UPDATED: 0840 EDT 08/29
Earl has been upgraded to a hurricane.
# 4846
Although the Atlantic Hurricane season has been relatively quiet up until now, the tropics have awakened in the past week and we are watching a hurricane (Danielle), an intensifying tropical storm (Earl), and an impressive looking area of suspicion.
Danielle, which briefly reached CAT 4 strength earlier this week, has weakened and is headed for a cold watery death in the north Atlantic.
Earl is expected to reach hurricane strength later today, and is an immediate threat to Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and parts of the northern Leeward chain of islands.
Later in the week, Earl may even pose a threat to the U.S. mainland as a major (CAT 3 or greater) hurricane, although it is far too early to tell.
Right now, the tropical storm-force wind field forecast shows only about a 20% probability for the mid-Atlantic coastline 5 days out. These forecasts are subject to change and refinement, so interested parties need to check them every day.
Lastly, the area of disturbed weather in the far eastern Atlantic is following roughly the same path as Earl, although it is too early to know if it will pose a threat to the islands.
These tracking maps are likely to become very busy over the next 60 days as we traverse the peak of the hurricane season. You can follow the latest tropical developments on the National Hurricane Center’s website or by following the @FEMA on Twitter.
May was National Hurricane Preparedness week, and during that month this blog devoted considerable time to the subject. A few of my blogs on the subject included:
A Hurricane Reality Check
Hurricanes and Inland Flooding
Why I’ll Be Gone With The Wind
Storm Surge Monday
You Don’t Have To Live On The Coast
Everyone should have a preparedness plan, of course.
But if you live anywhere within a few hundred miles of the the Atlantic or Gulf Coasts - given the time of year – it makes sense to get those plans in order now.
Some essential hurricane resources to get you started include:
http://www.fema.gov/hazard/hurricane/index.shtm
Related Post:
- Sandy Strengthens Overnight
- The Very Model Of A Natural Disaster
- Resources To Follow The Northeast Storm Online
- Preparing For After The Storm Passes
- Sandy: Northeast Increasingly Under The Gun
- The Limits Of Intensity Forecasting
- Isaac Threatens Northern Gulf Coast
- Hurricane Warnings Raised For South Florida
- Remembering Andrew: 20 Years Ago Today
- Isaac’s Uncertain Future
- Update On Isaac
- Watching The Tropics
- August Tropical Climatology
- July Tropical Climatology
- A Highly Uncertain Forecast
- Watching The Gulf Of Mexico This Weekend
- Hurricane Preparedness Week: Taking Action
- Hurricane Preparedness Week: Inland Flooding
- Storm Surge Monday
- A Matter Of Respect
- Roll Out The Beryl
- NOAA: `Near Normal’ Hurricane Season Predicted
- It Only Takes One
- The Tale Of The Tape
- Rina: An Uncertain Path For The Weekend
- Safe Rooms: Improving Your Odds
- Do1Thing: A 12 Step Preparedness Program
- Resolve To Be Ready: 2013
- Ready or Not? TFAH Report 2012
- Public Health Practices (PHP) Update
- Black Swan Events
- The Gift of Preparedness 2012
- National Family History Day
- Paper: Are We Prepared For A Pandemic In Low Resource Communities?
- MMWR: Carbon Monoxide Exposures Related To Hurricane Sandy
- Canada: Another West Coast Temblor
- USGS: Eastern Earthquakes - Rare But Powerful
- Unreasonable Expectations
- Shaken, And Hopefully Stirred
- Sandy Strengthens Overnight
- Preparing For After The Storm Passes
- Sandy: Northeast Increasingly Under The Gun
- Reminder: ShakeOut Drills On Oct. 18th
- Dozens Of Ways To Spell `I-L-I’
- NPM12: Because We Don’t Know What Tomorrow Will Bring
- NPM12: One For The Home, And One More For The Road
- NPM12: Those Who Forget Their History . . .
- NPM12: The Ethics Of Preparedness
- NPM12: Disaster Buddies
- IDSA: Pandemic and Seasonal Influenza Preparedness
Widget by [ Iptek-4u ]