Bermuda Bracing For Igor Battering
John Ghiorse, GoLocalProv Meteorologist
Bermuda Bracing For Igor Battering
The track of large and dangerous Hurricane Igor has been rock solid for the past several days. That is not good news for Bermuda as the forecast track continues to indicate that Igor will pass near to or right over the island late tomorrow or tomorrow night. Igor is still about 500 miles southsoutheast of Bermuda this morning and winds there are already gusting over 30 mph. A NOAA weather buoy located 165 miles north of Igor is reporting sustained winds of 54 mph with gusts to 64 mph. So you can see that Igor’s circulation is massive and will be affecting Bermuda for several hours beginning later tonight and probably extending into Monday morning. As you may know Bermuda is a favorite vacation spot for many Rhode Islanders, so I will continue to keep you updated throughout the weekend. Ocean waves and surf will also become large and dangerous along our coastline as the weekend progresses. Here is the official advisory as of 5 AM today.
AT 500 AM AST...0900 UTC...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE IGOR WAS LOCATED
NEAR LATITUDE 25.1 NORTH...LONGITUDE 62.8 WEST. IGOR IS MOVING
TOWARD THE NORTHWEST NEAR 13 MPH...20 KM/HR. A TURN TOWARD THE
NORTH-NORTHWEST IS EXPECTED TODAY FOLLOWED BY A TURN TOWARD THE
NORTH ON SUNDAY. ON THE FORECAST TRACK...THE CENTER OF IGOR WILL
APPROACH BERMUDA LATE SUNDAY. HOWEVER...ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS
WILL BEGIN TO AFFECT BERMUDA THIS EVENING.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS REMAIN NEAR 110 MPH...175 KM/HR...WITH
HIGHER GUSTS. IGOR IS A CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-
SIMPSON SCALE. SOME STRENGTHENING IS POSSIBLE TODAY...AND GRADUAL
WEAKENING IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON SUNDAY. IGOR IS EXPECTED TO
REMAIN A DANGEROUS HURRICANE AS IT APPROACHES BERMUDA.
IGOR IS A VERY LARGE HURRICANE. HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUT
UP TO 105 MILES...165 KM...FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM
FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUT UP TO 345 MILES...555 KM. NOAA BUOY 41049
...LOCATED ABOUT 165 MILES...270 KM...NORTH OF THE CENTER OF IGOR
...RECENTLY REPORTED A SUSTAINED WIND OF 51 MPH...82 KM/HR...AND A
GUST OF 60 MPH...97 KM/HR.
THE ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 939 MB...27.73 INCHES.
HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND
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WIND...TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED IN BERMUDA BY THIS
EVENING...WITH HURRICANE CONDITIONS EXPECTED BY SUNDAY AFTERNOON OR
EVENING.
RAINFALL...IGOR IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE TOTAL RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS
OF 5 TO 8 INCHES OVER BERMUDA.
STORM SURGE...A DANGEROUS STORM SURGE IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE
SIGNIFICANT COASTAL FLOODING ON BERMUDA. THE SURGE WILL BE
ACCOMPANIED BY LARGE AND DESTRUCTIVE WAVES...ESPECIALLY ALONG THE
SOUTHERN COAST.
SURF...LARGE SWELLS WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT THE LEEWARD ISLANDS...
PUERTO RICO...THE VIRGIN ISLANDS...HISPANIOLA...AND PORTIONS OF THE
BAHAMAS DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. SWELLS WILL CONTINUE TO
AFFECT THE EAST COAST OF THE UNITED STATES THROUGH THE WEEKEND.
THESE SWELLS ARE LIKELY TO CAUSE LIFE-THREATENING SURF AND RIP
CURRENTS.