Was a Hurricane Responsible for the Parting of the Red Sea?

Was a hurricane responsible for one of the most memorable stories in the Bible?

Perhaps, says Al Roker, one of the nation’s leading meteorologists.

In a segment on Today’s Take, Roker joined Sheinelle Jones and fellow NBC meteorologist Dylan Dryer to discuss the Tampa Bay phenomenon right before Hurricane Irma struck.

Sunday morning, Tampa residents made their way out to the bay to observe a rarely-seen phenomenon: an empty waterway. But it wasn’t just Tampa.

Bahamas’ beaches left bone dry after Hurricane Irma sucks up the water. https://t.co/oblwEkhtWF #HurricaneIrma #7News pic.twitter.com/xb57wz0Wf5

—7 News Sydney (@7NewsSydney) Sept. 10, 2017

As Irma sucks up all the water from coastal Florida, wildlife is being stranded on dry land. Here’s a video of catfish lining FL streets: pic.twitter.com/GSDgpUfxlk

—Brett Bachman (@BrettABachman) Sept. 11, 2017

The Washington Post describes the phenomenon: 

At the same time, some locations may be experiencing the effects of the hurricane “bulge.” In the center of the storm, where the pressure is lowest and the winds are converging, water piles up. Low pressure is basically a sucking mechanism in the sense that it draws the air inward. When the pressure is exceptionally low and the winds are very strong, it can create a bulge of ocean water under the center of the storm.

Roker says this phenomenon is similar to what happened when the Lord parted the Red Sea as described in Exodus. The NBC meteorologist says he does not discount the Lord’s power, but the hurricane is a scientific explanation for one of most-talked-about biblical miracles.

According to Exodus 14:21-22: “Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, so that the waters were divided. The children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.”