Hurricane Bill strengthened further overnight, and its top sustained winds are now estimated at 135 mph as of 5:00 AM EDT, making it a Category Four hurricane. It could be even stronger; data from a recon plane later today will give us a better idea of the storm’s strength. Here’s a visible satellite view this morning: Further strengthening is expected…. Read more »
Bill is now a Category 3 hurricane with 125 mph winds as of 11pm EDT, after undergoing some rapid intensification. Further strengthening is expected, and Bill could be a Category 4 by this time tomorrow.
As of 5:00 PM EDT, Hurricane Bill is almost a major hurricane, with top sustained winds of 110 mph. One more upgrade, and he’ll be a Category 3. He certainly looks the part: The discussion notes that the forecast track has been nudged slightly to the left. This trend would seem to decrease the threat to Bermuda, while increasing the… Read more »
Hurricane Bill is growing and strengthening — now a Category 2 storm as of 11pm EDT, with winds of 100 mph, and tropical-storm force winds extending out as much as 150 miles from the center. It’s expected to get bigger (200+ mile wind radius) and stronger (125 mph, Category 3) over the next several days, as it continues to churn… Read more »
Just a quick update on our A-B-C trio, in reverse alphabetical order, before I go to bed. The center of Tropical Storm Claudette is approaching the Florida panhandle, and will make landfall in the next few hours. Heavy rains are already ashore, as the radar map shows. Claudette has not strengthened, and is basically out of time to do so…. Read more »
Welcome, InstaPundit readers! I apologize for the relative dearth of updates on today’s tropical developments, at least as compared to my hyperactive weatherblogging of years past. Alas, “free time” isn’t a terribly viable concept when you have a 19-month-old and a 1-month-old. 🙂 Indeed, I’m only able to post this update because the previously crying 1-month-old has finally fallen asleep… Read more »
[UPDATE, 11:00 PM MDT: Welcome, InstaPundit readers! I have (finally) posted a new update, covering both Ana and Bill.] Mark it down: on August 15, two-and-a-half months into the Atlantic hurricane season, we finally have our first named storm. Tropical Storm Ana formed overnight. It was our original “proto-Ana,” the one further west, that ultimately won the “race” and earned… Read more »
Tropical Depression Two, our erstwhile “proto-Ana,” is dead (or at least dormant; regeneration remains possible), and Tropical Depression Three — the new “proto-Ana” hotness — has yet to be born. For now, Three-to-Be is just “Invest 90L,” a mere tropical wave. But the National Hurricane Center thinks that will change soon: SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IS GRADUALLY BECOMING BETTER ORGANIZED… Read more »
Tropical Depression Two has weakened, and may never become Tropical Storm Ana after all. As Dr. Jeff Masters mentioned yesterday, “the dry, Saharan air that surrounds the storm, combined with moderately high levels of wind shear, are interfering with the storm’s organization.” Alan Sullivan writes this morning that TD2 “has no upper support, and it may weaken to a remnant… Read more »
After nearly 2 1/2 months of El Niño-induced calm in the Atlantic tropics, things are finally heating up. Tropical Depression Two has formed off the Cape Verde islands, and is likely to become Tropical Storm Ana over the next couple of days. This would be the latest formation date for the Atlantic basin’s “A” storm since… well, since 1992, when… Read more »