Two Hurricanes, Still No Immediate Threat
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Both Hurricane Igor and Hurricane Julia are still far from threatening any immediate land areas, however, swells from Igor will begin to hit Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and other islands in the Caribbean shortly. Julia, which became a Category 1 storm overnight, is expected to plow through the far Eastern Atlantic for the next several days and may never affect any land area. At this time, it appears that Igor is a major threat to Bermuda and could be approaching the island this weekend. However, a shift to either the east or west in the track would spare Bermuda its worst affects. The current forecast tracks keep both storms well away from the U.S. mainland. Here are this morning’s official advisories.
Igor
AT 500 AM AST...0900 UTC...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE IGOR WAS LOCATED
NEAR LATITUDE 17.9 NORTH...LONGITUDE 51.7 WEST. IGOR IS MOVING
TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 8 MPH. THIS GENERAL MOTION IS
EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TODAY...FOLLOWED BY A TURN TOWARD THE
NORTHWEST ON WEDNESDAY.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE DECREASED A LITTLE MORE AND ARE NOW
NEAR 135 MPH...215 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. IGOR IS STILL A
CATEGORY FOUR HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE WIND SCALE.
SOME FLUCTUATIONS IN INTENSITY ARE POSSIBLE DURING THE NEXT COUPLE
OF DAYS...BUT IGOR IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN A DANGEROUS HURRICANE
THROUGH WEDNESDAY.
HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 50 MILES...85 KM...FROM
THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 195
MILES...315 KM.
ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 945 MB...27.91 INCHES.
HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND
----------------------
SURF...SWELLS GENERATED BY IGOR WILL BEGIN AFFECTING THE LEEWARD
ISLANDS TODAY...AND WILL REACH PUERTO RICO AND THE VIRGIN
ISLANDS TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. THESE SWELLS ARE LIKELY TO
CAUSE LIFE-THREATENING SURF AND RIP CURRENT CONDITIONS.
Julia
AT 500 AM AST...0900 UTC...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE JULIA WAS LOCATED
NEAR LATITUDE 16.1 NORTH...LONGITUDE 29.0 WEST. JULIA IS MOVING
TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 12 MPH...19 KM/HR. A WEST-NORTHWEST
TO NORTHWEST MOTION WITH AN INCREASE IN FORWARD SPEED IS EXPECTED
DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 75 MPH...120 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS. JULIA IS A CATEGORY ONE HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON
HURRICANE WIND SCALE. SOME ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST
DURING THE NEXT DAY OR SO.
HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 25 MILES...35 KM...FROM
THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 90
MILES...150 KM.
ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 987 MB...29.15 INCHES.
HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND
----------------------
NONE.
