Struggling theater chains have scrambled,
implemented new rules and new technologies to get movie goers safely back in their seats.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say Kay, next Friday would you like to see Wagon Train at the movies?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But experts have long known that COVID-19 spreads more easily indoors and can often be the source of outbreaks. So, is it safe to
go back to movie theaters again? Here`s what we know.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It wouldn`t be something I would go out and recommend. What I can say is this, it -- it all depends on how it`s done.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Social distancing is vital. Movie theaters have to abide by state and local guidelines which often require masks. AMC, for
one, is limiting all theaters capacity to 40 percent of less and in many cases blocking every other row. But even with these measures in place,
experts say to avoid movie theaters if your community has a high number of cases.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How much spread is in the community is essential? If you are in Georgia at case rates of 30 per 100,000, Florida in some
counties case rates of 50 per 100,000, I`m sorry. I enjoy the movies. You`ve got no business going to movies in most places. So first, you
really need to make sure that you`re not swimming in a sea of COVID before you start going to the movies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some health experts do argue that the nature of movie going could potentially limit the spread of the virus compared to say,
eating out at a restaurant. In a theater, everyone is facing the same direction rather than each other. And they aren`t talking, that could
limit the spread of airborne particles from one person to another especially if everyone is wearing a mask. But what about snacks?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We can`t eat popcorn and be masked. They`re just simply mutually exclusive. If you are touching something and then putting
popcorn in your mouth, that`s just is a bad idea.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That could spell trouble for movie theater chains given the high profit margin they stand to make from concessions. As for air
quality, experts say air filtration is becoming increasingly important as growing evidence points to the significant role airborne particles play in
spreading the virus. Theaters, like AMC, have said they`re upgrading their systems air filters.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We actually know that there`s not a lot of transmission that happens on an airplane. So if you kind of think of a
movie theater like an airplane, are they exchanging the air very, very frequently which happens on an airplane. I know they`ve done a lot to try
to improve the filters. How is the ventilation? How often is that air being exchanged in that room? Because if it`s not being exchanged very,
very often the way they are in planes, than that`s probably a problem.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Behind the scenes, movie chains say they`ll be increasing their cleaning procedures. Sometimes cleaning theaters between
each showing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here`s what you can expect when you arrive --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But according to AMC`s CEO, the cost of the additional safety measures will likely be passed onto movie goers in the form of
higher ticket or concession prices. That`s a problem when movie studios are beginning to skip the theaters and release certain movies directly to
consumer streaming from the safety of their own home. For theaters, the pandemic`s prolonged shutdowns mean some chains could be facing bankruptcy.
So the stakes couldn`t be higher.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: Could this be the biggest painting ever put on canvas? Yes. Is it realism? No. But it does incorporate real art from kids. This is being
painted in the ballroom of a luxury hotel. It`s about the size of four basketball courts. It`s expected to be finished next month, shared around
the world and then cut up into 60 individual panels which will be auctioned off for charity. The artist hopes it will raise $30 million to help
children in need. So it appears the master work will be cut to master "pieces" but at half a mil per panel, buyers may need to get "leases".
You could never hand the whole work up, it`s the size of a "land mass". It is it worth the weight in "paint" it takes to cover "art" that canvas. I`m
Carl Azuz for CNN 10. You know you can watch our show anytime at CNN 10.com but if you subscribe and comment on our YouTube channel you could
get a chance for your school to be mentioned like New Bern High School in New Bern, North Carolina.
END
